French and German Localizations Released!
Thursday, May 29, 2008
A couple of days ago I posted Bee Docs' Timeline 2.1.1 (both the 3D and Standard Editions). I'm very excited to announce that the new versions include, among other things, French and German localizations. I have had many loyal and enthusiastic customers from Germany and France for a while now and it gives me great pleasure to be able to provide Bee Docs' Timeline in their native languages.
A couple of weeks ago, I posted a request for help translating to these two languages and received so many volunteers that I had to turn a handful of people away. To do the translation work, I posted phrases that need translating in a Google Docs spreadsheet and my collaborators filled in the proper translation, often in real-time. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone that volunteered and helped!
I'm sure the translations aren't perfect yet and there are still a few missing phrases, so feel free to send me an e-mail if you see something that needs correction. In fact, I already have a stack of suggested corrections so I will try to make sure those get fixed in the next update. After the translations in the user interface are stabilized I will work on localizing the help documentation, website, and videos too.
I started with German and French because I already had a large number of existing customers in those countries, but I am definitely interested in localizing in more languages in the future. If you would be willing to volunteer to help translate to another language, please send me an e-mail (Adam at BeeDocuments dot com) and we'll get started!
Labels: french, german, languages, localization, timeline, volunteers
Songs Used in Our Videos
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
I've been receiving a lot of e-mails about the song used in the original "3D Edition" announcement video. Each time I put together a screencast or video, I usually spend a few hours scouring the net for a great song that captures the feeling of the video and is available with a podsafe or creative commons license. Sometimes it takes a bit of hunting, but there is some wonderful music out there.
Here are direct links to some of the music I have used recently. Enjoy the music and please support these artists who have allowed their music to be used for creative projects.
- ditto ditto - by ditto ditto (used in the current "3D Edition")
- Wake the Sun - by The Matches (used in edited "3D Edition")
- Turn Out The Light - by The New Amsterdams (used in "RSS importer and Chart Backgrounds")
- The Blue Roses - by Rookie of the Year (used in "NetNewsWire Importer")
- Its About Your Soul - Delphinium Blue (used in "Tick Marks")
- Stop - by the Plain White T's (used in "Recently Played Songs")
- Mystic Chants - by Anne Young (used in "Lord of the Rings Timeline")
Labels: ccmixter, creative commons, ditto, music, podsafe, video
Bee Docs' Timeline in German and French
Friday, May 16, 2008
I am working hard to include German and French localizations of Bee Doc' Timeline in the next release, but I need your help to finish the work.
If you would like to volunteer to help translate some of the user interface labels to French or German, please send me an e-mail (Adam at BeeDocuments.com) and I will send you instructions on how you can help. Even if you only have time to translate a few phrases, it would be wonderful. Thanks!
Labels: french, german, localization, timeline, translation, volunteers
Upgrade to Bee Docs' Timeline 3D Edition
Monday, May 12, 2008
Thank you for all of the positive feedback and kind e-mails so far! Knowing that people are excited about the new features makes up for the late nights Gary and I have been spending trying to hit this deadline.
The most frequently asked question so far is "How do I upgrade to the 3D Edition if I already have a Bee Docs' Timeline license?" Here is how:
- Download and install the 3D Edition.
- Confirm that your existing license is entered in the Registration Panel (should transfer automatically)
- In the Registration Panel, click the "Upgrade to 3D" button.
- The upgrade will cost $25
Alternatively, you will be offered an opportunity to upgrade if your standard license is installed and you attempt to use a 3D feature that is restricted (such as export to Devices).
Labels: 3d edition, 3d timeline, license, upgrade
Timeline 3D Edition Available Now!
I have just posted the 3D Edition to our main download page.
Be the first on your block to have 3D timelines!
Labels: 3d timeline, announcement, download, launch
Bee Docs Timeline - 3D EDITION (video)
Friday, May 09, 2008
I am very happy to announce Bee Docs Timeline - 3D Edition! I've put together a five minute video to tell you all about it:
WEB:
DOWNLOADS:
Apple TV Optimized - 159.3 Mb (zip)
iPod / iPhone Optimized - 51.5 Mb (zip)
Labels: 3d, 3d timeline, edition, mac, software, timelines, video
About 3D Timelines - Part III.
Friday, May 02, 2008
In December 2007, Gary C Martin sent some feature suggestions to me regarding Timeline 2.0, which was still in beta at the time. As I often do, I followed the links in his e-mail signature because I can see what kind of people are using Bee Docs' Timeline. Turns out Gary is a 3D artist and made a very sophisticated Asteroids game using Apple's Quartz Composer technology.
I've always thought that it would be great to be able to hire some customers to help me develop Bee Docs' Timeline and here was a great opportunity. I sent Gary the 3D design concept that I made using Motion and asked if he would be interested in helping me make the feature a reality. Within days he started sending me working prototypes of 3D timelines and we have been collaborating on it ever since.
Doing a mock-up of a 3D timeline was relatively easy, it took about a day. Getting it to work for the huge diversity of timelines that are possible with Bee Docs' Timeline is a much greater challenge. Timelines and events can be different sizes, aspect ratios, fonts, etc... Performance and interaction issues are tricky too. Gary has been doing the Quartz Composer programming and figuring out the calculations for zooming, rotation, movement, and performance while I have been doing the associated Cocoa programming and leading the design.
All of our communications have been via e-mail (Gary lives in Edinburgh, Scotland) and it has been fantastic working with someone who does amazing work and has also been a customer of Bee Docs' Timeline since May 2007.
I look forward to hiring more customers in the future, so if you'd ever be interested in working with me, be sure to let me know what you do! At the moment, I could really use some help with PR...
Labels: 3d, customer, gary martin, quartz composer, timeline