Balance 2.1.2 Released

Earlier today, I released version 2.1.2 of Balance. This is mostly a bug fix update, although I have added a couple of new features, and it is recommended for all users. As always, please backup your data before upgrading. Here’s a quick rundown of what’s new:

  • Quick Clear: tap-and-hold on transactions to bring up a menu to mark a transaction as cleared or not. (Requires iOS 3.2, though Balance continues to run on iOS 3.1.3.)

  • Duplicate Transactions: create a duplicate of an existing transaction with all of the data pre-filled, with the exception that the date is set to today rather than the date of the original transaction.

This version of Balance also fixes a couple of bugs with backup and restore. For complete details, please see the release notes.

If you have any issues with the update, please feel free to email me at support@cwakamo.com.

Balance 2.1.1 Released

Earlier today, Apple approved Balance 2.1.1, and it should be on the App Store soon. (Thanks to Apple for the quick review!) This is mainly a bug fix release, although it does add one small new feature. Here’s a quick rundown of the changes in version 2.1.1:

  • Fixed the issue that causes balances to incorrectly update. As a result, the option to sort accounts by balance has been temporarily removed; this will be restored in a future update.
  • Fixed a time zone issue with the date picker.
  • Fixed the crash that occurred when creating a transfer.
  • Fixed the crash that occurred on iOS 3.x when restoring or exporting via the Web.
  • Added a “Require Password” setting that allows you to set the timeout before requiring you to enter your password to 1 minute, 5 minutes, or immediately.
  • Fixed an issue where the last visible screen would be shown temporarily before requiring your password.

I strongly suggest that you update to version 2.1.1 as soon as possible. As always, I suggest that you create a backup from within Balance before updating to avoid any issues.

If you have any questions about this update or about Balance in general, feel free to email me at support@cwakamo.com.

Balance 2.1.1 Submitted

Earlier, I submitted version 2.1.1 of Balance to Apple for approval. This is mainly a bug fix release, although it does add one small new feature. Here’s a quick rundown of the changes in version 2.1.1:

  • Fixed the issue that causes balances to incorrectly update. As a result, the option to sort accounts by balance has been temporarily removed; this will be restored in a future update.
  • Fixed a time zone issue with the date picker.
  • Fixed the crash that occurred when creating a transfer.
  • Fixed the crash that occurred on iOS 3.x when restoring or exporting via the Web.
  • Added a “Require Password” setting that allows you to set the timeout before requiring you to enter your password to 1 minute, 5 minutes, or immediately.
  • Fixed an issue where the last visible screen would be shown temporarily before requiring your password.

This update should be available in a week, if not less. In the mean time, if you’re experiencing the non-updating balance bug, you can try toggling the type of a transaction in the affected account(s); this may temporarily fix the balance counter.

If you have any questions about this update or about Balance in general, feel free to email me at support@cwakamo.com.

Balance 2.1 Released

Earlier tonight, I released version 2.1 of Balance, my iPhone app. Balance 2.1 is a major update to Balance, and it adds a number of new features:

  • Recurring transactions (Pro only)
  • Improved Backup and Smart Restore
  • Improved currency handling
  • Cleared balance and deposit/withdrawal totals
  • Fast app switching support
  • Retina display support
  • VoiceOver accessibility support
  • Landscape support

There are a few other, smaller changes made in version 2.1. For full release notes, please visit my page for Balance at http://www.cwakamo.com/balance/ or visit the Balance page on the App Store. This update has been several months in the making, and I think that it adds a number of things that many people have been asking for.

I can’t believe that I’m going to WWDC (the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference) this year. Quite frankly, it’s amazing. I’m extremely happy that my work on Balance has been enough to afford me this opportunity, and I think that I’ll learn a great deal from all of the Apple folk at the conference. The only bad thing? That it’s two weeks away. Well, that and the cost, but I know that it’ll be worth it. There’s one more thing, too, that got me very excited when I noticed it. If you look closely at the WWDC banner in the bottom-left corner, above the big number 1 and to the right of the red-white-and-blue athlete, you can see the green icon for Balance, my app. (It’s a giant pattern, so you can see Balance elsewhere, too, but this is the largest and easiest to see, and it’s what I saw first.) It just feels awesome to be on an Apple-produced image with all the major apps from companies like CNN, Amazon, Facebook, and so on. Sure, it was probably computer-generated from the App Store lists, but still… It’s just an amazing feeling being noticed, even if in such a small way. View high resolution

I can’t believe that I’m going to WWDC (the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference) this year. Quite frankly, it’s amazing. I’m extremely happy that my work on Balance has been enough to afford me this opportunity, and I think that I’ll learn a great deal from all of the Apple folk at the conference. The only bad thing? That it’s two weeks away. Well, that and the cost, but I know that it’ll be worth it.

There’s one more thing, too, that got me very excited when I noticed it. If you look closely at the WWDC banner in the bottom-left corner, above the big number 1 and to the right of the red-white-and-blue athlete, you can see the green icon for Balance, my app. (It’s a giant pattern, so you can see Balance elsewhere, too, but this is the largest and easiest to see, and it’s what I saw first.) It just feels awesome to be on an Apple-produced image with all the major apps from companies like CNN, Amazon, Facebook, and so on. Sure, it was probably computer-generated from the App Store lists, but still… It’s just an amazing feeling being noticed, even if in such a small way.

I’ve decided to start posting here at this blog. I’ve got a post about the iPad in the works. In short: I think that we haven’t even seen half of what this baby’ll be able to do. For once, the developer demos that they had during the keynote didn’t seem like a waste of time. The Brushes demo in particular, along with iWork, really made it apparent that the iPad will be capable of so much more than the iPhone, despite the fact that the two devices are running the “same” OS.

So I think that this (along with my earlier reblog) is a good start. Hopefully it’s a good omen that I’ll be able to keep this page updated with my thoughts and musings.

Questions about an iPad future

chartier:

Is the iPad the liberating, enabling device that so many envision?…So much of the traditional OS cruft and file system confusion is abstracted away in the iPad’s updated version of iPhone OS. The user doesn’t have to know where their photos are stored or worry about accidentally nuking their entire photo library with a misplaced keyboard shortcut. You just tap the photos app, swoosh your fingers around like a maestro, and, indeed, magic happens.

But how will we get our photos onto the iPad in the first place? How will we create our iPod playlists? How will we print a Pages document? How will we create a backup of all our important photos, media, and documents? How will we wipe our iPad and start with a clean (*snicker*) slate?

Users will still need a desktop computer for many of these tasks, at least for some of the time or the initial setup, and any restore thereafter.

I think that David makes good points; there’s just a couple of things that I think he may have missed while on his cruise. Many of the tasks that he describes as requiring a desktop computer can be done wholly on the iPad, at least based on my understanding of the iPad keynote and product pages, which may be wrong. There’s the camera connection kit to get your photos onto your iPad. Apple very well could include printing from Pages, although that’s certainly not a given, so you may need a computer for printing. Backup and restore (and upgrade, unless Apple makes a change before the release of the iPad) will require a Mac or PC, unfortunately, but you will be able to start with a clean slate on your iPad: iPhones and iPod touches allow you to wipe your device from within Settings, and I don’t think that’ll change for iPad.

I think that the dependency that the iPad has on a desktop or laptop will eventually fade away. I don’t know how long that’ll take. Apple could do it at any time with the addition of over-the-air updates and backup to MobileMe. I just think that the iPad that we saw on the 27th is not the whole future, but merely a glimpse into what will come.

(Reblogged from chartier)