Ilium Software Blog

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Hey, Apple. Where’s the “Gift This App” button?

by Marc

If there is one thing that is missing from the AppStore, it’s a “Gift This App” button. Don’t get me wrong. Depsite a few hiccups early on, overall we’re quite happy with the whole AppStore experience. It’s just that we’d love a way to buy promo copies of our software for people. And then there are reviewers. We know about Ad Hoc, but splitting 100 Ad Hoc licenses between in-house devices, beta testers, and reviewers just isn’t enough. We’ll pay full price for our software – we just want it to be free for the other person.

As I mentioned, this is a problem for promotions. It’s an even bigger problem for reviewers, though. Read on after the jump to see why… [Read more…] about Hey, Apple. Where’s the “Gift This App” button?

eWallet for BlackBerry Open Beta!

by Marc

eWallet for BlackBerry is finally here!It isn’t available for purchase yet, but we’re very excited to announce that you can download a Beta version of the software today! This version is a full featured version and will synchronize with eWallet 6.1.3 for Windows PC. (If you do not have 6.1.3 on your desktop PC yet, click here.)

Although this is a Beta version of the application, it is extremely solid and works great. It IS  a Beta though, so all the usual warnings and disclaimers apply (for instance, be sure to make a good backup of your wallet files before you start using it, use at your own risk, etc.) Again, it is extremely solid but officially it is a Beta.

In addition, while this is “full featured” this Beta version will only function for a limited time. At the end of that time you’ll need to get the full version if you wish to continue using the application.

OK, enough talk and more downloads! Here are the links you can use to download the Beta version. Both are for an EXE that you run on your desktop computer that will let you install the application to your BlackBerry. Note that I’ve included a zipped download as well because some folks’ security won’t let them download ANY EXE files.

Download the EXE file

Download the ZIP file

Next up, if you decide to try this out we encourage you to give us feedback! Let us know what you like, what you don’t like, and if you run into any problems! WebIS is hosting a forum to facilitate this. You can find the forum here:

eWallet for BlackBerry Open Beta

SO, that’s that! I hope you guys like it! As always, let us know if you have any problems!

PS: See, I told you it wasn’t Vaporware. 😉 🙂

Subtle Reminder: VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

by Marc

To all of our readers in the U.S., I want to encourage you to get out there and vote today! No matter which side you are for, this is an important election for our country. I went this morning, and amazingly I got through in around 15 minutes! The poll workers are busting their backsides to make sure that everything runs smoothly! So don’t assume the worst about the lines.

Enough blog reading already! Get to the polls!

The contest is over – time to pass out the treats!

by Julie

Happy Halloween guys and ghouls! Well, our costume contest is over, and it’s time to find out who won. As you may have guessed, every entry is a winner, which is great news not just for the them, but for me as well. It means I don’t have to pull my hair out trying to choose which costumes to pick – because I thought all the entries were very creative, and I was not looking forward to narrowing it down.

So, on to the prizes: like I said in the original post, each winner will get to pick between a $10 iTunes gift card or a $10 Amazon gift card. I’ll send out an email this afternoon to all the winners asking which store you’d like to choose. If you don’t get the email, be sure to check your spam filters! If you still can’t find it, reply to this post and let me know.

Also, I found out the hard way that after turning off the image upload plugin, the images no longer appear in the comments for the contest post. So, I’ve combined them all into the handy little image you see below; you can click on it to see the full-size view. The costumes were very clever; if you missed them before you should definitely check them out now!

And to all the winners: the Ilium Guys say thanks for the costumes. They’re planning on going trick-or-treating tonight in each costume, to get 9 times the amount of candy from unsuspecting folks. Thanks again for playing and…

Calling all goblins and ghouls – it’s contest time!

by Julie

I love Halloween. It’s easily my favorite holiday. I like Halloween decorations, lights, and colors, and the people who take the time to make their yards look like haunted houses. I’m also a fan of the day after Halloween, with the half-price sales – that’s when I add to my collection of Halloween stuff. You can bet I’ll be the first inside the store this Saturday morning, ready to scoop up all kinds of great things, running around like a kid in a candy shop.

But don’t get me started on stores these days. The past few years, right alongside the Halloween gear, they put out the Christmas decorations. This year, it was still September when they started stocking the shelves with Christmas lights. It’s too early – and it’s enough to put me in a really Grinchy mood and ruin my Halloween cheer. So then I decided – why not throw a costume party to keep me in the Halloween spirit (ha! spirit – get it)?

And that’s where you come in. Sure, we could throw a party here at the office, but how would you get to join in? So what about a costume party with a twist; something with, say, a little competition added in and a chance to win an awesome prize? Well, boys and ghouls, if that sounds like fun to you, join me for the details after the jump.

[Read more…] about Calling all goblins and ghouls – it’s contest time!

The Last Quiet Week

by Ellen

While we’re all eagerly waiting for Julie’s fun contest next week, and of course for the U.S. election after that, I’ll take this chance share a few mobile-related links:

GoodShop.com – Here’s a great way to support schools and causes you believe in, with no direct cost to you. Click on a link on this page before you buy something on many major sites, including iTunes, Amazon, and eBay, and your kids’ school, or your favorite charity, gets a kickback. With no extra cost to you, some worthy cause can benefit from your purchases.

MediaBistro: Mobile Apps Today – This is one of the most interesting and useful sites I read. It’s got new info every day, and a lot of it is news I don’t find on other sites. For people who want mobile news about apps and platforms, this is a great resource.

Contact Hero – Here’s a new site that lets you manage your contacts online – optimized for mobile devices. Now that mobile’s (finally) so hot, I’m sure this is going to be a big category for popular web apps. This site does a great job of it.

And, finally, for people curious about some of the development issues we mobile developers face, there’s an interesting conversation going on at 4WinMobile.com, about Why Windows Mobile Apps are Falling Behind iPhone Ones. Check it out.

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