Happy new year 2014

Hello,

I wish you an happy new year 2014, with some delay as usual :)

In fact the end of 2013 has been hard for many users using the cloud feature. There was a problem on the server, and it has been fixed now, no data has been lost. That was only a matter of volumetry...

Actually I am still working on Checklist, I am doing a whole refactoring to prepare future improvements, and to use Google's latest tools for their cloud server. After that, I will probably add an option to host checklists on Dropbox, because it's highly probable I will not raise that 3 checklists per user limitation on the cloud server (storage is not free).

Once I've finished with Checklist, I'll come back to Inventory Manager. That app need some cloud storage and multi-user synchronization too !

BH

Inventory manager : host the database on a computer

I am going to publish shortly a new update for Inventory Manager : the ability to use a database hosted on one of your computer using Windows Vista/7/8.
This shared database will be usable by several devices simultaneously. This new feature is available only for paying users.

This new functionality is BETA at the moment, it means that some problems may occur. So be careful and make frequent updates if you use this new functionality !

How it works :

- First download the "network service" installer : http://goo.gl/W5wZJd
- Install it, that's quite easy (next, next, next...). Ah yes, you will be asked admin rights : that's because a new background service will be installed.
- Still on your computer, open the freshly installed application "Inventory Manager". It's crap, but will show you which IP/port number you'll have to use.

- Now, back to Inventory Manager (on your Android Device), open the preferences
-For the parameter "Where to store data", choose "Local network service".
- In the server settings, enter the IP and port number on the server.

Now Inventory Manager will use the network database. But it's empty for now, so you may want to migrate the database hosted on your device :

- From main screen, click on the menu backup/restore
- Click on the button "Transfer data to network service"
- Click "yes" in the dialog box, wait some minutes, and it's done. Please note, if there was already some data on network database, it will be overridden, so be careful with this operation !

Now, some warnings :
- Don't forget to make periodic backups, even if you use this new feature. I will implement the possibility to backup directly from the server when I have time
- At the moment, if you configure it to use the service, you won't be able to do anything with Inventory Manager if your device cannot contact the server for any reason. I may implement a sync feature in the future.
- About security, well ... there's no security at all for now : data transmission is not encrypted, there's no user management, no login/password... So be careful if you want to host confidential informations, or if you make the service available from Internet !

I hope it will be useful, and I'll now think about a cloud storage for that app.

Happy new year 2013 !

Well, OK, I'm a bit late, but as we say in France : "Mieux vaut tard que jamais". So here is it:

Happy new year and best wishes for 2013 !

Those who sent me mails may have noticed a delay in my answers. I was quite busy indeed in the end of the year, with usual things (family, gifts, etc...), but also I wanted to convert and release some of my apps in time for the new BlackBerry 10 launch on the end of January.

Now I'll continue to work on :

• Checklist : I still have some ideas of improvement, some little things need optimization, and I received functionality requests from several users.
• Inventory Manager : I definetilly want to implement the possibility to share the database between several devices ! This will be my main target for the beginning of 2013.
• Expenses recorder : I will add an in-app purchase, so those who appreciate this app can get rid of ads.

And later, I may come back to Easy Graph, I would like to add some features, but well, time is a rare resource, and I must set-up priorities.

Updates

This week and last week, I have published several updates :

• First, the checklist. Most of issues of the new version 6 should be solved now
• Easy graph. It is now possible to compare two graphs, showing them on the screen at the same time.
• Inventory manager. i improved the backup system. Now you can use the XML format, which is in my eyes more secure than the previous backup method, which may generate backups incompatible between different versions of Android.

For all these apps I have enabled Android 4.0 Holo theme, and the action bar items. But I still need to adapt the layout for tablets... I don't forget tablet users, it is only a matter of time..

Also, for Easy Graph and Inventory Manager, I have added an in-app purchase to make the transition to the full, ad-free version easier. In the case of Inventory Manager Lite, those who have chosen to pay and support me are ensured that they will always have the same level of functionality as the paid version.

Cloud checklists

There's currently a problem with cloud checklists, I'm currently working on the server, and cloud checklists may not be available for some hours.

Also, I have published an patch on Checklist app, if you have version 6.0 or 6.1, it's highly recommenced to update.

Checklist updated

I have published this week a big update on checklist app. I hope cloud checklists will work better now.

I you have any problems, contact me on my mail, I'll answer you and fix bugs asap.

The kind of comments I hate

What a "pleasure" to receive such comments on Google Play, like today about my app Easy Graph :

Phishing your contacts! Google please get rid of this app from your list. It tries to send my contact info to its server without asking!

Dear Wonyong, please tell me how the hell did you arrived to that conclusion ??? Show me an ethereal trace, or anything to try to demonstrate your lies. If you read this, just give me your mail so I can send you some friendly messages....

I enjoy receiving comments on Google Play, even bad ones, provided people say why they don't like my apps, so I can improve them (when I have time).

But I really hate these kind of comments, totally false and not argued. And I can't answer on Google Play ...