Jay Tuley

Robert Chin and I have released NicePlayer 0.88, it has some significant enhancements.

Version 0.88: • Widgets show up when application is inactive • Clicking on time elapsed toggles between time remaining and time elapsed. • File icons for recognized types • Customizable fast forward and rewind speeds • Preferences for looping, time elapsed/remaining default display, fast forward/rewind speed • Fixes for network loading of files • Auto Update Check

Being able to access the player controls without having to click once on the window, because the application is not the active app, is one of the best enhancements in this update. It wasn’t even something that was on my radar, but Robert it was on Robert’s and he got it working. w00t!

In the last version the compressed file size broke the 100k barrier, which was kind of sad, people seemed to like that it was such a crazily small download, but of course it was n’t going to last as more features are added. However, this time the compressed filesize almost doubled!! But it’s only due to the fact that I added icons for each of the supported quicktime movie types. I looked for awhile on the net, trying to find Apple’s Aqua Icon Kit, but alas it was no where to be found. However, I knew I had downloaded it at some point because I used it on 3DOSX, so luckily I found it on an old backup. I don’t know why apple got rid of it, it was a really useful set of Photoshop templates and actions, Oh well.

I was glad to get the “Auto Update Check” into this version, it’s actually part of my IndyKit framework, I’ll be releasing a minor update soon of iEatBrainz that has it too. I was supposed to have the auto update done in summer, but just don’t have as much time these days to work on personal projects (It’s frustrating I’ve got too many Ideas argggh). Robert kept hassling about releasing this version, but I was holding off because I really wanted to get the automatic check for updates in, and I’m glad I did.

Anyway my lunch break is over, back to paying job.

In one day, NicePlayer downloads eclipsed the downloads of iEatBrainz for the month of November, thanks to to 500 visit through this page http://mac.page.ne.jp/ . Okay so we are only 7 days into the month of November, still I’d accept a donation of a NicePlayer nib translated to Japanese.

For an iEatBrainz update, it’s going through some much need code bloodletting.

So right now I’m tracking a bug in iEatBrainz in which the library xml file it’s reading and the actually library when talking through applescript aren’t matching, even when the application waits long enough for iTunes to synch out another update. My first guess was that perhaps there is yet another preset location that iTunes checks for music libraries and those effected might have multiple files which iEatBrainz is choosing incorrectly. However from the preliminary emails I’ve received I don’t think this is the case anymore. So it just occurred to me today that if iTunes Music Library.xml was read only the user wouldn’t notice using iTunes, and sure enought I’ve been able to reproduce the bug symptoms making the library file read only. I’m not sure if this is actually the reason for the reported cases but putting in a check will at least help narrow it out as a cause.

The problem right now is that adding the check will require a new version of IndyKit. IndyKit is a little up in the air right now with other features that I’ve been working on. These features will effect both iEatBrainz and NicePlayer so that release won’t be right away. I’m rather excited though with IndyKit as I believe the classes I’m writing will be very useful to many applications. Once I finish with these classes I will be writing up actually documentation for IndyKit, and officially releasing it.