Version 2 is a comprehensive overhaul of Memoir. Previously, Memoir was basically a stripped down version of Dossier. With version 2, it’s been totally separated from the Dossier code base and is now much more of what I envisioned originally (that is, a personal journal).

In terms of what has changed from version 1.1.1 – in a word, everything. The interface is cleaner and more logical, making it easier to use as well as “prettier”. The backend has been rewritten and is much faster. Basically everything in the program has been touched, and many components have been completely rewritten.

Also notice that the price has been chopped nearly in half. This is not a decision that I took lightly – I feel like the new version is more than worth the $14.99 I was asking for version 1.1.1. However, Memoir faces a raft of competitors – and I believe that the new $7.99 price point makes it an easier buy when comparing. It’s going to be money well spent.

This version fixes compatibility issues with OS X Lion.

If you purchased Dossier via the App Store, the update will be available as soon as it is approved by Apple.

• Fixed an issue with the color wells getting confused when the color picker window is closed
• Fixed an issue where foreground colors were not being set properly when applied to a selection
• Fixed an issue with the color wells being set to the same color when a new entry is created
• Added tooltips to assist in differentiating color wells
• Dossier now remembers the visible columns on restart on a per document basis
• Dossier now remembers the column widths on restart on a per document basis
• Dossier now remembers the ruler state on restart on a per document basis
• Fixed an issue where the default scaling preference was not being obeyed
• Fixed an issue where rtfd documents were being split apart into their constituent parts when importing
• Fixed an issue where opening an entry in a new editor and immediately selecting all before clicking on the text can cause the editor to blank out
• Fixed an issue where searching entries could cause a crash
• Fixed an issue with creating an entry during a search

Thank you to everyone who uses Dossier, and if you have any issues or suggestions, as always, let me know.

Regardless, the fact of the matter is that iOS (or the subset that’s actually being compared, the iPhone) doesn’t need to outsell Android. That’s not Apple’s game. The assumption seems to be that the only path to success is to sell more product than the competitor. However, to assess the viability of either platform, this assumption needs to be thrown out the window; it is wrong in the personal computer market and it is wrong in the smartphone market.

My original intention for Memoir was a “light” version of Dossier, meant to serve as a personal journal or to organize notes. For various reasons (mainly due to the fact that my focus changed several years ago), this wasn’t executed as well as I would have liked. I hope to fix this with the next version of Memoir. I’ve gone back to the drawing board with the interface, and thought about how I would use it as a personal journal. I’ve kept the hierarchical folder organization, but the new interface will allow the hierarchy to be abstracted away. The interface has been streamlined and modernized, and the storage engine has been rewritten. It’s fast and sleek, and I think people will love it.

An update to Dossier will also be released soon (and probably before Memoir 2.0). This release will focus on bug fixes (reported via the forums, email, or found in my own use).

That should cover it for now. I’ve also been spending quite a lot of my time on a new product, which I hope to share more details about in the near future.

There are a number of reasons for this – first and foremost, I don’t want it to appear that there isn’t anything going on here (there really is). It’s surprising with a small development shop how easy it is for this to happen. After all, most people who buy Memoir or Dossier, I never hear from. Maybe they’ll check the website from time to time, but rarely do they post on the forum. Google Analytics tells me they’re interested – but no one else can see that.

Secondly, as I sat down to write documentation this morning, I realized how hard it was to write when you are out of practice. Even as I type this blog post, putting my thoughts into words is much more difficult than I remember – I think this happens quickly when you spend most of your time “just coding”.

So anyway, with that explanation out of the way, today I am going to start posting my thoughts (ramblings?) on a daily basis. Obviously, I can’t talk about my products every single post, so I’m going to try and post about topics that are related to my interests and Vortimac (that is the Mac/iPhone ecosystem and related topics). If nothing else, my writing has to improve.

As for updates relating to Memoir and Dossier, I’ll get to those in my next post.

• Substantial interface overhaul
• Major enhancements to editor
• Better support for drag and drop import into entry
• Improved import of many formats
• Support for dragging entire folders or files from the Finder
• New welcome window to assist new users
• Calendar enhancements
• Upgraded help system
• Fixed issue where calendar status was not being recalled properly
• Fixed issue with views not resizing properly after collapse
• Fixed issue with links being dragged in from Mail not showing properly
• Fixed issue with word count not updating automatically
• Fixed issue with color wells not retaining their color properly
• Fixed issue with show/hide ruler
• Fixed issue with editing smart folders
• Various other enhancements and bug fixes

I’m also pleased to roll out our new support forums. In addition to being a place for discussion, I will also begin using it to post questions I frequently receive via email.

Thank you to everyone who has purchased Dossier or Memoir – there are a lot of great features planned for future releases!