I just released a quick update to Caboodle, to bring it to version 1.4.1.

It appears that I accidentally set the minimum OS requirement at 10.6 in the 1.4 release, so it refused to run on 10.5. Which is rather ironic, since 1.4 also included a note that the 1.4.x releases would be the last to support 10.5. I could've just declared that 10.6 is the minimum after all, but I wanted to support 10.5 as stated, so here's 1.4.1 to correct that.

This release also includes updated French localizations, which weren't done in time for the 1.4 release. All localizations are now up-to-date.

If you already have version 1.4 and don't use Leopard or the French language, you can safely skip this update. For those affected, sorry for any inconvenience!

Download Caboodle 1.4.1 now!

I'm pleased to announce the general release of Caboodle version 1.4, my lean clean snippet machine.

It has a number of great improvements:

• Added full screen support on Lion.
• Fixes for Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion) compatibility.
• Added a default font option to the General Preferences. By default it is used when there is no selected entry when adding as a sibling or child (i.e. creating a top-level entry), but there's a checkbox to use it for all new entries. If that checkbox is off, new entries inherit the previously selected entry's font attributes (as Caboodle has always done).
• Added an automatic save one minute after changing an entry. Caboodle already auto-saves when selecting a different entry or on quit (if you made changes).
• Removed the File > Save command, since a manual save is no longer useful, and it could cause confusion.
• Swapped the View and Decrypt buttons in the decryption sheet, so View is now the default, since it is the most commonly used. The Decrypt button can still be activated via the keyboard via Cmd-D.
• Replaced the password validation logic, since it broke when building for Mac OS X 10.5 and later. Note that this means that entries encrypted in version 1.4 and later can't be decrypted in earlier versions.
• Deleting an entry will now leave no selection, rather than selecting whatever happened to be after the deleted entry.
• Removed the license agreement window. The license agreement can be viewed online.
• The standard edition of Caboodle now requires a minimum of Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard).
• Many other behind-the-scenes improvements made possible by dropping Tiger support.
• Note: this version (and any 1.4.x bug fix releases) will be the last to support PowerPC (PPC) and Mac OS X 10.5. Version 1.5 will require an Intel-based Mac and Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) or later.

Download Caboodle 1.4 now!

Mac OS X 10.7, more commonly known as Lion, was released last week, and has been very popular. Dejal customers have been very quick to upgrade.

So, I thought I'd report on the current OS usage stats, and the status of each of my apps.

Tiger

Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger" was released over six years ago on April 29, 2005.

Simon: Version 2.5.7 was the last to support Tiger; with the major 3.0 upgrade I made Leopard the minimum OS version. Despite that, there are less people using Simon 2 on Tiger than those who are eligible to upgrade to Simon 3 but haven't gotten around to it yet. About 4% of the user base are on Simon 2 on Tiger.

Time Out: The current release of this app still supports Tiger, but only about 2% of users are still on Tiger.

Caboodle: Version 1.3.7, the current release version as I write this, still supports Tiger, but the next release, 1.4, which is currently in beta, raises the minimum to Leopard. But only 3% of users will have to stick with 1.3.7.

BlogAssist: The current release, 2.2.6, still supports Tiger. Only 2% still need that, though.

Leopard

Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard" was released almost four years ago, on October 26, 2007.

Simon: Current releases of Simon require this OS as a minimum. 15% of Simon users are on Leopard.

Time Out: If I do another version 1 release, it'll require Leopard as minimum. 16% are on the spotty cat.

Caboodle: As mentioned, the 1.4 release requires a minimum of Mac OS X 10.5. 13% are on Leopard.

BlogAssist: The next version of BlogAssist will require Leopard. 7% are still on this OS release.

Snow Leopard

Mac OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard" was released almost two years ago, on August 28, 2009.

Simon: Most Simon users are on Snow Leopard currently, at 61%... though people are quickly moving on to Lion.

Time Out: Again, a majority of customers: 66%.

Caboodle: Interestingly, more people have moved to Lion than are still on Snowy for Caboodle: 16%. Version 1.5 will require Snowy.

BlogAssist: But back to the majority here: 65%.

PowerPC

Another implication of Snow Leopard was that the PowerPC (PPC) processor started to get phased out; Snowy no longer supports it. How many people are still using PPC machines?

Simon: Still supports PPC, and will for at least the rest of this year, perhaps longer. Currently 11% of Simon users need it, so I want to maintain PPC support for a while yet.

Time Out: Still supports PPC, but version 2 will no longer support it. Only 2% would be affected by that.

Caboodle: Still supports PPC, for just 3% of customers, but version 1.5 will no longer support it.

BlogAssist: Still supports PPC for now, for just 2%.

Lion

Mac OS X 10.7 "Lion" was released about a week ago, on July 20, 2011.

Simon: In just a week, 24% of Simon users have moved on up to the latest big cat. The current general release (3.1.1) mostly works fine on Lion, but version 3.2, currently in beta, adds full screen support and has some fixes for Lion compatibility. Please help test version 3.2!

Time Out: This app appeals to a wide range of people, including those typically not early adopters, so it's not too surprising that Lion adoption is lagging behind the other apps, at only 16%. Still, that's not bad for a week. Time Out does have a known issue with Lion: breaks don't currently appear over full screen apps. I'm not sure why that is yet, but will see if I can fix it. I am working on Time Out 2 (with lots of interruptions for other work), but if I can solve the full screen issue for version 1, I'll release version 1.6 with that fix and some other enhancements. If I do that, version 1.6 will require a minimum of Leopard or maybe Snow Leopard.

Caboodle: This has the fastest Lion adoption of all my apps, at 32% in just one week. The current release version, 1.3.7, works fine on Lion, but version 1.4 is in beta testing, and includes full screen support on Lion and some other improvements.

BlogAssist: I haven't noticed any problems with Lion for BlogAssist. Currently 25% of users are on Lion, which is a pretty decent adoption rate. I'll probably do a 2.3 release in a month or two with some minor tweaks for Lion, but otherwise it's all good.

Concerns or Questions?

If you find any issues with any of my apps on Lion, please let me know. Or if you have any questions or concerns about dropping support for older OS versions or PPC, I'd certainly like to hear from you. You can reply to this blog post, post in the forums, or contact me privately (via web form or email).

Of course, it should go without saying, but the current versions of all apps will continue to run on your current OS versions and Macs, and you will not be forced to upgrade to newer versions.

Here's a second third beta release of Caboodle 1.4.

This release includes fixes for Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion) compatibility.

Update: Added full screen support on Lion as well!

It also restores PPC support, which was accidentally omitted from the first beta. It's an ongoing struggle to maintain PPC support in my apps; Apple is trying hard to eliminate it. Which brings me to an important point: I've decided that to be able to move to the new Xcode 4 development tools, and leverage some of the great new stuff in Lion, this version (and any 1.4.x bug fix releases) will be the last to support PowerPC (PPC) and Mac OS X 10.5. Version 1.5 will require an Intel-based Mac and Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) or later.

Considering only about 3% of the Caboodle userbase are still on PPC machines (and most of them on Tiger), hopefully this won't be too inconvenient; those people can continue to use version 1.4 until they're ready to upgrade (or 1.3.7 if they are still on Tiger). As for Leopard, that's currently about 12% of the Caboodle userbase currently, but I expect it'll decline by the time 1.5 is out.

It's always difficult to drop support for old OS versions or machines, but it's a necessary part of software development, especially when Apple keeps pushing things forward and dropping support for older technologies in their development tools. Time marches on!

Download Caboodle 1.4b3 now!

Another day, another beta release!

I've just released a beta of Caboodle 1.4b1, my handy snippet keeper.

Note that this update drops Tiger support. If you are still on Tiger (10.4), you'll need to stick with version 1.3.7.

This update includes:

• Added a default font option to the General Preferences. By default it is used when there is no selected entry when adding as a sibling or child (i.e. creating a top-level entry), but there's a checkbox to use it for all new entries. If that checkbox is off, new entries inherit the previously selected entry's font attributes (as Caboodle has always done).
• Added an automatic save one minute after changing an entry. Caboodle already auto-saves when selecting a different entry or on quit (if you made changes).
• Removed the File > Save command, since a manual save is no longer useful, and it could cause confusion.
• Swapped the View and Decrypt buttons in the decryption sheet, so View is now the default, since it is the most commonly used. The Decrypt button can still be activated via the keyboard via Cmd-D.
• Replaced the password validation logic, since it broke when building for Mac OS X 10.5 and later. Note that this means that entries encrypted in version 1.4 and later can't be decrypted in earlier versions.
• Deleting an entry will now leave no selection, rather than selecting whatever happened to be after the deleted entry.
• Removed the license agreement window. The license agreement can be viewed online.
• The standard edition of Caboodle now requires a minimum of Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard).
• Many other behind-the-scenes improvements made possible by dropping Tiger support.

Download Caboodle 1.4b1 now!

I'm pleased to announce that Dejal Caboodle, my "lean, clean snippet machine" is included in TheMacBundles.

Caboodle is a handy tool to help collect and organize various bits of text, images, PDFs, and other information. It includes support for custom fields and freeform rich text and other content, plus can encrypt your entries to keep them secure, and import and export several formats. It is simple and easy to use. A full license is included in the bundle, not some cut-down version.

You can see more of it on the Caboodle page, or download it now to give it a try.

This bundle also includes 9 other fine apps, for only $39.95 — a saving of 84%!

Visit TheMacBundles.com to learn more, or to take advantage of this great deal.

I'm pleased to announce that both Time Out and Caboodle will be in the Mac App Store when it launches tomorrow.

To keep the versions in sync, here are updates to the non-App Store editions: Time Out 1.5.7 and Caboodle 1.3.7.

The Mac App Store editions require Mac OS X 10.6 or later, but the standalone editions still support 10.4 and later, for now. The next non-bug-fix updates will increase the minimum OS requirement to 10.6, so these might be the last releases that support Tiger and Leopard.

The edition of Time Out in the Mac App Store is called "Time Out Free". It is completely free, and always will be. Later, once version 2 is released, I'll rename the standalone edition as "Time Out Pro", and introduce a paid "Time Out Express" edition in the App Store. Currently, both the standalone and App Store editions have the same features, except the App Store one of course uses the App Store to update instead of the built-in mechanism. Once version 2 is out, Time Out Free will continue to have about the same features as now, and Time Out Express and Pro will gain many new features.

Similarly, Caboodle on the Mac App Store is called "Caboodle Express", but is basically the same as the non-App Store edition. Other than removing the update mechanism, the only notable difference in Caboodle Express is that it doesn't offer to install the PDF workflow, since Apple objected to that in the approval process. This feature is still available, you just have to alias the application to your "~/Library/PDF Services" folder.

I probably won't have a "Caboodle Free", since I can't think of any way to limit the functionality sufficiently while remaining useful. People can try Caboodle for free via the Dejal site, then buy either from here or from the App Store, as desired.

For existing customers, please note that Apple doesn't currently offer any way to migrate users from the existing app to the App Store edition. So I recommend sticking with the standalone editions. They will always have the same or more features than the App Store editions, and get updates faster, since they don't have to wait for Apple's review process.

In case you're wondering about BlogAssist, I haven't gotten around to building a Mac App Store edition of that yet. I'm not sure I will for a while; it's fine as-is.

As for Simon, that's a tricky case, since it is a very complex app, with lots of plug-ins and complex features. I don't think that Apple would even approve it, without eliminating a lot of functionality... perhaps too much. So for now, I don't plan to submit Simon to the App Store.

Download Time Out 1.5.7 now! and/or download Caboodle 1.3.7 now!

I've have been rather quiet of late, haven't I? I thought I'd post a status update, as preview of my traditional end-of-year summary.

I spent the first half of 2010 working on Tweeps, a free app for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch to easily manage Twitter accounts. It was an interesting experience; I had written two previous apps for iPhones (SmileDial and Valentines), but Tweeps was a much bigger project, and my first iPad app. It includes a lot of handy technology that I'll put to use in future iOS apps.

After releasing a few bug-fix updates of my various Mac apps, I got to work on version 2.6 of Simon, my flagship product to monitor websites and servers for changes and failures. This is a significant update, and I've blogged about it a number of times recently, showing sneak peeks of some of the new features. Work on it progresses nicely. Recently Daniel was able to update the Twitter plugin to work with the new OAuth authentication scheme required with Twitter. I'm hoping to have Simon 2.6 ready for beta testing around mid-October, with a general release around mid-November. (And in the meantime, contact me if you want to try a sneak peek release — available to licensed users only.)

An interesting thing that occurred a little while ago was the sale of my first Mac OS X app. Narrator, my app to read out stories in multiple voices, was acquired by Mariner Software. That was quite an interesting experience; I'd never sold off an app before. But I still feel it was the best thing for everybody: I wasn't giving Narrator the love it deserved, and it's a great fit with Mariner's other apps. Based on that experience, I'll definitely consider offers on other of my apps, when appropriate.

After Simon 2.6 is out, assuming I have time, I'm going to close out the year with version 1.4 of Caboodle, my lean clean snippet machine. This update will include some much-requested new features, like a default font preference, encryption of child entries with the parent, and more. If Simon takes longer than anticipated, this might get pushed to next year, but I'm hoping I can get it done this year.

Next year I want my top priority to be finishing off version 2.0 of Time Out, my very handy break reminder tool. I had wanted to finish it last year, but it got postponed by Tweeps and Simon updates. It remains an important and exciting update, though, so I'm really looking forward to it. I'm sure it'll be worth the wait. And as previously mentioned, everyone who makes a donation for Time Out now will be automatically eligible for the full-featured paid edition at no additional cost — so you can set your own price for it now! This offer expires when version 2 is released. Thank you to everyone who has already donated; the volume of donations is really encouraging.

So that's where things stand now, and for the next few months. I have big plans for several of my apps after that, but I don't want to talk about future plans too much, since everything is always subject to change. What's important to me is that everything I release is of the best quality, not that I meet arbitrary deadlines. That's just the way I roll.

Another minor update, this time for Caboodle, my lean clean snippet machine — a simple app to store text, graphics, PDFs, or other attachments for later access.

As with the recent Simon 2.5.7 and BlogAssist 2.2.5 updates, I'm planning on dropping Tiger support for the next feature update of Caboodle. I'm hoping to get to that in a few months, after I release Time Out 2. Dropping Tiger support will really benefit Caboodle, since it is currently held back by some legacy technologies, which I'll be able to replace with more modern tech. I'm looking forward to working on it.

Download Caboodle 1.3.6 now!

I've just done bug-fix updates to a couple of my Mac apps. Caboodle, my lean clean snippet machine, was updated (actually late last week) to version 1.3.5. And BlogAssist, my handy HTML markup tool, was updated to version 2.2.4.

Both of them included a fix for an issue with looking up licenses in certain situations. BlogAssist also enhanced the application icon to 512x512 size, for ideal viewing on Snow Leopard. (Caboodle's icon was updated to 512x512 in the previous update.)

• Download Caboodle 1.3.5 now
• Download BlogAssist 2.2.4 now

Two Dejal products are in separate bundles at the same time currently:

• Narrator, my fun application to read out stories and interviews in multiple voices, is in Mac Bundle Box, a collection of 6 handy apps for only $29.00.
• Caboodle, my lean clean snippet machine to help store and organize text and images, is in TheMacBundles, a collection of 12 useful apps for only $49.95.
• Also, Narrator is available separately as a weekly special for only $9.95 via TheMacBundles, for this week only.

20% of Mac Bundle Box purchases will be donated to the American Red Cross for Haiti disaster relief.

Check out the Mac Bundle Box and TheMacBundles websites for more information about the bundles, including the other applications included in each, or to take advantage of these great deals!

Caboodle, my lean clean snippet machine, has been updated to version 1.3.4. This has a number of improvements... and perhaps should have been called version 1.4, as it straddles the fine line between feature enhancements and bug fixes. This is a recommended update for everybody.

• To improve performance and reduce disk space, imported PDFs, files dragged to the Dock icon, or via the Save PDF to Caboodle print option are now copied to an Attachments folder within the Caboodle data folder, and aliased to the entries. This can be disabled via a hidden preference, by entering "defaults write com.dejal.caboodle ImportAsAlias NO" in Terminal, if destired.
• The entry icons for files dragged to the Dock icon and saved to Caboodle are now set to those files' icons.
• Fixed an issue where entries added by those means could be lost if Caboodle was quit without making further changes.
• Find text operations, e.g. Find Next (Cmd-G), Find Previous (Cmd-Shift-G), now work when the entries list is the active control; the entry text is made active then the operation performed.
• Removed ancient code to move pre-1.0 data, since nobody could still be using those versions.
• Improved the data loading to reduce the risk of using empty data if the existing data can't be loaded.
• Now includes a 512x512 application icon.

Download Caboodle 1.3.4 now!

Announcing maintenance updates for Dejal Simon, my essential server monitoring tool, Time Out, my break reminder tool, Caboodle, my lean clean snippet machine, and BlogAssist, my handy HTML markup assistant.

Each update includes improvements for Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6) compatibility. I'm not aware of any remaining compatibility issues with these products — please let me know ASAP if you do find anything.

Note: Narrator is still partially incompatible with Snow Leopard. It all works, except it can't open documents saved in its native format (but can still open other kinds of documents). I have a Developer Technical Support incident request in with Apple's engineers to help me solve this, but I'm sure they're swamped with queries at present, so who knows how long they'll take to come up with a solution. The last word I have is that it seems to be a bug in Snow Leopard... so we might have to wait for 10.6.2 or later, but I'm hoping that a workaround can be found. [Edit: 10.6.1 doesn't fix it, either.] I'll do a free update as soon as a fix is available. Sorry for any inconvenience in the meantime!

In addition to Snow Leopard compatibility, Simon also includes some other changes:

• Updated the iPhone Report Template to improve the behavior of the back button and other aspects.
• Added a hidden preference to output debug information from the E-mail plug-in. It can be activated by entering "defaults write com.dejal.simon2 EmailDebugMode YES" in Terminal.
• Also added a hidden E-mail plug-in preference to use the recipient's SMTP server instead of the sender's, via "defaults write com.dejal.simon2 EmailUseRecipientServer YES".
• Added Japanese localization, thanks to Koichi Matsumoto.

Download now:

• Download Simon
• Download Time Out
• Download Caboodle
• Download BlogAssist

Good news: most Dejal apps work fine on Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6).

One issue that you may find with Caboodle and BlogAssist is that the Services menu has been enhanced, and the items for those apps might be disabled by default. You can re-enable them via the Keyboard Shortcuts page of the Keyboard system preferences.

However, it's not all good news. Narrator seems to be broken on Snowy. Opening a document fails, whether it was saved on Leopard or Snow Leopard. The document opens, but no content is loaded. It still opens version 1 documents fine, but not version 2's, which is rather a problem.

I've spent several hours last night and this morning trying to figure out what the problem is, without any luck so far. I'll keep on it, but just wanted to warn anyone using Narrator.

Once again, Seth Dillingham is offering bundles as a fund-raiser for the Pan-Mass Challenge, which supports cancer research and treatment. A very worthy cause.

Unlike typical software bundles, where hundreds or thousands of people might get a fixed collection of apps at a discount, this one is a bit different: you can use his Bundle Builder site to make your personal ideal bundle of iPhone and/or Mac apps, and offer your own price for it.

I am happy to participate in this effort again this year. A Standard license is available for Dejal Simon, my essential server monitoring tool, along with licenses for Dejal Caboodle, my lean clean snippet machine, Dejal Narrator, my fun app to speak stories in multiple voices, and Dejal BlogAssist, my handy HTML markup tool. Plus hundreds of other great products from other developers.

Go ahead, take a look, and put together your ideal bundle of apps, and help fight cancer!

Last chance to get Caboodle and eight other apps for just $49.95!

This great bundle expires in just a couple of days, so if you've been thinking about it, wait no more!

Click here for more information.

Caboodle has been updated again... just a couple of weeks after the previous release. This version includes some improvements to adding entries by dragging text and documents to the Dock, and an important safety fix thanks to a helpful customer.

This is a recommended update for everybody, especially people with slower machines.

Changes in version 1.3.2 include:

• Dragging text to Caboodle's Dock icon now adds a new entry with that text (including rich text, e.g. from a word processing document or web page).
• Dragging any document to Caboodle's Dock icon also adds a new entry with that document as an attachment, and the document's name as the Subject. Even easier to add entries!
• Added a safety check to ensure the data has been fully loaded before handing a Services menu request, to avoid risk of data loss if Caboodle isn't running when adding an entry via the Services menu.

Download Caboodle 1.3.2 now!

Note, Caboodle is still available as part of the great bundle from TheMacBundles.com: 11 apps for just $49.95. Take advantage of this deal before it expires!

I'm pleased to announce that Dejal Caboodle, my "lean, clean snippet machine" is included in the second TheMacBundles collection.

Caboodle is a handy tool to help collect and organize various bits of text, images, PDFs, and other information. It includes support for custom fields and freeform rich text and other content, plus can encrypt your entries to keep them secure, and import and export several formats. It is simple and easy to use. A full license is included in the bundle, not some cut-down version.

You can see more of it on the Caboodle page, or download it now to give it a try.

This bundle also includes 10 other fine apps, for only $49.95. A bargain!

The included apps are:

• Caboodle (normally $19.95)
• IPNetMonitorX (normally $60.00)
• MailTags (normally $29.95)
• PrintMagic (normally $29.95)
• ShutterBug (normally $39.95)
• Trampoline (normally $19.95)
• Typinator (normally $28.00)
• Voila (normally $39.95)
• World Clock Deluxe (normally $19.95)

And for the next 14 days, these bonuses are also included:

• Dock Gone (normally $14.95)
• Smart Trash (normally $10.00)

11 apps for just $49.95 — a saving of over 80%!

Visit TheMacBundles.com to learn more, or to take advantage of this great deal.

Caboodle, my lean, clean snippet machine, has had a number of updates recently. This is a little bug-fix update to address some minor issues, but is a recommended update for everybody.

It includes:

• Improved the handling of imports to use multi-threading only when appropriate.
• Added exception handling and an alert when saving the data, in case something goes wrong, e.g. too much data being saved.
• Prices increased slightly.

Tip: Caboodle will be included in the next edition of The Mac Bundles, coming in just a few days. Subscribe to their mailing list to be notified when the bundle is available.

Download Caboodle 1.3.1 now!

As you may have read from the recent version 2.2.2 release of BlogAssist, I increased the price by $5 to $14.95 for an Individual license, to better reflect its value. As discussed, it really should be higher, but I felt a small increment was better at this stage. I will likely bump up the price a bit more with the next major upgrade (no date announced for that yet).

I also indicated that you can still get it at the old price for a limited time, only via the Dejal Store.

Today, I'd like to announce that the price of Caboodle, my handy snippet organizer, is also going up by $5 to $19.95 for an Individual license. At $14.95, it is significantly under-priced, when competing apps are often around $50.

You can also get Caboodle at the old price via the Dejal Store for now. This offer is only available for a short time, though, so if you're interested in Caboodle, I recommend buying soon.

I have big plans for both of these apps: both will see significant enhancements within the next year. For Caboodle, I'd like to add a companion iPhone app to view and (hopefully) edit entries remotely — with full syncing between iPhone and Mac apps, and between multiple Macs. Along with a refactoring of the UI and data models, and more.

I don't plan on adjusting the prices of other apps at this stage; Simon and Narrator both seem priced about right.

As always, I welcome feedback about these changes, either via comments here or private feedback.