Identicode V1.4 now available

This was the inspiration

Apple today approved Identicode V1.4 for sale. You know what to do, fellow agents!

This is the most feature packed release of Identicode to date so I hope you find it the best version yet. If you enjoy it, why not pop a review on the App Store; if not, then contact me and I’ll do what I can to fix it.

The above image is the cover of Identicode given away in the very first issue of TV Century 21 magazine, below is what the actual Encoder / Decoder looked like. I hope my 21st Century interpretation puts a smile on your face!

[[RED]]VFNECFSV &VWEK&UFVW EFN – FECP FE KZW SGG JKFIW

Original decoder
Here’s what it looked like back in ’65

Read all about TV Century 21

The very first issue of TV Century 21. Wow!

I recently found this wonderful blog called Blimey! written by the obviously knowledgeable and artistically talented Lew Stringer and it’s all about classic British comics. What caught my eye was this particular article, for obvious reasons. Those of you lovely people who’ve bought Identicode will probably find it a real treat, if you weren’t aware of Lew’s blog already. If you are wondering where Identicode came from then head over to Blimey! right now.

FAB.

Right, back to some more reading.

Web site enhancements

Retina display
Retina display image from Apple

Just a note that I’ve been aware for a while that my site was not Retina display savvy, but now I’ve switched my trusty Mid-2011 iMac to a Retina MacBook Pro I’m very aware!

There should be changes on the way to spruce things up – when it’s done you’ll notice I’m sure.   😉

Identicode V1.4 on its way to Apple

Shockingly, I realised, the last update to this app was September 2015! Sorry about the wait.

I’ve sent V1.4 to Apple this afternoon and with luck it may be available in a day or two now that Apple has upped their game on review times. This assumes that they accept it, of course …

The main functional change has been to do with a much improved exchange of encoded messages between us ‘agents’. 😎 In V1.4 after encoding a message, when you copy or share the message the colour information now goes with it. The result of this is that when that text is pasted back into Identicode at the other end it automatically selects the correct colour and switches to Decode. Nice. I’ve uploaded a new App Preview which you’ll be able to see on the App Store which illustrates this.

There is also much enhanced VoiceOver support so that the text fields and button actions should be much easier to comprehend than before and they are now dynamic depending on the state of the other settings. Please let me know if there are other improvements I can make to this area.

The final notable change is that it now uses Apple’s Auto Layout so that it makes the best use of the screen from the 3.5″ screen up to the iPhone 7s Plus, and whatever comes after that!

Compatibility with iOS 11

I know, I know, we’re all still on iOS 10 (even us developers), but it’s very likely that Apple will drop support for 32-bit apps in the next release of iOS.

64 Bit Apps Only

I’m happy to say that all my apps have been 64-bit ready since around 2014 so rest assured that all your Black Tablet apps will carry on working with iOS 11 (as far as I’m aware!).

If you have only a 32-bit device then all your apps will continue working but you may not be able to update some of them any more and it’s very likely that you will not be able to update to iOS 11.

Time will tell.

Updates are on their way!

I’m putting the final touches to Identicode V1.4. Some of the enhancements are:

  • Those of you who are still on 3.5″ devices will get the link to my web site that the other users have enjoyed! 🙂
  • It makes full use of the new larger screens on the latest iPhones – sorry this is so overdue.
  • Has a handy way to copy the colour of your encoding across for those with whom you’re sharing your coded messages which will be interpreted on pasting it back into Identicode.

I don’t have a date yet, but I am back on the case at last.

Further iOS 10 updates

I’m currently updating and enhancing Identicode and will be working through Dicewords and Pink Plaques too to ensure full compatibility with iOS 10.

Watch this space for further updates.

Bargain V2.3 now available

Apple have approved Bargain for sale. 🙂

This has been tested for iOS 10 and boasts a clearer indication of the bargain when you find it by colouring the whole background of the fields rather than just the text! It also disallows a comparison if a quantity is 0 – previously it would display a price of infinity I think!

Enjoy finding those bargains.

Great post by Tim Cook about why OS security is crucial

padlock-vector-icon

Despite considerable pressure to open up the iPhone to external agencies, Apple have resisted and explained why, Let’s hope that other companies stand up to be counted as well. If this is forced through it would be the start of a very slippery slope.

Customer Letter

Be aware that in time that link may break (or link to a different letter, but for now …)

Dice words V1.3 now available for sale

Apple have now approved version 1.3 of Dicewords (and Dicewords-X) for sale. 🙂

PLEASE NOTE – Updating to V1.3 will lose any save game or puzzle in progress at the time the update was installed. This happens only once so hopefully it will be a very minor inconvenience.

The main change is that the Demo screen has been completely overhauled. We hope that this will be more straightforward and practical for new users to understand how a turn of Dicewords normally proceeds.

At present there is no VoiceOver support for the demo but that will be corrected in V1.4 which I hope will be available within the month.

I remain committed to supporting an enhancing all my apps as long as I reasonably can, though it’s possible that in future the support for older versions of iOS may be dropped.