Many Tricks
As of today, the App Store version of Usher is no longer available for purchase. It may reappear in the future, if we can resolve some issues with the App Store. For now, though, we have removed it from sale.
Why did we do this, and what does this mean for App Store buyers?
Why did we do this?
We’ve been trying for a few weeks now—without any luck—to get a minor update approved for Usher. The App Store version of Usher has been in limbo for a long time, as they asked us to make some changes we weren’t willing to make at that point in time.
As a result, the App Store version of Usher is 1.1.3, while the direct version is 1.1.6. This wasn’t much of an issue until Mavericks came out. There are a couple of Mavericks-related issues that affect usability, so we agreed to make the changes Apple requested, and submitted a 1.1.7 update.
Unfortunately, the update has been rejected twice, and looks like it won’t ever be approved without us undertaking what is, in essence, an Usher 2.0 total makeover project. While we intend to do this in the future, it’s not a simple fix we can push out quickly to resolve the Mavericks issues.
Due to the App Store rejections and the Mavericks-related issues, we have decided to remove Usher from the App Store, effective immediately. It may reaappear in the future, if we can resolve our differences with Apple. But for now, the only way to buy Usher is directly from us, via the Usher web page.
What does this mean for App Store buyers?
With Usher no longer available in the App Store, App Store buyers can’t download Usher—for use on a new computer, or after a total system reinstall, for instance. If and when Usher returns to the App Store, this problem goes away. But for now, it’s a problem.
To solve the problem, we’ve created a way for App Store buyers to get a full direct sales license for Usher. This process will only be available during Usher’s hiatus from the App Store, because it becomes irrelevant once the app is available again.
- Forward the iTunes receipt that shows your Usher purchase to usher_conversion at manytricks dot com. Make sure the email shows your first+last name somewhere, as we need that for the license file.
- Take your existing App Store Usher and archive it somewhere—if Usher never makes it back to the App Store, this will be your only copy of that version. We recommend you create a zip of the application, and keep it somewhere safe.
- Download the latest version of direct Usher from our site. [Direct download link]
- When you receive your license email, double-click the attached license file, and you should be a full licensed user of the direct version of Usher.
That’s really all there is to the conversion process. All of your existing library and metadata will be retained, as you’re not modifying any of your settings, just which version of the application you’re using.
I look forward to see the new version of Usher (e.g. cannot seek/scrub in mp4/m4v since Mavericks). Will there be AirPlay support? I would love this feature. Thank you for your good work. Usher is a great App!
David:
The seek/scrub bug is the one we fixed in 1.1.7. Usher 1 won’t ever gain AirPlay support, but it’s certainly on our list of major new features to investigate for Usher 2.0.
regards,
-rob.