CHILTON WEBB  Hi,

This feature didn't work to my satisfaction, so I removed it. It'll be back in the next update as well. In Conjure 3, there was a bug in CoreAnimation that would throw off the boundaries for the object when it was rotated, so there was no way to click on it to 'unrotate' it.

For v4.0, I had the old code in there for rotation, but that slowed down everything else, because it was horribly inefficient.

For 4.1, I removed the rotation code, when I added aspect ratio scaling, because the two conflicted, and I wasn't sure which my users wanted.

I'm looking into exactly what behavior would be expected in this case, and I think iWeb does a good job of how I would expect it to work, so I'll probably be adding that to the beta tonight as well. If it checks out, the next update will have it.

-Chilton  
(Version 4.1.1)

CHILTON WEBB  Hi EEPTMAN,

That particular bug (the desktop shortcuts disappear) was fixed last night, and our beta testers are banging away on it right now. As soon as I hear back as to the status of the bugs in that one, I'll release an update.

FWIW, I believe in 4.1.1 that can also be circumvented by either forcing it to save (command+s), or by switching to a different desktop.

Thanks!

-Chilton  
(Version 4.1.1)

CHILTON WEBB  Hi,

I just downloaded xGesture. Interesting app. Mouse gestures were a concept I included in the early days of Conjure, and one I still might bring back. (Back in the early days, you clicked and swizzled objects around to make a cluster). This is an interesting app, and one I'll play with in more detail soon. However, it appears to be working fine here. Conjure doesn't do anything too outlandish or hackish to accomplish what it does, and from looking at xGestures in Shark, it's not doing anything too bad either. So I'm not sure how the problem you're seeing is happening. Of note, I'm using a MacBook Pro in this case, and I had problems with xGestures initially catching my cursor movements. Conjure was not running at the time. But it's possible it's some Snow Leopard weirdness going on there. At any rate, if you can provide me with more info though, I'd be happy to track it down.

Regarding the Command+i to open and close the info panel, that's a good idea, and I've added it to the current beta. Once the last of the known bugs is fixed, and the beta team returns no new bugs, I'll post another update.

Thanks!

-Chilton  
(Version 4.1.1)

CHILTON WEBB  Hi,

I'm sorry you've had such a bad experience with Conjure.

I've offered to refund your money a number of times, but your email address does not match any of the registrations I have on file. I would be happy to provide you with a full refund though, if you want it.

For the sake of my other users, I'd really like to find out how you ran into those bugs. There are a growing number of beta testers, and so far, none of them can reproduce any of the bugs that aren't fixed in 4.1.1.

So if you can help us reproduce any of them, or even let me know how you found them in the first place, I will fix them immediately. As evidenced by the versions of Conjure I've posted in the last month, any bugs I can reproduce are fixed within 24 hours. That's not a promise, that's just the average. All I have to do is reproduce them.

Thank you,

-Chilton  
(Version 4.1.1)

CHILTON WEBB  Another note, each new version has changed the database format a little. Rather than potentially screw up your data (as you imply I do), the app just creates a new database next to the old one. And starting in this version, Conjure will detect the presence of old database files, and it will instruct you on how to update your files.

It never, under any circumstances, damages your old files in any way, and it never has. That's a flat out lie.

-Chilton  
(Version 4.1.1)

CHILTON WEBB  And of those features you claim don't work, how do you think I made the videos showing them in action?  
(Version 4.1.1)

CHILTON WEBB  WOW!

You sound a LOT like someone I know!

Could YOU be the user in my forum who spent a lot of energy insulting me, and then had a fit when I removed the insults, leaving behind the bug reports? Could you also be the user by the same name who went through all of my YouTube videos this morning and gave them all one star? Because your writing style is identical, and your timing is impossibly consistent.

So to address yet more insults, you seem to have a problem with me fixing things, which I really don't get. Of the bugs you posted, all of them that you (or anyone) bothered to explain in detail were fixed in this update. See that list of things fixed? Some of those are your bugs. And if you go back to the forums and take a look, where users bothered to post more info, I was able to reproduce the problems, and fix them.

There are a few remaining bugs, but frankly, I have hundreds of users, and only one or two of them are reporting that they can find them. The beta team is now twelve people, and none of them can reproduce any of your remaining bugs.

If instead of criticism, you'd bothered to stick around and explain your bugs in more detail, they'd all be fixed in this version.

-Chilton  
(Version 4.1.1)

CHILTON WEBB  Hi!

This version brings a lot of new features to the table, and fixes a ton of things our users had run into, from actual bugs, to extremely specific tweaks.

But the highlights in this one are the support for customizing multiple Spaces (which to my knowledge has never been done to this extent), support for MobileMe and thumb drives, and the Organizer and Knife tools.

Conjure's features are largely community driven. If you send in a feature request, there's a good chance it will at least be seriously considered. So don't hesitate to ask!

For example, the Organizer came out of a discussion on the ConjureBunny forums. As far as I know, this is the first time this type of tool has been created. And now that I'm using it, I can't imagine how I prototyped anything without it!

-Chilton  
(Version 4.1)

CHILTON WEBB  Hi!

I realize my prior message about pricing might be confusing, so here's how it works...

1) If you want to use the full version (which has unlimited desktops), but you only want the current version that is shipping, that's called a one-shot license. That's $5. No updates, no upgrades.

2) If you want to buy the full version, and you want updates to all of the 4.x series at no additional charge, that's the normal price, $25.

3) If you're a teacher, email me. I have a special rate for teachers.

If you have any questions or suggestions, don't hesitate to get in touch.

Thanks!

-Chilton  
(Version 4.0.9)

CHILTON WEBB  Hi!

A few things of note here for the 4.0.9 release...

1) This version was not originally part of my plan. I released this one because 4.1 is taking slightly longer than I'd hoped, and Snow Leopard broke some things in 4.0.8.

2) All of the bug fixes slated for 4.1 are in 4.0.9.

3) This version is a free upgrade for all 3.x and 4.x users, even if you only bought the one-shot upgrade and were told you wouldn't get a free upgrade. 4.1 will go back to being a paid upgrade for the one-shot purchasers.

4) Most of the 'cool new things' that people are discussing in the ConjureBunny.com forums are in this version, but disabled. That's because they're just not ready yet, so they're safely tucked away. There's no way to 'just turn them on' either. But when 4.1 ships, with the exception of the cool new things, it will work exactly like this one. Exactly.

5) This includes one of the new Quartz Compositions, BunnyLand. Most likely, this version of BunnyLand will be fleshed out quite a bit prior to the 4.1 release.

6) I'll be banging on 4.1 over the weekend, so please don't hesitate to email me if you have any questions or concerns.

7) There is no seven.

Thanks!

-Chilton Webb  
(Version 4.0.9)

CHILTON WEBB  Hi Tankknight!

Excellent, excellent!

I am very happy to hear this is finally working for you!

-Chilton  
(Version 4.0.7)

CHILTON WEBB  Hi,

I'm Chilton Webb. Conjure's developer. And I'm not going anywhere.

As stated before, all MUPromo users continue to get free upgrades to this version, for the reasons outlined in my earlier posts.

When Conjure 3.x was released, I was a full time developer on another commercial product. Conjure was a part time app for me, and the demands of my full time job were too much to devote the kind of time to Conjure I needed to.

Conjure has a fully operational demo version, and always has. No limitation on anything in demo mode except the number of desktops you can use. Everything else is identical to the full version. I am sorry that you only tried it for a day, and feel like you were somehow 'taken'. I think I've offered to refund your $15 a number of times, and the offer still stands if I did not send you a refund.

Besides the free, fully functional demo, I have a very lenient refund offer if people don't like it, after they buy it.

As I stated here earlier, there were a number of reasons why I could not simply 'fix' the 3.x version. That's why 4.0 was a ground-up rewrite, and why I gave everyone a free upgrade to this version. And I think I mentioned that farther down on this page.

90% of the problems in the 3.x release were due to Core Animation bugs that Apple has now stated will not be fixed. Frankly it doesn't surprise me, as Conjure is the only app that runs into most of them. And they aren't fixed in Snow Leopard, so I think it's safe to say it is time I fixed the problem by rewriting the Core Animation based portions. The problem is, all of Conjure 3.0 was Core Animation based. So this process took hundreds of hours of work, over the last year. I believe I was very open about that fact, and tried to keep people up to date on my progress if they were curious.

I've been writing Mac apps since the late 1980's, and I'm not going anywhere. I responded to every email anyone sent me, and I believe the forums, blog, YouTube channel, email, Skype, and iChat channels I have open to all of my users make it very easy for anyone to get ahold of me, at any time.

Today, I am back to working on my own Mac applications full time, as a freelance developer. That means I can whip out updates and bug fixes as needed. I rewrote all of 4.x to add in the 3.x feature set, while keeping the stability found in the 2.0 series.

I would urge anyone trying to decide on Conjure to try it for themselves. That's why it's a FREE, FULLY FUNCTIONAL demo. And then, before you buy it, visit our forums. There is an active, and APPARENTLY HAPPY Conjure community in our forum. Watch the YouTube videos. Read the blog. Email me, and let me know what you think.

Your post goes from skeptical to borderline slanderous pretty quickly. You paid $15 for this app. I've asked you repeatedly for your contact info so I can refund your $15. My offer still stands. If you still feel cheated, and that your $15 is not worth what this app can do for you, I will be happy to send you a refund. Just email me!

-Chilton

( chilton@mac.com )  
(Version 4.0.7)

CHILTON WEBB  Hi, just a note for my PPC Leopard users out there. All PPC problems should be entirely fixed in version 4.0.7. Please give it a whirl and let me know what you think!

Thanks!

-Chilton  
(Version 4.0.7)

CHILTON WEBB  All PPC problems should be entirely fixed in version 4.0.7. Please give it a whirl and let me know what you think!  
(Version 4.0.7)

CHILTON WEBB  Hi!

Thanks for the kind words!

-Chilton  
(Version 4.0.6)

CHILTON WEBB  Hi,

Well, releasing software daily is something I don't think I could keep up indefinitely even if I wanted to ;-)

I will take your points into consideration though, and marketing Conjure has traditionally been difficult, so I'll pay attention to your thoughts on this.

Thank you!

-Chilton  
(Version 4.0.6)

CHILTON WEBB  Hi,

I should clarify this, I wasn't implying that you said I was sitting on the bug fixes. That's just how I feel about it when I see someone release a new product that has a ton of bug fixes in it. I have to ask myself why it wasn't released earlier, especially if one of the fixes was something I could have used earlier.

I do appreciate your concern.

Conjure does go through a fairly intense amount of beta testing prior to each release, and I'm fairly confident we wiped out all of the catastrophic bugs in there months ago. I have a G5, with Leopard, and it runs this fine. But I realize this might also be an OS version issue (my G5 is a few behind right now), and that's the clue I'm going off of right now.

There's some irony here. The problem that TANKKNIGHT is running into is absolutely a bug in WebKit on Leopard on PPC, or at least that's what his bug report points directly at. It's not crashing in Conjure's code at all. So I'm working on a workaround for it. Because unfortunately, I cannot depend on Apple releasing software at the rate I can.

-Chilton  
(Version 4.0.6)

CHILTON WEBB  Hi,

I understand how you feel about this, but I feel it's equally wrong to 'sit' on fixes until I have enough 'saved up' to make a big deal about its release, especially when my users could actually be using the software right now, as opposed to when I get around to letting them.

As you can see in my videos, I use Conjure every day, for almost everything I do, and I didn't catch any of these bugs. And not everything I'm posting is a bug fix, it's just that those get the most attention. In the last 24 hours, for example, I added support for Path Finder. Fortunately, I learned from building earlier versions, and figured out how to build v4 in such a way that it's trivial to update any one part without affecting anything else.

When people post bugs, it shows a weakness in the app. If I let that just sit and fester, it starts to look pretty gross. Look at how the security groups rake Apple over the coals for not fixing security bugs 'fast enough'. Right now, if someone finds something they don't like, I just fix it.

Hey, I'd love it if other apps on my desktop were fixed as quickly ;-)

-Chilton  
(Version 4.0.6)

CHILTON WEBB  Hi,

Yeah, the problem on the help system is absolutely related to PPC Macs, and I'm investigating that now. The versions after 4.0.2 should be increasingly better at handling various types of problems, so please try the latest version and see if it addresses your other issues. If not, please send me the crash logs so I can take a look at where it's going south.

If you email conjurebunny@me.com it's added to my trouble-tracking system. Including screenshots and/or crash logs gets a much faster response.

I have a PPC G5 I will test this on today.

Thanks!

-Chilton  
(Version 4.0.6)

CHILTON WEBB  Hi,

Here's the deal. Conjure 3 was based on some underlying technologies that frankly weren't designed to do the rather mundane things I thought it could. Core Animation is great at moving objects around a screen, but it kills editable text, and renders the OSX spell checker useless. It appears my bugs related to this are unlikely to be fixed in Leopard or Snow Leopard, so I have instead gone back to the 2.0 codebase, and added everything in 3.0 (and more!) to that. In the process, I redesigned the core engine to be more expandable and scalable going forward.

As a result, we have a substantially better version now. Far more stable. I think you'll like it. But it's an almost complete rewrite, so we bumped the version number. However, I also feel like my existing users didn't get the experience I wanted in 3.0, so I'm again extending the free upgrade path for all 3.x users. So if you have 3.x, just re-enter your serial number, and it should work just fine. And the same goes for MUPromo users, even though I think earlier I said it would be a paid upgrade. No charge.

That said, it creates a new database file for 4.0, so your existing 2.0 and 3.0 versions will continue to operate properly. Sometime in the future I'll add a feature to use existing databases, but that's not in this version.

Thanks!

-Chilton  
(Version 4.0)

CHILTON WEBB  I believe I replied to every email I received after the MUPromo within 24 hours, most within a few hours. I have the unlimited, free, absolutely feature complete version on there for just this reason. You can try it out, and decide before you buy it, if it's something you like. Registering it won't magically solve any of the bugs.

That said, Conjure 4, a complete rewrite to add 64 bit compatibility in Leopard and Snow Leopard, will be shipping later today (Thursday). So please try that one out, and see if it fixes it.   
(Version 3.0.2)

CHILTON WEBB  Hi,

The demo version of Conjure never runs out, and never disables any features, or in any way harms or alters any information on your computer. It is an absolute representation of the full version, with the exception of the Demo Mode branding in a few places, and the limit of 3 pages per user. So if you want to know how well it works, just download it and use it--indefinitely. I only want people to buy this once they're comfortable with it. I'm sorry you had a bad experience with it, but I can't think of any more liberal demo mode than what it already is. It's the entire program, for free, forever. The only restrictions are on creating more than 3 desktops, which is 2 more than is possible anywhere else.

As for this being in any way misleading, I think it depends on your definition of a desktop. To me, I see the desktop as that area on the screen behind the hard drive icon--the one that made the Macintosh a major departure from competing products in the 80's. I further define it as the 'drawing board' where you start your work from. As far as I know, Conjure is the *only* desktop switching application on the market, on any platform.

What you're referring to are more accurately defined as workspace or window switchers, as none of them affect the desktop, only the windows. That's not really 'desktop' switching at all, and I'm really surprised they use that term to explain it.

The issues you've referred to will be dealt with in the next update, which will be soon. For you (and all of my 3.x users), it will be a free update.

As always, if there are any specific bugs you're running into , please email me ( chilton@me.com ) and I'll make sure they get fixed.

Thanks,

-Chilton  
(Version 3.0.2)

CHILTON WEBB  Just an update, that's fixed now. The version online is a Universal Binary now.

-Chilton  
(Version 3.0.1)

CHILTON WEBB  Hi,

I'm sorry, that's an oversight on my part. I'll update it in about an hour.

-Chilton  
(Version 3.0.1)

CHILTON WEBB  Hi,

I fixed it, and there's an email address on the site now.

Thanks!

-Chilton  
(Version 3.0.1)

CHILTON WEBB  Hi,

Conjure is not a brainstorming tool, and in no way is designed to compete with products like the ones you've mentioned. I have been working on a more rigid, tool based product that does resemble both of those, but it shares very little with Conjure.

If you need a database, buy one of those. If you need a graphing program, buy one of those. Conjure isn't going to fill that need for you, and never will.

The 3.0 represents a year of work, hundreds of user interaction tests, and a lot of research into human-machine interaction. It's as 3.0 as it gets. If you think Conjure is like Curio or OmniGraffle, Conjure probably isn't for you.

-Chilton  
(Version 3.0.1)

CHILTON WEBB  Yeah, it kinda is. We came up with that as a way to interact with files easier on a ***TABLET MAC***. Or maybe a touch screen based Mac, which of course never materialized.

But now that I've been using it, it's a pretty cool way to preview lots of files without having to constantly click and drag through them. It's also good for looking for visual differences between sets of images in two folders.  
(Version 2.1.1)

CHILTON WEBB  We put new docs in there this morning, and they're also online. Movies to follow shortly.

-DW  
(Version 2.1.1)

CHILTON WEBB  Fixed, there was a bug in the iChat Theater support where it was not weak linking for Tiger compatibility. It's a known bug, so I've put a workaround for it in there.

Thanks!

-Chilton  
(Version 2.1)

CHILTON WEBB  Hi,

The website is getting an overhaul, but will remain at my Dot Mac site.

Chilton@mac.com

Thanks!

-Chilton  
(Version 2.1)

CHILTON WEBB  I hear you loud and clear. Conjure 2.1's list of new features is at least twice as long as those listed in the update here. I just couldn't remember all of them, as it's been awhile since I worked on some of them.

Better docs and movies showing how it all fits together are on the way!

-Chilton  
(Version 2.1)

CHILTON WEBB  $25 it is.  
(Version 1.3)

CHILTON WEBB  Hi. Fixed that icon for ya ;-)  
(Version 1.2)

CHILTON WEBB  Hi,

While I am thrilled people are comparing my app to Surface, there are at least six major differences:

1) If you put a drink on Conjure, you will screw up your computer.

2) This was originally called the 'Internet Scratchpad', and was part of the WebbToys shareware bundle in 1997. It was not inspired by Surface.

3) Mine only runs on a Mac, and uses Cocoa and QuickTime for a lot of the visual effects.

4) I was inspired to put rotating graphics on it after a demo Mark Lucas did for PictureData rotation in SuperCard, in 2004. I linked it to the touchpad of a Mac when I bought my first PowerBook that supported dual finger scrolling, and the scrollwheel of the MightyMouse when I finally bought one of those. I wanted to see if I could come up with a 'touch-like' way to interact with graphics.

5) Mine doesn't synch with your cell phone automatically. Yet.

6) Conjure costs $35. Surface costs around $10,000.

...though I'm perfectly happy to throw in a computer and a table if you want to part with $10,000 ;-)

-Chilton (Conjure's developer)  
(Version 1.1)

CHILTON WEBB  Hi guys,

I appreciate the comments here. Any suggestions you send to me will likely get added to the next version, which I'm wrapping up now.

Regarding iChat vs iStill for still images...

I suppose if all you need is one pass images, and don't care about the quality of the image or the dimensions, you can get that from iChat. If you decide to try the software, one of the things you'll notice is that there are controls over many aspects of the video image that simply aren't available in iChat. I wish they were--it would greatly improve iChat's usability for me.

I made the registration system in such a way that if you really really don't want to pay for it, you may use the software indefinitely, you just have to put up with the registration dialog every time it starts up. Nothing more extensive is in there--no 'unregistered' message stamped on images, no timeout, no bad karma, etc.

Regarding digital cameras...

In the next version I am contemplating this as a feature. Unfortunately, very few camera companies are complying with the spec for allowing me much control over the camera itself. The ability to do much more than import images from the camera, one at a time is about all I can guarantee, though I believe I will be able to control Canon cameras with more precision.

That said, digital *video* cameras are very well supported in the next version, as are USB cameras, and hopefully a few pieces of lab equipment (microscopes).

The new feature list is extensive. Every reported bug is fixed, and every requested feature has been added. And it's a free upgrade for existing users. If anyone has further suggestions, please email them to chilton@mac.com.

Thanks,

-Chilton  
(Version 1.0)