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ChronoSync updated to version 1.1

Oviedo, Florida -- September 23, 2002 -- ChronoSync™, the automated

synchronization tool for Mac∆ OS X, adds powerful new features. ChronoSync

combines an easy to use interface and large feature set, making it the

perfect utility for synchronization and light back-ups.

New to this version are persistent synchronization trees. Now ChronoSync

keeps track of what and when files were synchronized. This change allows for

bi-directional syncs with deletions, better date accuracy with all systems,

and even restoration of changed files.

ChronoSync’s full featured Scheduler gets even better too. A new background

application can automatically launch and terminate synchronizations so you

don’t even have to keep ChronoSync running.

Maintain complete control of your files from the Analyze outline view with

increased capabilities. Besides file names and status information,

ChronoSync now offers information on size and time differences of files as

well as the last sync date. All columns can be resized, sorted, rearranged,

and expanded. Select single or multiple files to exclude, delete, restore,

compare, or change sync direction. There is even an option to view all files

so you can view hidden files or files excluded by rules.

“The Analyze View sets this product apart. You not only can view and control

all your files, you get detailed overview of all your files so you aware of

what is going on,” said Joseph Japes, Marketing Director for Econ

Technologies.

Visit Econ Technologies for more information or to download a demo.

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gBrowser 1.5b20 released

Andreas Schwarz has released gBrowser 1.5b2, the latest version of his Cocoa-based image browser.

gBrowser is an image browser with which you can view and browse through large collections of images as thumbnails. Its layout is based on your file system; what you see in the Finder is what you see in gBrowser (in a much more convenient way, of course). It also features slideshow capability and the "Image Viewer," useful on multi-monitor setups, which can be used as a non-linear slideshow or just to more easily view pictures as you browse your collection. It also includes features to help you create your own slideshow screensavers.

New in this version:

• You can now command-click and drag to scroll in image windows, the Image Viewer, slideshows, and the preview pane (though in the preview pane you must hold the option key as well unless you are clicking in "empty" space).
  
  
• Low quality on-the-fly thumbnail generation is now threaded, so the app should feel much more responsive now if you're using this mode (particularly with large files).
  
  
• Added an option (in the file list setup section of the prefs) to display the number of folders and total files in a directory next to its name in the file list. Be forwarned this might slow down the initial display of the file list, especially if you have folders containing very large numbers of files.
  
  
• Added an option (in the file list appearance section of the prefs) to control the spacing of the lines in the file list.
  
  
• Added an option (in the preview pane appearence section) to control the color of the thumbnail shadow.
  
  
• Added an option (in the preview pane information section; yes, not the best place... a prefs revamp is coming soon) to control whether or not to edit file names when the name is clicked on (you can set it to edit file names only when you press enter when the file is selected; some people have requested this after accidentally starting filename edits too often).
  
  
• Added the same option for the file list in the file list setup section.
  
  
• In when using manual thumbnail generation or the resource fork stripper, the progress bar is now an animated indeterminate progress bar while gBrowser searches for image files (instead of sitting there blank and useless, as they did before).
  
  
• You can now have more than one instance of the thumbnail generator and resource fork stripper.
  
  
• The resource fork stripper should now be a good deal faster (not that that was a problem before) and will give you an estimated time until completion (but it is so fast that unless you're stripping thousands of files you won't have time to see that!).
  
  
• Both the thumbnail generator and resource fork stripper now have a "review files" button that you can use to review/edit which files will be affected.
  
  
• Both the thumbnail generator and resource fork stripper can now be closed by pressing the escape key.
  
  
• The "random" option for the slideshow has been changed a bit; it is now just a regular sort option instead of a separate option. Also, you can now navigate back and forth through the random slides.
  
  
• Optimized and improved quite a few other sections of code.
  
  
• When turning off automatic thumbnail generation, the status bar gets updated immediately instead of continuing to say "Generating thumbnail for XXX" until something else caused a change.
  
  
• Added formatters and warning sheets to the text fields in the preferences panes (in case invalid values are entered), because it appears that at some point the ones that used to be there were deleted form the nib files. When, why, and how that happened I have no idea!
  
  
• I think the nasty crasher caused by automatic thumbnail generation has been fixed (finally!). In case anyone cares, the crashes were caused because something was mucking with memory it shouldn't have been accessing. All was well (on my system anyway) once I changed the way I initialized the CFMutableArrayRef I was using to queue the files to be generated (using [[NSMutableArray alloc] init...] instead of CFArrayCreateMutable()). Why this made any difference I still have NO idea, but since it seems to have fixed it I'm not going to complain ;-).
  
  

For more information or to download a copy, visit http://homepage.mac.com/schwarz/gbrowser.html.

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iCalShare lets you share your calendars

iCalShare, a new website, provides a source for iCal calendars and a place to share your calendar.

Although iCalShare doesn't provide hosting for calendars - you still have to publish them on your .Mac account or your own WebDAV server, it lets you announce your calendar and find other calendars to subscribe to.

Being able to share calendars is one of iCal's most powerful features (and the only reason I bother to use it). The current version is slow, buggy, and lacking in features, yet the ability to share calendars is a very compelling reason to use it.

I'm still using Palm Desktop, since I need to synchronize with my Handspring Visor. Hopefully the next version of iCal, along with iSync will add that capability and squash most of the bugs.

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