YOKOHAMA (Señor Tomato) – It’s been raining again in the Tokyo-Yokohama metropolitan area AGAIN. And I couldn’t go jogging yesterday. Today, it’s not raining. But a forecast says it will tonight and tomorrow. Why does it rain so much this fall?

Software development for iOS and macOS has never been so challenging because of Apple’s continuous harassment and intimidation. Every time I submit a new software title for review, they will have a spam bot reject it. And they leave it there for several weeks. If you have several submissions waiting for review, these days, they will reject them all at once. 30 years ago, I loved this company. Microsoft Corp. used to be my enemy No. 1. Now, I don’t like either of them.

So why does Apple, Inc. boldly harass and intimidate software developers? That’s pretty much because they want to talk us out of new software submissions for review. It’s their solution to a surge in the number of software submissions because of AI, which now allows those who know little about software development create apps. Well, I don’t even know which software title vibe coders use. In fact, I didn’t know the term ‘vibe coding’ till past June or July. And I’m not responsible for Apple’s RAM shortage, either. Whoever is vibe coding isn’t my problem. As long as their users are happy, I don’t see a problem.

Anyway, I’m reluctantly announcing a new software title. This new software release is called Path Along. I’m quite certain that they will have their spam bot reject it within 24 hours.

The Maps app that comes with iOS has an interesting, useful feature that lets you estimate travel time between two ends. But you can’t tell the app which street to take. More interestingly, if you drop a pin, you may get a street view around it.

Path Along takes a few steps further and lets you create, save and reuse a route path. Touch the map, and the app will erect a number marker. Tap another, and the app will connect it with the first marker to create a route path. You can continue to add more number markers to the current path. Or you can tap and remove an existing one. And the app will automatically give you the total distance and the estimate travel time along the route with a given speed.

Connecting markers with a path isn’t the ultimate goal of Path Along. By having multiple markers between two ends, the app can create a slideshow by putting a street view picture at each marker point together. You can save this slideshow as an MP4 video, which you can open and view with Files.app.

These are simple steps in using Path Along.

(1) Tap the green Start button to start a new route project.
(2) Tap a point on the map to erect a number marker.
(3) Continue to add more markers to connect two ends with a path. If you have made a mistake tapping the map, tap the Undo button. You can tap an existing number marker to remove.
(4) Tap the gear toolbar button to open Settings to set your distance unit and a travel speed. You can also select a route path color and its width.
(5) When you are finished, tap the Save button. And name a route project so that you can reuse it at any time.
(6) If you want to create a slideshow to put street view pictures from each marker together, tap the video toolbar button. This process can take a while. So wait for the app to close the sheet and prompt you to name a video file.   Continue reading →

YOKOHAMA (Señor Tomato) – The second app of the day to announce is called Search Party Assistant.

Search Party Assistant is an iPhone-only app that lets you canvass the field to find a missing person (or object) by grid by grid. This app works side by side with its iPad-only companion app called Search Party Center. A search operation team uses Search Party Center to organize a missing search operation and analyze data effectively at a large scale. And you use this app to participate in a search by canvassing the field thoroughly.

The followings are the steps in participating a search.

(1) If you want to create a search route path beforehand, tap Create Search Route on the Home screen. Or tap the Participate button.
(2) If you want to create a search route path, turn on the switch at the bottom-right corner. Then tap any point on the map to erect a number marker. Then tap + button to save a route path.
(3) Tap the Participate button at the Home screen and see your Participant ID. Your search organizer may ask you to report it so that they will know who has searched where. Then tap the Next button at the bottom.
(4) Your search organizer should have given you search details. So select search organizer’s creature. Then tap Next.
(5) Enter the 6-digit number and 4 letters, followed by a search operation title. By this time, turn on your Wi-Fi switch and sign into your iCloud account. Then tap the Participate button at the bottom.
(6) Tap the Start Search button and then canvass the field. When you are done, tap the End Search button at the bottom and wait for the app to finish sending data to iCloud.

Your can join a search so that you can help the family of a missing person a proper burial.   Continue reading →

YOKOHAMA (Señor Tomato) – This is the last weekend of November, 2026. I feel that the year goes by very quickly once the summer is over. We now have two months left before this year ends. So I have two iOS apps to release. The first iOS app to announce is called Search Party Center.

For many people, even when they know there is little chance that their family member or friend is coming back, it’s important for them at least to find remains so that they could give the deceased a proper burial. So how can we conduct a grid-by-grid search so that every meter or yard is searched thoroughly to find them?

Search Party Center is an iPad-only app that lets you organize a search operation to look for a missing person or object collectively. It works side by side with its iPhone-only app called Search Party Assistant, which allows the user to canvass the field. When they tap the End Search button, the latter sends trace route data to iCloud. And you can view the paths they have taken on a Map screen.

In order to launch a search operation, please follow these steps.

(1) Sign in to your iCloud account and then tap the Create Search Project to create a project. Enter the name of a search operation.
(2) Select a search operation project and then tap the Invitation button.
(3) After navigating the Invitation screen, tap the Share button. Then distribute your project details to each search participant.
(4) After having participants send trace route records to iCloud, select a project and then tap the corresponding Map button.
(5) Shown on the Map screen are trace route paths from your participants. By default, each path has its own color so that you can tell which path belongs to who. You can draw a circle around them by tapping the map.   Continue reading →

YOKOHAMA (Señor Tomato) – I thought the unusual 1-month long rainy season was over at the beginning of this month. But it’s been raining for the past three days, and the weather forecast says that it will tomorrow. I guess I’m unlikely to be able to jogging today.

So I’ve released five or six software titles this month. I’m way slower than the record-breaking month of last August and last September. This new release is probably the last one of the month. The iOS app that I submitted to App Store for review a minute ago is called Oh My Schedule.

You never know when you get a development idea. The other day, I was reading a news article about a married couple who say are not attracted to the opposite sex but have gotten married. They have never had sexually physical between them but have a child by artificial insemination or something. They say they can date somebody else free of concerns from the other though they keep the daily schedule of the other. That’s when it hit me. Sharing a schedule with others?

Oh My Schedule is an iOS app for iPhone and iPad users that lets you share your schedule with friends and family members. You can also get their daily schedules as well.

If you want to share your daily schedule, please follow these simple steps.

(1) Sign in to your iCloud account if you haven’t.
(2) Tap the profile toolbar button with a fox image.
(3) Tap the Share button at the bottom and share your personal ID with peers.
(4) Go back to the Startup screen and tap ‘Edit Your Schedule’ to create your daily routine list. Then tap the Push button with a paper plane image.

Your can create different daily schedule versions, each of which can be saved with a name, which does not mean that you can share all of them with peers at once. You can only share them individually once by one by tapping the Push button. Furthermore, speaking of how to create your daily schedule list, the app comes with about 20 common routine activity names. So just select one and then set its time. If you cannot find one that you need, you can tap Custom to create a custom activity.

If you want to subscribe to peers, follow these simple steps.

(1) Tap ‘Subscribe to a Peer.’
(2) Select peer’s animal and then tap Next.
(3) Enter peer’s 8-digit number.

When you subscribe to peers, you will receive a notification every time any of them updates their daily schedule. You can subscribe to several or dozen peers with no limitations. Moreover, you can always remove a peer from your subscription list with the tap of a button.

Oh My Schedule offers a great way of figuring out what your peers are up to. It give you some idea about their daily schedules without contacting them.   Continue reading →