iOS 8 date picker issue with Sol: Sun Clock 3.0.4

Posted on September 18, 2014 by alec

[UPDATE: This has been fixed with Sol: Sun Clock 3.1.0, available in the App Store now.]

If you are an iPhone user who updated to iOS 8 today, you may find that tapping the date on the main screen creates a blank dialog at the bottom that may cause the app to become unresponsive. We have applied the fix and are testing the next version now. We’ll have the update in the App Store as soon as possible, but it’s likely that Apple’s review board is super busy right now —yes, they review every update!

 

Posted in Sol: Sun Clock | 1 Comment

“Squadron Leader” beta 8 demo

Posted on May 9, 2014 by alec

Here’s a demo of the early 80’s style/vector space shooter we’ve been working on….

“Squadron Leader” beta 8 demo

This will be available for iOS 7.

Posted in iPhone Apps, Vector-Z: Space Ranger | 1 Comment

Happy Equinox! Sol: Sun Clock is now 1/2 off.

Posted on March 20, 2014 by alec

Our five-star Sol: Sun Clock is now half off in the App Store for 24 hours!

It’s the first day of Spring for us Northern Hemispheroids*, and you can track the lengthening days with Sol: Sun Clock.

Every day gets longer until the Summer Solstice, and our beautifully designed app for iPhone and iPad will let you know when and where the great big ball of fire will be, for all your spring and summer plans. So useful that David Marsh, Director of Photography for such series as Downton Abbey, uses it to plan shoots. Download it now at https://itunes.apple.com/app/id491537291

* Apologies to our friends South of the Equator, everything we just said above is opposite for you…. but Sol: Sun Clock works as well in Perth and Buenos Aires as it does in Stavanger and Juneau.

Posted in App Store, iPhone Apps, iPhone Development, marketing, Press Releases, Sol: Sun Clock | Leave a comment

Sol: Sun Clock 3.0.2 is now available.

Posted on January 10, 2014 by alec

Version 3.0.2 of Sol: Sun Clock is now available in the App Store. (iOS 7 required.) This fixes some more bugs introduced in version 3.0, which was an iOS 7 tailored update to version 2.

What’s New in Version 3.0.2 of Sol: Sun Clock:

Bug fixes:
* Fixed crash that could occur when closing the main Date Picker just as the spinning dial was about to stop.
* Fixed DST issue with solar azimuth display.
* Tutorial dialog should no longer come up twice.

New Features:
* [iPhone] Now remembers which of the swipable infobars (below date) you were looking at when you re-open the app.
* [iPhone] Double tapping the swipable infobars now toggles auto-scrolling. (Note: Off by default. Manually swiping also turns this behavior off. Area flashes red or green on double-tap to show new state.)

Minor Tweaks:
* Shows abbreviated city names where necessary.
* Map Picker shows smoother updating of location pin annotation.
* Tutorial delay time changed from 5 minutes to 15 minutes.
* Limited date entry from 1950 to 2050 so that it’s compliant with library that gets solar elevation.
* “Rate this app” dialog appears later the first time, and much later if you press “later.”
* No longer resets user-has-seen-tutorial state on new version update.

Posted in App Store, iPhone Apps, iPhone Development, Sol: Sun Clock | 2 Comments

Solstice Promo! Get Sol: Sun Clock for free. 24 hours only.

Posted on December 19, 2013 by alec

Our 4.5 star rated app Sol: Sun Clock regularly sells for $3.99 on the App Store, but for 24 hours (starting now) you can get it for free! It’s our way of celebrating the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, often observed as the beginning of a new year, and thus the basis for many seasonal holidays (including Christmas, which was established on the date of the pagan solstice holiday Sol Invictus).

 Note: Yes, we do realize the Solstice isn’t until December 21—at precisely 4:12 PM Greenwich Mean Time, in fact—but the App Store is undergoing maintenance between Dec. 21 and 28, so we’re doing this a couple days early. Also, for all of you penguins in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s actually the summer solstice—the longest day of the year.

IMG_2543 IMG_2544

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Faster Than Light

Posted on December 15, 2013 by alec

One of my favorite games this year has been Faster Than Light. Or was it last year? I’ve been trying to beat it so long I can’t remember. Its medium-res 8-bit graphics are reminiscent of maybe Nintendo 64 (or some other console that came out during my Luddite poet phase), but I still dig the retro look nonetheless.

FTL: Faster Than Light

I’ve always thought it could make a great iPad game, so I was psyched to hear from this PC Gamer article they were porting it, and at the same time, bringing a whole bunch of new content to the desktop (Mac/PC) versions.

 

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A perspective on App Store Reviews

Posted on December 13, 2013 by alec

Like almost all indie app developers, I sometimes find it hard not to take personally a vindictive 1-star review that a thoughtless customer left in the App Store.

This excellent piece by Matt Gemmell provides some excellent perspective to the frustrated developer. And says a lot about internet trolls and entitled consumers, and what can make some members of the human race so terrible in public when they behave quite civilly in person.

Posted in App Store, iPhone Apps, iPhone Development, marketing | Leave a comment

Sol 3.0.1 update

Posted on December 6, 2013 by alec

Sol: Sun Clock has been updated to version 3.0.1 to address an issue with some of the alarms not sounding properly. It’s currently on sale for half price as well.

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Sol:Sun Clock 3.0 Version Update Sale

Posted on November 23, 2013 by alec

To celebrate Sol: Sun Clock’s 3.0 release, our daylight visualizer and solar alarm clock is now on sale for 50% off for the weekend!

Posted in App Store, marketing, Sol: Sun Clock | Leave a comment

Sol: Sun Clock v3 updated for iOS 7

Posted on November 21, 2013 by alec

Juggleware’s 4.5-star rated daylight utility Sol:Sun Clock has been updated on the App Store. Version 3 of Sol now has native iOS 7 UI controls and takes advantage of some of the other features that Apple’s new OS for the iPhone and iPad delivers.

Sol: Sun Clock v3.0 on the iPhone 5

Sol: Sun Clock v3.0 on the iPhone 5

Thanks largely to the vision of graphic designer Josh Warren, Sol: Sun Clock has always sported a “flat, clean look” since its first release. So really, it was a matter of Apple catching up with us (insert wry emoticon here)!

We were also able to take advantage of the Motion Effects in iOS 7: the layered graphics respond with movement of the device to make it appear that the stars are behind the earth, and the clouds are in front of it.

Other features in Version 3:

  • Alarms now have 30-second versions when you set them to “persistent” mode. We added a new alarm sound as well called “Wake Up Gently” especially designed to rouse you at sunrise.
  • The chart now shows info for Sunset, Sunrise, Solar Noon, and Solar Midnight.
  • Many updates to help and glossary, reorganized menus, a new FAQ section, all with larger type than before.
  • We fixed a crash that occurred (only on the previous version in iOS 7) by tapping on the date, and corrected some contrast display issues in the Summary screen.
  • We improved the app with many other minor aesthetic details and performance enhancements that will make the app run more smoothly and with fewer visual glitches.

Version 3 of Sol:Sun Clock requires at least an iPad 2 or an iPhone 4 running iOS 7. (The previous version of the app can be downloaded from the App Store for those still running iOS 6.)

Sol: Sun Clock has proven to be popular among photographers searching for the golden hour, to wedding planners looking to plan future dates, to outdoor enthusiasts looking to maximize their daylight time. It’s even been endorsed by David Marsh, Director of Photography for the popular British series Downton Abbey, who said “I love it and use it every day in my work.”

Read more about Sol: Sun Clock on this site; or go directly to the App Store and grab it.

Posted in App Store, Press Releases, Sol: Sun Clock | Leave a comment