Announcing Paddock for iPad

April 2nd, 2010 by Rob Griffiths

Announced today, Paddock is Many Tricks’ newest product, and it’s headed for the iPad in the near future. What exactly is Paddock, you may be asking? Paddock is a program that lets you use your iPad to do many things at the same time.

Paddock does this by loading separate modules into one workspace. You can then choose to see one module at a time, or work with many at the same time. Confused? Head on over to the Paddock page to watch the preview video to get a better sense for exactly how it works. (If you’d like to see the iPad at a near-native resolution, download the 38MB 1920×1080 version instead.)

What you won’t see in the video is exactly which modules Paddock will include; the video shows only notes and a web browser. We have a nice set of modules under development that we’d like to get out with version 1.0, and a longer list planned for the future.

But we’re also interested in what modules you’d like to see in Paddock. So after watching the video, please feel free to drop your suggestions in the comments. Our 1.0 list is pretty much set, but we’re very interested in hearing what modules you would find most useful in a program like Paddock. (Note that some things, such as a movie player, aren’t possible due to what information Apple allows third parties to access.)

Posted in Paddock | 7 Comments »

The terms of the Many Tricks software license

March 31st, 2010 by Rob Griffiths

I’ve had a few questions on how Many Tricks’ programs are licensed: is it per computer, per user, per user per computer, or something else? Given the confusion, I thought I’d explain here so it’s (hopefully) clear. I’ve posted this same information to our FAQ pages. And yes, we do have a full, legalese-filled software license, which covers what’s below and adds some required legal terminology.

The objective in our licensing is to keep things simple and fair. To that end, all of our products fall under one general usage license. Here’s how the licensing works: It’s basically a “buy only one” license model, except in the case of possible simultaneous usage. These situations should help clarify that basic rule:

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Posted in Butler, Company News, Leech, Name Mangler, Products, Witch, yFlicks | Comments Off on The terms of the Many Tricks software license

Leech 2.0 released

March 31st, 2010 by Rob Griffiths

Hot on the heels of Name Mangler 2.1 comes the release of Leech 2.0. Leech is a lightweight download manager that puts you in control of your downloads, regardless of your browser usage. Version 2.0 has some exciting new features, including:

  • Downloads can be selected and acted on using a contextual menu; this makes it simple to move, pause, or resume large number of downloads
  • You can set certain domains and file extensions that Leech will not intercept when running in browser-integrated mode. (Works in Safari, Camino and OmniWeb; use FlashGot to fine tune Firefox’s exceptions.)
  • URL ranges allow downloading sequences of files. For example, http://some.site.url/file_{1-3}.txt will download file_1.txt, file_2.txt, and file_3.txt
  • Reveal currently-downloading files in the Finder by double-clicking on their entries in the window
  • Retry All contextual menu item for faster retries
  • Automatic updating via Sparkle
  • Drag-and-drop support for depositfiles.com. (You must have a valid depositfiles account that is currently logged in using Safari or any other WebKit browser.)

In addition, there are some important bug fixes and operational improvements:

  • Browser integration now works in 64-bit mode for users running OS X 10.6
  • Leech no longer interferes with other Safari plug-ins that use the Sparkle updating framework (e.g., older ClickToFlash versions)
  • Leech no longer interferes with Safari AdBlocker‘s data feeds (requires Safari AdBlocker 1.8.2 or newer).
  • Dock icon progress indicator is now more accurate
  • Download queue position information is more accurately shown
  • In accordance with Mac OS X 10.6’s Finder, file sizes (using units such as KB, MB, etc.) are now calculated using the multipler 1000, rather than 1024. (The latter should only be used for binary prefix units like KiB and MiB, but prior to Mac OS X 10.6, it was customary to describe 1024 bytes as 1 KB in the Mac world)

The price for all this goodness is unchanged from the prior version (except for minor rounding changes in going from prices in Euros to prices in US Dollars): $14. Even better, if you’re a Leech 1.x user, you can upgrade for only $5 (you must have a valid license file to purchase an upgrade license).

If you’re one of those who purchased Leech after March 17th, 2010, you’ll be getting your free Leech 2.0 license via email in the very near future.

As always, you can report bugs, request features, and ask for help on our support site.

Posted in Leech | 16 Comments »

Name Mangler 2.1.1 released

March 25th, 2010 by Rob Griffiths

Please check for updates in Name Mangler (in Prefs > Updates), as we just released version 2.1.1 with one new feature and one important bug fix:

  • New ‘shuffle’ mode (Command-S in Sort pop-up) to sequentially but randomly modify filenames; useful for images for a picture frame, for instance.
  • Fixed permissions issues for users running on non-admin accounts. Thanks to Fr. Augustine Hoa Tran and Neil Massello for reporting this problem.

Thanks to Sparkle, you should be able to update quickly and easily from within the app. If this doesn’t work, please let me know. Alternatively, you can still use the download link on the Name Mangler product page, of course!

Posted in Name Mangler | 5 Comments »

The future looks all Sparkle-y

March 24th, 2010 by Rob Griffiths

As I noted in the Name Mangler 2.1 announcement, all future Many Tricks products will include support for in-app updates via Sparkle.

If you’re not aware of Sparkle, the reality is you’re probably aware of Sparkle. If you’ve ever run an app that let you download and install an update directly within the app, chances are good it’s using Sparkle to do that behind-the-scenes magic.

This amazing tool is open source, and supported by donations—and we’ll be doing some stuff in the future to support the project, as we think it’s a great addition to our code base.

Because you do lose some control over your machine in Sparkle-enabled apps (when they automatically download an update you didn’t ask for), all of our apps will include a simple on/off toggle for automatic update checking. If you’d rather check manually, just turn off the automatic updates. Personally, though, I leave Sparkle enabled in all the apps I use that include it; it makes product updates incredibly simple.

I’m thrilled we’re taking this step, as it simplifies what was a too-complex task for our programs—clicking a couple of buttons beats going to your browser, downloading and expanding an archive, quitting the original program, finding the original and new versions on your disk, and replacing old with new. Instead, Sparkle does all the heavy lifting ; you just click a couple of buttons and your app is up to date.

So thanks, Sparkle, for making our users’ lives simpler!

Posted in Butler, Company News, Developer, Leech, Name Mangler, Products, Witch, yFlicks | 12 Comments »

Many Tricks’ Welcome Back sale event

March 23rd, 2010 by Rob Griffiths

I made brief mention in my new site launch tweet that we’d be having a “launch day promo.” And so, here it is. True, it’s no longer launch day, but we’re still in a festive mood here, so what the heck…

Starting right now—but ending on Thursday (March 25th) at 10:00pm Pacific time—you can get 25% off your total order when you buy any two or more Many Tricks products at the same time. (You can do this easily by clicking the Continue Shopping button after adding the first product to your cart.) The eligible products are Butler, Leech, Name Mangler, and Witch.

After adding at least two products to your cart, enter the super-secret discount code welcomeback in the (wait for it) Discount Code box, then click Update Cart. You’ll see the 25% discount reflected immediately.

Even better, if you buy Leech and/or Witch, you’ll get the current version of each product as well as the soon-to-be-released next versions. (Name Mangler was just updated, and a Butler update is quite a ways out, so this bundled upgrade feature doesn’t apply to those two products.) Once new versions of each app come out, we’ll post instructions on how to get your free upgrade.

“But wait, I just bought a product from you, after the site came back to life! So I miss out!?” No, actually you don’t. We’ll be sending you ‘early adopters’ a personal discount code that you can use for 25% off your your next purchase on any Many Tricks product. This is our way of saying “thank you” for purchasing so quickly after our site came back to life.

Once again, this sale ends for everyone at 10:00pm Pacific time on Thursday March 25th, so act quickly to save some yourself some cash.

Posted in Butler, Company News, Leech, Name Mangler, Products, Witch | 1 Comment »

We now support Google Checkout

March 23rd, 2010 by Rob Griffiths

In addition to PayPal, you can now purchase Many Tricks’ products via Google Checkout. On each product’s cart screen, you’ll see both PayPal and Google Checkout logos—just click the logo of your choice to use that method of payment.

Please let me know if you have any problems with the new service—we’ve already received one order via Google Checkout, though, so I’m confident it’s working fine.

Posted in Butler, Company News, Leech, Name Mangler, Witch | Comments Off on We now support Google Checkout

Free Name Mangler upgrades for past donors

March 22nd, 2010 by Rob Griffiths

As a follow-up to the last post, if you’ve donated for Name Mangler in the past, just drop us an email and we’ll send you a free license for Name Mangler 2.1.

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Name Mangler 2.1 released

March 22nd, 2010 by Rob Griffiths

The first product to be updated on our new site is a personal favorite of mine, Name Mangler. Now at version 2.1, there are only three substantive changes in this version—one bug fix, one most-welcomed new feature, and one change in status.

First, the boring bug fix: Name Mangler no longer chokes on colons or slashes in pre-existing file names. But as Peter points out in the release notes, “you still shouldn’t use those.”

Much more interesting to me, and hopefully to all of you, is that Name Mangler is the first Many Tricks product to support automatic updates via Sparkle. No more multi-step upgrade process, just a smooth, slick in-app upgrade, all thanks to Sparkle. We’ll be doing this with all of our apps as we release new versions, but Name Mangler is first out of the gate.

Finally, as noted by its prominent position on our main page, Name Mangler is now an official Many Tricks product, selling for $10. In the past, Name Mangler was a piece of donationware. In the evolution of Many Tricks, we’ve decided that such terms are harmful to both consumers and developers, so we now have only two types of programs: regular and free.

Our regular programs, now including Name Mangler, all give you liberal free trial policies, followed by reduced functionality and/or nagging after the trial limits have been reached. As much as we’d like to build a business around optional donations, donation rates that run under .5% of those who download really aren’t sustainable.

Our free programs—which we’re calling Baubleries—are just that, free. No nags, no reminders, no limits, no request for donations.

It is our intent to continue developing both regular and free programs in the future. As always, our objective will be to deliver a best-in-class experience, regardless of whether you’re using a free or paid-for Many Tricks application.

Posted in Company News, Name Mangler | Comments Off on Name Mangler 2.1 released

Something’s changed here

March 22nd, 2010 by Rob Griffiths

Indeed it has—welcome to the new-and-improved Many Tricks web site. In addition to generally trying to make the site more pleasant to use, we’ve added some features to make it easier to find information on our products, to simplify navigation, and to support our customers. Some of these features include:

  • A new landing page with rotating showcase items and pop-up product bubbles for fast access to more info, download, and buy options for each product.
  • A brand-new support center for reporting bugs, browsing our knowledge base, and submitting help requests.
  • Each major product page includes a link to easy-to-read release notes, as well as links to the above-mentioned support center.
  • A site map at the bottom of each page lets you jump anywhere on the site with a single click.

While no site is ever perfect, we think this revision is a nice improvement over the old site. We’ve tested it in all the main OS X browsers (Safari, Firefox, Opera, OmniWeb, Camino, Chrome, iCab) with good results. Sadly, if you’re still using Internet Explorer 5.2 for Mac, it’s time to upgrade—the site loads very poorly there (no, I don’t really think anyone still uses IE 5.2!).

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Posted in Company News, Site News | 4 Comments »

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