Version 2.2 released!

Version 2.2 has just been released for the general public. See the website for the change log.

I also made some last minute improvements too. The alarm icons have reverted to their original color scheme, as many beta testers have requested. Also, a suggestion given to me via a comment on VersionTracker.com: the application now returns the system volume to it's original level after stopping an alarm.

LET THE DOWNLOADS BEGIN!

Version 2.2 just around the corner

Version 2.2 has just been sent out to the translators and beta testers. If all goes smoothly, it should be released in the next couple days!

Shuffle it up

I just finished implementing Shuffle. Now when selecting a playlist, you can choose to have the songs play in order, or play randomly. This was a popular feature request and shold make a lot of users happy (including myself).

New menu icons!

Think the icons in the menu look like crap! I do...and I created them! In fact, I've had several people comment that they "could be better." (I think they were sugar coating it) Well all that is over now, because someone has created brand new ones! And they look sexy! Much better than before. These will be included in the next release.

More radio streams trouble

I have the majority of the radio stream code complete. However, during testing I continually run into problems. It just isn't stable enough yet to merge into the application. And since I have made several other improvements since the last release, I'm putting it on hold for a while so I can get the next release out the door.

Danish Localization Complete

I just received the localizations for Danish. They have been integrated into the application, and will be in the next release!

Radio Streams trouble

Maybe I was a bit too optimistic in my last post. It seems there are many different types of radio streams, and handling them all in a simple manner has proved extremely difficult. Plus, what happens when a radio stream disconnects? Stability is the most important aspect of this application, so I'm going through and testing dozens of radio stations. I'm adding a background thread to handle remote stream connections, and delegate methods in the alarm to handle the case where the stream fails to connect, or becomes disconnected during play. (In either case the app can fall back on the default alarm, and you'll still wake up!) I'll try to keep my blog updated as the radio fix progresses.

Radio Streams Fix in progress

The current release of the alarm clock doesn't support some (actually most) radio streams. I now have working code that will play almost all radio streams, whether the stored location is a playlist URL, or a stream. I'm currently working this code into the main branch. I hope to have it completed by the end of the day.

Danish Localization

I've just received confirmation from a Danish developer that a Danish translation/localization for the application is in the works. If all goes smoothly, it should be ready by the next version release.

Digital Audio Fix completed

If you use the digital audio output on your mac, you may have noticed that the menubar-based volume control (which came with your computer) doesn't work. (Or so I'm told) This is due to the fact that it uses the old sound API's. To affect digital audio, applications must use core audio. Since the alarm clock application used the old sound API's, setting the volume and easy wake didn't work properly. I've now switched over to core audio, which should fix this problem. Another nice side-benefit: the volume scaling in easy wake is vastly improved. You can't even tell when it's increasing, it can be that gentle!

If this bug affected you, and you'd like to help me test the latest build, send me an email.

UPDATE: So I was wrong. This doesn't fix it. The volume scaling is still improved though. :)
I'll continue working on a fix for this.

Intel testing

Good news for all intel Mac users: my roommate received his MacBook Pro today. This means I'll have an intel mac at my disposal for testing. I've already tested the latest release and the latest build and all seems well.

Happy 1-month Anniversary

Yesterday marked the 1-month anniversary from the first day I posted the alarm clock for public download on the internet. It's been a wonderful month, and the software has been quite successfull. So far, it's had an estimated 20,000 downloads. It's been featured on macbytes.com, freemacware.com, macnews.de, and more. It's also been localized into 4 other languages! I hope you enjoy it, and stay tuned because there's more to come!