Corkboard 1.0 Build 03 and Gibraltar 1.0 Build 05

OK, basically I’ve just remembered there’s a bunch of stuff I forgot to upload! ^^;

So, anyway…

Corkboard 1.0 Build 03

For those who don’t know what Corkboard is, the way I envisioned it is a digital version of your fridge or (yes) corkboard – reminders, phone numbers, schedules ect. I plan to also include messaging, calendar/scheduling and gaming capabilities, but for now we just hove post-it style notes.

This build basically fixes a bunch of bugs, including a few to do with Vista, and also allows deleting notes.

Corkboard home page 
Corkboard download page
Build 03 readme
Build 03 changelog

 

Gibraltar 1.0 Build 05

Gibraltar is an easily configurable and flexible installer – in fact, I use it for all my programs.

It originally started life as Project Nelson’s setup program, but I thought it’d be much better as a general-purpose installer.

Build 05 fixes some bugs, and also outputs a log file, which is viewable by using the /d command line switch.

Gibraltar home page 
Gibraltar download page
Build 05 readme
Build 05 changelog

I also hope to release Comic Strip 1.0 Build 09 within the week.

--MarkKB

Updated 26/09/2012 and 14/07/2013 to fix broken links.

Comic Strip 1.0 Build 08

Another day, another build of Comic Strip. Ah.

The main change between this and the previous version is that it can extract the comic location from files given the right parameters. I also added some advanced options to the Add/Edit Comic dialog, so you don’t have to edit your comic list manually to add them. Lastly, I fixed the Author Notes problem present in the last build.

Be warned that the program will seem unresponsive when traversing long periods of time, or when downloading comics, so it’s not recommended for a slow internet connection. Also, remember to back up your comic list before installing because it will be reset when you install.

So, try out The Wotch and El Goonish Shive (the two example comics that use location extraction) and send any bugs to my email address (markkeyb@gmail.com).

Comic Strip home page
Comic Strip download page
Build 08 home page

Updated 26/09/2012 and 14/07/2013 to fix broken links.

Project Nelson 1.0 Build 019

OK, this is a little late (due mainly to my procrastination ;) ), but no worries, here it is! Project Nelson 1.0 Build 019 introduces a few new features, fixes quite a few bugs, and polishes up some places which needed it.

Remember, to submit a bug, click on the Report bug icon at the lower right of your screen. I can’t fix your problems if I don’t know about them! (It looks like the guy to the left.)

Project Nelson home page
Project Nelson download page
Build 019 Changelog
Build 019 Readme

Updated 26/09/2012 and 14/07/2013 to fix broken links.

Comic Strip 1.0 Build 07

As promised, here’s Comic Strip 1.0 Build 07! This build has a bug in the way it handles author comments, but apart from that, it should be OK.

The main reason I want to get it out there is to test the new prev-next comic buttons, so hit Count Your Sheep and start clicking away!

Comic Strip home page
Comic Strip download page
Build 07 Changelog

Updated 26/09/2012 and 14/07/2013 to fix broken links.

Finished.

Hey guys! Just dropping a note to say that Project Nelson 1.0 Build 019 is complete as of April 14 2009. I’ve already finished the changelog, and just need to fill out the readme. I plan to release it by Monday at the earliest.

(I’m already well into developing Build 020, and I’ll try to have it out quite a bit sooner than the Build 019. :D)

Comic Strip 1.0 Build 07 is also done, and I hope to release it by the end of the day. Remember, these are estimates, and not hard-and-fast dates.

Happy testing!

The road to Project Nelson

In this post, I’m going to shed some light on the state of Project Nelson going forward, as well as some insight on its past.

Past

In the past, Project Nelson advanced a build when it was “done” – when I felt it had enough about it to warrant a new build. This method worked for my methods, if it was a bit haphazard. Every build had a few bug fixes and new features, and so on and so forth.

The first real break in the cycle was Build 017. Build 017 was a “features” build – that is, it focused on features, as opposed to bug fixes. It finally introduced Category pages, something that had been planned since the first few .NET-based builds. It also added hidden Run boxes in the Applications page, and Application “views” (Categories/Classic Start/Recent). The First Run Wizard was heavily rewritten, and Nemo’s favourite folders feature was implemented. Build 017 also featured the first build of MediaPN.

Build 018 was the first build that intentionally focused on features, as Build 017 being one was kinda just a fluke. With Build 18 came application task pages, a semi-functioning Games page, a stopwatch, “Windows” vs. “Project Nelson” icons, a seek bar and metadata about the currently playing song in MediaPN, New File in Nemo, command-line arguments, SchedulePN, Nemo settings, and starting your default media player at startup. The First Run Wizard lay the backbone for the new way of handling applications in each group.

Present

Right now, I’m working on Project Nelson 1.0 Build 019. Build 019 is a “bug fixing” or “fit and finish” build – it’s not going to be a big bang release, although there are some new features. Rather, it’s focusing on polishing the user experience, and fixing annoying bugs.

I hope to release Build 019 sometime in the next two months.

Future

Going forward, I plan to adhere to a kind of back-and-forth schedule, with even-numbered builds being feature or “unstable” releases, and odd-numbered builds being bug-fixing or “stable” builds. (That’s not to say that they don’t have bugs in them, btw, it’s just that I’m devoting the build to fixing them.) I have quite a few ideas for the future of Project Nelson, such as the new file copying system, as well as building on the program modal implemented in Build 018, and a new taskbar system.

The next few years are waiting, and I hope they’ll be just as exciting as the previous ones.

--MarkKB