Strong Bad Email Viewer for Mac6.0

Software is way out of date. It doesn't track the 30 or so newest Strong Bad e-mails. Also, though the interface is nice, it basically does the same thing as the website itself.

Just go to the freaking HOMESTARUNNER.COM WEBSITE!!! WTF? It's not hard to navigate at all. Why the heck would you need 3rd party software!!!

i dont no if this is happening to everybody else, but these stupid makers better fix it because this is almost the only thing that my younger brother looks up to.

Anyone have this and are willing to email me it? The Download link does not work anymore

Where has it gone????? Link is invalid!! Please bring it back we love Strong Bad!!

What happened to the site? I can't download it.

You uys are the best.

After a ridiculously long break, I am resuming development of this... Expect a new version when I finish =D

Strong Bad is the greatest man alive!

Please could someone send me this app. I deleted it thinking I could upgrasde to the new version & now it is gone. Please help:) run4pre@comcast.net

Oh no... where did it go??? :( :( :(

dear strong badman I know you hate the "How do you type with boxing gloves". But I'm not going to ask that instead I'm going to ask. How does The Cheat type with no fingers. Call me the number is 750-2456 My hero Eric Glenn Griffin of Spring Arbor MI p.s. I hate my name.

Charlie, You kind of suck lately...

When are you going to update the files Charlie? If you've decided to not work on this anymore, why not make it open source?

The reason is because quicktime is being used to display the email, rather than a native flash plugin (which I can't do, because there's no SDK for it which I know of.) The next-best bet is to use the safari SDK, which will be done with the next version. If Apple had something similar to ActiveX (or another way for me to access native flash things), this would be different, but until flash gets its own NSView subclass, I'll have to use quicktime, or the browserview from the safari SDK, which, as I said, I'm working on.

Charlie!?!?! Why is it that you can't do many of the interactive activities that you can normally do through the website? Such as, Duck Pond the game isn't really playable because there doesn't appear to be any keyboard input. Please consider fixing this in the future...

Hey Charlie? When are you going to do the next update? The new one is hysterical.

Hey. The not-updating is my fault. I haven't been posting the updates. I'll go fix them all now.

I have the same problem it doesn't update at all no matter what i do

Great app, except for some reason new episodes don't appear for me, even when they're up at HomestarRunner.com. Is something wrong with it on my machine, specifically? Or is this just a bug in the program? If the latter, please fix it! It's a horrible bug.

No, it is closed-source. Not because I mind it being open, but because I want to be the only one who manages this. I'm resorting it so the new cartoons are at the top.

Excellent app, however one easy change I would highly recommend making would be sorting the episodes so that the most recent is at the top of the list instead of the bottom. It's annoying to have to scroll to the very bottom to see if there's a new one and choose it...this'll be the most common action people perform. So, A-, but it'd be an A+ with more logical date sorting ;) PS is the source available anywhere also? That'd be neat...

I could port it to windows, but why? :P. I'm not going to go listing it on Versiontracker or anything. Mac only is the way to go.

You, my friend, are truly using your powers for awesome. This app rocks in every sense of the word...my PC using friends are so jealous! Don't ever port it to Windows ;)

It's been confirmed as a problem with proxies. I'm working on it.

Something's wrong on your end. I've tested this on several different computers, and had people test it in several different countries. Are you behind a proxy? If you're a UNIX user, it's likely you know what you're doing, but I'd prefer you DONT trash my ratings when your problem is unique.

I am no newbie. I've been doing macs and UNIX for many years, and I know what a doubleclick is. I am telling ya, it hangs when I doubleclick on an episode. It doesn't work, get it ?

The new email for this morning (Monday, 16 June) has been added (it will update automatically). Now, the newest email will have (NEW!) written next to it in the list.

Please explain how it doesn't work. Make sure to look at the README so you know you're doing it right. It should work perfectly when you double-click a file. I just tested it again... it works fine for me. Feel free to email me if there are any problems.

Don't work when I press any button to start a movie. I'll wait for an update, then I'll rate it again.

Worked for about 10 seconds, then I pressed the volume up key on my keyboard and the sound died completely. Cool idea tho.

Version 6 is done and up. The interface is similar, but a little different, as far as menus go. Everything else promised is in, except now there is no error message, and the online updating will work automatically. Enjoy!

Version 6 is being written. I've decided not to let the assholes at perversiontracker make me cancel my work. Version 6 will take a while to be finished, but it will be, BY FAR, the best SBEMAIL viewer ever. Here are the features planned * Better error message :P * Multi Threaded. This'll mean no more beachball, and better performance by far. * Cool new interface. If you have any suggestions for the interface, for the love of anything, email me asap with your ideas, and I'll implement 'em. charliethefatguy@mailup.net is my address. * Better pop-up toolbar. * Categories * A lot of elbow grease Hopefully, this will turn out better than the last one :). -Charlie

perversiontracker.com sucks !!! You rule. Don't give up, Strong Bad rules, and your app made him rule even more !!! Even though I miss the seperate playlists and the update to work. Things like that must be fixed before you shut down. Please, atleast make it open-source if you close down

CHARLIE!!!! Don't give up the ship! Come on. Get back to work on updating this GREAT application. You don't want to just throw away all that work that you just put into the new development. Please don't give up on us. We love what you've done.

Aw, c'mon Charlie. Don't let them get to you. This is a great app. Keep it alive. Please...

If i were you i wouldn't take that to heart. I didn't even know that site existed, i just went and checked it out(it doesn't even display properly, irony anyone?). The very site itself should be part of its own list. :)

That's because I didn't update the list. I'm canceling the project due to perversiontracker.com listing me. Maybe I'll make a new version, but expect nothing new for now.

OK, this week's "Sibbie" doesn't appear in the list when you hit Update from the Web". It's not at the top of the list, that's for sure, I tell you.

I see it now. I thought that it would show up in order. Thanks.

It should work... it should be added to the top of the list.

Ran into an issue today. Hit the update from the web, the latest strong bad e-mail from monday didn't get added to the listing. I thought that the update feature was working. I guess not... :[

lots of fun! always had trouble finding the site ... guess i could have bookmarked it, but this is much better! one suggestion for the developer, i always find my self looking for one of the categories, a little search string filter at the top of the list would make finding say the "dragon" episode much easier. great little app thanks for killing our productivity!

On a scale of one to awsome, this is super great! Love the full screen mode. Only one request - an option to display Flash at medium quality setting for us peoples still using a COMPY 386.

Awesome application Charlie. I should be working right now, but this app is so addictive. Way to go!

This update has made my life complete. The text doesn't get ahead of itself anymore. I love the new interface.

Per all the requests, I will be bringing back all the catagories. The original idea was that you can sort them as you wish, but it appears people prefer catagories... no problem, I'll work on it soon. Expect the 5.1 update soon enough. -Charlie

Great update! Only thing I'd like you to bring back are the categories and the progress bar. Thanks for a great app!

I like this app. It's a little rough around the edges, (I haven't seen a crash 'tho), but it works as advertised. Thank you for writing it, the world is a better place.

I don't see how the program could have possibly become more difficult to operate. You still click the e-mail to view, and it still plays. I'm glad that the drawer is gone, the interface seems cleaner, and the application is more responsive. I'm pleased with the update.

I l0ove this program, you shoudl make an option for saving e-mails after we download them, I have dial-up and downloading these e-mails several times can be a pain... You could ahve them cached somewhere... Also, bring back the seperate lists for the different parts, so we know which are e-mails and which are Homestar and which are Marzipan... I love this program and the auto-update is awesome!!!!

I haven't experienced crashing. Can you tell me what you're doing when it crashes so I can look into it, please?

Strongbad viewer 5 is awefully crash-prone. I installed it on another volume, not in /Applications.

I'm confused as to what makes this harder to use. Can you specify, and I'll fix what you dislike. -Charlie

Yo, bring back the OLD user interface, it was much better! Wow, online updating, spiffy, but the thing is even HARDER to use now. I really liked version 4 much better, it was a decently made app, that was easy to use.

Version 4 has been totally dropped... With that said, I'm pleased to announce version 5, coming very soon. There will be a wide array of features. -Online Updating. Press the Update button, the list of emails, toons, and so forth are updated. For this feature, the internal storage of the URLs and such will now be a database, stored in your preferences folder. The database will follow a relatively simple format, and will be hosted and updated every monday, as soon as the new toons are released. -Storage of the flash files will be implemented. This may not be with the first release, as I'm brainstorming how I want to best implement this, and I want you guys to get your grubby hands all over the build ASAP, as always :). -Completely Re-Programmed. Since I'm redoing the one thing, I'll redo the whole thing. There'll be some cool improvements. For example, the viewer will be centered when you resize, rather than off to the left. There will also be a Full Screen mode, for when people want to just sit back and watch. Gumpan Pradispong has turned the project over to me, so there will be a new email address to send bug reports, feature requests, and so forth. I'm still working intimately closely with him to ensure the best possible program. I can be reached on iChat as CharlieTheFatGuy or via email as charliethefatguy@mailup.net Gumpan's email at BazooDJG@mailup.net about this will also be forwarded to me. Thanks. Charlie

As soon as this program starts updating automatically it will be great. Could also stand a little debugging of the scroll bar when the window has been resized.

Hey guys. Strong Bad Email Version 4 has been completely rewritten in cocoa for support for online updating. It's currently in internal alpha builds, and it is at a point where it plays emails, and can update from the web. I've been recently learning cocoa, and the program is amazing under it. You guys will be able to do anything from going from Metal to Aqua, to adding controls to the NIB. Don't expect perfection on 4.0, but I'd say version 4.1 or 4.2 will have a near replica of what's up now, plus the online updating. Unfortunately, the Continuous feature is gone in the new cocoa builds. I'm working on it though. Also, there will be one listbox with all of the toons in it. No longer will it be different sections for different types of cartoons. However, I think you guys will find the massive speed increase and online updating WELL worth it. -Gumpan, Developer

Just what I wasn't looking for, but hit the spot!

i love it i love it i love it i love it i love it i love it i love it i love it i love it i love it i love it i love it i love it i love it i love it i love it i love it i love it i love it i love it i love it i love it i love it i love it i love it i love it i love it i love it i love it i love it i love it i love it i love it i love it

Any speed issues you get are due to the homestarrunner.com web site. If you try it at like midnight on a weeknight, it's always light-speed fast. I'm working on mirroring the toons to enhance speed more. It's not a machine performance issue... this app will run the same on an old iBook as on a new PowerMac as far as downloading the videos. In other news, 3.5's out, and the easter egg hunt begins! It's not a strong bad-related easter egg, but it should be entertaining... there are actually two eggs, but one is MUCH harder to find than the other. Happy hunting! -Gumpan, Head (and sole) Developer As always, let me know what you think. It's been grueling learning cocoa, and I don't think the port of this app to cocoa is going to happen. Let me put it this way. Cocoa + Quicktime != Good. Also, performance isn't as good as here in Carbon. Coming in Version 4, as everyone wants, is online updating. It will be synced to three servers. More info on this later. 4 will also have more extensive documentation, and I may release the source soon (but may not, since this is kind of my baby. -Gumpan (wow, double signature).

runs UBER slow on my machine. g4 400mhz radeon 9000 video card

To everyone: Thank you very much. It has been a trip writing this software for all of you for free. I've loved doing it, and I've loved the response I've gotten. Two or three versions from now, Online Updating will be fully implemented. At this point (which should be version 4), I am considering rewriting the app in cocoa... I'm learning objective C, and think it'd be a great project. Anyone who wants to beta test when it is available, please drop me a line at bazoodjg@mailup.net asap. Also, thanks to macupdate for being the only ones kind enough to host my program. Without you, it'd be impossible for me to show everyone the software I've made. -Gumpan

You rule, seriously. There is nothing that doesnt' rule about this.

This even works well enough in OS 8.6! I'm delighted because I love these toons. Great jerb!!

Thanks!!

cool

good

Hey... thanks. If I do it, it will be in the upcoming version. Right now, all the code is based on streaming the movies fromt he Homestarrunner site, and it'd take 1 or 2 days full of hard work for me to change it. I'll eventually do it, but not yet. It should be OK streaming. I have a powerbook, so I'd like to take them with me too, but it will take some work, which I'm willing to put forth. Anyways, to answer your question, it's now streaming, but I'll try to integrate the downloaded version as soon as I can. -Gumpan

I'm not going to rate it yet, because I'm only just acquainting myself with the program, but it looks great. My only question is about something the developer mentioned in an earlier post: "One will be with all the files included, for faster usage, and the other will be as it is now, streaming." I would REALLY like a version with all the files included. Is that in the current or an upcoming version? Mine seems to be streaming. long live Strong Bad!!

Update: Version 3.2 (will be coming tonight) will have numbers at the end of the list of emails... 71 through 100. If you wish not to download new versions, you can watch any of these emails numbered 71-100 with this... just double click them. They will work when they are released, each monday. Until then, they'll do nothing. This basically extens the longevity between releases, and should prove helpful to solve some of the people's gripes. I hope to soon implement a better system of updating, but I can't make any promises. -Gumpan Pradispong

Auto-Updating is in the works. It's not very easy to implement, basically because there's no list on the homestarrunner website of which email is which, so I'd have to manually keep one on my own website, and update each monday. But, because the app is in rapid development (jumped from 1.0 to 3.2[coming today] in only a week) I'm sure I'll have a way to do this implemented soon enough. I'm going to put in a way to enter which number email you want, but take note it won't be compatable with the buttons. Enjoy the app... It's my first major one, and I've been working hard. -Gumpan

Great program, puts Scroll buttons 2.0 to shame! Makes watching multiple emails very easy. One gripe...needs auto-updating...or somehow be able to select the newest email...just like "Or put ## Here" thingy.

Awesome program! Saves time having to go to the website. Would be even better if it had a way of automatically updating every Monday when new emails are posted. Maybe add a Refresh or Update button to add the latest email.

I love this!!! Eliminates the need to fire up the browser and navigate the site when I feel like watching any of the Strong Bad Email. And it's FREE!!!!!!!

I'm also curious how you guys say it's great, then give it a poor value when it's free. These reviews are what I live by, as to what to change and what not to, so any input I appreciate, but I'd like to know you're not just giving off numbers. -Gumpan

10.1 doesn't like the Metal. Just use the Aqua version. I reccomend it for 10.2 and better, though it SHOULD run on 10.1 -Gumpan

What a great app. Homestarrunner is great. The only problem for me is that with the metal version, the background (which should be metallic) is just plain white. This may be because i am running os 10.1??? Apart from that, its great.

Version 3.1 should be up any second now. When you download 3 you're now downloading 3.1. Basically, the main difference, other than a bugfix and SBEMAIL70, is that you can pick whether you want Aqua or Brushed. This should please everyone. -Gumpan

I am aware of the resizing bug. It's been fixed for the next build. Also, if you want Brushed rather than Aqua, you'll be able to download which one you want. More information to come. -Gumpan, Head Developer

anyone who thinks there is no need for this application is a lazy crap for crap.

I know I might be in the minority about this one, but I like the brushed metal appearance. Great app nonetheless, and hopefully an inspiration for more browserless apps.

An update for you guys. Version 3 is in the works. It will have playlists and other major new features. Please e-mail me if you would like to alpha/beta test. Thanks much. -Gumpan ( bazoodjg@mailup.net )

If any of you guys have special requests, like Aqua rather than brushed, or add / remove particular features, PLEASE e-mail me. Everything people say I take into account, and I want to make the app the best it can be for the purpose it serves. I'm hard at work on implementing an updating system within the app for the newest emails, and I'm equally hard at work adding things like playlists and other fun extras. Any ideas any of you may have I will take seriously, and do something about. Also, I appreciate as many reviews as I can possibly get... I need feedback on the product! :) -Gumpan Pradispong, head developer.

Most responsive developer ever! He responded to my email within 5 minutes (!!!) with a new build of the app addressing all my comments. Great app too.

Love the icon!

Awesome program, funny cartoons! Stick with a no-metal interface. It looks perfect already!

Nuh uh! The app looks great in non-metal. http://members.cox.net/acrappa/strongbad.png

Thanks for the review. I plan to release two versions of the next release (2.2). One will be with all the files included, for faster usage, and the other will be as it is now, streaming. I also might have to release one Aqua / OS9 version and one Brushed Metal / OSX version. Anyone who's tried to run a brushed app in OS9 can understand why. Actually, OS9 support is being worked on. There are some problems with some of the files in OS9, so I'm investigating what it might be. Please, as always, let me know with any feature requests. My list of improvements for now is as follows. Updating of the Drawer to show which email you are on. (Will be implemented in 2.2) Smaller Buttons, more of them (2.2) Randomize feature (2.2) Playlists (3) This will be the main update for 3, and it will be similar to the way iTunes handles playlists. This will not be easy to do, by any means, but it's coming. It'll just take a large quantity of work. Right now I think the program is doing really well. In three days, I've come from version 1 (really bad, email me for it if you want it) to this, and this is quite good for just one person with a vision. I love strongbad, and I want to make this as good as possible. Please always let me know if something needs changing, updating, or adding. Just understand that I'm working on this project however much I can as it is :). Continue to review! You're giving me great ideas. As for the aqua version (as opposed to Brushed): I'm not sure this will actually be done. The reason is because I'm pretty sure everyone can live with brushed, and it's hard to change from one to the other within an application. I'm always looking into a way to do this, and have a solution, but it will take a lot of work which I could be putting into more important things. Plus, Aqua just doesn't look good for this program. Anyways, I will post an aqua build for those who want it, (I have it now, email to receive it), but I'm warning you, it looks bad. -Gumpan, Developer

I like the sliding drawer. Good job. I must ask, though, can you make a way to download the files to the hard drive with the program?

This is because quicktime, which is what's playing the flash movies, doesn't allow keyboard input for flash movies. I'm working on it. I will likely be able to provide a Full Screen button, but no guarantees. I'm trying to make something which will do as well on small screens as on large ones. Unfortunately, I'm not good with Objective C. I love cocoa, but it's awfully hard for me to do. It won't make any speed-related differences. The lack of snappiness is because of you accessing the site. You'll notice that at times where there are not a lot of viewers at homestarrunner.com there is better speed. The only other option is including the flash files with the program, which will be one of the two download options in Version 3. I care what people think of my program, and everything you reccomended I will look into. I've sent you an email too. -Gumpan, Head Developer

By the way, Strong Bad's Duck Pond Simulator doesn't work in the viewer application. :(

Wow, a response from the developer already! It's great to hear that you're open to suggestions. I don't mind if there isn't a rubber band if resizing the videos would cause some sort of distortion to the image. I thought that resizing Flash animations wouldn't do this, but I wasn't sure. Beyond those suggestions that I made, it would also be cool to see some interface improvements. The buttons could look look better (icons rather than text, perhaps?), mainly. Also, would it be possible to add the widgets to the upper left window? It'd be nice to be able to minimize the application, for instance. I also noticed that the application is Carbon. Would a Cocoa version be faster or snappier for slower computers? These are just some thoughts. Keep up the great work.

Thank you very much. These features will be implemented in version 2.2, which will be made available ASAP. The only real problem is the resizing of the window. The cartoons use a particular resolution, and I'm sticking to it. I will give an option for metal VS non-metal though, that's no problem. Nor is a problem the drawer selection. Make sure to let me know of any more requested features, and I'll work my arse off to implement them. -Gumpan, Developer

This application is definitely a good start, but it could use a little bit more work to be truly great. I think it needs: 1. A rubber band to allow resizing of the window. 2. An option to use a non-metal interface. 3. When you press the next and previous buttons, the next or previous toon should be selected in the drawer rather than staying on the video that the user had watched before. Pretty please? Otherwise, this is a great alternative to Homestarunner.com.

AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME!!! YEAH BADASS.

Awesome app! Totally cool. Way to go Bazoo! Strongbad rules.

You should be able to download it from http://bazoodjg.freespeechsite.com/index.html then clicking the link. I tried it and it worked. Or you can email me at bazoodjg@mailup.net and I'll send you the file.

Hilarious. I've never seen this flash animations before. And the developer is right. The navigation of the main author's site is annoying. This app makes it easy to watch these entertaining flash movies.

I would download it if i could... anybody have a working link???