First, thanks everyone who was patient and willing to work with technical support on the 2.10 problem. That particular error was easily diagnosed once we saw it, and we got the fix out within hours, and thankfully Apple helped us out by expediting a review, so the 2.10 version only was available for 4 days.

And thank you for supporting Extreme Agenda. We keep turning out big feature updates so you will immediately notice you are getting crazy good value for your money, but we aren’t done… So its a great investment now for the future of the product.

Here are our basic plans for XA going forward:

We have version 2.15 almost done which fixes a couple things, adds some better diagnostics to help us work out problems better, and adds the new Timeline Day view, and a few other calendar specific features. Timeline day is a fantastic new view with inline editing and toolbars that allow moving, copying, and other tools right from the list. (A sneak peek screenshot is shown at our Extreme Agenda Facebook page).

What also is coming in this update is a new version of the app, which will be just the key features of the calendar section of XA. We want to compete with a couple programs out there (one font based), that got very popular, but kind of get in their own way as far as not adding features in the name of minimalist design and their own thoughts on how scheduling should be done. That stuff is great for a lot of people, but most people eventually end up expecting a little more… We hope to give it to you. And once you want to go even further and have more features, the great thing will be that an InApp purchase will be available that allows you to update it to the full Extreme Agenda. It will be a great app to suggest to your friends or to try out XA’s features.

And then 2.20 will be started right after 2.15 is out. It will add some major upgrades in Contacts and Tasks as well as some other powerful agenda based pieces. There likely wont be any one HUGE new feature, but a ton of little ones that will make this update one that adds a lot of punch.

And then 2.5 is scheduled for this summer, with a couple of really big features along with a big iPad version update and a bunch more little features to make this the most flexible and all around best Organizer for iOS hands down.

So if you are waiting for some of those other organizers to update their app, come see how far we’ve caught up and in a lot of ways passed them in functionality. And then stick around and enjoy all the new features that are coming sooner rather than later.

Thanks

And we’d really appreciate some good reviews on the AppStore if you are enjoying XA! The people that need to complain in situations like 2.1 don’t tend to come back, so we’d love to have a few good ones to balance them out, as they no longer really apply.

Update: Version 2.15 is in the store. We have submitted a bug fix update(v.2.16) that also does some great optimizations to the app that will make it use less memory and load faster. And Extreme Calendar is out on the AppStore now too..

We have switched the schedule slightly as well, a 2.2 version, which will add a couple of the calendar specific power features, will come first and then 2.25 which will have a few more calendar features and the contact/task upgrades. We want the new XCal users to see the benefits of their first update so they know we mean business (and some are features that I really wanted in v.2.15).

We made a mistake. Well, we missed something in testing with the XA database(that doesnt show up to most people if you were running XA 2.0 first). So its our fault.

And we can’t believe that Apple missed it too! They had the application ‘in review’ for over 12 hours after a week wait. And still ok’d it with a problem that affects a ton of mostly new users.

We had this problem debugged, an update submitted(and request to be expedited) all in the same morning it was released. And a simple workaround in place to fix the problem for people experiencing it.

But we don’t feel that is really good enough…and we’re sorry.

1. We can’t update fixes fast enough.

In the older Windows Mobile days we could have had a fixed app out in a matter of minutes after we fixed it, and saved hundreds of people from ever even having the chance of seeing the problem. There was just another level of trust there that Apple doesnt allow.

Why isn’t there a way that developer’s can get ‘trusted’ status from Apple. So if they have a minor update, they can go through a quick review channel. That way the fix is out there right away…

The quick channel right now is the developer finding an obscure form in Apple’s help system to basically beg for an expedited review, and then get a scolding “we don’t want this taken advantage of” letter back with a yes or no on whether they’ll do it quicker. This usually comes after a day or two. If they do agree, well then you’ll see the review start maybe a day after that.. So 3-4 days instead of 7-8+.

I know there are a lot of apps, and a lot of junk, so they are having to police. But what exactly did they do to review my app, if they didn’t catch what is essentially it not starting at all on some hardware if its a fresh install…

And I would think it would be somewhat obvious to Apple who is a more trusted developer, and who is turning out daily rss feeder or fart sound apps… Charge us a little more, and/or put it out there that if you do anything malicious you are kicked out of trusted status, and/or the AppStore. I know that a reviewer should be able to review a bug fix app(send it to the same tester that did the full review),and have them run through the whole thing covering all the screens of most apps in less than 10 minutes..

2. And then when a problem like this comes up, people think reviews are the way to get tech support.

Why is this bad?

Well, there is no way to get rid of them once its fixed. And about half the people don’t go back and change their review after it is… Go look at Extreme Agenda’s reviews right now. Some were nice enough to change their review, and some weren’t. But what is funny about that is if you actually read the product description. One of the first things I say is, ‘hey, if you have this problem email me and i’ll get it fixed’. And then towards the bottom I ask you not to use the reviews for tech support. In most cases(this not being one of them), I will not notice your problem review for weeks or months. Developers aren’t notified of new reviews, and have no way of contacting you once we do see the review, to see if we can help you fix it or get more information. Its just not a good idea, except to let your temper out, for getting tech support!

You aren’t really “showing this evil developer who purposely gave you a broken product”. Its amazing how many people think that if an app is broken for them, it doesn’t work for anyone and this app is obviously some kind of scam… What perpetuates that is we also have no control over refunds. Id give you a refund in a heartbeat if you are one of those people that can’t or won’t use tech support and try to spend a couple minutes resolving an issue. I know the AppStore and low prices promotes instant gratification, and I’m fine with that…

I had a fix for this done yesterday, but some people will still be seeing the problem after a week, and that part isn’t my fault.

So give us developer’s the benefit of the doubt at least initially if the app is not working correctly. There are a lot of factors, and a lot of different hardware and configurations that we can miss things or not be able to test for everything… and a good developer will help you resolve the problem as quick as they can.

And we are handcuffed by some of Apple’s systems, some that should be fixed up…

Thanks