Monday, September 27, 2010

Release 9 - 1.404

Just a quick fix brought to my attention by Mark. Here's what was happening:

What was fixed:


   The time that the alarm was set for was being displayed incorrectly. It would show that you would be notified a year ahead of time even when the date had yet to pass this year. This is fixed and the notification time will be displayed correctly. Thanks Mark!

   More sort options will be available as soon as i've got the time to devote to this project. These are next on the agenda as far as features.

Report bugs if you come across them. Please and thanks!

Here is a link followed by the QR code to the app in the Android Marketplace:
Birthday Organizer

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Release 8 - Version 1.402

A couple changes this time around. Here's a summary:

What was fixed:
   A notification bug that wouldn't erase the last alarm you set. For example, if you were to set an alarm for 2:00pm and 2:02pm, you'd be notified both times. So i now have it set to only notify you the last time you set a time for notifications.

What's new:
   If you happen to have two or more notifications that occur at the same time during the day, the number of notifications that you've received is shown in your notification bar. That is, the number of notifications unread will be superimposed over the notification icon in your notification bar.

Please report bugs if you come across them. More updates will come as I have time to work on this.

Here is a link followed by the QR code to the app in the Android Marketplace:
Birthday Organizer

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Release 7 - Version 1.401

Just like most other times, I've overlooked small bugs that tend to screw with the user. Here's an overview:

What was fixed:
1)   The "Refresh" button incidentally brought up the "Save/Restore" window. This has been fixed.

2)   Fixed force close when importing backup from SD card.

3)   Changed the location of the saved backup on the SD card.

Please continue to report bugs!

Here is a link followed by the QR code to the app in the Android Marketplace:
Birthday Organizer

Release 6 - Version 1.4

   In light of the recent changes i thought i would take the time to add another feature. This one i think is more necessary at the moment than other possible features. Seeing as how right now users must manually enter in birthdays, I think it's important to be able to save these entries. So that's just what i've done.

What's new:
   I've added the option to backup/restore your birthday entries to/from your SD card in case your phone takes a crap (which has happened to me plenty of times), or you accidentally delete a birthday you wanted to keep. Whatever the case, to perform either of these new features users just need to hit the menu button and select Save/Restore. Then you have the options to either save or restore!

   I've already noticed a few bugs that need to be addressed so there will be another quick update released shortly to correct for them.

Please report bugs/issues if you come across them instead of leaving 1 or 2 star ratings. This is far from a professional product.

Here is a link followed by the QR code to the app in the Android Marketplace:
Birthday Organizer

Release 5 - Version 3.101

Just one fix this time. Next i'll be working on saving/restoring the birthday list to/from your SD card. Hopefully i can work this in in the next few weeks.


What was fixed:


   Fixed force close issues that users have noted. Should not force close anymore. Please report if a force close does occur.

Here is a link followed by the QR code to the app in the Android Marketplace:
Birthday Organizer

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Release 4 - Version 1.3

First things first - Please hit menu > Refresh after update! This is necessary to set all alarms that were likely previously erased! Notifications will not work until this is done.

After feverishly working to fix the notification problems, I'm nearly certain that they're fixed. Please provide feedback if you notice something odd. Remember this app this still in beta and the time I have to spend on this app is greatly reduced during the semester. So updates will be a little longer in the making.

Now... For the changes.

What's new:

There isn't much new this time around as I only had time to fix bugs. And I probably took too much time away from my homework as it is. I've added a menu option to refresh the birthdays currently in your list. This feature is geared more towards verifying that the notifications are absolutely set to trigger when you chose to be notified.

I added support for Froyo (Android 2.2). Users can now move this app to their SD card. *PLEASE NOTE* Per the Android 2.2 specification, when an application that uses alarms is moved from internal memory to external memory, all alarms that were set are erased. Please hit the menu "Refresh" button after moving to your SD card to reset your alarms. This is important if you want to be notified on time!

What was fixed:

The big one: Notifications should now work correctly. The problem was Android related and something I wasn't initially aware of. When I set alarms for notifications to go off when the user asks, the alarms are only active as long as the device is on. If the device is turned off, all alarms are erased. So I've corrected for this by adding a brief service to run at system boot.

There was an error in date comparisons and thus an error in displaying when the user would be notified. So all dates shown on the birthday information dialog for notifications are correct.

Future Features:

Adding a person's age to the main list so users don't need to hit a birthday to see how old they are. That's one click too many, I agree!

Sorting by month - this is a big one and will likely be the next feature implemented. The only thing i'm missing is time.

Ability to add/change the image for anyone on the birthday list.

At least give options to show zodiac/birthstone for those who'd like it.

That's all for now. Please continue to provide feedback. It is all much appreciated.

Here is a link followed by the QR code to the app in the Android Marketplace:
Birthday Organizer

Status on Birthday Organizer

There have been complaints that notifications aren't working on this app. I've found that an unfortunate side-effect of alarms in Android is that they are stored in a volatile state. This means that they are active so long as the phone stays on after the alarms are initially set. Well it isn't really feasible to expect that everyone will keep their phones on forever. So this issue needs to be addressed.

Among the influx of homework i've been assigned this semester, i've found time to address the problem. An update is on the way - so if you can hold out a little longer, the problems will be fixed. Thanks!

Mike