November 2009

"Oh! THAT statement!"

November 30, 2009 by Marc

So in talking with folks about the upgrade to 7.0 issues, two commenters, Simon and Brett, were able to clearly point out something that I really do see as a significant problem. Our iPhone upgrade information read:

This upgrade requires the latest Windows desktop version to sync your data. If you bought the desktop version before August 30, 2009, you may need to pay for the upgrade. Visit our website for all the details.

Well that’s all well and good - but if you went to our site to make sure you had the right version, we tell you that the “latest Windows desktop version” is 6.1.4.

SO if you upgrade your iPhone, it should sync fine with 6.1.4 right? Wrong!

If you want the rest of the story…read on after the jump!

You see, when we wrote that statement, it was while under the impression that it would take more than 4 days to approve our app - more like 4 weeks - but in an effort to keep us on our toes, Apple DID release it in 4 days (after we closed - the night before Thanksgiving - Thanks, Apple!)

Well, I know there are lots of folks who don’t believe it, but we really aren’t over here thinking of ways to screw over our customers or squeeze a buck out of them. I realize that Corporate America has trained us all to expect that, but that truly isn’t our goal. We spend tons of time trying to make the best choice for the largest number of our customers. It’s the reason you can call us on the phone in an age where the prevailing wisdom is that no company should be reachable by phone.

SO - we’re working on a  solution that would let you sync your 7.0 iPhone version with an update of the 6.1 desktop version. I’m not making promises here. It’s what we’re shooting for, but we just started working on this so I’m not sure what the end result will be or how long it will take. Now in theory, 7.0 will rock so hard no one will want this solution, but we’re working on it just in case.

The point is that you’ve made a fair argument with this one and we will do what we can to resolve the situation in this case. On other issues we may just have to agree to disagree, but on this one you’ve made a good point.

OK - back to prepping for the release!

- Marc

UPDATE: I just got handed a first try at a solution for the 7.0 iPhone/6.1 Windows PC issue. It will need some serious testing and likely a number of tweaks but it’s a good start.

eWallet 7.0 - Updates and Answers

November 30, 2009 by Marc

I’m in the middle of a major software release right now so I’ll make this quick. I apologize that I can’t respond to all your comments individually, but considering how many of them there are, that simply isn’t possible. So - let’s get started…

Thanks! First let me say thanks to everyone who posted their support. We really appreciate it and we are working very hard to live up to your expectations. The new release is a pretty big deal and I think you’ll all like it. In fact I think you’ll REALLY like it. So thanks for your kind words and we hope you like eWallet 7.0!

eWallet 7.0 Will Be Out Tuesday eWallet 7.0 will be out tomorrow morning. This was the planned release date all along and we’re sticking to it.

More after the jump!

Why Did iPhone Come Out First? Ask Apple! Our last update took 4 weeks to get approved. This one? 4 days. Seriously. We wanted them to come out pretty close (or at least have the desktop version out first) and we thought our timing was pretty good but once again Apple proved us wrong. What can I tell you - we’re at their mercy on this and we have absolutely zero control over when they release our software. It sucks. They should let us choose a date to go live once they approve it.

I Have to Pay to Upgrade? As it says in the update notes for iPhone version, the upgrade to eWallet 7.0 on desktop may be a paid upgrade if you purchased more than 90 days ago. The price is going to be our usual $10.00 upgrade price, but with this release you’re getting something extra as well. More on that tomorrow.

I Don’t Want to Pay to Upgrade! If you don’t want to upgrade, then you don’t have to. We’ll continue to support our previous versions just like we always have. Heck – we’ve got a couple of eWallet 2.0 users we still take calls from now and then. So if you fall outside the 90 days and you don’t want to pay to upgrade, feel free to keep using the previous version.

I Already Upgraded My iPhone and Don’t Want to Pay to Upgrade! I’m sorry. We made it extremely clear in the upgrade information that you may be required to purchase an upgrade to the desktop version. I’m very sorry if you didn’t read that before you upgraded. Update information really is very important and worth reading.Although Apple doesn’t provide you with any way to backup to an older version (although they should) there are some work-arounds out there in google searches. Here is one that Pierre posted in the blog comments here:

You can revert back to your iPhone e-wallet version 6. You need to look at your Recycle bin and check for ewallet.ipa. It should be 2.8meg. Delete your version 7 in iphone and itune. Double click ewallet.ipa and reconfigure sync. Back to normal.

Keep in mind that this is a non-supported function. I can make no promises about how well this will work. UPDATE: OK, so in talking to folks we discovered that our perfectly clear message was anything but. In fact it was a bit misleading. Please check out the NEXT blog post for an update on that - we’re working very hard on a solution to help out folks who are having trouble now or who don’t want to upgrade. Again, sorry about that! Just Send Me the Old Version If I send you the old version today, we’ll be kicked off the AppStore tomorrow and there won’t be an eWallet for iPhone. Apple won’t let us do that. Period. In fact they don’t even give us a way to get software onto your device outside of iTunes.

You Shouldn’t Charge For Upgrades! Not charging is not a sustainable business model for a product like eWallet. New sales alone don’t cover the costs for development of major changes in functionality. We have to charge for upgrades.

You Should Have There was lots of advice in the blog comments. Some constructive - some not. I can’t answer all of them here but we thought - carefully - through pretty much every idea you posted. For any number of reasons they wouldn’t work, with reasons ranging from the limits of the AppStore to economic suicide. We truly did choose what we believed was the best possible path for this process in an environment where we have less and less control over that very same process.

Mac? Mac? MAC!!?? I’ve got something for you - not exactly what you’re expecting but I think you’ll like it! Check back tomorrow!

What Happened with eWallet 7?

November 26, 2009 by Ellen

It looks like Apple released the iTunes version of eWallet 7.0 before we were expecting it. We submitted it, hoping the release would hit around when we planned to do the desktop and other platforms’ releases - Tuesday of next week - but Apple surprised us and got the iPhone version into the App Store a little earlier than we thought they would.

We will have a new version of eWallet that will sync with the new iPhone version out first thing next week. We planned to release it Tuesday, but we’ll probably bump it up to Monday. If we don’t, we will get anyone who needs it an early copy.

If you haven’t yet upgraded your iPhone version, I’d suggest waiting until we release the desktop version. If you have you’ll be able to get the new version from our site from our site first thing next week. I promise.

Sorry about the problem!! And Happy Thanksgiving!!

Giving Thanks

November 23, 2009 by Ellen

Thanksgiving’s the one holiday I take seriously. I may complain a lot - OK, I do complain a lot - but I am always aware of how fortunate I am. And I always take time at Thanksgiving to think briefly about everything I’m thankful for. This year it includes:

• That I can still see and hear (despite needing help with both. But I’m thankful that the help exists and works).

• And that I can walk and breathe without any help.

• My fabulous and supportive boyfriend, who really hates when I do things like this.

• The internet. For all its problems, it’s still the best entertainment I’ve ever found.

• And of course, electricity, without which the internet wouldn’t be nearly so good.

• And while we’re on the basics, indoor plumbing and central heat.

• My wonderful eye doctor, who fixed my problem that no one else could even find.

• Showtunes, which make everything so much better.

• And mp3 players, which make showtunes even better (or at least more portable).

• And finally, that I’ve managed to go more than 12 years without working for anyone else. So thanks to everyone here, and everyone who’s reading this, who made that possible.

Go Falcons!

November 13, 2009 by Marc

No, not the football team - the Fortis Academy Fire-Eyed Falcons! Lots of companies sponsor softball teams or bowling teams, but let’s be realistic - most of us over here haven’t touched a piece of sports equipment since Middle School. That’s why, when Lee asked us if we wanted to sponsor the Fortis Academy First Lego Legaue team, we said, “Sign us up!”

Every September FIRST releases the FLL Challenge for that season. This Challenge is based on a set of real-world problems facing scientists and engineers today. It has two parts that teams must complete: 1) Building a robot to compete in the Robot Challenge, and 2) Researching and solving a problem faced by real-world scientists and presenting their solutions. On Saturday,  Fortis Academy’s Fire-Eyed Falcons will compete with 18 other teams in this region of Michigan to be one of 7 teams advancing to the Michigan FLL Championship in Dec.

If you want to learn more about FLL you can find information here:

The FLL website This year’s Challenge The Michigan FLL

So this weekend, keep your fingers crossed and give a cheer for our favorite FLL team!

GO FIRE-EYED FALCONS!!!

Every September FIRST releases the FLL Challenge for that season. This Challenge is based on

a set of real-world problems facing scientists and engineers today. It has two parts that teams

must complete: 1) Building a robot to compete in the Robot Challenge, and 2) Researching

and solving a problem faced by real-world scientists and presenting their solutions.

Android Advisory Board Follow-Up

November 10, 2009 by Marc

I wanted to post a brief follow-up to the Advisory Board Assignment from a couple days back about Android. First, a GIANT THANK YOU to everyone for all of your insightful and well thought our replies. You really provided some amazing feedback - you guys never cease to amaze me with the great stuff you post. So again, Thank You! And feel free to keep posting if you have more ideas.

To get my current thoughts and some feedback, read on after the jump!

Android: The Operating System Android is a compelling platform, and it is pretty clear that it definitely has its supporters. It does a lot of things really well, in some cases better than the competition. It also has a lot of potential. Like all devices it has its foibles (512 MB? In this day and age?) but every device has its problems. I’m still not convinced that this device will appeal to the larger consumer base the way iPhone does, but it certainly seems a good fit for more technologically oriented users. Bottom Line: It’s a very good OS, especially for technologically oriented folks, and might be able to capture the interest of the general public. Android: A Development Environment As a platform to develop for, it offers a ton of great opportunities. There are some really neat things we could do with this device. On the other hand, the pitfalls of an overly open system that we’ve experienced first hand with mobile devices in the past remain. I am not sure that these dangers are enough to stop us, but I think people underestimate the amount of frustration they’ll feel if, thanks to massive variation between devices, the software doesn’t work the same on every Android and/or won’t work at all on their device. This will likely happen to some extent. Bottom Line: It has some great tools for developers, but the openness of the system could come back to haunt us. Android: Market Penetration I think it’s likely that Android will achieve pretty strong market penetration as time goes on. The reality, however, is that in a year since its release and all the associated hype, this hasn’t happened. No matter the “whys” of it, the fact is that it hasn’t achieved the heavy adoption people expected. This might simply be a matter of “needs more time/better devices” but based on history, it also might be a matter of “Tech people love it but the general public isn’t sold.” Bottom Line: One way or another, I think we’ll end up seeing a respectable number of Android devices - enough penetration that it could support a decent base for an application. Android: As a (Third Party) App Phone I have no doubts about the Android as an “App Phone” since Google is sure to fully outfit it with incredibly awesome software. What I remain unsure of is whether people really will adopt it as an App Phone for third party applications in the way they have the iPhone today or the Palm/WinMo in the past. This is immensely important to us. As much as we appreciate and need our existing customer base, new customers make up the majority of our annual income. That’s the reality of the business. When we adopt a platform we need it to bring in new customers. Bottom Line: The jury is still out. We know our existing customers are ready and willing to get our products for their new Android phones. We just aren’t sure how many Android folks who don’t already use our apps will go out and buy them. This is true on any platform, but the weak showing of the Android App Store to date makes use leery. The Very Bottom Line What does all this mean? It means that I’m feeling stronger about the Android as a good software market. Many of my concerns remain, but based on new information and your feedback, I’m less unsure than I was.  If nothing else, I really hate to see all of our long time Windows Mobile users forced to go out and use an inferior product. :) “Blah blah blah - Will there be a version of eWallet for Android, and when will it be out?” Sorry. These are two questions I’m not going to touch. We learned *cough**mac**cough* the dangers of prematurely announcing our plans. And even if we started an Android version tomorrow, it’d be a good 6 months before you’d see it. As most of you know, we’re not hiring teams of underpaid overseas contractors to churn out our stuff - it’s all handcrafted in-house by a handful of the best developers in the biz. The result is top notch quality, but it does take time. So there you go - you’ve definitely swayed me and we’ll be sure to keep you appraised of any new developments! Thanks again for all of your input!