TOKYO (MacHouse) – There was a desktop application called ViewSQL Pro that was distributed through Apple‘s Mac App Store till a few years ago. Personally, I still use it to examine SQLite data though it’s outdated. It’s stable and runs under Yosemite with no problem. It’s a pity that it doesn’t let you alter records. Hmm… Maybe, I can upgrade ViewSQL Pro. So I’ve spent the last 10 days or so working on a major upgrade. I’ve also changed the name. What I submitted to Mac App Store several hours ago is called FireSQL 3.

Source: Tom Bluewater

Source: Tom Bluewater

FireSQL 3 is a successor to ViewSQL Pro and lets you view and edit SQLite database. There have been a number of changes and improvements.   Continue reading →

TOKYO (MacHouse) – It looks like MacUpdate has started a new marketing program. They said last month that they could sell software on behalf of app developers. Their new marketing program doesn’t quite work like Mac App Store because MacUpdate doesn’t offer a registration scheme. You still have to embed a registration system of your own in software if you want to sell your products with them. That might not suit well for some software developers including me. Yet, the revenue share is the same as Mac App Store. It’s 7 to 3. So what are advantages of their new marketing program over Mac App Store? They don’t have a review process that could sometimes take a few weeks? Well, I don’t have a problem with Mac App Store’s review process at all since my applications rarely get rejected. So I’ve asked MacUpdate, and they’ve said the following.

In terms of the MAS being a better deal, we offer several services and value adds not included by them. The main one being access to all customer information. This allows you to provide better support, as well as up-sell and cross-sell and offer upgrade pricing directly to them.

Well, I have no counter argument for that. A great advantage of selling software through Mac App Store is, again, that you don’t have to write your own registration system. So you can just concentrate on polishing software. Actually, it’s not that difficult to install a conventional activation system of your own in software. You could just write a singleton subclass to find a match over some 10,000 random activation keys stored in an encrypted built-in library. But such a measure could be a slippery slope if you continue to sell the same product at Mac App Store.

For now, I haven’t really decided whether or not I participate in MacUpdate’s new marketing program. It’s not exactly a registation scheme that I need to create that worries me. Four days ago, I received their promotional message by e-mail. The problem is that they sent it to my undisclosed PayPal e-mail address. How has my undisclosed PayPal e-mail address ended up in their hand? That really bothers me. Wouldn’t you be concerned? They have no valid explanation. So I’m still waiting for one. Meanwhile, I’ve developed a new desktop application that lets you generate a number of random activation keys. I submitted it to Mac App Store, but not to MacUpdate, a few hours ago. This new software release is called RandomKeys.

Source: Tom Bluewater

Source: Tom Bluewater

RandomKeys lets you generate a number of random software activation keys. You can save an array of random keys as a text file (line by line), as a text file in the XML format, as an NSData file, as an SQLite database file.   Continue reading →

TOKYO (MacHouse) – Some 40 days ago, an existing application called Pict2RFL was ranked within top 100 in the U.S. under Graphics & Design category. It was quite a surprise because I didn’t even remember that it existed. It’s a desktop application that I submitted to Mac App Store two years and a half ago. In other words, it’s old. Using it to create screenshots for MiPatterns, I thought I could make some improvements. And that’s how I’ve come up with Reflecta 2. Reflecta 2 is a successor to Pict2RFL that I submitted to Mac App Store a few hours ago. It is a desktop application that lets you easily add a mirror image to a picture.  Continue reading →

TOKYO (MacHouse) – I used to use Maxon‘s Cinema 4D just in order to turn application screenshots into nice pictures so that I could post them at Mac App Store. Cinema 4D is a great application. It’s quite expensive and difficult to learn how to use, though. I don’t think I even know how to use it any more. Well, I have a better idea. How about developing a new application like it? Maybe not… It could take me years to develop something like it. Yet, I’ve managed to submit a new desktop application similar to Cinema 4D at the slightest level to Mac App Store a few hours ago. This new release is called Showcase 123D.

Tom Bluewater

Tom Bluewater

Showcase 123D lets you easily turn a simple picture into a box with the image at front. Drag and drop one or more pictures directly onto the scene canvas. Give a picture in the list a depth. Then rotate the picture box about the X-axis, Y-axis, Z-axis. A 3D application can be any easier than Showcase 123D. Use the light source effectively to shed a light on picture objects. Use or not use the floor to show reflections of picture objects. These features are all made possible by the SceneKit framework.   Continue reading →

TOKYO (MacHouse) – Several days ago, I was looking at several screenshots shown at this Japanese web site, which introduces iOS applications. And I thought to myself “That’s what I need for the iOS application that I’m currently developing.” The application introduced there has a pink solid-color background filled with lots of small, translucent circles. I tried to find a web site to download a free desktop picture like it except that I couldn’t find any. So I had another thought. Hmm… Maybe, I can just develop a desktop application that allows the user to fill a rectangular image with a shape of their selection. That’s how I’ve ended up with MiPatterns, which I submitted to Mac App Store several hours ago.

Source: Tom Bluewater

Source: Tom Bluewater

MiPatterns is a desktop application that you can use to create an image full of simple figures. It comes with a built-in library of nearly four dozen code-generated shapes including circle, triangle, star, heart, diamond. Select one, and you can repeat it over a rectangular solid-color sheet they define.   Continue reading →