Acrylic Blog

Introducing Times for iPad

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 16:01:00 -0700

The wait is over, Times for iPad is here! The same great concept, new and improved, and designed specifically for the iPad. Learn more on the Times website.

Wallet 2.1 is Here: iOS 4 Additions & More

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 21:49:00 -0700

Wallet for iPhone 2.1 is now available! The new version takes full advantage of the newly released iOS 4, and contains a slew of additional tweaks and fixes. Here are the three most notable new features:

HD Artwork (for Retina Displays)

We decided to go the extra mile in Wallet 2.1, updating every piece of artwork in Wallet for iPhone (more than you’d think) to take advantage of the new retina display in the iPhone 4. The result? The most beautiful and detailed information manager you’ve ever seen!

Multitasking Support

Wallet 2.1 now fully supports multitasking in iOS 4. This means you can finally keep Wallet unlocked even after closing it (only if you opt to), making switching between apps to grab passwords easier than ever before. You’ll need to turn off the “Lock When Inactive” switch in the Settings to enable this behaviour. When you want to lock Wallet for good and secure your data, pull down on the groups list on the main screen.

Another great addition is the ability to complete syncing in the background. Just start a MobileMe or WebDAV sync like you normally would, and when you exit to use another app, Wallet will finish the job in the background (if there are any errors, you’ll be notified via a friendly alert).

Database Access Through iTunes

Until now, there have been two great ways to get at the Wallet database on your iPhone: syncing with MobileMe/WebDAV, and syncing to the Mac version over local Wi-Fi. Today we’re pleased to announce a third option: iTunes!

It’s quick and dirty, but you can now access the raw database file straight through iTunes. With your device connected to iTunes via USB, click the “Apps” tab, scroll down to the “File Sharing” section, and choose Wallet in the list of apps. You can save the database file to your hard drive as a backup, import it to Wallet for Mac, or install an exported database (make sure it’s called “Database.wallet”).

What else is new? We’ve fixed some nasty bugs related to syncing, and now have built in a Help Book for those needing quick answers on the go. You’ll also see other various tweaks and enhancements.

Grab Wallet 2.1 now from the App Store. It’s totally free for existing users and is compatible with iOS 3.0 or higher.

Keeping Your Wallet Database Elsewhere

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:11:00 -0800

One of the many questions we get asked often is how to store Wallet’s database file somewhere other than the default Application Support directory, such as a removable USB drive or Dropbox. With Wallet 3.1, this is not only possible but very easy as well!

Simply hold down the Option key while launching Wallet, and you’ll see the dialog below:

This gives you the option to choose or create a new database at the location of your choosing. If you don’t want to create a new database, you can either export or move your current database from its default directory (~/Library/Application Support/Wallet/). Future launches will open the database from your chosen location. That’s all there is to it!

When paired with a cloud service such as Dropbox, this is a great makeshift solution for ‘syncing’ between multiple Macs if you don’t have MobileMe or a WebDAV server. Just point Wallet’s database to a location in your Dropbox folder on each computer, and every time you launch you’ll be up to date!

Wallet for iPhone 2.0 Now Available

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 01:10:00 -0700

Wallet for iPhone 2.0 has been approved and is now available on the App Store! Among the big new features already revealed, the update contains many other important tweaks and bug fixes.

Version 2.0 is an absolutely free update, and is highly recommended for existing users. You can grab it from the Updates section on the App Store.

Sneak Peek: Wallet for iPhone 2.0

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:24:00 -0700

We’ve been busy! I’m pleased to announce that Wallet for iPhone 2.0 has been submitted to the App Store, and will become available as soon as it’s approved.

We released Wallet for iPhone alongside Wallet 3 for Mac back in December of last year. Since then, many of you have voiced your opinions on features you’d like to see. Your requests were clear, but as more and more features were added, it became apparent that the next release would be much bigger than expected. Put simply, this is the update you’ve all been waiting for.

There are too many additions to list, but here are some of the best new features in version 2:

Global Search
You ask, we deliver. Now you can search right from the main screen, making it even easier to hunt down a password when in a rush.

Attachment Viewing
Files you’ve attached in the Mac version of Wallet are now properly synced and viewable on your iPhone. Preview text files, images, PDFs, Office documents, and more.

Quick Copy
With cut, copy, & paste now available on the iPhone, Wallet’s little brother has learned a few tricks. Tap any field to copy it to the clipboard, just like the Mac version.

AutoFill
AutoFill on your iPhone. Need we say more?

Lock On Sleep
Wallet can now automatically lock itself when you put your iPhone to sleep.

Improved Notes
View and edit the Notes field in entries more easily than ever before.

WebDAV Sync
Just like the Mac version, and works interchangeably.

Best of all, Wallet for iPhone 2.0 is a free update for existing users. It will require iPhone OS 3.0 or higher when released, so if you haven’t updated yet, now might be a good time!

Times 1.1.4: Ready For Snow Leopard

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 18:24:00 -0700

Times 1.1.4 is now available, fixing a crash that occurred when switching pages on Snow Leopard. Various other bugs have been addressed as well. You’ll need this update if you plan on upgrading to Snow Leopard this Friday, so download it from the built-in software update.

Wallet 3.1 is here!

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 12:26:00 -0700

Wallet 3.1 is finally available, and ready for Snow Leopard! This release contains many bug fixes and general improvements. Here are a few of the notable new additions:

WebDAV sync support

Keyboard shortcut for menubar app

Improved password generator

Optionally show group counts, date stamps

Fields may now be specified as hidden text

More reliable syncing

Snow Leopard tested + compatible

This version is also localized fully in French. You can see a full list of changes here. The new version is a free upgrade for existing customers. Grab it via the built-in software update.

Just a note: browser plug-ins will sadly not be included in this release. With the imminent demise of Input Managers in Mac OS X, the direct Safari plug-in feature is no longer feasible. Other Safari “plug-ins” now officially have their days numbered. The Wallet menubar app is compatible with Snow Leopard and will continue to be compatible with future OS X releases.

Wallet for iPhone Goes Global

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:03:00 -0700

Did I just see a pig fly by my window? I’m pleased to announce that as of today, in addition to the U.S. and Canada, Wallet for iPhone is now available on the App Store in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK. Grab it here.

We’ll also soon be rolling out new language localizations, starting with French in Wallet for iPhone 2.0 and Wallet for Mac 3.1 (both coming soon).

For those not included in this list, stay tuned - Wallet should be available in your country within the next month. Thanks for your patience and sorry about the wait; this won’t happen again!

Update (08/05/09): Wallet for iPhone is now available in all 77 App Stores around the world.

Enhanced Sharing

Wed, 08 Apr 2009 19:47:00 -0700

One of the great new features in the recently released Times 1.1 is the ability to add your own “Share” links. For those familiar with configuring variable URLs, it’s a really easy way to add support for your favorite services. But it may be a bit of a mystery for those who are not so savvy - in fact we’ve already received quite a few requests asking us to add new services ourselves.

I’ve compiled a list of some popular services you can add to Times. Just copy and paste these URLs as new items under the Sharing panel in the Times Preferences to add them as working services. Enjoy!

Reddit
http://reddit.com/submit?url=__URL__&title=__Title__

StumbleUpon
http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit.php?url=__URL__&title=__Title__

Yahoo! Buzz
http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzz?targetUrl=__URL__&headline=__Title__

Technorati
http://www.technorati.com/faves?add=__URL__

Mixx
http://www.mixx.com/submit?page_url=__URL__

Google Bookmarks
http://www.google.com/bookmarks/mark?op=edit&bkmk=__URL__&title=__Title__

Newsvine
http://www.newsvine.com/_tools/seed&save?popoff=0&u=__URL__&h=__Title__

LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=__URL__&title=__Title__&summary=__Body__

Update: Code Sorcery Workshop explains that native apps with their own URL schemes can be added to Times as well. Here’s how to add support for their popular Delicious client, Pukka.

Pukka
pukka:url=__URL__&title=__Title__&extended=__Body__

On a side note, Times 1.1.2 is now available and contains many important fixes. You can grab it from the Times page, or via the built-in software update mechanism.

Times 1.1

Sat, 04 Apr 2009 20:37:00 -0700

I’m pleased to announce that Times 1.1 is now available! This new version provides many new enhancements that should make using Times a much more enjoyable experience. Most notably, we’ve rolled our own RSS engine for Times 1.1, one that is much faster and more reliable overall.

Here are some of the other big new additions:

Built in Twitter Support - instantly tweet any article

Navigation gestures for multi-touch enabled MacBooks

Customizable sharing links

Ability to show more articles from a feed

Option to dim articles after reading

And there’s plenty more, including a slew of bug fixes and UI enhancements. Times 1.1 is a free and highly recommended update for existing users. Download it today!

Wallet 3.1: Improving AutoFill

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:43:00 -0800

AutoFill is one of the most popular features in Wallet, and rightfully so. Everyone knows that the most secure passwords are also the ones that are hardest to remember. With Wallet’s AutoFill feature, you can conveniently fill in web forms with usernames and passwords directly from your Wallet database. Just type in your Wallet password once, and Wallet handles the rest.

We’ve been improving the feature in every version of Wallet since its introduction in version 2.0. In Wallet 3, the Wallet menubar app was introduced, letting you use AutoFill at any time without having to open Wallet. We’ve been listening to your feedback even more and have made some pretty big changes to AutoFill for Wallet 3.1.

The menubar app was a big improvement, but we really wanted to provide a cleaner and more direct experience. So say goodbye to the menubar app, and say hello to the new Wallet AutoFill:

The newer version integrates directly into Safari (and WebKit), with both a browser button and menu item to let you AutoFill forms with passwords from Wallet. It works exactly like the menubar app, with a bit of a makeover included.

This new form makes the whole feature much more convenient and easy to use, and it won’t hog your precious menubar space either.

Many of you have voiced your requests for support in other browsers too. We’re working on a similar plugin for Firefox, but this incarnation is not yet complete.

Last but not least, we’re finally adding AutoFill to the iPhone version of Wallet. For the passwords that are simply too long to type out, you can now just tap the AutoFill button to open a browser with your password filled in. Expect to see this in the Wallet for iPhone 1.1 update.

Both Wallet 3.1 and Wallet 1.1 (iPhone) are planned for release later this month.

Wallet 3.1: A First Look

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 19:36:00 -0800

Since the release of Wallet 3, we’ve been listening closely to user feedback, taking each and every submitted request into careful consideration. While our next major release, Wallet 3.1, is not yet available, in the next few weeks we’ll be showing off some of the most visible new additions in the update. Some are brand new, and some are features that were present in Wallet 2, but left out of the 3.0 release for various reasons.

This week we’ll be looking at some of the smaller but more noticeable new improvements you can expect to see in Wallet 3.1.

Group Counts
Group counts are back! For the obsessive compulsive, you’ll be able to quickly see at a glance just how many entries you have in each Wallet group. This feature is entirely optional and can be turned off and on at your discretion.

Dock Badge
Need to leave, but don’t remember if you left Wallet locked or not? Just take a glance at the dock icon - an orange lock will be displayed if the app is locked and secured.

Better File Support
Need more than a Quick Look? Now you can drag attached files right out of Wallet into any application, letting you print a file, email it, or simply get a closer look.

Improved Password Generator
Wallet’s Password Generator now supports symbols for creating the most secure passwords. We’ve also included our password strength meter to give you a better idea of how secure your fresh new password really is.

What would you like to see in the next version of Wallet? Let us know in the comments! Stay tuned next week for a close look at some of the exciting new changes to the AutoFill feature in Wallet 3.1.

Happy New Year!

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 22:42:00 -0800

We hope you’ve all enjoyed the holiday season! Looking back, Acrylic had a killer year in 2008: we first launched Times, our take on the average news reading app, and later in the year took aboard Wallet and Wallet for iPhone. There’s plenty of exciting stuff coming in 2009 as well, including a significant Times update. And yes, Wallet for iPhone will be available internationally soon too.

In other news, we just released Wallet 3.0.2 for Mac last week. The update includes a host of tweaks and fixes, and should fix up most of the sync issues that have been reported. You can grab it via the automatic software update, or download it from the Wallet page.

As we’ve done before, a similar update for the iPhone version (v1.0.3) is being submitted to the App Store soon. Once approved, the update will appear in the App Store! This process takes anywhere from a few days to a week.

Thanks again for your support! Stay tuned on this blog for more news and updates.

Wallet 3.0.1

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:49:00 -0800

Wallet 3.0.1 for Mac is now available. The update contains the following changes:

Improved syncing reliability and speed
Searching now auto-selects first search result
Fixed various encoding issues
Fixed bug where moving entries to other groups would not properly sync
Fixed crash when dragging images to icon view
Fixed automatic software update issues
Minimum system requirement now displayed on incompatible systems
Bug Reporter now properly attaches crash reports
Import now accepts plain text (.txt) as a valid import type

To grab the update, open up Wallet and select Check For Updates… in the Wallet menu. The update will install automatically.

Please keep in mind this update will not fix similar issues in the iPhone version. An update for it will be submitted to the App Store later this week.

Two Point Zero

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 05:32:00 -0800

Today is a big day for Acrylic. First, if you’ve visited before, you’ll have already noticed the entire website has been completely redesigned, with a much cleaner and more modern appearance. (This is the small news.)

Now for the big news: we’re launching two new products today: Wallet 3 and Wallet for iPhone! More details below!

Introducing Wallet

Wallet is an application that I’ve been developing for years under Waterfall Software, my previous venture. Since I’m personally the driving force behind both venues, Wallet is not quite a “new app” as far as taking on projects is concerned (though it will have a better home here).

For those who aren’t familiar with the app, Wallet is a lightweight but flexible personal information database, letting you store and encrypt all sorts of personal information you may have lying around. I’ve personally found it indispensable for keeping track of passwords, serial numbers, and all sorts of other numbers and pieces of data. You can sync this data with multiple Macs using MobileMe, AutoFill passwords from Wallet in Safari, and much more.

The concept is simple, but you have to try the app to see how powerful and polished it really is.

Version 3.0 is a complete rewrite, bringing the application up to my own standards and adding plenty of new features as well.

New is Wallet for iPhone - the iPhone incarnation of Wallet. Having been announced many months ago, it is long overdue. But it’s truly an excellent app, and contains all the core features of the desktop version. It’s now available on the App Store, though currently only in the U.S. and Canada.

What About Times?

Since Acrylic is still largely a one-man shop, the development of three new apps in a row has (clearly) taken its share of time. Though we’ve done a less than stellar job of balancing this, nothing has been abandoned.

The long overdue Times update is a top priority and will be released as soon as possible. With new product development out of the way, regular updates should come far more quickly now. Keep your eyes peeled!

Times 1.0.5: Now available!

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:06:00 -0700

Times 1.0.5 is now available for everyone to download. This is a large maintenance release that squishes out lots of issues from previous builds. We’ve been testing it for a few weeks, and it looks like it’s now sailing smoothly. Aside from fixes, here are some notable new additions:

Feed Authentication Support

Previous versions of Times would accept authenticated feeds, but the process wasn’t clear or as smooth as we wanted it to be. When you add a protected feed in Times 1.0.5, you’ll get a familiar dialog that will let you type in your user name and password and save it to Keychain.

Preview Feed Titles

When adding a new feed in Times 1.0.5, you’ll get to see the feed title before you click Add to make sure its OK. Once the URL has been validated, wait a few seconds and watch the feed title fade in. Slick!

Custom Sound Support

Times now recognizes custom sounds added to ~/Library/Sounds/. Place a new sound file in here and you’ll be able to select it in the Times Preferences as your new article notification sound.

Version 1.1 is still in development. There are some exciting new features coming in 1.1, as well as some significant under the hood changes. No date yet, but you’ll see it this summer for sure.

Beautiful Silence

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 15:09:00 -0700

A long period of silence from a developer usually means one of two things- either the developer has carried off all the revenues from their application and you probably won’t see them again for a year, OR they’ve been super busy working on new versions of the app, carefully balancing bug fixes with new features, and perhaps working on some other things as well. For better or for worse, we (I) fall into the latter category.

Yes, as it turns out I’ve been working hard on Times 1.1 (among other things), a fairly major new upgrade to Times that includes a ton of highly requested features and tweaks. However, there are lots of Times users, and some rather serious bugs that really need to be addressed first. As a result, this month we plan to release Times 1.0.5, an extremely big bug squasher as far as bug squashers go. There are a ton of fixes in 1.0.5, in nearly every area you can imagine: performance, feed authentication, memory usage, display glitches, and of course crashes.

I do apologize for the long wait - we wanted to make sure we didn’t leave any bugs behind this time. And because we really do mean it, we’re opening up Times 1.0.5 a bit early to anyone who wants to give it a spin before it’s released. If you think you might be up for this, please email bugs@acrylicapps.com with the subject “Times 1.0.5”, and a beta will be sent your way shortly. I invite you to crash this build. There won’t be a release until everything is running nice and smoothly.

Thanks again everyone for your continued support and patience.

Times 1.0.4 + Beyond

Mon, 12 May 2008 16:12:00 -0700

Times version 1.0.4 is now out. It is the fourth release of Times in just a little over a week. 1.0.4 contains a pretty cool new feature that’s easy to miss if you don’t read the release notes. When you’re reading an article and see a link but don’t know where it goes, keep your cursor hovered over the link for a second…

Updates will continue to be released in the following weeks to improve stability and performance, while more focus will go towards releasing 1.1 as soon as possible. That version should address a lot of concerns and thoughts about Times- that is, when it comes out! Stay tuned!

Quick Times Update

Sat, 03 May 2008 10:52:00 -0700

Just wanted to give everyone a quick update on Times. First of all, thanks for the reception, which so far has been great- with a few concerns here and there. The biggest concern right now is the multiple bugs and crashes found in 1.0.

Unfortunately, we did let a few major issues slip past our fingers for the 1.0 release. These are mostly odd crashes as well as few UI problems. While there was quite an extensive beta test period for the app, beta testing can prove to be rather tricky sometimes, and shipping 1.0 to thousands of people is always going to open some issues you’ve never seen before. In this case, there were more than I expected, and I apologize for this.

Later today we will be releasing Times 1.0.2, which should fix a lot of the big issues you’ve been having. Version 1.0.3 should arrive shortly after. We’re fully committed to fixing every big issue as quickly and timely as humanly possible. If you do find any bugs or crashes, please send them our way - either through the built in Bug Reporter, or bugs@acrylicapps.com. Thanks for your patience!

Introducing Times

Fri, 02 May 2008 08:41:00 -0700

After over a year of development, we’ve finally launched our first product: Times. Times is a new type of newsreader for Mac OS X, created by drastically rethinking the way you read news.

There are lots of so-called news readers on the Mac. Many, if not all of them, treat news like e-mail - a paradigm that the developers of these apps swear by. With these apps, every article is filtered into a long list as an email would, each bearing an ‘unread’ marker, to remind you to read it.

While this works great for a few blogs you want to catch up with, it is completely the wrong model for actual news, and makes reading the news a chore rather than an enjoyable experience. There are three big problems with it:

One does not read every news article published, making unread markers harmful to an enjoyable experience

Discovering news to read is hard to do with only a long list of headlines

You can usually only see articles from one feed or source at a time

So what’s wrong with websites? After all, a lot of people don’t even use news readers. Visiting the actual websites you want to read is usually a better experience, for the reasons listed above. But it’s not perfect. There’s lots of overhead, advertisements, you have to constantly refresh, and it’s tough to keep track of many sites at once.

Times solves all of these problems and more. Instead of treating news like e-mail, Times presents articles on a newspaper-esque page, rich with headlines, descriptions, and photos. Pages in Times are divided into sections of varied importance, each showing one or more feeds. This interface lets you easily scan through your news, and discover articles that you want to read.

With Times, keeping up with news is now both feasible and enjoyable. Be sure to try it out for yourself!