Archive for category orchids

Orchid Album for PC v1.2.0.0 update now available

Feb 5

Posted by Andrew in apps, orchids | Comments off

Orchid Album

Orchid Album makes keeping track of your orchids easy, whether you’re new to orchids, or an experienced collector. It’s the ideal tool for organizing your plants, watering schedules, and notes.

The Orchid Album for PC v1.2.0.0 update is now available.

For existing customers, click ‘Check for Updates…’ in the Help menu within the app and follow the prompts to update.

This update contains the following changes:

  • Increased photo resolution when adding new photos.
  • Added Extra-Large photos option for the Orchid Report feature.
  • Bug fixes.

You can learn more about Orchid Album at my website or on the Orchid Album Facebook group.

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Orchid Album for Mac v1.4 update now available

Jan 31

Posted by Andrew in apps, orchids | Comments off

The Orchid Album for Mac v1.4 update is now available on the Mac App Store.

Orchid Album makes keeping track of your orchids easy, whether you’re new to orchids, or an experienced collector. It’s the ideal tool for organizing your plants, watering schedules, and notes.

Orchid Album

For direct purchase customers, click ‘Check for Updates…’ in the Orchid Album menu within the app and follow the prompts to update.

This update contains the following changes:

  • Increased photo resolution when adding new photos.
  • Added Extra-Large photos option for the Orchid Report feature.
  • Increased photo caption font size.
  • Bug fixes.

If you’re enjoying the app, please take a moment to rate or review it on the Mac App Store!

You can learn more about Orchid Album at my website or on the Orchid Album Facebook group.

Orchid Album v1.6 update now available for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch

Jan 3

Posted by Andrew in apps, orchids | Comments off

The Orchid Album v1.6 update is now available on the App Store for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

Orchid Album makes keeping track of your orchids easy, whether you’re new to orchids, or an experienced collector. It’s the ideal tool for organizing your plants, watering schedules, and notes.

“Orchid

This update contains the following changes:

Note: This update requires iOS 8 or higher!

  • Added iOS 10 support.
  • Add multiple photos at a time from your photo library.
  • Increased photo resolution when adding new photos.
  • Added Extra-Large photos option for the Orchid Report feature.
  • Increased photo caption font size.
  • Added photo sharing feature.
  • Bug fixes.

If you’re enjoying the app, please take a moment to rate or review it on the App Store!

You can learn more about Orchid Album at my website or on the Orchid Album Facebook group.

2016 Retrospective

Dec 31

Posted by Andrew in apps, bonsai, cacti, fiction, games, orchids, writing | Comments off

With 2017 fast approaching in this neck of the woods, it’s time for my annual year-in-review post.

I usually don’t have too many complaints in these posts, but I have to say 2016 really tested me. And it wasn’t just election-related!

It started with some health issues that began late last year, persisting into early summer. I had a bunch of doctor’s visits and several expensive tests, but there was no real insight into what was going on. Things improved in the second half of the year, thankfully. I still don’t have any idea what was going on, but I’m making an effort to get more rest these days. Work continues to be a major source of stress, unfortunately.

Once again we had several costly car repairs in the first half of the year. Both cars are over 10 years old, with mine almost 14. This ongoing hassle culminated in having to make a decision in May when my car broke down yet again. We had to consider either spending twice the value of the car on repairs, or junking it and getting a new one. We decided on the latter option after realizing we’d have to spend the equivalent of six months of car payments to fix it! As luck would have it, our mechanic was interested in the car (supercharger, anyone?) and ended up buying it. He got a great deal. As for us, we re-entered the world of car payments and bought a new 2016 Dodge Charger. Alas, a V8 Hellcat model was out of reach…

My writing goals for the year were pretty much a bust. I submitted way more stories this year, but didn’t write much new fiction. As with last year, the bulk of my spare time was occupied by working on apps. I released a new PC app, two new Mac apps, a new iOS app, and 33 app updates.

In February I self-published my short story, That Which Dwells Beneath, in eBook and paperback form. This story first appeared in Lovecraft eZine in 2014. That was a fun learning exercise, even though it didn’t sell much. My plan was to use the knowledge gained when launching my first novel. Incidentally, I didn’t work on the novel, other than to re-read parts of my 2011 NaNoWriMo effort.

I entered two flash fiction competitions during the year, this time for Escape Pod and Cast of Wonders. My Escape Pod entry made it past the first round, but not the second. It probably didn’t help that I wrote both at the last minute!

I read more writing books this year and took two classic Dean Wesley Smith writing workshops related to genre and writing in series. I also signed up for Mark Dawson’s Facebook Ads for Authors course when it was offered this past summer, as well as his new Self Publishing 101 course. All of the above were well worth it, though it’ll take awhile longer to get the full benefit from the FB Ads course.

This year I read a good amount, taking part again in the Goodreads Reading Challenge. My reading continued to be almost exclusively in eBook form. Here are my reads for 2016:

Zeroes by Chuck Wendig
Write to Market: Deliver a Book that Sells by Chris Fox
Irregular Creatures by Chuck Wendig
Zen of eBook Marketing by Guido Henkel
How to Write a Novella in 24 Hours by Andrew Mayne
Jumper: Karma Police Book One by Sean Platt & David Wright
Iterate and Optimize: Optimize Your Creative Business for Profit by Sean Platt, Johnny B. Truant & David Wright
Dead Man: Black Magic Outlaw #1 by Domino Finn
Cursed: The Thrice Cursed Mage #1 by J. A. Cipriano
Launch to Market: Easy Marketing for Authors by Chris Fox
Wrong Side of Hell: The DeathSpeaker Codex #1 by Sonya Bateman
Writing about Magic by Rayne Hall
Justice Calling: The Twenty-Sided Sorceress #1 by Annie Bellet
Blue Collar to No Collar: From Trucker to Bestselling Novelist in Two Years by Wayne Stinnett
Storm Front: The Dresden Files #1 by Jim Butcher
The Shambling Guide to New York: The Shambling Guides #1 by Mur Lafferty
Lustlocked: Sin du Jour #2 by Matt Wallace
Six Figure Author: Using Data to Sell Books by Chris Fox
The Forever Endeavor by Chuck Wendig
Karma Police: Karma Police Book Two by Sean Platt & David Wright
The Collectors: Karma Police Book Three by Sean Platt & David Wright
Ameriguns: A Thriller by Scott King
The 5 Day Novel by Scott King
Book Cover Secrets and Shortcuts: Book Cover Design for Everyone by Ed Lewis
Tales from the Loop by Simon Stålenhag

I continued listening to some great short fiction podcasts on my daily commute, including Escape Pod, Pseudopod, PodCastle, and Cast of Wonders. I highly recommend them, even to people who might not be short fiction readers. The podcasts are free, but please donate or subscribe if you enjoy listening.

Now for some stats:

2016 Stats:

New apps released: 4
App updates released: 33 (includes Lite and Paid versions)
2016 Word count: 1,513
Stories written: 2
Stories published: 1
Total submissions: 32
Total acceptances: 0
Total rejections: 32
Waiting for response: 0
Books read: 25
Comics read: 12

As previously mentioned, I did a tonne of work on my apps this year. I released 4 new apps and more updates than last year.

My iOS, Mac and PC apps continue to decline in sales, despite the release of new apps. Revenue is slightly lower than last year. My new apps tanked badly, but I’m hoping they’ll do better by next Spring, since gardening app sales are typically seasonal.

In mid-April I released a Mac version of my orchid collection tracking app, Orchid Album. Like the iOS and PC versions, this app is localized into 6 languages, including English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, and Portuguese.

October saw the release of both Mac and PC versions of my iOS cactus collection tracking app, Cactus Album. This year I’d localized the iOS app into an additional 6 languages (French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, and Thai), and likewise for the Mac and PC versions.

In December I beat the App Store shutdown deadline and released my first new iOS app in two years, Plant Album. This is a more general-purpose garden and plant tracking app for gardeners, localized into 6 languages, including English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Despite adding a few more Android test devices to my collection this year, I didn’t do much work on Bonsai Album for Android. I’m getting stuck into learning the platform from scratch (again!) and hope to complete the app in 2017.

I’ve abandoned the untitled shoot-em-up game I was working on late last year. It would’ve been too much effort and expense to bother with considering the totally flooded game market these days. It’s a pity, since I had a prototype working on iOS, Mac, and Apple TV with the same codebase, including game controller support on all three platforms.

My interest in bonsai this year was confined to keeping my trees alive. I didn’t attend any bonsai shows or botanic gardens this year. I also lost a handful more trees, due to the harsh winter and a squirrel (or was it a rabbit or raccoon?) chomping apart one of my tropical trees at the roots.

Travel-wise, this year we made a bunch of trips to Michigan as usual. We also visited Amish country in Indiana, and the Cedar Point amusement park in Ohio. No exotic Florida vacation this year!

I wasn’t terribly happy with my personal fitness in 2016. Between the aforementioned health issues and slacking off in the final few months of the year, I didn’t exercise anywhere near as much as I should have.

This year I voted as a U.S. citizen for the first time, voting in the Illinois primaries and the general election. I wasn’t happy with the result of either one, but at least I voted, unlike most of the population!

So that’s my 2016 in a nutshell. My 2016 goals were a total shambles, but that’s not going to stop me making plans for 2017! Here are my goals for 2017:

– Write more fiction and complete my first novel.

– Complete my first Android app (most likely Bonsai Album). I still need to finish off the iOS, Mac and PC updates for Bonsai Album I’ve been working on since Summer, but after that the decks should be clear to get cracking on Android.

– Get back into my usual exercise routine, at least 3 times per week.

– Spend more time in our garden. I worked on the veggie garden this year, but just about everything else was neglected. It has been depressing looking at some amazing photos of our garden from the past decade and realizing it hasn’t looked that great in many years.

I hope everyone had a decent year, and I wish you well as we head into 2017. Happy New Year!

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Orchid Album for PC v1.1.0.0 update now available

May 30

Posted by Andrew in apps, orchids | Comments off

Orchid Album

Orchid Album makes keeping track of your orchids easy, whether you’re new to orchids, or an experienced collector. It’s the ideal tool for organizing your plants, watering schedules, and notes.

The Orchid Album for PC v1.1.0.0 update is now available.

For existing customers, click ‘Check for Updates…’ in the Help menu within the app and follow the prompts to update.

This update contains the following changes:

  • New botanical names can now be added for the Synonym, Hybrid 1 and Hybrid 2 fields.
  • Increased thumbnail-sized photo resolution.
  • Bug fixes.

You can learn more about Orchid Album at my website or on the Orchid Album Facebook group.

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Orchid Album for Mac v1.1 update now available

May 3

Posted by Andrew in apps, orchids | Comments off

The Orchid Album for Mac v1.1 update is now available on the Mac App Store.

Orchid Album makes keeping track of your orchids easy, whether you’re new to orchids, or an experienced collector. It’s the ideal tool for organizing your plants, watering schedules, and notes.

Orchid Album

For direct purchase customers, click ‘Check for Updates…’ in the Orchid Album menu within the app and follow the prompts to update.

This update contains the following changes:

  • New botanical names can now be added for the Synonym, Hybrid 1 and Hybrid 2 fields.
  • Bug fixes.

If you’re enjoying the app, please take a moment to rate or review it on the Mac App Store!

You can learn more about Orchid Album at my website or on the Orchid Album Facebook group.

Introducing Orchid Album for Mac

Apr 17

Posted by Andrew in apps, orchids | Comments off

Track your orchid collection on your Mac – Now Available!

Orchid Album

Today I’m very pleased to announce the release of my new Mac app, Orchid Album. If you’re an orchid collector and are looking for a tool to make keeping track of your plants easier, you’ve found it!

The Mac version is similar to the PC version and has many of the same features as the iOS version, with the addition of printing, enhanced search capabilities, and data transfer to and from the iOS version over WiFi. I’ve also included some other features like duplicating orchid entries, right-click context menus, and a host of other tweaks and improvements. Orchid Album for Mac also has a built-in crash-reporting mechanism and software update notifications.

Orchid Album for Mac is localized into English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, and Portuguese. This also includes every aspect of the installation and ordering process. Clicking on any of the links below will take you to the information page for the app in each language:

English, Français, Italiano, Deutsch, Español, Português

To run Orchid Album on your Mac, you’ll need either Lion (OS X 10.7.x), Mountain Lion (OS X 10.8.x), Mavericks (OS X 10.9.x), Yosemite (OS X 10.10.x), or El Capitan (OS X 10.11.x).

The download version initially runs in an unregistered trial mode, limited to 3 orchids, 3 watering schedules, and 3 logs, with 3 photos each. It will also only allow a single database to be open at a time, and database import is disabled. The full feature-set can be unlocked via purchase, either within the app or via my Web Store.

DownloadBuy Now

Looking for the Mac App Store version? Click the button below to visit the Mac App Store:

Download on the Mac App Store

You can learn more about all the features of Orchid Album here, check out the Frequently Asked Questions page, or like Orchid Album on Facebook.

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Álbum de Orquídeas – monitore sua coleção de orquídeas (Mac)

Apr 17

Posted by Andrew in apps, orchids | Comments off

Álbum de Orquídeas facilita monitorar suas orquídeas. Monitore o desenvolvimento de suas plantas durante suas vidas, em seu Mac!

Álbum de Orquídeas

Quer você seja novo com orquídeas ou um colecionador experiente, Álbum de Orquídeas é a ferramenta ideal para organizar suas plantas, agendas de irrigação e notas.

Requisitos do Sistema: Mac executando Lion (OS X 10.7.x), Mountain Lion (OS X 10.8.x), Mavericks (OS X 10.9.x), Yosemite (OS X 10.10.x) or El Capitan (OS X 10.11.x)

Não tem certeza se Álbum de Orquídeas é para você? Experimente a versão de teste grátis disponível para download aqui.

A versão de download funciona inicialmente em um modo de teste não registrado, limitado a 3 orquídeas, 3 agendamentos de irrigação e 3 logs, com 3 fotos cada. Também só permitirá uma única janela de banco de dados, a importação de banco de dados está desativada. Comprar uma licença dentro do app ou pela Loja Web desbloqueia a funcionalidade completa.

Veja o que você pode fazer com Álbum de Orquídeas:

– Grave detalhes sobre suas plantas, incluindo nome botânico, nomes híbridos, detalhes de florescência, fragrância, dimensões e necessidades de irrigação.
– Selecione dentre mais de 500 nomes botânicos (com mais de 100 gêneros), ou adicione novos nomes.
– Classifique orquídeas por nome ou gênero.
– Monitore agendas de irrigação para múltiplas plantas.
– Monitore florescimento, fertilização e outros eventos para cada planta em entradas de log datadas.
– Crie e edite lembretes de entrada de log vinculados ao seu calendário.
– Use o campo de busca para buscar rapidamente listas de orquídeas, horários de irrigação e log.
– Adicione e reorganize múltiplas fotos por planta e entrada de log.
– Adicione legendas para cada foto.
– Selecione fotos para exibir na miniatura principal para cada orquídea ou log.
– Veja fotos em uma vista de galeria em tamanho original ou em miniatura.
– Reorganize fotos com suporte a seleção múltipla e arrastar e soltar.
– Veja o histórico do log para cada planta, classificado por data.
– Reveja as estatísticas de sua coleção.
– Salva alterações automaticamente.
– Imprima listas de orquídeas, horários de irrigação ou logs, ou informações específicas de uma orquídea, horário de irrigação ou log.
– Importação e exportação de banco de dados com WiFi para Álbum de Orquídeas em seu iPhone, iPad ou iPod touch.
– Suporte de formato CSV para importar/exportar o banco de dados de seu Álbum de Orquídeas para e dos aplicativos de planilha do desktop.
– Função exportar Relatório da Orquídea (HTML). Veja sua coleção no navegador web do seu computador. Ótimo para acompanhar sua coleção para fins de inventário ou seguro.

Observe que Álbum de Orquídeas não vem pré-carregado com fotos, nem inclui informações de cuidados de plantas, e assim por diante. Ele só monitora informações e exibe fotos que você mesmo adicionou.

Por favor, visite https://andrewnicolle.com/all_apps/orchid-album-for-mac para mais informações sobre o Álbum de Orquídeas, incluindo informações para contato se quiser fazer perguntas, solicitar recursos, ou relatar problemas. Junte-se à página de Facebook para falar sobre o Álbum de Orquídeas com outros fãs.

Álbum de Orquídeas: lleve el control de su colección de orquídeas (Mac)

Apr 17

Posted by Andrew in apps, orchids | Comments off

Álbum de Orquídeas facilita el seguimiento de sus orquídeas. Controle el desarrollo de sus plantas durante el ciclo de vida de las mismas en su equipo con Mac.

Álbum de Orquídeas

Tanto si es su primera vez como si es un coleccionista experto, Álbum de Orquídeas es la herramienta ideal para organizar sus plantas, el cronograma de riego y las notas.

Requisitos del sistema: Mac que ejecute Lion (OS X 10.7.x), Mountain Lion (OS X 10.8.x), Mavericks (OS X 10.9.x), Yosemite (OS X 10.10.x) o El Capitan (OS X 10.11.x)

¿Duda de que Álbum de Orquídeas sea para usted? Pruebe la versión de prueba gratuita disponible para descarga aquí.

La versión para descargar al principio funciona en modo de prueba sin registro, y se limita al control de tres orquídeas, tres cronogramas de riego y tres registros, con tres fotos cada uno de estos. También permite solo una ventana de base de datos y no tiene habilitada la función de importación de bases de datos. La compra de una licencia, ya sea desde la aplicación o a través de Web Store desbloquea todas las funciones.

Esto es lo que puede hacer con Álbum de Orquídeas:

– Registre los datos de las plantas, incluyendo el nombre botánico, nombres híbridos, datos de floración, perfume, tamaño y necesidades de riego.
– Elija entre más de 500 nombres botánicos (con más de 100 géneros), o agregue nombres nuevos.
– Ordene las orquídeas por nombre o género.
– Controle los horarios de riego de varias plantas.
– Lleve un seguimiento de la floración, fertilización y demás eventos para cada planta en entradas de registro con fecha.
– Cree y edite recordatorios de entrada de registros vinculados a su calendario.
– Use el campo de búsqueda para encontrar las orquídeas rápidamente, el cronograma de riego y las listas de registros.
– Agregue y ordene varias fotos por planta y entrada de registro.
– Añadir leyendas para cada foto.
– Seleccione las fotos que desea que aparezcan como miniaturas en la pantalla principal para cada orquídea o registro.
– Vea fotos en una vista de galería de tamaño completo o en miniatura.
– Vuelve a acomodar las fotos con la selección múltiple y la función arrastrar y colocar.
– Vea el historial de registro para cada planta, ordenado por fecha.
– Analizar las estadísticas de su colección.
– Guarde los cambios automáticamente.
– Imprima la orquídea, el cronograma de riego o las listas de registros, o cualquier información sobre una orquídea en particular, cronograma de riego o registro.
– Importe y exporte bases de datos a través de WiFi a Álbum de Orquídeas en su iPhone, iPad o iPod touch.
– Admite formato CSV para importar o exportar la base de datos de Álbum de Orquídeas desde y hacia aplicaciones de hojas de cálculo de escritorio.
– Exporte el Informe de la orquídea y vea su colección en el navegador web de la computadora (HTML). Esta aplicación es perfecta para mantener un control de la colección para inventarios y seguros.

Tenga en cuenta que Álbum de Orquídeas no trae ninguna foto cargada, ni incluye información alguna sobre el cuidado de las plantas, etc. Esta solo lleva un registro de la información y muestra las fotos que usted mismo agrega.

Por favor, visite https://andrewnicolle.com/all_apps/orchid-album-for-mac para obtener más información sobre Álbum de Orquídeas, como datos de contacto para realizar preguntas, pedir funciones o informar cualquier problema. Únase a la página de Facebook para hablar de Álbum de Orquídeas con otros fans.

Orchideen-Album – Erfassen Sie Ihre Orchideen-Kollektion (Mac)

Apr 17

Posted by Andrew in apps, orchids | Comments off

Orchideen-Album macht es Ihnen einfach, den Überblick über Ihre Orchideen zu behalten. Behalten Sie die Entwicklung Ihrer Pflanzen deren Leben lang im Blick, auf Ihrem Mac!

Orchideen-Album

Ganz gleich, ob Orchideen für Sie neu oder Sie ein erfahrener Sammler sind, Orchideen-Album ist das ideale Tool für das Organisieren Ihrer Pflanzen, Gießpläne und Notizen.

Systemanforderungen: Mac mit Lion (OS X 10.7.x), Mountain Lion (OS X 10.8.x), Mavericks (OS X 10.9.x), Yosemite (OS X 10.10.x) oder El Capitan (OS X 10.11.x)

Nicht sicher, ob Orchideen-Album etwas für Sie ist? Testen Sie diese kostenlose Probeversion, die hier zum Download bereit steht.

Die herunterladbare Version läuft zu Beginn im nicht registrierten Testmodus, der auf 3 Orchideen, 3 Gießpläne und 3 Protokolle mit jeweils 3 Fotos begrenzt ist. Sie ermöglicht auch nur ein einzelnes Datenbankfenster und der Datenbank-Import ist deaktiviert. Wenn Sie eine Lizenz entweder von der App aus oder über den Web Store kaufen, werden sämtliche Funktionen freigeschaltet.

Dies können Sie mit Orchideen-Album machen:

– Zeichnen Sie Details über Ihre Pflanzen auf, darunter den botanischen Namen, Hybridnamen, Details zur Blüte, Duft, Maße und Wasserbedarf.
– Wählen Sie aus über 500 botanischen Namen (mit über 100 Gattungen) oder fügen Sie neue Namen hinzu.
– Sortieren Sie Orchideen nach Namen oder Gattung.
– Erfassen Sie Gießpläne für mehrere Pflanzen.
– Erfassen Sie die Blüte, Bestäubung und andere Ereignisse für jede Pflanze in datierten Protokolleinträgen.
– Erstellen und bearbeiten Sie Protokolleintragserinnerungen, die mit Ihrem Kalender verbunden sind.
– Nutzen Sie das Suchfeld, um schnell nach Orchideen, Gießplänen und Protokolllisten zu suchen.
– Fügen Sie mehrere Fotos pro Pflanze und Protokolleintrag hinzu und ordnen Sie diese an.
– Fügen Sie jedem Foto eine Bildunterschrift hinzu.
– Wählen Sie Fotos aus, die in der Hauptanzeige als Miniaturbild für die einzelnen Orchideen oder Protokolle angezeigt werden sollen.
– Sehen Sie sich Fotos in einer Galerieansicht mit Vollbildern oder im Miniaturformat an.
– Ordnen Sie Fotos mit Mehrfachauswahl und Drag-and-Drop-Unterstützung neu an.
– Sehen Sie den Protokollverlauf für jede Pflanze, sortiert nach Datum.
– Prüfen Sie Statistiken für Ihre Sammlung.
– Speichern Sie Änderungen automatisch.
– Drucken Sie Orchideen, Gießpläne oder Protokolllisten aus sowie Informationen zu einer bestimmten Orchidee, zu einem bestimmten Gießplan oder Protokoll.
– Datenbank-Import und -Export über WLAN an Orchideen-Album auf Ihrem iPhone, iPad oder iPod touch.
– CSV-Format-Unterstützung zum Import/Export Ihrer Orchideen-Album-Datenbank in und aus Desktop-Tabellen-Anwendungen.
– Funktion zum Exportieren des Orchideen-Berichts (HTML). Sehen Sie sich Ihre Kollektion im Webbrowser Ihres Computers an. Toll, um zu Inventar- und Versicherungszwecken den Überblick über Ihre Kollektion zu behalten.

Bitte beachten Sie, dass im Orchideen-Album keine Fotos vorgeladen sind und es auch keine Informationen zur Pflanzenpflege oder Ähnliches enthält. Es erfasst lediglich Informationen und zeigt Fotos an, die Sie selbst hinzugefügt haben.

Bitte besuchen Sie https://andrewnicolle.com/all_apps/orchid-album-for-mac um weitere Informationen über Orchideen-Album zu erhalten, inklusive Kontaktdetails, um Fragen zu stellen, Funktionswünsche zu äußern oder Probleme zu melden. Werden Sie Fan unserer Facebook-Seite, um mit anderen Fans über Orchideen-Album zu sprechen.