Thanks for the suggestions

Posted in Morse Trainer on June 1st, 2013 by michael

Persons_throwing_stones_at_the_telegraphs_-_sign

Many thanks to the thousands of people who have downloaded the Morse Trainer app, and especially for the suggestions I’ve received to improve it.  I had planned to release another update by now, but my wife’s extended illness meant that I needed to concentrate on supporting her for a few months.  She’s slowly returning to health now, so I’m back to work.  Watch for an update with many of your suggestions incorporated in the near future.

Photo by Andy Mabbett and released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Thoughts on the next version of Morse Trainer

Posted in Morse Trainer on February 19th, 2013 by michael

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I’m delighted to note that Morse Trainer has become popular with a few hard-core Morse code aficionados!  I pretty much created it just for fun and because there didn’t seem to be anything else quite like it.  The App Store reports that there have been 2,286 downloads in the past six months, and its popularity seems to be picking up.  It’s gotten a few good reviews as well – thanks to all who have taken the time to write something, good or bad.

A few users have written me asking for some changes/upgrades.  Here’s what’s been requested so far:

  • Separate the app’s volume control from the system’s ringer volume (this seems to be people’s biggest issue – they mute their ringer or otherwise disable ringer volume control, which is what the app uses for its volume setting, and the app doesn’t beep, which is the whole point of the app!)
  • Add optional punctuation
  • Add an option to use light instead of sound
  • Add faster sending speeds or more fine-grained control of speeds
  • Add the ability to repeat the same message multiple times before revealing the text
  • Add the ability to store messages for use when no data connection is available

Most of those things are possible and I’m trying to decide which ones would have the most impact without making the app too complex.

What do you think?  Which of these would you find useful and which would just add unneeded complexity?  Are there other changes you’d like to see?

Morse Trainer – Words per Minute

Posted in Morse Trainer on February 7th, 2013 by michael

Morse Trainer Icon

I’ve had a few questions lately as to the sending speeds in Words per Minute (WPM) of the various settings in Morse Trainer.  Here’s the lowdown:

Slow – 5 WPM

Medium – 12 WPM

Fast – 18 WPM

Extra Fast – 20 WPM

One or two people said they believe the Slow speed is too slow to be useful and they would like me to add even faster sending speeds.  What do you think?

I appreciate the kind feedback the app is getting.  I actually have a few fans!

Emergency Update – Morse Trainer v.2.1 is Coming Soon!

Posted in Morse Trainer on November 19th, 2012 by michael

 

A kind user named Pedro let me know today that Morse Trainer’s new Quotations section wasn’t working.  Thanks, Pedro!

I confirmed the problem.  It turns out the website the app uses to find the quotes had made some changes and I needed to change Morse Trainer to match.  The changes were made in just a few minutes and version 2.1 of the app has been submitted to the App Store for approval.  Let’s hope the process moves as quickly as possible.  I absolutely hate having a broken app out there.

Many thanks to everybody who has downloaded and enjoyed the Morse Trainer app.  Help is on the way!

Morse Trainer 2.0 is available for download!

Posted in Morse Trainer on October 26th, 2012 by michael

Samuel Morse thanks you.  And I thank you.

Download or upgrade your copy of the Morse Trainer App, now featuring:

  • Universal app – now looks great on your iPad as well as your iPhone
  • iPhone 5 compatible
  • Broken Twitter link replaced with random quotations
  • Pretty new retina graphics

Still at the same low, low price of Free!

Morse photo: Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre / Macbeth Gallery Records, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution

Morse Trainer 2.0 is coming!

Posted in Morse Trainer on October 22nd, 2012 by michael

 

 

That’s right, I submitted Morse Trainer 2.0 this evening.  It’s finally a Universal app (iPhone and iPad, as seen above!), has Retina-compatible graphics, and will fit on your iPhone 5.  Just what my many satisfied users have been clamoring for.  And it’s absolutely free.  No advertising, no in-app purchases.  Free.

Watch this space for its release date.

The Brewing Co. version 1.1 is now available

Posted in Brewing Co. on May 15th, 2012 by michael

We completely revamped the Music tab, including keeping the music playing when you leave the tab to explore the rest of the app.  Check it out!

musictab1.1

New venture, new website

Posted in RoboWar, Software on April 15th, 2012 by michael

It may not look like it, but we’ve been working hard.  We’ve started a commercial venture called Business Casual Software.  We’re developing custom and semi-custom iOS and Android apps.  Our first app is already out – check out the Brewing Co. app!

We’ve developed a framework that we think will work nicely for musicians and event planners.  Have a look at our website and see for yourself.

In the meantime, spinfo dot info will continue to feature apps we develop just for fun.  In fact, we’re reconsidering (yet again) whether we want to tackle RoboWar.  Written as a Cocos2d game, it might just be doable.  Don’t bother us, we’re . . . thinking.

 

*** UPDATE *** As of February 2013, all our iOS and Android apps will be permanently featured here on spinfo dot info.  businesscasualsoftware.com will be used exclusively for software development topics and to support our terrain database support applications.  The business side of the business!  The fun all stays here.

We’ve (retroactively) added our third app to this site – The Brewing Co. app.  Check it out!

The Brewing Co. is Live on the App Store!

Posted in Brewing Co. on April 10th, 2012 by michael

Check it out!

The Brewing Co. App is Coming!

Posted in Brewing Co. on April 3rd, 2012 by michael

I’m excited to report that we’ve submitted The Brewing Co. App to the App Store this evening!  The app is for fans of The Brewing Co., a popular jazz band in the San Francisco Bay Area.  The app features band biographies, the performance calendar, music samples, and a slide show of recent performances.

Here’s a quick preview:

BioBandiPhone1

We’ll let you know when it’s released.  Watch for it!

The Android version is in work.  Watch for it too!