Tag: rootn tootn

Categories
support

iOS 11, macOS High Sierra and our apps

At this time of year I get the same questions: do Wandle Software’s apps work on the new version of iOS and do you intend to support its new features? 2017 is no exception, so here’s the news about iOS 11.

As far as I know, all our apps will continue to work correctly on iOS 11. In slightly more detail:

  • Yummy. There appear to be some visual glitches that are caused by some changes, but functionality is unaffected. I’ll issue an update to fix the glitch when I’ve figured out what’s causing it. I also plan to support improved drop and drop support, though maybe not with that first version.
  • Quick Calendar. Designed with iOS 11 in mind. I’ve not seen any problems with the Mac version.
  • ShareEverywhere. With the exception of Facebook and Twitter, it should continue to work as before. iOS 11 removes the system level sharers for Facebook and Twitter, and these are what ShareEverywhere uses. I’m currently not clear whether this functionality can be easily restored.
  • Rootn Tootn. I’ve tested and seen no problems. I’ll keep an eye out when the Golden Master is available.
  • www.cut. I’ve tested and seen no problems. On iPad, it even supports the drag-and-drop functionality.
  • Glider. I’ve not tested the beta version of tvOS yet so I’m not sure. However, I do not anticipate any problems and will fix them if I find anything.

The summary: minor fixes, some minor updates. While both new operating systems have some nice new features, they don’t really affect Wandle’s apps.

Categories
trivia

KSBDA International Spring Exhibition

I’m very late writing this, but I thought it was worth commemorating even very much belatedly.

Rootn Tootn‘s icon and logo were shown in an exhibit last year. In the words of the designer:

Rootn Tootn graphic artwork was shown at the 2014 KSBDA International Spring Exhibition, May 31st through June 5th, 2014, at University of Seoul in Korea. It hung among works of designers and professors from more than 5 countries beside Korean designers and professors. Totally 300 plus works were exhibited.

(Bonus points if you can find the icon in any of the pictures in the link!)

Rootn Tootn Logo
Rootn Tootn Logo

I’m really happy with the design work for that app and I’m glad it was put on display for a much wider audience. Next time I’ll try to find out about it beforehand!

Categories
news

Rootn Tootn 2.1

I have just submitted an update to Rootn Tootn to Apple for approval. The one sentence description for this release is “The iOS 8 Update.” In a little more depth:

  • Support for iOS 8 and the new iPhone 6 and 6+ screen sizes
  • Enhanced notifications, allowing you to start timers from the lock screen
  • Export to “document providers” such as Dropbox and Box
  • Support for Dynamic Type, making Rootn Tootn more accessible
  • Bug fixes and other minor improvements

This new version supports both iOS 7 and iOS 8, though many of the newer features only work on iOS 8.

There are not a huge number of visible changes, but I hope you like it.

Categories
trivia

Breastfeeding: A Winning Goal For Life!

From 1 August to 7 August it is World Breastfeeding Week 2014. Since 1991, WBW has been all about promoting breastfeeding:

WBW came up with the goal to promote exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life which yields tremendous health benefits, providing critical nutrients, protection from deadly diseases such as pneumonia and fostering growth and development

The rationale this year is:

In 1990 eight global goals, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), were set by governments and the United Nations to fight poverty and promote healthy and sustainable development in a comprehensive way by 2015. There are regular “countdowns” to gauge progress in achieving the goals. This year’s WBW theme responds to the latest countdown by asserting the importance of increasing and sustaining the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding in the post 2015 agenda, and engaging as many groups, and people of various ages as possible.

If you can please help support this worthwhile campaign. My small contribution continues to be my baby timer and reminder app, Rootn Tootn.

Categories
news

Rootn Tootn 2.0.1

Rootn Tootn 2.0.1 has just hit the App Store and should be available to download. If you’ve not already downloaded a copy you should — it’s free!

There are a couple of very minor updates in this release:

  • Based on feedback from a lactation consultant, I have reduced the default reminder from four hours down to two
  • Various minor improvements to the look and feel of the app, including less dense icons and enhancements to the “photo blur” feature

Regarding the reminder, I should add that I have changed the App Store description slightly to make it clearer how the app was intended to be used.

As the risk of stating the obvious, Rootn Tootn is not designed as a substitute for paying attention to your child’s needs. The reminders should absolutely not be the only cue you use to decide whether or not to feed (or change a diaper/nappy, provide medication or whatever other reminders you set). I would expect that, in normal use, you would only occasionally see a reminder.

Categories
news

Rootn Tootn 2.0: Out now!

Rootn Tootn 2.0 - Statistics Screen

What you need to know about Rootn Tootn 2.0, our baby feed timer and reminder app, in four bullet points:

  • It launches today
  • It still allows you to record your baby’s eating and sleeping routine, setting reminders, writing notes, and all without the boring pastel pinks and blues
  • It’s a substantial update that optimises the app for iOS 7 and puts your most important content front and centre
  • It’s now free for new users with an in-app purchase that unlocks the full functionality

For both new and existing users, Rootn Tootn 2.0 offers the following changes:

  • New, cleaner look for iOS 7, including improved blur effect and more space for your reminders on the home screen
  • Enhanced contrast between the background image and your data so you can see what’s important to you more quickly than ever
  • Rejigged interface, with a more logical layout, putting the information you want to see more prominently
  • Tap and hold when finishing a timer to go straight to the notes screen

The free version — did I say that Rootn Tootn is now free to download? — gives you all the updates, all the enhancements, all the features of the full version but limits you to the two standard reminders and and the default background image. There is no advertising, no limits of how much data you can enter or how long you can use it.

A lot of work has gone into this release. We hope you like it.

Categories
news

Coming soon: Rootn Tootn 2.0

I have just submitted a new version of Rootn Tootn to Apple for review. Due to the Christmas holidays the update won’t make it onto your phone until next year but I thought it was worth letting you know what’s coming!

Rootn Tootn 2.0 - Statistics Screen
Rootn Tootn 2.0 – Statistics Screen

It started out as a quick and simple update mostly to bring it in line for iOS 7 but it ended up being a lot more than that.

In terms of its aesthetics, it was already pretty close to being ready — since it already contained a lot of translucency — but I wanted to make it a good citizen and really make it fit in. To the left you can see what the new timer statistics screen looks like.

Now the toolbars and navigation bars use the new iOS 7-style semi-translucent look and the timers have an enhanced blur effect. I also increased the contrast between the background and the text making it easier to see all your details even when very dark images.

To make the app easier and faster to use I moved around some of the screens. In general, things that are used often are emphasised and the order of information is more logical. A simple example is the statistics screen which now has a drill down to the underlying data (rather than being at the same level).

Along the same lines are a few helpful shortcuts. The one you’ll likely use the most is tapping and holding the button to stop a timer brings you directly to the notes screen. This means you can add a comment without having to first go through the “history” screen. I always find that it’s these small details that make all the difference.

It will be a free update for all existing users.

I’ll release more details shortly before launch. Stay tuned!

Categories
news

Wandle and iOS 7

September 2013 Invitation

Tomorrow Apple are expected to announce a — or possibly more than one — new iPhone, likely along with the date that iOS 7 will be made available for the rest of us. I thought that made this a good time to talk about what can expect from Wandle Software.

Short version: updates are coming but probably not for day one.

Due to the changes that Apple have made with iOS 7 it’s difficult to make an app that is fully optimised for both iOS 7 and earlier. What we’re aiming for with each update is works with iOS 6, works and looks best with iOS 7.

I want to be clear about two points about this. Firstly, if you’re using iOS 4 or 5 then you’re most likely not going to get any further updates. With very few exceptions, devices that are still in use are capable of running iOS 6. If you’ve not updated yet for some reason, now is the time! Of course, older version of our apps won’t suddenly just stop working.

Secondly, “works best” in iOS 7 might mean some aspects might not look quite as good in iOS 6. Everything will be functional and I’m certainly not deliberately degrading the look.

Updates for all three apps, Rootn Tootn, Yummy and www.cut, will all be coming out over the next month or two. (For what it’s worth, Rootn Tootn is currently the closest to release, www.cut the furthest. I believe all current versions work in iOS 7 without further updates.)

More updates when new versions have been submitted to Apple for review.

Categories
news

Wandle 2013

It’s already nearly May so 2013 is well underway. While there has not been much in the way of visible activity from Wandle Software a lot has been going on behind the scenes. I thought it was worth a quick discussion about our plans for the year.

As ever, I’m not going to get into too many specifics. I always think it’s a good idea to consider apps based on what they currently offer rather than what is promised at some unspecified point in the future and would encourage you to do the same. Having said that, all our apps continue to be supported and will continue to receive updates.

This year we’ve already made a small update to Rootn Tootn. There’s a bigger one in the works, with one major new feature that’s taking a lot of work to get right. As a teaser, I’ll say that once it works it will open up the possibility of a new, companion app…

Our longest serving app, Yummy, is also likely to get some attention this year. The next release, out shortly, will be a minor update that in addition to a couple of minor fixes actually removes a couple of things. For example, now that iOS has built-in Twitter support there is little need to keep the custom support that I built in a few years ago.

Removing features is not something I take lightly, but it will allow me to focus on features that most people do use and differentiate it from first party apps (now that there is one). Despite being in development since 2008 there are still features that I would like to build into it and removing stuff that is no longer needed will make that process easier and quicker.

www.cut will also likely get a small update. It does one task and — we like to think — does it well, so that will be just a few tweaks and minor fixes.

Most activity so far this year, and likely for the rest of the year, is around new app ideas. The problem with new ideas is that you can never be entirely sure which ones will work out, so no announcements and no timescales at this time.

In short, it’s business as usual!

Categories
news

Rootn Tootn 1.1.1

Rootn Tootn History screen (v 1.1.1)
Rootn Tootn History screen (v 1.1.1)

I hadn’t intended to make this release. I made these changes back in December and planned to include them in the next major update (version 1.2) but the scope of that has increased somewhat and it’s taking longer to put together than I’d hoped. So, here are two nice, small improvements.

  • Edit a timer event, moving it before a previous timer
  • Date headings in the History view

The first is a fix for what, in hindsight, was a mistake in the original versions. I wanted to avoid the situation where you could have overlapping events. It seemed unlikely that anyone would want to do that. To keep the interface clean I made it so that you couldn’t update an event to clash with the next or previous one. Unfortunately this meant that if you missed a feed it became very difficult to add it back.

The solution? Simply relax the checks. 

The second change is to split the History view into dates. This breaks up the events so you can see what happened and when that little bit easier.

So, two small changes. But both, I think, make Rootn Tootn that little bit better.