Happy New Year!
As we start a new year, let's review what happened with the Dejal apps in 2017:
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My pro app to monitor websites and servers for changes and failures, Simon, had a couple of minor updates in 2017, to version 4.2.2. It was also one of the foundation apps in the Setapp subscription service, offering a new option for people who prefer getting lots of apps for one low monthly price. |
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My handy break reminder tool, Time Out, followed up the huge version 2 release in the previous year with a bunch more updates in 2017, including version 2.2, adding a useful activity feature, more themes, and other improvements, and version 2.3, which included much-requested options to limit postpones and skips, show mini pie charts for break labels, and lots of other improvements. |
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Caboodle, the lean clean snippet machine, finally reached version 2... but not as a Dejal product; it was acquired by Before Dawn Solutions. |
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BlogAssist, my tool to help with HTML markup, hadn't been updated for a couple of years, and was never all that popular, so with some regret I said goodbye to it in 2017, so I could focus on my more successful apps. |
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Similarly, I also discontinued Tweeps, an app for iOS to manage Twitter accounts, which was no longer needed with modern Twitter clients. |
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Pack, a simple iPhone app to make it easy to pack for trips, didn't have any updates in 2017, but I am working on a big update (more below). I use it for every trip, and have a number of improvements planned. Try it for your next trip! |
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Date Stamp, an iMessage app to provide customizable date stamp stickers, was updated to version 1.0.1. It may or may not be updated again, but works really well as-is. The iMessage store didn't have a very good start, but is more visible in iOS 11. Tell your friends if you like this. |
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I released a second iMessage app... though this was a pure sticker pack, instead of customizable stickers. Chicken GIFs is a sticker pack featuring many fun animated GIFs of my chickens, which can be used as reactions in messages (chicken butt!). |
On the consulting side, I've done updates for several of my existing clients, but spent most of the year working on an exciting new macOS app, which should see the light of day in the first half of 2018. I can't wait for people to try it.
I am currently fully booked up for the next few months at least, but am always interested in talking with potential new clients. If you have a macOS or iOS project you'd like help with (or a custom Simon enhancement), check out my consulting page for more information.
2017 has been an interesting year for Dejal, and 2018 should be quite eventful too.
I am currently working on Time Out version 2.4. I also already have version 2.5 and beyond planned out; too many ideas for enhancements! If you have any requests for 2.4 or later, now would be a great time to get in touch (fun fact: I'm more likely to sneak in a request when actively working on the app, though no promises).
Next up I'll probably resume work on a complete rewrite of Pack, my simple packing list app. It was originally written in Objective-C, using some legacy techniques and technologies, but I decided to rewrite it from scratch using Swift and modern approaches. It's usually not a good idea to rewrite working code, but this app is small enough, and the code crusty enough, that I deemed it worthwhile. I use this app every time I travel, so I'm keen to keep it fresh and current, and add some great new features... hopefully including iCloud syncing, though we'll see how that goes.
I also have another new iOS app in the works, which I hope to finish off in early 2018, and another new macOS app I want to get to sometime. So much for focus! But I find it useful and enjoyable to explore new ideas and technologies every so often.
And let's not forget Simon; I have some big enhancements planned for its next release, too.
Finally, as mentioned I'm working on a new app for the consulting side, which will be exciting to get released.
It's going to be another busy year!
Thank you and welcome to my new customers, and many thanks to the long-term customers who are still enjoying my apps. I really appreciate your support.
My blog posts often just cover new releases, but sometimes I post general-interest or developer-interest topics. Some highlights from 2017 included:
I hope you enjoyed these posts.
DejalNews 2017-12, issue #73
This is DejalNews, an occasional newsletter from Dejal.
If you want to receive these newsletters in your email inbox, head over to the DejalNews subscribe page to sign up.
'Tis the season for celebrations and reflection... and discounts! As I often do, I am marking the occasion with a discount on my Mac apps, Dejal Simon and Time Out.
From now until the end of the year, you can get Simon, my handy website & server monitoring tool, for just $49.50 — half the regular price. (The upgrade from version 3 is also half price.)
You can also become a supporter of Time Out, my popular break reminder tool, for half the normal amount; just $1.49, $2.49, or $4.99, depending on the supporter duration. (Remember, any level will permanently unlock all of the current supporter rewards.)
The Mac App Store edition of Time Out is also discounted, though with slightly different prices.
This discount is automatically applied if you buy via the online store, or in the Mac App Store edition. Or you can enter the code "JOYTOALL" in the coupon field when purchasing in the direct edition. Don't delay!
Already have Simon and Time Out? Tell your friends and colleagues about it! I really appreciate any help spreading the word.
Last week I sponsored an episode of AppStories, a podcast discussing apps on macOS and iOS, brought to you by the fine folks at MacStories.
It was great to hear John talking about Dejal Time Out on the show.
I'd like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a safe and enjoyable holiday season, and a very happy New Year.
- David
DejalNews 2017-10, issue #72
This is DejalNews, an occasional newsletter from Dejal.
If you want to receive these newsletters in your email inbox, head over to the DejalNews subscribe page to sign up.
I mentioned in the previous newsletter that I was about to start work on Time Out version 2.3. As you may know by now, that did in fact eventuate, and it was recently released.
Version 2.3 focuses on enhancements to the postpone and skip options, including the ability to show the number of times each break has been postponed, skipped, and/or done (finished) today... and a much-requested feature, the ability to set daily limits on postponing and skipping. There's also a fun mini-pie-chart option.
Importantly, this update also includes a number of fixes for High Sierra compatibility, including a significant issue where the label and break background colors can unexpectedly become white.
I recommend updating to this version if you'll be installing High Sierra.
Read the blog post for details of the improvements.
I don't do much advertising, but I occasionally like to do something to support people and sites that I like. One such is 512 Pixels, written by Stephen Hackett, who you may also know as one of the founders of the Relay FM podcast network.
This week I am sponsoring the 512 Pixels site, as a way to help support Stephen, and promote the new release of Dejal Time Out.
Read the sponsorship post on 512 Pixels.
It seems I'm often writing about Setapp in these newsletters... but it's such a great service, making it easy for people to find lots of high-quality and useful apps, including Dejal Simon.
Setapp has just announced that they have reached 100 apps on the service; an exciting milestone. There's something for everyone!
- David
I'm pleased to announce the general release of version 2.3 of Time Out, my popular break reminder tool.
Version 2.3 focuses on enhancements to the postpone and skip options, including the ability to show the number of times each break has been postponed, skipped, and/or done (finished) today... and a much-requested feature, the ability to set daily limits on postponing and skipping. There's also a fun mini-pie-chart option.
Importantly, this update also includes a number of fixes for High Sierra compatibility, including a significant issue where the label and break background colors can unexpectedly become white.
I recommend updating to this version if you'll be installing High Sierra.
Read on for details.
Here's what the "Show number of times..." option looks like during a break; notice the line of text below the buttons in the control panel. Also notice one of the new themes:
Here's the sidebar, with a pie option enabled for the Micro break, and the tooltip displayed:
If you are using the Mac App Store edition, you can update via the App Store app.
If you are using the direct edition, you can use the Check for Updates feature in the app to update.
Otherwise, download Time Out 2.3 now.
Here's another beta of Time Out, version 2.3b3.
Hopefully this will be the last beta before the general release. I'd really appreciate it if everyone could try this and let me know as soon as possible of any issues, especially on High Sierra.
Changes include:
Want to try it?
If you are using the direct edition, you can change your Updates preferences to include beta releases, then use the Check for Updates feature in the app to update.
Otherwise, download 2.3b3 now!
Here's a second beta of Time Out 2.3.
Changes include:
Want to try it?
If you are using the direct edition, you can change your Updates preferences to include beta releases, then use the Check for Updates feature in the app to update.
Otherwise, download 2.3b2 now!
I'm pleased to announce the first beta of an update to Time Out, my indispensable break reminder tool.
Version 2.3 focuses on enhancements to the postpone and skip options, including the ability to show the number of times each break has been postponed, skipped, and/or done (finished) today... and a much-requested feature, the ability to set daily limits on postponing and skipping. There's also a fun mini-pie-chart option.
Importantly, this update also includes a fix for an issue on High Sierra, where the label and break background colors can unexpectedly become white. I haven't noticed any other issues on macOS 10.13, but please let me know if you do find anything.
I recommend updating to this version if you'll be installing High Sierra.
Read the full release notes for details:
Want to try it?
If you are using the direct edition, you can change your Updates preferences to include beta releases, then use the Check for Updates feature in the app to update.
Otherwise, download 2.3b1 now!
DejalNews 2017-07, issue #71
This is DejalNews, an occasional newsletter from Dejal.
If you want to receive these newsletters in your email inbox, head over to the DejalNews subscribe page to sign up.
Much of the US will experience a total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017. To celebrate this historic event, I thought I'd eclipse the price of Simon till the end of August. (Okay, a flimsy excuse for a discount, but why not — it's been quite a long time since the last one, even if not as long as since the last eclipse over the US, in 1918.)
This discount is automatically applied if you buy via the online store. Don't delay! Like the eclipse, this special only lasts a short time.
Already have Simon? Tell your friends and colleagues about it! I really appreciate any help spreading the word.
Recently TidBITS featured an article about Setapp, marking the five month period of Setapp's existence. I was quoted a number of times in this article, discussing my impressions of Simon in Setapp. Spoiler: I'm quite pleased with it so far. If you want lots of great apps (including Simon) for one low price, check out Setapp.
I've been busy with consulting work of late, so work on Dejal apps has been rather slow. But I'll soon be getting back to it, as time allows, with several app updates and even new apps planned for the rest of the year.
The future plans are always subject to change, of course, but my current thought is to first work on an update to Time Out, to version 2.3. I have several planned enhancements, and some issues to fix... but if you have any requests, now would be a great time to let me know. Maybe your feature idea could make it into the next update!
- David
Much of the US will experience a total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017. To celebrate this historic event, I thought I'd eclipse the price of Simon till the end of August. (Okay, a flimsy excuse for a discount, but why not — it's been quite a long time since the last one, even if not as long as since the last eclipse over the US, in 1918.)
This discount is automatically applied if you buy via the online store. Don't delay! Like the eclipse, this special only lasts a short time.
DejalNews 2017-05, issue #70
This is DejalNews, an occasional newsletter from Dejal.
If you want to receive these newsletters in your email inbox, head over to the DejalNews subscribe page to sign up.
A very rare event occurred recently — one of my apps was acquired by another developer.
Caboodle, the app I first released over a decade ago to collect and manage snippets of text and attachments, now has a new owner.
As explained in the blog post announcing the acquisition, I haven't been able to devote enough time to this app for quite some time, so I finally decided that I had to find a better home for it; another developer that might have the ability to improve it further, and give it the attention it deserves.
By now all of the users of this app should have been contacted by the new owner, Before Dawn Solutions. Version 2 is a paid upgrade, but well worth it, including many great enhancements that I started and John completed.
Learn more about this acquisition.
Another rare but big recent change was to discontinue a couple of my less popular apps.
This is something I don't like to do, and perhaps put off for years longer than I should... but sometimes apps just don't take off, or become redundant or less popular over time, and it becomes obvious that it isn't worth investing more time in them, when I could be working on apps that more people care about and use.
In this case, BlogAssist, my macOS app to help with HTML markup, and Tweeps, my iOS app to manage Twitter accounts, were the ones to fall to this fate.
BlogAssist is a handy app, that I still use myself (at least when writing blog posts), and although it has a small group of customers, it hasn't sold all that well, and has consequently been neglected. It is also pretty much feature-complete; there isn't really anything else I wanted to add to it. While I could have just made it free, I made the hard decision to stop work on it. I have kept the app available for download, though, so if you want to try it, you can do so. I'd be willing to provide a free license to anyone who requests one (so long as that doesn't become too burdensome).
Tweeps, on the other hand, was an idea to serve a brief need in Twitter's early days, but their site has improved over time, so it became less useful. I haven't really used the app for quite some time. And sales have been pretty much negligible. So it was a relatively easy decision to discontinue this app, even though I had put many hours into it in the past. Since the iOS App Store doesn't have a mechanism to hide away obsolete apps, I chose to remove it from sale, so it can't be downloaded anymore. The page on the Dejal site is still available, if you're curious about it.
It's always hard to stop work on apps, but it's better for the remaining apps, so I can spend my precious time working on them.
Time Out, my popular break reminder tool (that is in no danger of discontinuation!) is included in a bundle at present.
For a short while, Time Out is available as part of a bundle from a relatively new organization, Uneeq Company. This is a "name your own price" bundle, so you can choose how much to pay for $643 worth of Mac apps.
I mentioned my hobby business in my last newsletter. I don't want to bring it up every time, but I thought I'd give a brief update. On the blog you can see many cute pictures of new baby chicks (just a week old now!), plus our new bee hives, and much progress on the new chicken coop, where those chicks will soon live.
Check out the Yellow Cottage Homestead blog.
- David
Big news: Caboodle, the "lean, clean snippet machine", has been acquired by Before Dawn Solutions, another indie macOS & iOS developer.
I have felt bad for some time that I haven't been able to give Caboodle the attention it deserves. I first wrote it way back in 2003, though the 1.0 release was in 2006. It has long suffered infrequent updates, mainly due to my spending most of my time on Simon, Time Out, and consulting projects. I was planning a major upgrade for years, and last year finally did some work on it, but again I couldn't devote enough time to actually finish it.
So I finally realized that I had to find a better home for Caboodle. It's a great app, relied on by many customers, so I didn't want to just discontinue it. I've known John Martyniak of Before Dawn Solutions for several years, so when I mentioned that I was looking for a new home for Caboodle, and he expressed interest, we fairly quickly came to an agreement.
Since then, he has been diligently working on finishing off version 2, and has now released the app under his banner.
I've been thinking about focus a lot lately... perhaps not surprising from the author of a break reminder tool.
One result of that is a reluctant and long-considered decision to discontinue a couple of my apps that aren't very popular, so I can spend more time on apps that people actually use.
So, I am here to announce that BlogAssist, my macOS menubar utility to do HTML markup, and Tweeps, my iOS app to manage Twitter accounts, have now been discontinued.
BlogAssist was first released back in 2003, and reached version 2.4 in 2012, and was last updated to version 2.4.1 over a year ago. (Release notes.)
Tweeps was introduced in 2010, and reached version 3.3 in 2014. (Release notes.)
BlogAssist is still available for download, for anyone still using it, but is no longer supported and will not receive any updates. New users are welcome to use it if desired, too. It has a license requirement (with a free trial), but I'd be willing to provide a free license to anyone who requests one.
Tweeps is no longer available for download, since the App Store doesn't really have an area for legacy apps. You can see what it looked like on the product page, if you're curious.
For a short while, Time Out is available as part of a bundle from a relatively new organization, Uneeq Company. This is a "name your own price" bundle, so you can choose how much to pay for $643 worth of Mac apps.
I know I've mentioned this before, but I wanted to remind everyone of BundleHunt, a "choose your own bundle" collection of great apps, which includes Simon, my pro tool to monitor websites and servers for changes or failures.
This bundle is coming to an end soon, so it's your last chance to get Simon and 6 other apps for just $19.99. Choose from 49 premium apps, including Typinator, MacJournal, WinZip, and more. You can get 7 apps for less than quarter the regular price of just Simon!
If you already have Simon, this is a great opportunity to get your friends or colleagues hooked on its benefits for a very low cost. I'd appreciate any help in spreading the word, and if you use this link they'll know you came from here.
DejalNews 2017-03, issue #69
This is DejalNews, an occasional newsletter from Dejal.
If you want to receive these newsletters in your email inbox, head over to the DejalNews subscribe page to sign up.
This month I released an update to Time Out, my popular break reminder tool for macOS.
Version 2.2 adds a major new feature: a new Activity page, where you can see what breaks you've taken (and for how long), and what apps you've used, if you wish.
It also adds some great user-contributed themes, and some other improvements.
A quick update to version 2.2.1 fixed a couple of scheduling issues.
Learn more about the changes in Time Out 2.2, and how to get it.
This month marked the one year anniversary of Time Out 2! To celebrate, I wrote a blog post, complete with pie charts, providing information on how the downloads and supporter model have gone over the past year.
Another recent update was Simon 4.2.2. This update included updated Setapp support, in-app purchase options, and a number of other improvements.
Learn more about the changes in Simon 4.2.2.
Note that it is still available as part of BundleHunt too, for a limited time. Tell your friends!
In addition to Dejal apps and Dejal consulting, my wife and I also have a hobby business called Yellow Cottage Homestead, LLC, where we raise chickens for eggs (as seen in my Chicken GIFs sticker pack!), make apple cider, grow lavender for various products, and soon will keep bees for honey, on our five acres.
About a month ago I started a blog for the homestead, where I'm posting every day or two about projects around the place. I recently had some posts about designing and building wooden potato planters, and there have been posts about snow and about chickens, but most of the posts have been about building a second chicken coop, which I've just started.
If that interests you, check out the Yellow Cottage Homestead blog.
Over the coming weeks you can expect many more posts about building progress, plus in May we'll be getting a dozen baby chicks (hopefully I'll have the coop ready by then!), plus will be setting up a couple of bee hives, and many other projects. Stay tuned!
Of course, there is a RSS feed, plus you can follow @YellowHomestead on Twitter, or the Facebook page.
- David
I've just released a tiny update to Time Out, to fix a couple of issues.
Version 2.2.1 includes a fix for scheduling issue, where it was incorrectly adding the sleep duration to the due time after waking from sleep. It also includes a fix for breaks set to a frequency of daily (or longer) and with an Available time range set, where it was pushing the due time out by a day.
If you are using the Mac App Store edition, you can update via the App Store app once it has been approved (maybe later today or tomorrow).
If you are using the direct edition, you can use the Check for Updates feature in the app to update.
Otherwise, download Time Out 2.2.1 now.
I'm pleased to announce the general release of version 2.2 of Time Out, my popular break reminder tool.
The major new feature of version 2.2 is the new Activity page. It also includes new themes and theme features, a View menu for easier navigation, and several other improvements. Read on for details.
window.webkit.messageHandlers.getTimeOutConfig.postMessage('')
message to get a JSON of the break configuration. It will call back to a timeOutConfig(json)
function, passing the JSON. Properties include format
(the JSON format, initially 1), identifier
(the break's unique identifier), name
(the break's name), durationSeconds
(the break duration expressed in seconds), durationString
(e.g. "10 minutes"), frequencySeconds
(the frequency in seconds), frequencyString
(e.g. "1 hour"), beginningSeconds
(the fade-in time), endingSeconds
(the fade-out time).window.webkit.messageHandlers.getTimeOutState.postMessage('')
message, to get a JSON of the break state information. It will call back to a timeOutState(json)
function, passing the JSON. Properties include format
(e.g. 1), nextDue
(e.g. an ISO date like "2016-09-29T23:27:51Z"), lastStarted
, lastDone
, lastDeferred
(also dates), lastPhase
(e.g. done
, skipped
, or postponed
), and currentPhase
(e.g. pending
, starting
, started
, or finishing
).If you are using the Mac App Store edition, you can update via the App Store app.
If you are using the direct edition, you can use the Check for Updates feature in the app to update.
Otherwise, download Time Out 2.2 now.
Today is the one-year anniversary of the general release of Time Out version 2.0.
One month after that release, I wrote a blog post that provided some stats on how the supporter model was going at the time.
I thought I'd take this opportunity to follow up on that.
A year after release, the supporter model is still working well. If you're not familiar, the basic idea is that someone can download Time Out and use it for free, but some features only work for an hour at a time, as often as they like. So they can try all of the functionality, at their own pace, and decide if the advanced features are useful to them. If so, they can become a supporter for three, six, or twelve months. This permanently unlocks all of the current features as a reward. Even when the supporter period expires, those features remain fully available. So they can choose to extend their supporter status, or just keep using the app without paying any more. Of course, I hope that people do renew, to help fund ongoing sustainable development.
At present, about 9% of people who download Time Out end up purchasing one of the supporter options... which is a reasonable "conversion rate", which can often average more like 5% for normal trial apps. I feel pretty comfortable with that. But I'm also happy that people who choose not to become a supporter can still use a great break reminder tool to help them get or stay healthy.
Looking at the edition of Time Out available on the Dejal website, over the past year almost half of people chose the 3-month supporter option, at 48%, while a good number, 35%, chose the 12-month option, with relatively few choosing the middle 6-month supporter option:
Compare that to the Mac App Store edition, almost two thirds chose the 3-month supporter option, but the 6-month one was almost the same, and only a quarter chose the 12-month option:
Looking at both editions combined, you can see that most of the purchases were through the Mac App Store, though the direct edition isn't too far behind:
That was the number of purchases (units). In terms of money, unsurprisingly the 12-month supporter option goes a lot further, at 61% for direct sales. The 3-month option still beats 6-month, due to the volume of purchases, but not by as big a margin:
For the Mac App Store, the picture is similar, but not quite so favorable for the 12-month option, at slightly less than half the income, and a bigger slice of the pie for 3-month:
Again, combining them into one chart, you can see that it's pretty much neck-and-neck for direct vs Mac App Store, due to the larger slice of the pie that Apple takes:
I hope this snapshot of one year of Time Out was interesting. Overall, I think the supporter model is going well. I'm pleased to see many people who purchased 3- or 6-month supporter options choosing to extend their support, just because they appreciate the help it provides them, or want to help support further development.
Time Out continues to improve; just today I released another beta of version 2.2, which includes a great new activity feature and more. The continuing support of people like you is what makes that possible.
Thank you.
I've just released a third beta of version 2.2 of Time Out.
This update includes:
Again, the major new feature in version 2.2 is the Activity page, where you can see what breaks you've taken (and for how long), and what apps you've used, if you wish.
Want to try it?
If you are using the direct edition, you can change your Updates preferences to include beta releases, then use the Check for Updates feature in the app to update.
Otherwise, download 2.2b3 now!