A new public beta version of HistoryHound is available.  Again, it’s much faster than version 1.9.2, and this build includes a number of fixes for the Firefox 3 history indexer, along with better handling of some web sites that used to cause problems before.  Please drop me comments at HistoryHound@stclairsoft.com if you’ve found a bug or want to make a comment or suggestion.

Thanks!

Sorry for the silence - things have been very busy behind the scenes here and there’s a lot to catch up on!

Version 4.0.7 of Default Folder X was posted yesterday, cleaning up some problems that cropped up with Word 2008 after Microsoft’s 12.1.1 update earlier this month.  There are also corrections for a few features that weren’t working as they should, and some re-engineering under the hood to allow for expansion in the future.

The update is free for everyone that’s got a valid license for Default Folder X version 4 (including those who received a free upgrade because they purchased version 3 on or after June 1, 2007).  Just download the installer and run it - it’ll update your copy to the latest version.

You can read more about this release and download copies from:

http://www.stclairsoft.com/DefaultFolderX/release.html 

I’ve posted a pre-release version of HistoryHound. It now runs very smoothly and searches VERY quickly on Leopard. It’s also got options to constrain searches by date so I can, for instance, search for only the web pages I’ve visited in the last 4 days that included the words “iphone sdk”. It helps immensely in tracking down stuff you’re looking for in your browser history.

There’s also a new contextual menu that you can use to remove search results from the index or create a filter to prevent HistoryHound from indexing any further URLs that are similar to the one in your search results. And of course, there are some bug fixes and minor improvements in various places, but the big deal is just how fast it actually searches now.

And yes, I do know that Safari now has its own search field when you view your history, but it’s clunky to get to and doesn’t allow me to constrain my searches by date. Nor does it see any of the pages that I’ve visited in FireFox like HistoryHound does.

Anyway, I’m happy to have HistoryHound running about ten times faster now. Grab a copy and give it a try yourself!

Congrats to Michael Mistretta, who’s going to be getting a brand new iPod Touch for his winning entry in the iPhone Application Idea contest! I apologize for taking so long to judge the entries - as I said in an earlier comment, I got sidetracked a lot as I explored the feasibility of some of the entries and discovered details about the workings of the iPhone OS.

While I’m not going to talk up Michael’s idea until its development is a bit further along, I’ll share some of the other entries we liked:

• Location logging that can be used to tag photos after you upload them to iPhoto
• Consultant’s client billing / project timer / mileage / expense tracker
• Podcast downloader that updates over WiFi so you don’t need iTunes
• Enable the iPhone as a touch sensitive input device to replace or augment the mouse
• A visual bookmark viewer that uses CoverFlow
• A diet / health blogging app to feed something like Body Lapse

There were a ton of other great entries, many of which I’d love to implement if it weren’t for technical or distribution issues. There are a couple in particular that deserve special mention:

• A Mojo client
• A “spaces” capability where apps are activated by turning the iPhone to particular orientations (how sweet would that be?)
• Download song lyrics for the currently playing song (obvious, but still not there)

Thanks to everyone who submitted ideas! Oh, and if you submitted one that didn’t win but we end up using it later on to build a successful product, you’ll definitely get a “thank you” iPod or some other present

So the iPhone SDK (or maybe the beta of the SDK) comes out today. We’re as excited as everyone else out there, and really want to get rolling. But not just with “solitaire for the iPhone,” so…

We’re having a contest! We’re giving away a 16 GB iPod Touch to whoever has the best application idea for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Got something you’ve been wishing for on your iPhone? Something that “just makes sense”? Or something that’s so outside the box that it just might be the next revolution? Let us know - if we think it’s great too, we’ll give you an iPod Touch!

To submit your idea go to

The iPod Contest Page