Monday, June 21, 2010

Dive Log with iOS 4 support is now available

Dive Log v1.4 was just approved and should now be available via App update in iTunes or the iPhone App Store. You can also use this iTunes link to access Dive Log directly.

Previous versions of Dive Log do not operate correctly on devices that have been upgraded to iOS4. You should upgrade to version 1.4 if you are running iOS 4.

Dive Log v1.4 includes support for iOS 4 multitasking on iPhone 3Gs, 3rd generation iPod touch and on iPhone 4 when it ships. Multitasking support includes both "fast app switching" and support for completing a sync operation with the desktop in the background if you need to leave the application before the sync completes.

We've also adds support for directly calling or e-mailing a Buddy from their contact information in the Buddies tab. By popular request, Certifications in the Personal tab are now sorted by "certification date". This version also includes a Dutch localization and has been optimized for the hi-res display of the new iPhone 4. Finally, we've addressed some minor bugs.

Important Information about Dive Log v1.3 on iOS 4

We're very excited about today's release of iOS4 for iPhone and iPod touch. A new version of Dive Log that takes advantage of some of the new features of iOS4 has been submitted for review and is currently waiting approval.

Unfortunately, with the good sometimes comes the bad. Dive Log version 1.3 (which has been available for about 2 months now) is not fully compatible with iOS 4.0. The new version of Dive Log (version 1.4) addresses this incompatibility and will hopefully be available by the time you read this. Please update to version 1.4 (or later) of Dive Log to avoid problems while running on devices with iOS 4.0 installed.

Dive Log has a feature that automatically enables “editing” mode when viewing sections of data in the Dive Details screen under certain circumstances. Unfortunately, due to changes between previous versions of iPhoneOS and iOS 4.0, Dive Log does not correctly display all the fields that can be edited when auto editing mode is in effect on iOS 4.0. This results in editing screens that contain only a few items to edit or, in some cases, no items at all. The only option available in the later case is to tap “Done” but subsequent attempts to edit the same information will once again force you into auto editing mode.

The best solution is to upgrade to Dive Log version 1.4 via the App Store or iTunes once it has been approved (or wait to upgrade to iOS 4.0 until version 1.4 of Dive Log is available if you need to add or edit dives in your logbook). There are some workarounds for the issue that will allow you to edit most of the fields if you find yourself needing or wanting to run Dive Log version 1.3 under iOS 4.0. Please see the “Workarounds” section of this page for details.

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this issue may cause you. We submitted an update to correct the issue as soon as possible once we discovered the incompatibility. We’re sure that Apple is working as quickly as is practical to approve all the App updates that are being submitted in anticipation of iOS 4’s release. We’re confident that Dive Log 1.4 will be available soon if it is not by the time you read this.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Dive Log 1.3 Approved for Sale - What's New?

Dive Log 1.3 is now available in the App Store. Dive Log continues to run on all version of iPhoneOS, but some of the new features in this version will only be available to you if you are running iPhoneOS 3.0 or greater. We recommend running the latest version of iPhoneOS to get the most out of Dive Log.

Here is a brief overview of what is new in this version:

Expanded Equipment Management

• You can now set additional information about your dive Equipment including purchase details, serial number, warranty information and upcoming service dates. There is a new setting in the settings tab to control how far in advance Dive Log will notify you about upcoming Equipment service dates. The default for this setting is "never", but you can set a different period (for example "1 week before") to turn on notifications. Notifications are indicated by the application badge. The application badge will be updated even when the application is not running if your device is running iPhoneOS 3.0 or greater.

View Dive Site Maps within Dive Log and get directions via external applications

• Dive Log now shows Dive Site locations on a Map within the application if you are running iPhoneOS 3.0 or greater. This new embedded map also has a new control to measure the approximate distance from your current location to the selected dive site. You also now have the option of getting directions to the site from the Maps application or a 3rd party navigation application if you have a supported one installed (currently the various versions of NAVIGON MobileNavigator such as MobileNavigator North America are the only supported 3rd party applications).

Landscape mode is now supported throughout Dive Log

• You can now rotate your iPhone and get a landscape view of each screen. This is particularly useful in the photo viewer, the profile viewer and the new map view. You may also find it useful when typing in comments to take advantage of the more spacious landscape keyboard. Full landscape mode support is only available when running iPhoneOS 3.0 or later.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Diving Log 5.0 for Windows Released

Diving Log 5.0 for Windows emerged from it's beta test cycle yesterday ready for general use. This is the eagerly anticipated successor to Diving Log 4.0. As with the previous version, Diving Log 5.0 offers full bi-directional synchronization capabilities with Dive Log on iPhone. You can download Diving Log 5.0 from here. There are also links to resources on the download page to provide additional information about upgrading from Diving Log 4.0 and details about the new features of Diving Log 5.0.

Dive Log on iPhone and Diving Log 5.0 were designed to work together. The current version of Dive Log on iPhone will continue to work with this release of Diving Log. All the data entered on the iPhone or on the desktop are synced between the two applications so that no data is sacrificed no matter where you edit your logbook. This release of Diving Log 5.0 makes it even easier to interact with data captured on your iPhone. For example, images that were captured on the iPhone and associated with a Dive Site or Country could not be viewed on the desktop in Diving Log 4.0. However, with Diving Log 5.0 you will be able to see those images on both platforms. Diving Log 5.0 now offers the capability of customizing your on-screen logbook layout. This enables you to make the signature field (that you can capture on the iPhone) front and center in your desktop logbook display (see this post for details).

Another great feature that Diving Log 5.0 enables is importing dive computer data into existing dives (check out the details here). Now you can capture your dive details (site name, GPS location, weather conditions, gear, etc.) at the dive site on your iPhone using Dive Log and later "merge" those details with the data captured on your dive computer during the dive when you get back to your desktop computer. You'll now have a complete record of your dive without having to try to remember how much weight you used or who the dive master was days after the fact.

Diving Log 5.0 runs on Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7. You can also run Diving Log 5.0 in Boot Camp or via virtualization (ex. VMWare Fusion or Parallels Desktop) on your Mac. I personally run Diving Log 5.0 using Windows 7 and VMWare Fusion 4 on my MacBook Pro. You can read about my experiences with this set up (using earlier version of VMWare and Diving Log 5.0) here.

Diving Log 5.0 was the result of a complete rewrite of Diving Log 4.0 using the latest development tools. We'll look forward to seeing all the great new features that this new platform enables for Diving Log 5.0. Congratulations on a job well done!

Friday, March 26, 2010

Verson 1.3 of Dive Manager Released

Dive Log Manager is the MacOS desktop application that works with Dive Log on iPhone. You can use it to sync your logbook back and forth between your desktop and an iPhone or iPod Touch. You can also use it to import or convert dives entered in another logbook format into this one so that you can review and edit it on the remote device. If that logbook has information downloaded from your dive computer, that will be transferred too!

Here is a complete description of the added features:
http://www.moremobilesoftware.com/Dive_Log_Manager_-_1.3_update.html

This update will be useful for people who have "challenging" network configurations where some of the "plug and play" features do not work correctly and you need to connect to your iPhone manually. Technically, this would also give you WAN access to your iPhone but we leave it as an exercise for the reader to figure out how to type at your desktop computer and at your iPhone when separated by a wide area :-)

This version also allows you to "link" your dive sites, cities, and countries when importing them from another format. Please see our previous Blog post, Statistics and Databases 101, for an explanation of linking. The over simplified version is this - Linking allows you to enter the information once and then "link" to it on each dive instead of typing the information in each time. As with many things, it implies slightly more administration to set it up at first, but you get some payoff's in having more statistical information later. (And more information is *always* better right?)

As always, please contact us if you have any problems or questions.