Just want to let our Mac OS X 10.3.9 users know that we’re aware of the issue preventing it from launching properly. “Something” crept in at the last minute and zapped compatibility with 10.3.9. We’ll have it fixed soon but in the meantime, if you need to revert to CheckBook 1.8.1 you can download it at http://www.splasm.com/checkbook1x/downloads.html .

Interested in beta testing CheckBook 2.0? If you’re currently registered for CheckBook 1.x send an email to checkbookbeta@splasm.com. We’ll send out beta testing instructions and registration information to the first 50 users that write in.

Upgrading to Mac OS X 10.5 “Leopard”? We’re right there with you! In the great tradition of major Mac OS X releases Audiobook Builder, CheckBook and ViddyUp! have all been updated to resolve some minor issues with the latest and greatest from Apple. You might notice a tiny drawing glitch or two in some sheets but that’s the only item left to work on and certainly not enough to prevent us from getting these updates to you today. Enjoy!

Apple’s releasing Mac OS X 10.5 “Leopard” as school lets out for the weekend and we’re shooting to beat them to the punch. We have free compatibility fixes in the works for Audiobook Builder, CheckBook and ViddyUp! - resolving a handful of minor issues - all to be released this week. Keep an eye on splasm.com or your favorite software tracker, or use each product’s built-in update checking feature to get the word when your updates are ready.

Got a request for CheckBook 2.0 Family Pack pricing yesterday…so here’s the plan:

- CheckBook 2.0 Family Pack: US $24.95
- Upgrade from CheckBook 1.x Family Pack: US $14.95

- CheckBook Pro 2.0 Family Pack: $39.95
- Upgrade from CheckBook 1.x Family Pack: US $24.95

Family Pack licenses allow installation and use CheckBook on up to 5 Macs in the same physical household (not places of business). And, since they’re priced less than two single-user licenses, they might just make sense for you and yours.

It’s the last business day in September and we need to address the big question on many minds - the status of CheckBook 2.0.

The short of it is that CheckBook 2.0 is not ready - yet. We apologize for this, folks. Believe me, no one here is satisfied that we’re not releasing any day now and none of us is pleased to disappoint you, our faithful and supportive user community. Please know this: the project is still very much alive and remains our top priority.

What we can disclose at this point is that an unforeseen personnel challenge here slowed our progress during the summer months. And then, we found our “look and feel” seriously affected by some rather interesting user interface design decisions on Apple’s part in the upcoming Mac OS X 10.5. Now, we’re moving to make adjustments where we can to get things back on track. We’ve taken stock of CheckBook 2.0 and it’s definitely moving closer to a point where we can start contacting beta testers to let them have a crack at it. CheckBook Pro 2.0 is in a somewhat different boat, however, as we haven’t taken an opportunity to go over what’s lacking - though I can tell you there are two or three major features that aren’t completed yet. Unfortunately, CheckBook Pro is where the most of the major new features are - it’s the upgrade most of you have been waiting for.

Now here’s some better news - how CheckBook 2.0 will be priced:

- CheckBook 2.0: US $14.95
- Upgrade from CheckBook 1.x to CheckBook 2.0: US $9.95

- CheckBook Pro 2.0: US $24.95
- Upgrade from CheckBook 1.x to CheckBook Pro 2.0: US $14.95

*** All CheckBook 1.x users registered on or after September 1st, 2006 will receive a free upgrade to CheckBook Pro 2.0 ***

Thank you, everyone, for your understanding and your commitment to hanging in there. We’re working hard to get this whopper of an upgrade ready for you!

You can tell new software is coming along nicely when its developers start to feel a pull, swelling to an irresistible compulsion, to use it on a daily basis. Yet, there’s bound to be a second thought or three when that software is a major upgrade to a well-established application like CheckBook. On the one hand you’ve got tons of nifty new features - which you’ve worked ages on - and by gosh it’s time to put them to use for your own greater good. But on the other hand, even taking into account your superhuman tendency to do no wrong, there’s a tiny voice in the back of your mind, that little somersault in your stomach: you know there’s a chance something will go wrong. For a moment, all four wheels of your smooth-running operation could leave the ground. It might return to the pavement with a little bounce, but it may just sail through the air and wrap itself around a telephone pole.

It doesn’t matter in the end. It finally gets to the point where you just have to find out. And so it is with CheckBook 2.0.

With more new features in one release than any two or even three of 1.x’s updates, CheckBook 2.0 makes 1.x look like a toy. It’s a very sweet machine. And it’s been calling to us for some time. Not so much at first, while we laid out the framework and wired up the basics. But lately, while we’ve been buffing up the interface and tricking out the engine it’s been begging us to top off the tanks, bring our years of financial history over and take it for a joyride.

It’s just too much to resist…

So Randy gave in and made the jump last week. And…everything’s fine. Even better, his wife updated her copy of CheckBook at the same time, and her own accounts are just peachy-keen. Sure, they’ve seen plenty of interface bugs - no show-stoppers - but they both plan to use 2.0 from now on. And, as the code for the remaining features falls into place in the coming weeks, things will only get better. Maybe then we’ll see about a public preview release…

Now, pending a few adjustments to the way Account Summaries handle Categories and Subcategories, we’re focused on our next mini milestone: my wife.

Here’s a note or two about yesterday’s update to Audiobook Builder.

A few users wrote in about the Maximum Part Length preference field displaying values in decimal when they felt it really should be in hours:minutes. Getting that working is just about the perfect candidate for creating reusable code, so, we took some time off from CheckBook 2.0 and whipped up a time interval formatter for this and much future use. The field now displays and accepts values in hours and minutes. Users also requested a way to change or disable the sound that Audiobook Builder makes after files are added or CDs are imported. We implemented it as a separate preference and decided to call it the “Action Complete” sound. For future reference, the volume for both the Build Complete and Action Complete sounds is directly related to the Alert volume setting in System Preferences.

This release was more about fixes than new features, though. We found a situation where AppleScript couldn’t handle certain characters in file names or iTunes track names, preventing items from being added to the current Project. Switched to requesting file aliases from iTunes, instead of file paths, and started resolving the aliases directly. Fixed. One of our tests showed us the code that sorts incoming file names, when users add files to a Project, was mishandling a Unicode string conversion and botching the final sort because of it. Fixed. A wrinkle with QuickTime 7.1.5 would cause MPEG-4’s ODSM and SDSM tracks to remain in Audiobook Builder’s final output, leading to failed enhanced chapter stop creation. We moved to removing ODSM and SDSM from the get-go, rather than disabling. Fixed.

With CheckBook 1.8 out, and CheckBook 2.0 coming along but not yet ready for beta, we thought we’d share a couple of screenshots to let everyone know how things are shaping up…

Entry		Smart Folders