I'm pleased to announce the general release of version 2.4 of Time Out, my popular break reminder tool.
Version 2.4 further extends the enhancements to the postpone and skip options introduced in version 2.3, including a new option to disable those buttons for a few seconds at the start of each break. You may find this helpful if you are habitually clicking the Postpone or Skip buttons, without taking a moment to decide if you really need to defer the break. It's common to see the start of the break as an unwelcome interruption — but you installed the app in the first place because you recognized that you need to take regular breaks for your health and wellbeing. You can activate this option to give you a few seconds to make a more mindful decision.
Another much-requested change in this release is the ability to customize the time to detect natural breaks, i.e. how long the computer is idle.
Something that might help in deciding how you're doing in taking breaks is a new Statistics feature. This is within the Activity section, and includes the number of times you've postponed, skipped, or done breaks, and the total time spent in breaks. These amounts will start being calculated in version 2.4, so take a look after a few days. It also includes a fascinating line chart, for a graphical representation (see below).
There are of course a number of other enhancements and fixes. I recommend everyone update to this version.
Read on for details.
Here's what the Statistics page looks like (obviously, your numbers will be different):
This new option is grouped with the option to show the number of times postponed/skipped/done:
Take a look:
If you are using the Mac App Store edition, you can update via the App Store app.
If you are using the direct edition, you can use the Check for Updates feature in the app to update.
Otherwise, download Time Out 2.4 now.
Here's another beta of Time Out version 2.4.
Unless any problems turn up, this will be the last beta release for this version. I'd appreciate it if you could try it and let me know of any issues.
This update just has a couple of changes:
If you are using the direct edition, you can change your Updates preferences to include beta releases (if not already), then use the Check for Updates feature in the app to update.
Otherwise, download 2.4b4 now!
Here's another beta of Time Out version 2.4.
This might be the last beta release for this version. I'd appreciate it if you could try it and let me know of any issues.
Here are the changes in this update:
If you are using the direct edition, you can change your Updates preferences to include beta releases (if not already), then use the Check for Updates feature in the app to update.
Otherwise, download 2.4b3 now!
Today is the two-year anniversary of the general release of Time Out version 2.0.
This time last year, I wrote a blog post celebrating the first anniversary with some pie charts breaking down the sales of each supporter duration by the direct and Mac App Store editions.
To mark the end of the second year, I thought I'd follow up with another chart; this time looking at the rate and type of repeat support.
The supporter model used by Time Out was a bit of an experiment — would it be feasible and sustainable to have relatively low priced purchase options for specific time periods? People could buy the lowest level (just $2.99), and never pay again. It'd only work if many people instead chose a higher level, and at least some people renewed their support after the initial period expired.
To help encourage that, I reward ongoing support with useful new features that are only available to supporters. New people becoming supporters, and existing people renewing their support, encourages and funds ongoing development. Everybody wins!
So how has it turned out?
Well, looking at a sample of about the last month, here's a table with the percentages for each supporter level, compared with the first purchase and subsequent renewals:
Purchase | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Total |
3-month | 49.7% | 6.2% | 1.3% | 0.3% | 57.4% |
6-month | 14.1% | 3.1% | 0.3% | 0.0% | 17.4% |
12-month | 20.0% | 4.4% | 0.8% | 0.0% | 25.1% |
Total | 83.8% | 13.6% | 2.3% | 0.3% | 100.0% |
Here's a graphical representation of the same values:
As you can see, most people do purchase the cheapest option the first time (almost half), and most people only buy once (83.8%)... but a goodly number do renew (13.6%), with a higher proportion of them opting for 12 months than before. Relatively few have renewed again... but that may be due in part to version 2 of the app only being available for two years, so people who chose a 12-month supporter status for the first or second purchase won't be due yet.
Looking at the raw data does support this; I see many people who chose the 3-month option initially, then opted for 6- or 12-months when they renewed. Very few people purchased 12-month then renewed at a lower level. A noticeable number also chose 3-month each time; paying quarter-to-quarter (though sometimes with some gaps).
Overall, I'm happy with these results. A high proportion of minimal one-time purchasers may seem a little disappointing, but it's to be expected. A large influx of new customers is good for the app. I just need to keep improving it, and hopefully many of them will choose to renew, or at least recommend the app to others, who will also become supporters.
Time will tell how things go, but I consider this encouraging so far.
Here's a second beta of Time Out version 2.4.
As with the first beta, this is still a work-in-progress; there are a couple more features I want to add for this update, though I might defer one or both.
Here are the changes in this update:
If you are using the direct edition, you can change your Updates preferences to include beta releases (if not already), then use the Check for Updates feature in the app to update.
Otherwise, download 2.4b2 now!
I'm pleased to announce the first beta of an update to Time Out, my indispensable break reminder tool.
Version 2.4 is still a work-in-progress; I have added some new features, and fixed some issues, but will do further enhancements in subsequent betas. I'd appreciate it if you'd join me on this journey, to help ensure that the changes work well.
Read the full release notes for details:
If you are using the direct edition, you can change your Updates preferences to include beta releases, then use the Check for Updates feature in the app to update.
Otherwise, download 2.4b1 now!
DejalNews 2017-12, issue #73
This is DejalNews, an occasional newsletter from Dejal.
If you want to receive these newsletters in your email inbox, head over to the DejalNews subscribe page to sign up.
'Tis the season for celebrations and reflection... and discounts! As I often do, I am marking the occasion with a discount on my Mac apps, Dejal Simon and Time Out.
From now until the end of the year, you can get Simon, my handy website & server monitoring tool, for just $49.50 — half the regular price. (The upgrade from version 3 is also half price.)
You can also become a supporter of Time Out, my popular break reminder tool, for half the normal amount; just $1.49, $2.49, or $4.99, depending on the supporter duration. (Remember, any level will permanently unlock all of the current supporter rewards.)
The Mac App Store edition of Time Out is also discounted, though with slightly different prices.
This discount is automatically applied if you buy via the online store, or in the Mac App Store edition. Or you can enter the code "JOYTOALL" in the coupon field when purchasing in the direct edition. Don't delay!
Already have Simon and Time Out? Tell your friends and colleagues about it! I really appreciate any help spreading the word.
Last week I sponsored an episode of AppStories, a podcast discussing apps on macOS and iOS, brought to you by the fine folks at MacStories.
It was great to hear John talking about Dejal Time Out on the show.
I'd like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a safe and enjoyable holiday season, and a very happy New Year.
- David
DejalNews 2017-10, issue #72
This is DejalNews, an occasional newsletter from Dejal.
If you want to receive these newsletters in your email inbox, head over to the DejalNews subscribe page to sign up.
I mentioned in the previous newsletter that I was about to start work on Time Out version 2.3. As you may know by now, that did in fact eventuate, and it was recently released.
Version 2.3 focuses on enhancements to the postpone and skip options, including the ability to show the number of times each break has been postponed, skipped, and/or done (finished) today... and a much-requested feature, the ability to set daily limits on postponing and skipping. There's also a fun mini-pie-chart option.
Importantly, this update also includes a number of fixes for High Sierra compatibility, including a significant issue where the label and break background colors can unexpectedly become white.
I recommend updating to this version if you'll be installing High Sierra.
Read the blog post for details of the improvements.
I don't do much advertising, but I occasionally like to do something to support people and sites that I like. One such is 512 Pixels, written by Stephen Hackett, who you may also know as one of the founders of the Relay FM podcast network.
This week I am sponsoring the 512 Pixels site, as a way to help support Stephen, and promote the new release of Dejal Time Out.
Read the sponsorship post on 512 Pixels.
It seems I'm often writing about Setapp in these newsletters... but it's such a great service, making it easy for people to find lots of high-quality and useful apps, including Dejal Simon.
Setapp has just announced that they have reached 100 apps on the service; an exciting milestone. There's something for everyone!
- David
I'm pleased to announce the general release of version 2.3 of Time Out, my popular break reminder tool.
Version 2.3 focuses on enhancements to the postpone and skip options, including the ability to show the number of times each break has been postponed, skipped, and/or done (finished) today... and a much-requested feature, the ability to set daily limits on postponing and skipping. There's also a fun mini-pie-chart option.
Importantly, this update also includes a number of fixes for High Sierra compatibility, including a significant issue where the label and break background colors can unexpectedly become white.
I recommend updating to this version if you'll be installing High Sierra.
Read on for details.
Here's what the "Show number of times..." option looks like during a break; notice the line of text below the buttons in the control panel. Also notice one of the new themes:
Here's the sidebar, with a pie option enabled for the Micro break, and the tooltip displayed:
If you are using the Mac App Store edition, you can update via the App Store app.
If you are using the direct edition, you can use the Check for Updates feature in the app to update.
Otherwise, download Time Out 2.3 now.
Here's another beta of Time Out, version 2.3b3.
Hopefully this will be the last beta before the general release. I'd really appreciate it if everyone could try this and let me know as soon as possible of any issues, especially on High Sierra.
Changes include:
Want to try it?
If you are using the direct edition, you can change your Updates preferences to include beta releases, then use the Check for Updates feature in the app to update.
Otherwise, download 2.3b3 now!
Here's a second beta of Time Out 2.3.
Changes include:
Want to try it?
If you are using the direct edition, you can change your Updates preferences to include beta releases, then use the Check for Updates feature in the app to update.
Otherwise, download 2.3b2 now!
I'm pleased to announce the first beta of an update to Time Out, my indispensable break reminder tool.
Version 2.3 focuses on enhancements to the postpone and skip options, including the ability to show the number of times each break has been postponed, skipped, and/or done (finished) today... and a much-requested feature, the ability to set daily limits on postponing and skipping. There's also a fun mini-pie-chart option.
Importantly, this update also includes a fix for an issue on High Sierra, where the label and break background colors can unexpectedly become white. I haven't noticed any other issues on macOS 10.13, but please let me know if you do find anything.
I recommend updating to this version if you'll be installing High Sierra.
Read the full release notes for details:
Want to try it?
If you are using the direct edition, you can change your Updates preferences to include beta releases, then use the Check for Updates feature in the app to update.
Otherwise, download 2.3b1 now!
DejalNews 2017-07, issue #71
This is DejalNews, an occasional newsletter from Dejal.
If you want to receive these newsletters in your email inbox, head over to the DejalNews subscribe page to sign up.
Much of the US will experience a total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017. To celebrate this historic event, I thought I'd eclipse the price of Simon till the end of August. (Okay, a flimsy excuse for a discount, but why not — it's been quite a long time since the last one, even if not as long as since the last eclipse over the US, in 1918.)
This discount is automatically applied if you buy via the online store. Don't delay! Like the eclipse, this special only lasts a short time.
Already have Simon? Tell your friends and colleagues about it! I really appreciate any help spreading the word.
Recently TidBITS featured an article about Setapp, marking the five month period of Setapp's existence. I was quoted a number of times in this article, discussing my impressions of Simon in Setapp. Spoiler: I'm quite pleased with it so far. If you want lots of great apps (including Simon) for one low price, check out Setapp.
I've been busy with consulting work of late, so work on Dejal apps has been rather slow. But I'll soon be getting back to it, as time allows, with several app updates and even new apps planned for the rest of the year.
The future plans are always subject to change, of course, but my current thought is to first work on an update to Time Out, to version 2.3. I have several planned enhancements, and some issues to fix... but if you have any requests, now would be a great time to let me know. Maybe your feature idea could make it into the next update!
- David
For a short while, Time Out is available as part of a bundle from a relatively new organization, Uneeq Company. This is a "name your own price" bundle, so you can choose how much to pay for $643 worth of Mac apps.
DejalNews 2017-03, issue #69
This is DejalNews, an occasional newsletter from Dejal.
If you want to receive these newsletters in your email inbox, head over to the DejalNews subscribe page to sign up.
This month I released an update to Time Out, my popular break reminder tool for macOS.
Version 2.2 adds a major new feature: a new Activity page, where you can see what breaks you've taken (and for how long), and what apps you've used, if you wish.
It also adds some great user-contributed themes, and some other improvements.
A quick update to version 2.2.1 fixed a couple of scheduling issues.
Learn more about the changes in Time Out 2.2, and how to get it.
This month marked the one year anniversary of Time Out 2! To celebrate, I wrote a blog post, complete with pie charts, providing information on how the downloads and supporter model have gone over the past year.
Another recent update was Simon 4.2.2. This update included updated Setapp support, in-app purchase options, and a number of other improvements.
Learn more about the changes in Simon 4.2.2.
Note that it is still available as part of BundleHunt too, for a limited time. Tell your friends!
In addition to Dejal apps and Dejal consulting, my wife and I also have a hobby business called Yellow Cottage Homestead, LLC, where we raise chickens for eggs (as seen in my Chicken GIFs sticker pack!), make apple cider, grow lavender for various products, and soon will keep bees for honey, on our five acres.
About a month ago I started a blog for the homestead, where I'm posting every day or two about projects around the place. I recently had some posts about designing and building wooden potato planters, and there have been posts about snow and about chickens, but most of the posts have been about building a second chicken coop, which I've just started.
If that interests you, check out the Yellow Cottage Homestead blog.
Over the coming weeks you can expect many more posts about building progress, plus in May we'll be getting a dozen baby chicks (hopefully I'll have the coop ready by then!), plus will be setting up a couple of bee hives, and many other projects. Stay tuned!
Of course, there is a RSS feed, plus you can follow @YellowHomestead on Twitter, or the Facebook page.
- David
I've just released a tiny update to Time Out, to fix a couple of issues.
Version 2.2.1 includes a fix for scheduling issue, where it was incorrectly adding the sleep duration to the due time after waking from sleep. It also includes a fix for breaks set to a frequency of daily (or longer) and with an Available time range set, where it was pushing the due time out by a day.
If you are using the Mac App Store edition, you can update via the App Store app once it has been approved (maybe later today or tomorrow).
If you are using the direct edition, you can use the Check for Updates feature in the app to update.
Otherwise, download Time Out 2.2.1 now.
I'm pleased to announce the general release of version 2.2 of Time Out, my popular break reminder tool.
The major new feature of version 2.2 is the new Activity page. It also includes new themes and theme features, a View menu for easier navigation, and several other improvements. Read on for details.
window.webkit.messageHandlers.getTimeOutConfig.postMessage('')
message to get a JSON of the break configuration. It will call back to a timeOutConfig(json)
function, passing the JSON. Properties include format
(the JSON format, initially 1), identifier
(the break's unique identifier), name
(the break's name), durationSeconds
(the break duration expressed in seconds), durationString
(e.g. "10 minutes"), frequencySeconds
(the frequency in seconds), frequencyString
(e.g. "1 hour"), beginningSeconds
(the fade-in time), endingSeconds
(the fade-out time).window.webkit.messageHandlers.getTimeOutState.postMessage('')
message, to get a JSON of the break state information. It will call back to a timeOutState(json)
function, passing the JSON. Properties include format
(e.g. 1), nextDue
(e.g. an ISO date like "2016-09-29T23:27:51Z"), lastStarted
, lastDone
, lastDeferred
(also dates), lastPhase
(e.g. done
, skipped
, or postponed
), and currentPhase
(e.g. pending
, starting
, started
, or finishing
).If you are using the Mac App Store edition, you can update via the App Store app.
If you are using the direct edition, you can use the Check for Updates feature in the app to update.
Otherwise, download Time Out 2.2 now.
Today is the one-year anniversary of the general release of Time Out version 2.0.
One month after that release, I wrote a blog post that provided some stats on how the supporter model was going at the time.
I thought I'd take this opportunity to follow up on that.
A year after release, the supporter model is still working well. If you're not familiar, the basic idea is that someone can download Time Out and use it for free, but some features only work for an hour at a time, as often as they like. So they can try all of the functionality, at their own pace, and decide if the advanced features are useful to them. If so, they can become a supporter for three, six, or twelve months. This permanently unlocks all of the current features as a reward. Even when the supporter period expires, those features remain fully available. So they can choose to extend their supporter status, or just keep using the app without paying any more. Of course, I hope that people do renew, to help fund ongoing sustainable development.
At present, about 9% of people who download Time Out end up purchasing one of the supporter options... which is a reasonable "conversion rate", which can often average more like 5% for normal trial apps. I feel pretty comfortable with that. But I'm also happy that people who choose not to become a supporter can still use a great break reminder tool to help them get or stay healthy.
Looking at the edition of Time Out available on the Dejal website, over the past year almost half of people chose the 3-month supporter option, at 48%, while a good number, 35%, chose the 12-month option, with relatively few choosing the middle 6-month supporter option:
Compare that to the Mac App Store edition, almost two thirds chose the 3-month supporter option, but the 6-month one was almost the same, and only a quarter chose the 12-month option:
Looking at both editions combined, you can see that most of the purchases were through the Mac App Store, though the direct edition isn't too far behind:
That was the number of purchases (units). In terms of money, unsurprisingly the 12-month supporter option goes a lot further, at 61% for direct sales. The 3-month option still beats 6-month, due to the volume of purchases, but not by as big a margin:
For the Mac App Store, the picture is similar, but not quite so favorable for the 12-month option, at slightly less than half the income, and a bigger slice of the pie for 3-month:
Again, combining them into one chart, you can see that it's pretty much neck-and-neck for direct vs Mac App Store, due to the larger slice of the pie that Apple takes:
I hope this snapshot of one year of Time Out was interesting. Overall, I think the supporter model is going well. I'm pleased to see many people who purchased 3- or 6-month supporter options choosing to extend their support, just because they appreciate the help it provides them, or want to help support further development.
Time Out continues to improve; just today I released another beta of version 2.2, which includes a great new activity feature and more. The continuing support of people like you is what makes that possible.
Thank you.
I've just released a third beta of version 2.2 of Time Out.
This update includes:
Again, the major new feature in version 2.2 is the Activity page, where you can see what breaks you've taken (and for how long), and what apps you've used, if you wish.
Want to try it?
If you are using the direct edition, you can change your Updates preferences to include beta releases, then use the Check for Updates feature in the app to update.
Otherwise, download 2.2b3 now!
DejalNews 2017-02, issue #68
This is DejalNews, an occasional newsletter from Dejal.
If you want to receive these newsletters in your email inbox, head over to the DejalNews subscribe page to sign up.
Earlier this month I released the first couple of betas of an update to Time Out, my popular break reminder tool for macOS.
Version 2.2 adds a major new feature: a new Activity page, where you can see what breaks you've taken (and for how long), and what apps you've used, if you wish.
It also adds some great user-contributed themes, and some other improvements.
Learn more about the changes in version 2.2, and how to get it.
After the success with Caboodle a few months ago, BundleHunt asked if I'd like to include Simon in their latest bundle, featured near the top, to which I agreed. This is a rare opportunity to get Simon, my pro tool to monitor websites and servers, for a significant discount. Normally $99 for just the app, for a limited time you can get Simon and six other premium apps for only $19.99.
Speaking of Simon, it has been having good success as part of Setapp too; the "Netflix of apps", lots of quality apps for a low monthly subscription. Check it out if you haven't already.
I've had a bunch of problems with the Dejal Forums of late, first with account creation not working, then a lot of spam postings every day. To combat that, I added moderation of posts. So now, when you post something to a forum, it isn't publicly visible initially, but I will see it within hours and approve for publishing, then immediately reply if needed. One nice benefit of this is that you'll get an email when the post is published, which will let you know that a reply will likely be forthcoming shortly thereafter.
I've still had the flood of spam, but at least it hasn't been publicly visible anymore. And since I've been blocking the spammer accounts, the volume has dropped off, perhaps as they realized they were wasting their time. Hopefully that problem will go away.
Long-term, I'm debating whether or not the forums are worthwhile, since most people prefer to contact me privately, and some site changes I want to do one day would be easier if I didn't have the complication of user accounts. If you want them to continue, make use of them!
- David