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Our apps and OS X 10.10 (Yosemite) compatibility

Sunday, October 19th, 2014

Now that OS X 10.10 (aka Yosemite) is officially out, here’s a status report on our apps. The short version: they all work fine, with some minor visual oddities here and there.

Primary applications

Our primary apps—Butler, Desktop Curtain, Keymo, Leech, Moom, Name Mangler, Time Sink, Usher, and Witch—are all compatible with Yosemite.

Some of these apps have some cosmetic issues we’ll be addressing via updates in the near future, but they’re relatively minor adjustments. We’re also working on finding a solution for a Yosemite issue that’s affecting some Witch users.

Baubleries and Safari extensions

The following run without any issues: Key Codes, as well as our two Safari extension (⌘-Click Avenger and Unread→Tabs).

We do not recommend the use of Open-With Manager, Safari Guardian, or Service Scrubber on Yosemite (or more generally, any release newer than Mac OS X 10.5).

Displaperture and Menu Bar Tint: Both of these apps need to be re-signed for Yosemite, and we will do so in a future update. Until then, to run them you’ll need to manually allow each to run in the Security & Privacy System Preferences panel—on the General tab.

You can either change the “Allow apps downloaded from” pop-up to Anywhere, or click the button you’ll see that asks you if it’s OK to run the apps, even though they’re from unidentified developers. (You’ll see this button after trying to run the app once.)

Overall, the upgrade to Yosemite should be a fairly painless one for users of any of our applications.

Posted in Butler, Company News, Desktop Curtain, Key Codes, Keymo, Leech, Moom, Name Mangler, Products, Time Sink, Usher, Witch | 23 Comments »

You want updates? We got updates!

Wednesday, August 6th, 2014

Today, we’re releasing updates to nearly every app in our collection: Butler, Desktop Curtain, Key Codes, Keymo, Leech, Moom, Name Mangler, Time Sink, Usher, and Witch.

Why the massive update day? First off, a few of the apps have some Yosemite appearance changes (any of the apps that have a menu bar icon, for instance)—and we know at least some of you are using the Yosemite preview. So that’s one cause for the massive number of updates. But not the main cause.

The main cause is that Apple is changing the rules for Gatekeeper in the upcoming OS X 10.9.5 (and obviously in Yosemite as well). This change, as discussed on The Mac Observer, could cause many apps (including ours) to warn users about running insecure software. (Our apps are not insecure, but the change in Gatekeper would make it look like they are.)

Because of the unknown release date for 10.9.5, we’ve taken the unusual step of releasing our direct version updates today, before the App Store versions are ready to go. We’ve submitted the App Store updates to Apple, but given the Gatekeeper change and the huge number of apps that need to be reapproved, we don’t know how long approvals will take.

If you’re a direct customer, you can get updates via in-app updating, or by downloading a new version from our web site. Our App Store updates are marked to release automatically, as soon as Apple approves them. As each is approved, we’ll do our best to note it on Twitter, so that you can get the updates as soon as possible.

For full details on any app’s update, go to that app’s page, then click on Release Notes (e.g., Moom’s release notes).

Posted in Butler, Company News, Desktop Curtain, Key Codes, Keymo, Leech, Moom, Name Mangler, Products, Time Sink, Usher, Witch | 2 Comments »

Oh when the updates come marching in…

Friday, October 18th, 2013

We’ve been quiet here lately, but that’s not because we haven’t been busy. Far from it; we’ve been testing our apps with Mavericks, and making changes where necessary (mostly cosmetic in nature). We’ve also addressed a number of minor bugs that have been reported (thanks!) since our last updates. So be prepared, we’re updating nearly the entire lineup today—everything here is Mavericks-ready, for whenever Apple ships the system.

As always, direct purchasers can update within the app, or by downloading a new version from our servers. App Store buyers should see the updates (soon, if not already) in the Updates tab of the App Store application.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The following updates will bump the minimum system requirement to 10.7 or newer; if you’re still running 10.6, DO NOT INSTALL THESE UPDATES.

Why 10.7 or newer? Apple recently declared an old security-related API dead (i.e. deprecated), and recommended that all developers switch to the newer API, which we did. But that new API requires 10.7 or newer.

So what’s new and improved today? It’s quite a list…

  • Butler 4.1.16: A number of behind-the-scenes updates for improved Mavericks compatibility, and a couple minor bug fixes.
  • Leech 2.2: We’ve fixed a fuzzy date bug, improved the ‘resume download,’ and squashed a couple of bugs.
  • Moom 3.1: Lots of goodness here, but the biggie is that you can now specify resize dimensions as a percentage of available space. We’ve also changed how custom names work for saved window layouts, added a new AppleScript command, and made a number of other little changes. Check out the Moom release notes page for all the details.
  • Name Mangler 3.3: The big news here is that Mavericks users can use Tags in renaming operations. We also fixed a couple of minor bugs, and added a checkbox to the Terms List dialog that will make Name Mangler check the source file for updates. Full details on the Name Mangler release notes page.
  • Witch 3.9.3: We’ve updated the “how to enable” text for Mavericks users, and worked around a glitch for those using XtraFinder.

    • If you’re scoring at home, that’s five apps updated; the missing suspects (Desktop Curtain, Keymo, Time Sink, and Usher) all have updates in the works, and we hope to have those out shortly as well. Even without updates, those apps will work fine on Mavericks—so if you’re upgrading your OS, you should be in good shape with all of our apps, assuming you apply the updates we have released.

Posted in Butler, Company News, Desktop Curtain, Keymo, Leech, Moom, Name Mangler, Products, Time Sink, Usher, Witch | Comments Off on Oh when the updates come marching in…

Saying Goodbye to ‘Buy with Google’

Monday, June 24th, 2013

If you didn’t see the news, Google recently announced that they would be shutting down Google Checkout come November, 2013. Here at Many Tricks, we presently offer Google Checkout as one of our three payment options (direct credit card and PayPal are the other two).

When we relaunched Many Tricks in 2010, having Google Checkout was important, as it was the only alternative to PayPal available to our customers. As such, Checkout accounted for over 20% of our sales in that first year.

But over time, this 20% figure began to drop—even before we added support for direct credit card transactions as a third buying option, it seemed people were moving away from Checkout. Then, when we did add direct credit card purchases, Checkout fell even further. How far? So far in 2013, Checkout accounts for less than 5% of Many Tricks’ buyers.

Given that Google is walking away from Checkout this fall, and looking at Checkout’s greatly-diminished importance to our customers, we’ve made the decision to turn off Checkout at the end of June. So on June 30th, no earlier than 6PM Pacific time, Google Checkout will no longer be available as an option on our site.

If, in the future, we find a decent alternative to Google Checkout that works with our transaction processing house, we’ll see about adding them to our site as a third purchase option. For the short term, though, you’ll be able to choose between using PayPal or paying directly via credit card.

Posted in Company News | Comments Off on Saying Goodbye to ‘Buy with Google’

Name Mangler and Butler updates released

Tuesday, June 11th, 2013

We held these off for a day, so as to not steal the thunder from Apple’s WWDC keynote. But now that that’s over with, we’re releasing Name Mangler 3.2 and Butler 4.1.15 into the wild.

Name Mangler 3.2 adds support for Notification Center, and the ability to highlight spaces (including special emphasis on leading, trailing, and double spaces) in your filenames. We added/fixed some other stuff, too—for more details, check out the release notes. Direct buyers can get the update via in-app updating, or by downloading the new version from our site. App Store buyers should see the update in the App Store application (if not now, then shortly).

Note: If you’re running OS X 10.6 or 10.7 and downloaded or updated to Name Mangler 3.2 earlier today, please check again for updates. We just pushed out Name Mangler 3.2.1, which fixes a post-rename crashing bug.

We’re sorry we didn’t catch this one in our testing prior to release. We’ve given ourselves a good talking to, and we’ll do our best to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Butler 4.1.15 fixes a couple of minor bugs and updates how Butler handles clipboard content. The Butler release notes page contains the details on these thrilling changes. Update within the app, or by downloading the new version from our site.

Posted in Butler, Company News, Name Mangler, Products | Comments Off on Name Mangler and Butler updates released

Name Mangler 3 is new and noteworthy…

Friday, March 8th, 2013

We, of course, have already proclaimed as much, but Apple has now decided the same, featuring Name Mangler 3 in their current New and Noteworthy category.

We were supposed to move Name Mangler 3 to its normal $19 price yesterday, but in lieu of this news, we’ve decided to leave it at $10 through the weekend. So if you were on the fence, now’s the time to make the move—both the App Store and direct versions are $10 each for three more days.

Before buying, please compare the two versions to make sure you know what you’re getting with each one. Two key differences are OS X version required (10.8 for App Store; 10.6.8+ for direct) and Path Finder support (none in App Store version; present in the direct version).

Posted in Company News, Name Mangler | Comments Off on Name Mangler 3 is new and noteworthy…

How not to compete in business

Friday, March 1st, 2013

Late in the day on March 1st, we received an explanation/apology from Dietmar Kerschner.
As far as we’re concerned, the personal side of this matter is now closed.

Two days ago, we launched Name Mangler 3, our first major upgrade to the program in nearly three years. This update was user-driven, based on feedback we’ve been tracking since Name Mangler 2 came out. We focused on speed, the ability to perform more than one renaming action, and some user interface improvements. We’re incredibly proud of what we built, and have been thrilled with the initial reaction.

Then yesterday, out of the blue, we received an email claiming we’d violated the copyright of another renaming application. We spent the afternoon researching the other app, and eventually sent an email response back to the accuser, clearly demonstrating our innocence through screenshots and app release timelines. (Name Mangler has existed in pretty much its current form since its initial debut as File List, way back in 2005.)

We thought that would be the end of it, because it was obvious there was no infringement. Today, though, we discovered that our accuser has gone public (despite not replying to our email) with these tweets:

Now that we’re being called thieves in a public forum, we feel we must respond in public as well: we cannot let Dietmar Kerschner trash our hard-earned reputation with baseless accusations that can’t withstand even the most basic level of scrutiny.

A Brief History of Name Mangler presents our side of the story. There you’ll find details on the development of Name Mangler, and that of Renamer(4Mac), the program whose designer has accused us of copyright infringement. Even a quick glance at the page will show that we’ve copied nothing from Renamer—if anything, we could claim that their latest release copied our design.

The purpose of this blog post, though, isn’t to go through a comparison of the two apps. Instead, we’d like to focus on the impact baseless copyright violation accusations have on both developers and (potentially) end users.

(more…)

Posted in Company News, Name Mangler, Products | Comments Off on How not to compete in business

The nitty-gritty on buying Name Mangler 3

Wednesday, February 27th, 2013

Have you heard the one about the customer who walks into this confusing mess of prices and stores, and says “Look, just tell me how to buy the new version of Name Mangler?”

OK, so it’s not really that bad, but the fact that there are two versions Name Mangler 3 for sale in two distinct channels does make for some potential confusion for those looking to buy. Hopefully this post will clear up any such confusion.

As background, this is the pricing for Name Mangler 3, in both the direct and App Store sales channels:

  • Normal price is $19 ($18.99 in the App Store).
  • Sale price is $10 ($9.99 in the App Store) through March 5th 2013.
  • Direct purchasers of version 2.x can upgrade for $9 through our web site for the next 30 days. Beyond that, the upgrade price will be $14. The upgrade will, as always, get you

This knowledge base article describes the differences between the App Store and direct versions of the program. There aren’t many, but for certain users, there may be some show stoppers for the App Store version. Please check that document before you buy.

The first topic to address is recent buyers, particularly recent App Store buyers. The good news is that if you purchased Name Mangler within the last two weeks (on or after Feburary 13th, 2013), you’re entitled to a free upgrade to Name Mangler 3.

How do you get that upgrade? That depends on where you bought your copy.

  • For direct buyers, we will be sending you a license file, with no action required on your part. (If you already purchased an upgrade license, we’ll be sending you a refund, too.)
  • For App Store buyers, you face a decision. If you want the App Store version, you’ll have to buy it directly from the App Store—we do not have any way to provide free App Store copies to recent purchasers.

    However, you can get a free license to the direct version, if that’s acceptable to you. To get your free license, email me (rob at our domain, or click here) your iTunes receipt, clearly showing your full name, date of purchase, and Name Mangler as the purchased app. I will then verify the receipt and send you a license file.

Read on for some answers to questions that may come up as you’re looking to buy Name Mangler 3…

(more…)

Posted in Company News, Name Mangler, Products | Comments Off on The nitty-gritty on buying Name Mangler 3

Hello, I’m Name Mangler 3, nice to meet you!

Wednesday, February 27th, 2013

After a long and intense development period, Name Mangler 3 is now available, either directly from our site or from the App Store (yes, it’s sandboxed). This release is loaded with tons of new features, an updated user interface, and some incredible increases in renaming speed.

Name Mangler 3

The regular price for Name Mangler 3 is $19, but it’s on sale for an astonishing $10 for the next seven days as an introductory special. (Name Mangler 2 users who purchased directly from us can upgrade for $9 for the next 30 days, after which the upgrade price will become $14.)

For a video overview of Name Mangler 3, check out the overview video (also available in ogv and webm formats).

While designing Name Mangler 3, we had four objectives in mind: Safe, Fast, Complete, and Easy. After many months of effort, and lots of great feedback from our beta test team, Name Mangler 3 delivers on all four of these objectives. Keep reading to see just how we’ve added features, improved performance, and revised the user interface to achieve our objectives for Name Mangler 3.

(more…)

Posted in Company News, Name Mangler, Products | Comments Off on Hello, I’m Name Mangler 3, nice to meet you!

A brief follow-up on Donation Day activities

Saturday, December 22nd, 2012

On December 20th, we ran a promotion wherein you could get any of our apps for $1 apiece, with the understanding that you’d donate the cost savings to a charity of your choice. Obviously, we have no idea how many people actually donated, versus those who just saw a chance to buy our apps on the cheap—hopefully a fair percentage of people at least gave something to a charity of their choice.

From the responses we did receive, the distribution of charities was quite wide. Browsing the emails and tweets, here’s every charity we can identify that received some money from our customers on Donation Day (in no particular order):

Salvation Army • Oxfam Japan • Partners in Health • 10 Days of Giving Food Shelf • Gruft – Caritas Vienna • World Wildlife Fund • Bible for Today • Charity:Water • Sjogren’s Syndrome Foundation • Celiac Disease Center • Mind, the Mental Health Charity • Santé-Sud • Action Contre La Faim • Electronic Frontier Foundation • Brady Campaign to Stop Gun Violence • National Pancreatic Cancer Foundation • Oakton Community College Educational Foundation • Hurricane Sandy Appeal – British Red Cross • Wikimedia Foundation • Coalition to Stop Gun Violence • Jehova’s Witnesses • Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger • Warren Public Library • Mateno • Motor Neurone Disease Association • Local food drive • Local church parish • Nyx – Free public internet • American Red Cross • Local children’s charity • Housing Works • WaterAid • WCNY Public TV • Warren General Hospital

That’s quite a list, and we obviously hope that there are many other charities that benefited from our Donation Day; we heard from only a sampling of our customers.

To all of you who bought and then contributed to a charity on Donation Day, we thank you for following through on something that was based on nothing more than trusting people to do the right thing—both of us felt really good about what was going on as we read the tweets and emails. And for those of you who bought the apps cheaply but haven’t donated, please do so. This wasn’t a giveaway on our part, it was an idea to raise money for charity. So please, contribute your savings and help make a difference.

In closing, and to bring Donation Day full circle, we’ve also made a charitable contribution of our own: Many Tricks has donated $2,000 to Newtown Youth and Family Services, to help everyone there recover (as best as may be possible) from the horrible tragedy they’ve lived through.

We hope you have a safe and enjoyable holiday—Peter and Rob.

Posted in Company News, Donation Day | Comments Off on A brief follow-up on Donation Day activities

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