Timeline 3D w/ macOS Big Sur
Saturday, August 08, 2020
I have been testing Timeline 3D with Big Sur as well as iOS 14 (both are currently in beta). The bad news is that it looks like Bug Sur has changed the OpenGL pipeline such that it breaks the 3D rendering features. Apple has asked developers to move from OpenGL to Metal so it is unlikely that Apple will prioritize a fix.
The good news is that I am working on a free upgrade to Timeline 3D v5. I am rewriting our custom rendering pipeline with Metal for better graphics and battery life. I am also modernizing the user interface to support Dark Mode and other Big Sur features.
Furthermore, I have obtained a Mac Transition Kit featuring the new Apple Silicon so I will be working to make sure that Timeline 3D will be compatible with the new hardware when it becomes available.
Software development is difficult to predict, but I already have the basic features ported to Metal and am aiming to have the update ready in September. If you depend on Timeline 3D for macOS, please avoid updating to Big Sur until that update is available. iOS 14 seems to run Timeline 3D just fine so far though it is also being upgraded.
I released the first version of my Timeline software 15 years ago! That is a long time for an indie sofware application, and I am proud that some of my customers from that first year and still actively using the software today. I'm looking forward to upgrading Timeline 3D for the next generation of Apple operating systems and hardware.
Timeline 3D - Reimagined for OS X Yosemite
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
I am pleased to announce the release and immediate availability of Timeline 3D for Mac (v5), a significant update to our award-winning timeline software for Mac OS X. Completely redesigned for OS X Yosemite, Timeline 3D provides a new interface to support the creation of larger and more complex timelines. Timeline 3D helps present chronologies and historical events in full screen and with a 3D perspective.
We also launched our new website and updated help documentation to support the new version.
I encourage you to send feedback to me at support@beedocs.com. I look forward to hearing what you think of the new version. Cheers!
Important News: The Future of Timeline 3D
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
To all of my loyal Timeline 3D customers, thank you very much for your support! I have some exciting and important news regarding Timeline 3D for Mac and iOS. First, the bad news...
Yosemite and Timeline 3D v3
Timeline 3D v3 and Easy Timeline for Mac are not compatible with Yosemite OS X 10.10. I built the core functionality of these apps 6-7 years ago on features of the operating system that are no longer supported by Apple. I will be discontinuing Easy Timeline from the App Store immediately. Timeline 3D v3 for Mac will continue to sell for those customers running OS X 10.6—10.9.
If you are interested in running Apple's beta of Yosemite, please be aware that there is not yet a version of Timeline 3D that will run on it. My suggestion is to use our iOS app until we are able to ship a new OS X application (more info on that below).
Timeline 3D in the Future
For several years, I have been anticipating these changes and have been developing technologies to support a transition. My goal for Timeline 3D is to allow a seamless experience across your Mac, iPhone, and iPad. I was pleased to see Apple reveal a similar vision for their platforms at this year’s WWDC.
Many of the next generation features are shipping in the iOS app already and will be coming to a brand new OS X version of Timeline 3D over the next few months. This strategy has many benefits.
Timeline 3D for OS X benefits:
Speed and Stability — Build on modern OS X frameworks and technologies.
iCloud sync with other Macs and with iOS
Retina display support for 3D presentations.
Better animations and lighting in 3D timelines.
Faster, smarter, and more accurate date parsing in all localizations
Per-timeline localization — For example, build a French timeline if you are in the UK
Auto-save and document versions
3D web exports using WebGL
Simplicity — No more tweaking fonts and image sizes to get a timeline to fit on a page.
Continuity Features — Seamlessly move between Apple devices without loosing your place.
App Store Distribution — Timeline 3D for OS X is coming to the App Store!
Timeline 3D for iOS gains:
Support of iOS 8 features and devices
iCloud sync with Macs and other iOS devices
Movie Export — Render HD movies of your 3D timeline.
Continuity Features — Seamlessly move between Apple devices without loosing your place.
Please note that this ground-up redesign means that some features that have been a part of Timeline 3D for Mac will not be available immediately on the new version, for example, event rows and event colors. As I bring new features to Timeline 3D, they will be added to both platforms at the same time whenever it makes sense to do so.
Timeline 3D for OS X will support OS X 10.10 and above. The new Timeline 3D for iOS will support iOS 8 and above. I expect to launch the new versions soon after Apple officially launches their new operating systems later this year.
Pricing
Timeline 3D is going freemium. For free, anyone will be able to download Timeline 3D for OS X or iOS, make and edit timelines, and present them in 3D. You also will be able to sync timelines over iCloud and share timeline documents using AirDrop or Dropbox. There is no time limit and no limits to the number of timelines or events that you can create and present.
If you are a regular user of Timeline 3D, there will be an option to purchase unlimited exports, in which case the app will never present an in-app purchase option to you again.
If you prefer an à la carte option, then exporting your timeline will require an in-app purchase. There will be a fee each time you print or export a PDF, PowerPoint slideshow, Keynote slideshow, HD Movie, or WebGL website. For example, if you use the timeline occasionally for a homework project, the software should be much less expensive for you than it is now.
The new pricing model is designed to allow people to use the core features of Timeline 3D without paying (there are no free trials in the App Store). It also allows schools to install a usable version of Timeline 3D on every iPad and Mac for free. It allows current customers to make the switch without paying to gain access to their existing timelines, and it enables you to send your timeline document to someone who does not yet own the software without requiring them to purchase.
Conclusion
I am excited about the future of Timeline 3D. The work I am doing now builds on over 10 years of experience with timeline software and thousands of support conversations. I am also a bit nervous, because I know that it may be a bumpy few months during the transition for some of you. I am committed to making the transition as fair and as painless as possible for existing customers.
If you have any questions, please contact me at support@beedocs.com. To stay informed of betas and launches, please subscribe to this blog and connect to our twitter account.
Labels: iOS, Mac OS X, timeline 3D, update, Yosimite
A new bug in 10.6.3
Thursday, April 08, 2010
Well, the good news is that the majority of you who had problems using Mac OS X 10.6.2 are now back up and running at full speed with Apple's latest software update.
The bad news is that some customers are experiencing a new bug with Mac OS X 10.6.3 that prevents them from seeing the interactive 3D presentations at all. Here is what we know so far:
We've heard from about 10 customers who are experiencing the new bug, although I am sure that there are more of you who we have not heard from yet.
So far, everyone experiencing the bug has one of the MacBook models sold between May 16, 2006 and Nov 1, 2007. Specifically these are the ones that used the Intel GMA 950 graphics processor. My speculation is that the bug is a compatibility issue between that graphics chip and something in 10.6.3.
It appears that exporting a 3D timeline as a movie or Keynote presentation still works for these customers, so the issue seems limited to the full-screen display of the timeline.
I informed my contacts at Apple about the new bug. It is challenging for me to diagnose since I don't have that particular model of computer on hand. I may try to buy one on E-Bay so that I can experiment with possible work arounds.
In the mean time, if you experience problems launching the full-screen 3D mode, please send Elise a note describing the behavior you are seeing. If you have access to a different model of Mac, you are welcome to transfer your software license. Also, you can use a Keynote export if you need a way to present your timeline in 3D.
I'll let you know if I can learn anything else about this. If anyone reading this has more details, please let us know as well. Thanks!
Apple fixed 3D graphics issues in 10.6.3!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Today, Apple released Mac OS X 10.6.3 which solved the performance bugs that affected Bee Docs Timeline 3D in 10.6.2.
If you are using Snow Leopard, upgrade your system as soon as possible. This release also fixes a number of other significant issues. See the information provided by Apple for a complete list.
I have a many people to thank:
Thanks to the developer relations people at Apple for advocating this issue on our behalf so that it received the appropriate priority within Apple. Of course, thanks to the engineers who fixed the bug too!
Thanks to Gary C. Martin who has been working very hard the past few months to try to find a work around. Ultimately, we were able to develop an alternative technology that was very fast (even on 10.6.2) but there were some image quality issues that were very hard to solve so in the past week, I made the decision to wait for Apple's fix. It was tedious and technical work and was not as rewarding as working on new features would have been, but I'm very thankful for Gary's efforts.
Thanks to Elise for answering people's questions, exporting timelines for customers, and keeping everything cool.
Last but not least, we have the best customers in the world. A few of you needed to blow off steam on the blog, which I understand. However, many people sent us encouraging e-mails and stories of the work they were doing despite the limitations. Our sales levels have held steady and out of hundreds of active customers only about 2 or 3 people asked for refunds because of the 10.6.2 bug.
This situation has been stressful for all of us. I'm glad there is a solution available now. I am really glad to have a new "top priority" which is developing in the 3.x version. Stay tuned...
Labels: bug, Mac OS X, performance, upgrade
Performance Bug with Mac OS X 10.6.2
Monday, November 23, 2009
I am sorry to report that a bug in Mac OS X 10.6.2 is causing a dramatic performance decline in the 3D mode of Bee Docs Timeline.
If you have not updated to Mac OS X 10.6.2, please do not upgrade yet!
We measure the performance of the 3D mode in frames per second (FPS). The more frames per second that can be generated, the smoother the animation in the full-screen presentation mode will be and the quicker a movie can be exported.
The exact frames per second depends mostly on your graphics card and the size of your timeline as well as the way that we have implemented our software code. For example, I have a test timeline of about 30 events that runs on my MacPro at 60 fps. As a rule of thumb, frame rates above 30-40 fps will look smooth and frame rates slower than that will appear to be choppy or jumpy.
Apple released an update to Mac OS X earlier this month (10.6.2) that introduced a bug to their graphics technology that affects this performance. That timeline that I mentioned in the previous paragraph now renders at about 1 fps, which is unacceptable for most real world uses.
This is a bug that is affecting any software products that rely on this specific graphics technology. I have contacted several of the other developers who are having issues to compare notes. I have also been working with Gary C Martin from Scotland, who developed the 3D mode with me. Finally, I have been trading e-mails with my contacts at Apple to make sure they know about the problem and to seek their advice.
The first rule of solving any bug is to narrow the problem down to a simple, consistent example that always demonstrates the bug. I have been able to develop such a test case that I have sent to Apple and to a couple other developers to help them understand the problem in detail.
There are a few options for solving this. One is to provide Apple with all of the information that they need to reproduce and fix the bug. They have that information now, so hopefully they will fix it in the next update, but Apple does not share their plans publicly so we'll have to wait and see. They tent to release Mac OS X updates every few months so it might be a while even if they fix it in the next update.
We are also trying to develop an Bee Docs Timeline update ourselves so that we can get you a working 3D mode without waiting for Apple to fix their bug. I have an idea that I have tried with my test code that makes me hopeful that we can come up with a solution in the near future. It is a major change of the way our 3D technology works so I will want to put it through a good amount of testing before we release it. However, I am hopeful that we can get it out in the next week or so.
Thank you to everyone who has sent us detailed descriptions of the problems they are experiencing, especially those of you who have been polite about it despite the frustrating bug. I am sorry for each one of you that has been impacted by this. We are doing all that we can to fix it quickly and I trust that the developers at Apple are doing likewise.
I will post another blog entry when we have a release ready to ship. I may also create a technical post for developers that describes the work-around we are implementing. You can also follow my twitter feed for more incremental status updates.
Labels: beedocs, bug, Mac OS X, performance, update
Leopard Announced!
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Apple announced today that Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) will be shipping on October 26th at 6:00pm!
Be sure to order a copy, so that you will be ready to install Bee Docs' Timeline 2.0 as soon we released it.
T2 Sneak Peeks: Images and Colors
Friday, October 05, 2007
Bee Docs' Timeline has always been first and foremost about communicating history in a beautiful and elegant fashion.
To this end, T2 will introduce event images! To add images to events, you simply drag and drop images from the image panel onto the events in your timeline. The timeline automatically resizes the image and reformats the event layout to fit the image. You can also drag and drop images from other applications.
To create the following timeline, I dragged images of jazz piano players directly from Safari (wikipedia.org) onto the related events.
Images can be resized on a per event basis or in bulk, and your events can also include notes and hyperlinks as well. Notice that two of the events shown in the screenshot contain notes and that each event can link back to the Wikipedia article that describes the event. Like the other screenshots that I am posting, the layout is completely automatic, there was no dragging events around to make them fit.
This is one of the most requested features and I am thrilled to be able to provide the functionality with T2!
Labels: Mac OS X, t2, timeline software
WWDC 2007
Friday, May 18, 2007
I'm heading down to San Francisco for the Apple Developer (WWDC) conference in just over three weeks. I'm really looking forward to geeking out for a week.
In my dreams, Steve Jobs will reveal an iPhone SDK, uber-thin portable Macs with touch screens, and secret Leopard features that are so great they will double the Mac market share (not to mention free iPhones for all attendees Oprah style)... I guess we'll have to wait and see.
One the sessions that I am most looking forward to is Developing Web Sites for iPhone:
iPhone completely redefines browser-based web access on a mobile phone. Learn iPhone best practices for ensuring optimal web development of your existing website, or hosted web application. Join the iPhone Safari and WebKit browser development teams as they share the latest techniques on mobile browser-based user experience design and development.
I can't wait to design some software for the iPhone and until Apple releases an SDK for the iPhone it looks like the web is going to be the first way to get content on there. Will it support Flash, javascript, forms, Ajax? Can we avoid the zoom-in zoom-out thing if the web page is designed for the size of the iPhone screen? I'm looking forward to finding out...
Of course I've got my schedule packed with Cocoa and Graphics sessions too. Hopefully I can figure out the kosher way to do some of the things I have hacked together for T2 (because there is little documentation of the new Leopard features at this point).
If any of you are going to be there, let's hook up for a meal or a something. I'd love to meet some new folks in the Apple universe. Let me know.
Labels: iPhone, leopard, Mac OS X, San Francisco, WWDC
Icon Design
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
As many of you know, I've begun work on the next major release of Bee Docs' Timeline. I call it "T2". It is still several months away from beta, so patience will be required if you are waiting for it, but I'm ready to start blogging about it.
This time around, I have a little more money to spend on the project, and a lot less time. This means that instead of doing everything myself like I did for the first version, I can bring on some collaborators to help out with certain aspects.
One aspect that I think can be improved from the original version is the icon design. I designed the "watch" icon that is currently the application icon. I think it looks pretty good, but it doesn't accurately represent the use of the software, and it doesn't stand out at smaller sizes.
I've been hunting for a world class Mac OS X icon designer for several months. I wanted someone who specialized in Mac icons as Mac icons tend to have a specific look and feel. I also wanted someone who understands the value of simplicity, but who also has a strong eye for detail.
I recently came across Kenichi Yoshida, a young icon designer from Japan, who has some beautiful examples of his work on his website. I'm excited that Kenichi has agreed to design the application icon for T2 and we have already sent a flurry of e-mails back and forth brainstorming and refining the design.
I'm also excited that Kenichi has given me permission to blog the work in progress. So in the next few blog entries, I'll discuss the design process and show you some of the sketches and drafts as the work comes together. Stay tuned!
Labels: icon design, Kenichi Yoshida, Mac OS X, timeline software