I have started WWDC preparation. I have downloaded some of the headstarts, based on the sessions that interest me. Now, I have to install the latest Leopard preview in my laptop. For that, I need to go back to the repartition the hard drive once again. Lucky I did documented the first time!
I believe there are some very interesting technologies in Leopard. Core Animation being one of them. As I have been always interested in Special FX, game development and movie creation, it seems like a natural choice. So, once I get Leopard installed, along with the latest Xcode 3, I will take the material for Core Animation and try to grasp the basics before getting to San Francisco. I do have some ideas of things that would be nice to implement in Xslimmer, and even some ideas about possible new apps that we could create using Core Animation and other Leopard technologies. If I just had a more time...
Anyhow, I hope next week will be a fun one. I am really looking forward to meeting other Mac developers, whatever exciting news Steve Jobs provides us with, and all the possible learnings I can get.
If you are around, and would like to meet, let us know!
Latenitesoft: Mac & iOS Applications. Our blog.
Monday, June 04, 2007
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Spam, Alternative Email Addresses
Spam. It is ubiquitous. All around. In our case, we even get spam through the contact form of our website. Every single day. The issue is so big that practically all big email providers have added anti-spam measures. This allows users to get less spam, which is great, while still receiving genuine messages. That is normally the case. Unfortunately some providers must have such a big of problem, that at times they reject genuine messages too. What's worse, in some cases those messages don't even get to the user's spam folder.
In our case, we have had problems with customers with addresses from Hotmail/MSN and AOL. Messages to their users sent from our automated system were rejected. This meant that licenses were not getting to their legitimate owners in an automated way, and we had to resend them manually. In some cases, even the manually sent messages failed to reach the final users. So, we had to get Hotmail and AOL account to contact the users whose messages were not reaching them. Not ideal. If you were one of them, our apologies.
After investigation, we found out some of the rules that these providers use to reject email. We made several changes to the DNS configuration, and made several requests to our hosting provider. All these were intended to get our messages through. It seems like it is working fine now. We want to thank all the people who helped us detect this issue and resolve it.
Now, as spam is still going to be among us for a while, if you need to contact us for whatever reason, please provide us with an alternative email address. Particularly, if you buy Xslimmer and do not receive your license after a few minutes. Thank you!
In our case, we have had problems with customers with addresses from Hotmail/MSN and AOL. Messages to their users sent from our automated system were rejected. This meant that licenses were not getting to their legitimate owners in an automated way, and we had to resend them manually. In some cases, even the manually sent messages failed to reach the final users. So, we had to get Hotmail and AOL account to contact the users whose messages were not reaching them. Not ideal. If you were one of them, our apologies.
After investigation, we found out some of the rules that these providers use to reject email. We made several changes to the DNS configuration, and made several requests to our hosting provider. All these were intended to get our messages through. It seems like it is working fine now. We want to thank all the people who helped us detect this issue and resolve it.
Now, as spam is still going to be among us for a while, if you need to contact us for whatever reason, please provide us with an alternative email address. Particularly, if you buy Xslimmer and do not receive your license after a few minutes. Thank you!
Friday, April 27, 2007
Big thanks for all comments about Xslimmer 1.2.3
As you probably have seen, we have released Xslimmer 1.2.3 some days ago. We wanted to thank you on all the comments we received, both public and private, about the beta version.
We hope to have included the best options based on your comments. For example, we made sorting headers optional. They are accessible through the main window via the gear button. We also used the 1.2.2 icons for Stop and Clear, and definitely took out the dividers. You can check the full release notes here: http://www.xslimmer.com/download/.
We hope you keep enjoying Xslimmer.
We hope to have included the best options based on your comments. For example, we made sorting headers optional. They are accessible through the main window via the gear button. We also used the 1.2.2 icons for Stop and Clear, and definitely took out the dividers. You can check the full release notes here: http://www.xslimmer.com/download/.
We hope you keep enjoying Xslimmer.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Application Blacklisting
Recently we received an anonymous message requesting a new feature: Adding new apps to the public blacklist. In addition to this request, from time to time we receive email requests to blacklist this or that app.
Xslimmer has a feature already that helps us a lot in blacklisting apps. To use it, you should open the History window. It will show the list of applications you have slimmed down. Then, you can click on the "report icon" (exclamation mark) for the application, and this will open the "blacklist report" dialog:
After receiving a report, normally we test the app ourselves. It is not possible in 100% of the cases, but whenever it is we do. Then, we proceed to blacklist it with the information from the report, crediting the person who sent the report, if his/her name was included.
When an application is reported to us, it is marked as "excluded" or "privately blacklisted" in your preferences. That way, if you recover it from a backup or reinstall it, it won't be unwillingly slimmed again.
I hope this clarifies how our public blacklist is managed. Should you have any doubts, do not hesitate to ask. Thank you!
Xslimmer has a feature already that helps us a lot in blacklisting apps. To use it, you should open the History window. It will show the list of applications you have slimmed down. Then, you can click on the "report icon" (exclamation mark) for the application, and this will open the "blacklist report" dialog:
After receiving a report, normally we test the app ourselves. It is not possible in 100% of the cases, but whenever it is we do. Then, we proceed to blacklist it with the information from the report, crediting the person who sent the report, if his/her name was included.
When an application is reported to us, it is marked as "excluded" or "privately blacklisted" in your preferences. That way, if you recover it from a backup or reinstall it, it won't be unwillingly slimmed again.
I hope this clarifies how our public blacklist is managed. Should you have any doubts, do not hesitate to ask. Thank you!
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Xslimmer 1.2.3 Beta Updated / Design Poll
So far, no bugs have been detected, but we have updated Xslimmer 1.2.3 beta in order to reflect some suggestions from different testers, along with some other minor changes in Localization and blacklist. You can download it here: Xslimmer 1.2.3b3 download.
In addition, we would like to hear which of the following designs you prefer:
(Current Xslimmer, 1.2.2)
(Xslimmer 1.2.3 b2)
(Xslimmer 1.2.3 b3)
In addition, we would like to hear which of the following designs you prefer:
(Current Xslimmer, 1.2.2)
(Xslimmer 1.2.3 b2)
(Xslimmer 1.2.3 b3)
As you can see, the main change is the existance of the headers, which will allow sorting the apps by the criteria of your choice, including number of languages or architecture type, along with the existence of column dividers (which do not add any functionality itself). Any thoughts, really appreciated.
Monday, April 02, 2007
Want to try Xslimmer 1.2.3 Beta ?
Xslimmer 1.2.3 is finished. Quite a few things have changed from the previous version:
So, we want volunteers to test it for a few days before launching it. Please remember, it is beta software. Should you detect any issues, please contact us!
Xslimmer 1.2.3b2 can be downloaded here.
- Column headers, sorting. The application list now features column headers, allowing you to sort the applications by the criteria of your preference
- Additional application information through drawer. Using the "Info" icon of the toolbar you can get a side drawer that adds information on the application, and offers a couple of actions: exclude and slim.
- Single application slim. You can use the drawer or the secondary click on an app to slim that app alone.
- App exclusion is now accessible through toolbar, secondary click menu and drawer
- Progress bars and several icons design has been updated
- 3 new localizations have been added: Japanese, Dutch, Swedish (not complete yet)
- Delete, Backspace keys now eliminate applications from the list
- History is now resorted after slim has finished, maintaining the selected criteria
- History and backup purging are no longer active by default
So, we want volunteers to test it for a few days before launching it. Please remember, it is beta software. Should you detect any issues, please contact us!
Xslimmer 1.2.3b2 can be downloaded here.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Xslimmer 1.2.2 crack released! So what?
I've just found out that Xslimmer 1.2.2 has been cracked. It's not too bad, this release has been out for a few weeks already, while previous versions had the dubious honor of having been pirated in only a couple of days. Is this because we have strengthened our protection system? No, it is not. We haven't changed a bit (or a comma) of our code in that respect. Are we planning to do so? No, we are not. We have too little time and too many things to do. We prefer to spend our precious sleepless hours working on new features and customer support rather than fighting some infantile dumbheads.
The situation is very simple. We have made a lot of effort, and people seem to like our software. If they keep buying copies, we can continue improving Xslimmer and working on the other ideas we have. Otherwise, we won't. Each individual sale is worth much more than the 12 bucks we charge for a license. Each sale is a recognition that we have made something useful and valuable, a boost of morale, a reason to keep on working to the expense of our free time and our families. We strive to provide our customers the best service we possibly can. You see, it's not only the money, it's not even the prospect to become full-time indie developers one day: it's our pride and reputation that are at stake.
I believe that this is clear not only for ourselves, but for the vast majority of the "Mac community". As you may know, being recent switchers we are relatively new to the Mac family. One of the most notorious aspects of owning a Mac involves the feeling that you are part of a group of nice, discerning people. You don't buy a Mac for nothing: you buy it because you are looking for something special. Mac owners are warm to newcomers, passionate about quality and highly discerning about the difference between a carefully crafted application and a quick, careless hack. The first Xslimmer crack came out in less than 24 hours after release of version 1.0. And some of our well-known competitors are freeware applications. And still, some people buy copies of Xslimmer. It doesn't mean that our competitors are crap, it means that people will recognize the different approach in each application, and will buy Xslimmer if they believe it suits their needs best. And, of course, most don't consider downloading a crack, because they recognize the work that has to be done to put an application together. I had not seen this passion in the Windows or the Linux worlds, and I am proud to have become a member of this community.
Other authors have previously explained that most people that use pirated versions of your software will probably never buy it, even if the crack did not exist. Having lived among Mac users for a while, I'm a convert to this theory now. I'm even inclined to measure it. This post is, in fact, a little experiment to test to what extent piracy affects sales. If you are proud to be a Mac owner, feel free to spread the word: there is a cracked version of Xslimmer going around, but also a legitimate one whose purchase is the way to show your support for its development. Do you think our sales will decrease significantly? I'm willing to bet that they won't. But I'll measure the conversion ratio (sales to downloads) during the following days, and will post any meaningful results here, so we'll see.
A final reason not to use pirated copies of Xslimmer, if you need any, is that we are planning to release version 1.2.3 next week. Version 1.2.4 will come a couple of weeks after that. And so on, until we run out of ideas. Do you want to depend on some random drone to enjoy the upgrades? We'll see in a few days what the results of our little experiment are, but I doubt you will.
The situation is very simple. We have made a lot of effort, and people seem to like our software. If they keep buying copies, we can continue improving Xslimmer and working on the other ideas we have. Otherwise, we won't. Each individual sale is worth much more than the 12 bucks we charge for a license. Each sale is a recognition that we have made something useful and valuable, a boost of morale, a reason to keep on working to the expense of our free time and our families. We strive to provide our customers the best service we possibly can. You see, it's not only the money, it's not even the prospect to become full-time indie developers one day: it's our pride and reputation that are at stake.
I believe that this is clear not only for ourselves, but for the vast majority of the "Mac community". As you may know, being recent switchers we are relatively new to the Mac family. One of the most notorious aspects of owning a Mac involves the feeling that you are part of a group of nice, discerning people. You don't buy a Mac for nothing: you buy it because you are looking for something special. Mac owners are warm to newcomers, passionate about quality and highly discerning about the difference between a carefully crafted application and a quick, careless hack. The first Xslimmer crack came out in less than 24 hours after release of version 1.0. And some of our well-known competitors are freeware applications. And still, some people buy copies of Xslimmer. It doesn't mean that our competitors are crap, it means that people will recognize the different approach in each application, and will buy Xslimmer if they believe it suits their needs best. And, of course, most don't consider downloading a crack, because they recognize the work that has to be done to put an application together. I had not seen this passion in the Windows or the Linux worlds, and I am proud to have become a member of this community.
Other authors have previously explained that most people that use pirated versions of your software will probably never buy it, even if the crack did not exist. Having lived among Mac users for a while, I'm a convert to this theory now. I'm even inclined to measure it. This post is, in fact, a little experiment to test to what extent piracy affects sales. If you are proud to be a Mac owner, feel free to spread the word: there is a cracked version of Xslimmer going around, but also a legitimate one whose purchase is the way to show your support for its development. Do you think our sales will decrease significantly? I'm willing to bet that they won't. But I'll measure the conversion ratio (sales to downloads) during the following days, and will post any meaningful results here, so we'll see.
A final reason not to use pirated copies of Xslimmer, if you need any, is that we are planning to release version 1.2.3 next week. Version 1.2.4 will come a couple of weeks after that. And so on, until we run out of ideas. Do you want to depend on some random drone to enjoy the upgrades? We'll see in a few days what the results of our little experiment are, but I doubt you will.
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