http://www.ezpzapps.com/AppBootJr/

Launch Special 20% OFF regular price if you buy now!                           Offer ends 1 August – Coupon Code for offer is “Boot”

Open applications with the same files that were open on quit

Quit too soon? AppBoot Jr opens those files back up – one click

Open one or open them all – even auto-open at reboot of your Mac

Simple to use – Saves you time – No searching hard drives for files

The work has really just started, now the long term marketing effort and all that goes with maintaining a software product begins. Hard work but FUN!

So, please download and give it a spin – let me know what you think about AppBoot.

To beta test you need to be using OS X Leopard, hopefully use Skype so we can talk during a test, and have at least 30 minutes to spend.  Get in touch if you are interested!

Quit an app too soon? Have to find and reload tons of files?

You need Boot Repair

Hold your cursor down on the AppBoot icon in the Dock

A menu pops up with all the applications that are Monitored by AppBoot

Select a closed application – closed for minutes or months

AppBoot reopens the app with all the files that were previously open

Even minimizes the files if you want

You can choose to have a warning pop up at intervals, go to preferences, tick the checkbox and then select a warning time interval from the popup button. The warning fades in and out in five seconds, reminding you that the clock is ticking on a project’s billing. Click the clock in the warning window and the timer stops.

Control click the workspace name and the timer log for that project opens. Select a range of dates and times, let go of the mouse, and the data automatically fill in. Drag through the lines you want and then command click to deselect any you do not want to include.

Click the button “Email Billing” and an email with that data is opened for sending. You can also click the button “Copy Data” and that same information is placed on your clipboard for use in other applications. Data can also be exported as a tab delimited text file for use in spreadsheets or other applications.

Here’s the latest look…

I’ve been changing the main interface of AppBoot with some advice from my friend Annard. I’m most grateful for that advice as I know it is making AppBoot even more useful and easier to use.

It’s not quite done yet but getting very close.

What is the right size for the job? Depends on your point of view.

I’ve been moving bits and bytes around, getting things to fit just so. I want the right size and features for the job that AppBoot does. No unsightly extras hanging about – just balance, performance, and ease of use. Unobtrusive.  

Almost there…

The components, or perhaps system is a better word, that is the reality of something isn’t always obvious or revealed. In lots of cases the user, or whatever interacts with it, doesn’t really care. Any insect flying by this frog should be aware of that frog’s mouth and not much else. People who make things might have a different focus and get caught up in analyzing that system.

Users, people who actually use software, don’t need or really care to know how it works, They just want it to do the job, or so many software developers say. But people do gravitate towards style, excellent design, and things that have that ‘je ne c’est quoi’ dimension. 

What makes something beautiful or deserving of being labeled well designed? Moving beyond functional is really hard to do and even harder to explain. ‘Makers of things’ love the process, and enjoy the discoveries along the way. That whole aspect of being a Maker is not part of the User’s universe. It is a very complicated thing, making ‘things’ that people will want, especially making the Things that people have not yet discovered they need to have.

Paul Graham has a great essay on creating, making, process, and so much more. Much of what makes a painting what it is is hidden from the viewer, quite like software.