Category Archives: gtd2min-iphone

Do you want to be a beta tester on iOS8?

iOS8 promises a new way for people to beta test apps where you can easily test beta versions of apps.

The TestFlight app which enables this is already available in the US Appstore.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/testflight/id899247664?mt=8

We have been working hard on new versions for iOS8 and plan to release these as betas as soon as Apple allows it.

If you’d like to take part in testing, then please join our new beta-testing google group.

http://hobbyistsoftware.com/beta

We’ll pull your email address from the group and add you to the testing list.

thank you!

Update: iOS8 is live, but Apple hasn’t started the public beta testing system yet. They are labelling it as ‘coming soon’. Please sign up using the link above and we’ll let you know when it goes live.

 

 

Multiple Monitors on Mac…

If you have multiple monitors connected to a mac, then this might interest you.

I just launched my first app in the Mac Appstore. It’s called Multi Monitor Wallpaper.
It lets you take one large image and apply it across your monitors.

You can move and scale the image, and even tweak the exact layout of your monitors.

My app cuts up the image and applies it across your screens.

Let me know what you think!

You can get it at the Mac Appstore

Open links in the background – iBrowse

I just released an update for iBrowse which does two things.

  1. Brings it up to date with iOS5
  2. Brings the feature I have wanted for ages – you can now open links in a background tab

I use this when I’m browsing a news site. I go to news.bbc.co.uk, and I can now click and hold on a link, then select ‘open in background tab’. That story starts loading, and I pick a few other stories to load in the background.

Now I switch to coverflow view and swipe to one of the stories (which has probably already loaded by now).

It’s only $1, and there is a free version to try!

iBrowse is available as ever at the App Store.
 

Off Remote – Now with messages…

When I released Off Remote, I thought people would use it to turn off their media centre computers, and their home-office computer without having to get out of bed or leaving the sofa.

I’m sure it is used for that – but I found from my emails that people also use it to switch off their kids’ computers.

The new release makes Off Remote even better for this. You can now send a short message to the computer before you shut it down

‘It’s past your bedtime – save your work before I turn off your computer!’

You can also disable the ‘countdown’ message that used to appear as the computer was about to shut down. This gives you the upper hand if your kids were used to just clicking the ‘cancel’ button.

Of course – with great power comes great responsibility! Use with care…

Off Remote is available as ever at the App Store.

If you’d like to give Off Remote a try, you can get it right here:

 

 

New App : Monitor your kid’s computer use

My new app Watchover just went live.

Watchover lets you monitor what your kids are doing on their computers. It takes a screenshot every minute which you can browse from your iPhone iPad or iTouch.

You can also see what applications have been open, and when the computer has been running.

Just like watching your kids in the park, Watchover lets you keep an eye on them from a distance. So while the children are in their bedrooms, you can connect from your iPhone, iPod or iPad and view what they’ve been doing for the last few days – or see what is on their screens right now.

Watchover is available now in the appstore, and I’d love to hear your feedback.

VLC Streamer updated

Hi Folks,

Apple just approved a fairly major update to VLC Streamer.

Key improvements are:

* You can now copy converted movies to your device easily (so you can watch them on the plane or when you are away from your computer)
* Improved code for keeping the streaming connection (should reduce buffering)
* Supports playing movies in the background over airplay

Get the update, or give it a try at the Appstore…

Buy Now

Turn your computer off with a timer…

I just released version 3 of Off Remote.
The major new feature is that you can now send timed commands, so you can send a command telling your computer to turn off in 1 hour – or to go to sleep in 45 mins, or to log off, hibernate or restart.

I use it to turn off my media PC after playing video, and to set a timer on my computer when it is playing audio at night.

There are quite a few users who use it to check that their kids really have turned off their computers when they were supposed to!

You can get it at the app store now!

Buy Now

New app: VLC Streamer

Streaming by the power of VLC!

My new app just went live. It uses VLC to convert movies into the format needed to stream them to your iPhone, iPod or iPad.

It can handle most movie types, and can start streaming your movie within 10 seconds or so.

Now your whole movie collection is available on your iPod or iPad without syncing or converting.

The full version is $0.99

Buy Now

Or the free version (with annoying ads) is available to let you try it out.

Buy Now

iBrowse – Updated

Hi,

iBrowse is my new browser. It just got even better.

You can now open a page, then switch to opening links in background tabs. This means you can do a search on Google and open multiple results at once, or go to the front page of a news site and open all the stories you want to read.

-Also included are 100% fullscreen browsing
-Turbo mode (just like fast web)
-Block images (also saves bandwidth)
-Private browsing
-and much more!

Have a look at the linked video to see it in action…

Buy Now

Why the News?

Thanks for reading this far.

I was looking for a way to communicate with users of my apps – and this seemed to be a good approach. My hope is that it is simple enough to be unintrusive, but also obvious enough for you to read if you are interested.

I’m used to working in a community where there is a lot more direct communication between users and developers – but that is tough to manage through the app store. Hence the ‘in app news’

My intent is to use this channel to let people know about updates, new features and other apps that I’m working on. I’ll be adding tips and requests for beta testers too.

If you have any comments or suggestions, then let me know at rob@hobbyistsoftware.com

Thanks for using my apps!