KidFlix is now available in the iTunes App Store!

After pending review for more than 8 months, we are happy to announce that KidFlix was officially approved for sale today!

KidFlix is for parents with small children, that allows the parent to upload a childrens video that they have on their computer and then allow their child to watch one of these videos with the ability to disable the normal overlay controls to stop accidental pausing/stopping/fast forwarding/etc, as well as allowing the parent to specify if the video should automatically repeat when it ends.

As a parent of a young child I know how valuable of a tool this program can be when you are at say a restaurant and your child starts getting bored.

You can access KidFlix directly by following the URL:
itms://itunes.apple.com/us/app/kidflix/id307595676?mt=8

One Finger Discount

MacHeist is giving away six free apps this week!

If all that software makes you hungry for even more, take advantage of the “OneFingerDiscount” coupon code, and get 20% off (that’s 1/5 free!).

SOME of the participants include:

• HashBang Industries
• Red Sweater Software
• Centrix.ca
• Calf Trail Software
• Watchmac

AND MANY MORE!

Check out One Finger Discount for a list of all of the participants and quick note about the type(s) of software each company specializes in.

Try them all, buy what you like! It’s almost a steal!

iDeskCal 2.2.1 has been Released

We are happy to announce the release of iDeskCal 2.2.1!

This is a maintenance release and it is highly recommended that all users upgrade to version 2.2.1.
It is of course also a free upgrade for all users.

This update addresses the slow down issue some users were seeing on Mac OS X 10.5.
As mentioned in a earlier blog post, this was do to the addition of 64-bit support in version 2.2 and a bug in Apple’s Mac OS X 10.5 Calendar code that caused calls to this Apple code to hang and eat up system resources.
We have addressed this issue by telling iDeskCal not to run in 64-bit mode on Mac OS X 10.5, as well as by submitting a bug report to Apple.

This update also addresses some issues with the upcoming change from Daylight Savings Time/Summer Time, that caused some events to show duplicated on the wrong date.

To see the full change log of version 2.2.1 please visit:
https://www.hashbangind.com/appcasts/iDeskCal.xml

iDeskCal 2.2 Slowdown for Some Users – Explained

This is an update to the previous blog post Some users seeing computer slow downs with iDeskCal 2.2

Thanks to some of our users we were able to duplicate this issue, which allowed us to track down the problem.

Unfortunately the issue is not with iDeskCal, but a bug in Apple’s Calendar accessing code in Mac OS 10.5.8.
We have gone as far as to creating a test application to prove this fact, which we will be sharing with Apple.

The problem is that now that Snow Leopard (10.6) has been released we don’t know how fast Apple will be at fixing this issue, if at all.

You can bypass the problem by telling iDeskCal to launch in 32-bit mode, as explained in the previous post.
We will also be releasing an update with some code to specifically tell iDeskCal not to even try and run in 32-bit mode in 10.5, which will make it so you wont have to worry about dealing with the setting yourself.

We highly recommend updating to Snow Leopard (10.6) if you are on an Intel Mac.
You can upgrade to Snow Leopard for $29, and can buy a copy from Apple, your local Apple store, Amazon, and many other places.
Buy Snow Leopard from Apple.com

We highly apologize for the issues and inconvenience that this has caused.

iDeskCal in the October 09 issue of Macworld magazine

We received an email earlier this month from Macworld, letting us know that iDeskCal had received coverage in the October 2009 issue.

When our company copy showed up we were even happier to find that it was mentioned not only once, but twice in the same months magazine!

The first was what we were expecting, a review of iDeskCal.

(click image for full size version)

The second mention was smaller, but still nice…
It was in a section they did this month called “Budget Mac”.
The idea was for three Mac users to build their ultimate setup for $300.
iDeskCal showed up in the “Student’s” setup.

We took the liberty to create a little collage of the main items.
For the full text please pick up a copy of the magazine.

(click image for full size version)

Some users seeing computer slow downs with iDeskCal 2.2

We have been hearing some reports from some users that say after installing iDeskCal 2.2 that their computer slows down either a little or a lot.

iDeskCal 2.2 brings 64-bit support to iDeskCal.
This is a great addition especially for those running Snow Leopard.

64-bit support will cause any app, including iDeskCal to use more RAM, however it should not be noticeable unless perhaps you are on a machine with very limited RAM.
64-bit support should also cause iDeskCal to run faster.

So while some extra RAM being used is normal, the claims that users computers are slowing down dramatically, should not be happening and we are actively looking into this.

Luckily it looks like this is only affecting a very small percentage of users.
So far all reports have shown this happening on Mac OS 10.5.8.
We are not sure if that is a factor yet, or just a coincidence.

If you are one of the users that this effects you should be able to fix this by telling iDeskCal to continue to run in 32-bit mode. (Please note that we have not been able to personally test this as we have yet to duplicate the problem, however reports are that this is working for most users)

(If you do not understand all this 64-bit/32-bit talk, don’t worry. Just follow the steps below if this problem is affecting you)

1. Control-Click (right-click) on the iDeskCal application (most likely in your Applications folder)
2. Select ‘Get Info’
3. In the ‘Get Info’ panel that opens check the check box for the item that says ‘Open in 32-bit mode’
4. Close the ‘Get Info’ panel
5. Double click iDeskCal

This should launch iDeskCal in 32-bit mode again.

If for some reason this does not fix the problem for you, please download the previous version (2.1.1) from: http://hashbangind.com/ideskcal-releases.php

Once again, we are actively looking into what is happening and hope to have a better solution soon.

Thank you

Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) to be released Friday Aug 28, 2009

Apple® announced today that Mac OS X 10.6 (aka Snow Leopard) will be released on Friday August 28, 2009!

We here at HashBang Industries have been using developer preview versions of Snow Leopard and we can say with all honesty that Snow Leopard is a wonderful update to the already amazing 10.5 (Leopard).

The speed and performance updates in 10.6 make this a release that all eligible users should upgrade too, and at only $29 USD for the single computer upgrade and $49 USD for the Family upgrade, you should not need to even give it a second thought.

The main thing to know with 10.6 is that it will only work on Intel machines, so unfortunately you are out of luck if you are still using a Power PC computer.

The second main thing to know about 10.6 is that iDeskCal runs great on Snow Leopard!
We have been running it full time on Snow Leopard without any problems.
If however you do run into any issues with running iDeskCal on Snow Leopard, come Friday, Snow Leopard has special additions behind-the-scenes that make it even easier for us to track down reported bugs.
Unfortunately this is all we can say right now as our NDA with Apple is still in effect.

We have included links to pre-order Snow Leopard today!
Currently (Monday 24th) if you order from Apple, your upgrade DVD will be delivered the day Snow Leopard is released (Friday). We are not sure how long that will be the case, so we recommend you pre-order now!

Apple Online Store 10.6 Upgrade (Single computer & Family versions)
Amazon.com 10.6 Upgrade (Single computer version)
Amazon.com 10.6 Upgrade (Family version)

iDeskCal puts your events and tasks on your Desktop

Macworld.com hash posted a writeup of iDeskCal in its “Mac Gems” column.

You can read the article at: http://www.macworld.com/article/141687/2009/07/ideskcal.html

iDeskCal Receives 4.5/5 Stars from French Magazine VVMac

iDeskCal was recently reviewed in the French Mac magazine, VVMac and received 4.5 out of 5 stars!

The issue is on news stands for the next two months.

iDeskCal 2.0.2 Released – http://bit.ly/MJ0PL

iDeskCal version 2.0.2

New Features

• Support for Multiple Monitor setups that allow placement location to be a negative number
• When adding a calendar event, setting the start date later then the end date will auto update the end date for you
• Simplified Preferences by removing frequency setting, which helps to make sure old data doesn’t show
• Simplified Preferences by having Moveable/Resizable only occur for a single launch

Bug Fixes

• FIXED: Small glitch in To Do window border causing border to have a gap
• FIXED: Start at Login not working if application is not installed root of Applications folder
• FIXED: Events with Paragraphs/Line Breaks in the title break the look/feel
• FIXED: Recurring events marked with a date value of more than one day, and with a repeat schedule of those days are showing multiple times
• FIXED: To Do items that have a non-standard priority setting, causing crash
• FIXED: Missing some Spanish translations for new features

Known Issues

• Missing some Portuguese translations for new features

Product Page: http://www.hashbangind.com/iDeskCal
Download: Version 2.0.2
Purchase: https://www.hashbangind.com/purchase.php