5.0 is here!

[Zorglub]

I consider upgrading my two pedia apps by buying them on the appstore, rather than using the paid update.
(Mostly because I have some cash on my iTunes account...)

But I have some questions :
- Are the Appstore versions the same as the other ones ?
- with the AppStore version, will future updates be free, as it is the case for this one ?
- And how must I install the Appstore versions, without losing my current datas ? Do I need first to upgrade my applications ?
Thanks !

[tobias]

I just updated from 4.6.8 and after the prgram restarts, i get an error: "zu wenige objekte in Property/collections/Entity/DVD". I am using the german version. Translation would be something like "too little objects in..."

Luckily I was able to switch back to 4.6.8, but I have no clue, what causes this error. Maybe I should export my collection, delete all installed stuff and import it after installing 5.0. But how can I update then? Do I have to re-register or have I to do so anyways?

[dexham]

Many thanks for the rapid feedback!

[Nora]

@tobias - Could you send us your Database.pediadata file please so we can take a look at your data here? You'll find the file in your Home folder under ~/Library/Application Support/DVDpedia/Database.pediadata. Please archive the file before sending it to save space. (Select it and choose 'Archive' or 'Compress' from the File menu. That'll create a new file called 'Database.pediadata.zip' which you can then attach to the email.) Thanks! If you're on Lion, it hides the Library folder by default so to go to your DVDpedia data folder you have to use the Finder's 'Go' menu, select 'Go to Folder' and copy paste ~/Library/Application Support/DVDpedia into the window that appears.

@Zorglub - The App Store versions are the same as the ones on our website, yes. We have more control over the ones on our website, i.e. if a bug creeps in, we can fix it right away as opposed to waiting for the App Store approval process but otherwise there is no difference really. Future updates in the App Store will be free (at this point it's not actually an option in the App Store to do a paid update. You'd have to change the name of the program.) Your data will be safe regardless of whether you download version 5 from our website first and then buy the App Store versions or go straight for the App Store versions. It's kept separately from the actual applications so no matter what you do to the apps, the data is always safe. The advantage you have right now is that you can download version 5 from our website, try it out and then decide whether you want to buy it in the App Store.

[Zorglub]

Thanks, Nora.
I just bought them on the App Store, and the upgrade went smoothly.

[marksealey]

Sometimes.

> Regarding the iSight issue, by unreliable you mean the scans work sometimes but not always? Or they never work?

[sulrich]

Something has been bothering me about charging for upgrades for BookPedia -- since y'all get commissions whenever anyone clicks through to Amazon, etc., and then buys anything, whether the book clicked from or a computer or kitchen appliance, it seems like the app should be free.

All business, I'm sure, but it seems a little greedy to me, particularly if users of a program on their computer don't know that you are taking commissions in this way. Maybe it is clear in some fine print somewhere, but I've never found it.

I think people understand if they are working from a website with Amazon or B&N links that the website owners are involved with commissions, but BookPedia resides on my computer, and it isn't obvious that the handy button invokes, on Amazon, a 24-hour anything sold commission of up to 8.5% for the BookPedia owners.

[marksealey]

sulrich,

But the Pedias are such amazingly good pieces of software that their developers deserve to… eat, surely?

And very reasonably priced to begin with.

And hardly designed to advertise the products they allow us to catalogue… Why, half the books and CDs I have in Book- and CDPedia are either unavailable and/or were never bought on Amazon etc!



Don't you feel that they (Conor and Nora) are simply not the kind of people to be greedy and take advantage of any tiny commission they may or may not make?

[Nora]

Up to now we did indeed get a commission from Amazon (which was well documented in the program Help files, we were not trying to hide anything). The commission is also not as glamorous as you might imagine. If we had had to live on that alone the Pedias would have folded within their first year. Our business model is based solely on selling programs.

But you'll be very happy about version 5 where you can enter your own associate ID for the Amazon search so all future commissions go to you directly.

[Miesmacher]

@Miesmacher - Yes, you can return to version 4.6.8 without problems if you don't like 5.0. Just re-download the program from this link: http://www.bruji.com/dvdpedia/dvdpedia4.6.8.dmg (if you're using a different program, replace the program name in the URL). Your old database file will remain intact with the update.

The iSight feature for iMacs has been partially fixed since we're getting reports from users who say that it works now and others say there's no change. So we're still working on that.

Hi Nora,

thanks for the assuring answer - I have installed the update, fiddled a bit to get the Amazon thing going and now can confirm that at least for me the iSight scanning seems to work again. It did in 3 out of 4 books, interestingly the recognition seems to come with the barcode above the red square. If I try in the center of the red square (on my screen, not in Moscow), it doesn't work.

But it's good to see that it works again.

[marksealey]

Nora,

Hello again

Have tried Bookpedia 5 again with iSight on the 'mid-2011' iMac; still no luck.

Perhaps there's a deft and particular technique (distance from camera, degree of movement, direction of movement, (ambient) light conditions) that I'm missing?

Thanks so much!

[tobias]

@tobias - Could you send us your Database.pediadata file please so we can take a look at your data here?

I just exported my library, deleted everything (program, application support, and the prefernces) bought the 5.0 from the AppStore and imported my library successfully.

Everything works fine now. Except that in the main window I can't get rid of the column "Studio". If I do a right-click on it, I can check all other things (Title, Director, Discs, etc.), but not Studio. I actually would like to remove it. How can I do that?

[Nora]

@marksealey - try holding the barcode at the very top edge of your window (ignoring the red square). Does that make a difference? Miesmacher mentioned this earlier in the thread and we've found the same to be true here. We'll try and see if we can somehow use that to our advantage in the future. Possibly there's some sharpening of the focus happening at the outer edges. Let me know if that changes anything for you!

@tobias - Glad to hear your database is back on. For the Studio column - when you select the column and Ctrl-click its header, can you use the 'Remove column' command or does that not work either?

[marksealey]

Nora,

Brilliant!

Yes, holding the barcode above the red square works every time ))

Thanks so much.

What wonderful products the Pedias are.

Have a great weekend, on and all there

[tobias]

@tobias - Glad to hear your database is back on. For the Studio column - when you select the column and Ctrl-click its header, can you use the 'Remove column' command or does that not work either?

That worked just fine. Thanks

But if I theoretically wanted it back, there is no way right now. If i right-click the header, "Studio" is not visible in the drop down menu.