Posts Tagged ‘cloud’

Don’t Stand Still

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

Too often developers allow their applications to remain stagnant after launch. This is not something I want to happen with TimeTable. A couple days ago I pushed a small update which gave immediate access to a simple API allowing developers to get data into TimeTable. The biggest request I’ve heard from people is that they want to be able to use a timer outside of TimeTable. This is now being opened up with the announcement of the first companion TimeTable application, the TimeTable Work Timer.

Because TimeTable is written using the Cappuccino web framework and Objective-J it closely resembles the native programing environment on Mac OS X (Cocoa). This makes it extremely easy to port software from one platform to another. As a result I ported the work timer from TimeTable to Cocoa. The result gives you a simple, stand alone, work timer which integrates seamlessly with TimeTable.

The timer itself looks like this:
TimeTable Work Timer

Once you close the timer you will be prompted if you want to send the data to TimeTable. If you click yes TimeTable will load up and you will be prompted to select the project you wish to add the timed work to.

TimeTable Once you select the project the you can add the work time just like you would any other work time in TimeTable.

Remember, this is the first version of this timer, I will continue to work on it adding more functionality. Since I’m opening the TimeTable API I hope other developer will also build TimeTable integration into their products. If you have a favorite timer application you use for your work, let them know you want TimeTable integration.

If you’re a developer you can read more about the TimeTable API at http://timetableapp.com/developers.html

This API will continue to grow with time, so more features will be added and better integration will be supported. If there is something specific you would like to see also feel free to email support!

The new TimeTable downloads page is located here, or you can download the new TimeTable Work Timer directly.

Update: added support for Mac OS X 10.5

Shipping RC1

Saturday, December 5th, 2009

Wow, can you believe this product is almost here? I for one still find myself in a little big of disbelief. I wasn’t originally planning to ship the Release Candidate (RC) this soon, I wanted to ship out he third beta first. Problem came when I got caught up in new feature after new feature and found no reason to ship a 3rd beta. So without further ado lets list some of the new features.

  • Customizable Invoices
    • This is a huge feature. Inside of your preferences you’ll see a new tab for invoices. From here you can now upload your company logo, change the invoice colors, and set the invoice number.
    • I’ve also made the “generated by TimeTable” logo less prevalentĀ at the bottom. You’ll have an option to remove this when TimeTable 1.0 ships.
  • Email-able invoices
    • In the previous builds this feature was disabled. This isn’t as perfect as I would like. The TimeTable email template is applied to the emails and I would rather the emails be sent in a more generic fashion. I’ll be experimenting with some options for this.
  • Invoice numbering
    • Inside your preferences I’ve added the ability to set the invoice number. This number is displayed on the invoice below your name and address.
  • Help
    • By popular request I have added documentation to TimeTable. From within the help menu you can learn about all the ins and outs of the application. It might be nice to search through this, but for the time being it is organized as is.
    • I’ll be adding more to this help over time. – feedback is more than welcome
  • Inline work data deletion
    • In past builds the only way to delete work items was to select them and hit the delete key on your keyboard. In this release I added a button next to each work item and expense item so that you can easily delete them if needed.
  • Resizing fields
    • I’ve fixed the regression with the multiline textfields. The “details” field and “notes” field from the project and clients section respectively both resize themselves if you go beyond the bounds of the field to prevent them from cutting off.
  • Client address field
    • I’ve added the ability to set the client’s mailing address.
    • My original plan was to give users driving directions via google maps using either your current location or the location you’ve supplied in your personal preferences to the client’s address. I ran into licensing issues with Google maps. For this reason I have removed this feature from this release. If you’re interested in seeing a feature like this please let me know and I’ll work harder to get it integrated. The code is basically already in place, it’s simply a matter of licensing Google Maps for a commercial product.
  • Mark clients as a company
    • If your client is a company not an individual there is now a checkbox for this. This will prevent the name order from changing on your company names if you have your preferences set to display the last name first.
  • Label bubbles next to client name
    • In the clients list it now shows a little bubble next to each client name. This bubble can be set to show either the total number of projects for a client, the total number of incomplete projects for a client, or the number of urgent projects for a client (this is default).
  • Upload Data files
    • You’ve been able to download TimeTable data files for quite a while, until now you could never re-upload them. One thing to note is that old TimeTable Data files will no longer work, you’ll have to download a new one.

There have of course been many bug fixes so I look forward to hearing your feedback. To send me feedback just use the feedback menu within the application, of you can tweet me at @timetableapp I’m not going to list any bugs for this release, bug please submit them as you see them. Remember that your feedback will give you a huge discount on the product when it ships. This will be one of the last release that will give you a discount on the product so keep it coming. The more feedback you send the greater the discount.

Thank you all for your support,
Randy

The Future of Applications

Monday, July 20th, 2009

Applications have come a long way in the last 30 years. From punch cards, to a simple command line interface, to the first graphical user interfaces, to high end editing of photographs and videos. We said “wow” when we watched Steve Jobs introduce the Macintosh in 1984 and we said “wow” when we saw Steve Jobs demo the iPhone in 2007. What makes hardware great is not how fast the processor runs or how shiny the box is. Software makes hardware worth spending money on. Software engineers have been through it all: punch cards, the command line (we’re still there), the mouse, pretty animations. It really is amazing how quickly things have changed but what’s even more amazing is how quickly things are still changing; it’s exciting! So where is the future of applications? Why is the future so exciting? What does the future have in store for individuals, businesses, and enterprises?

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