I thought I should show off the updated version of Feeder’s iTunes preview, which now matches iTunes version 5. This will appear in Feeder 1.2.2, due for release in a week or so. Like the rest of Feeder, this is all done by drawing gradients, stroking lines, etc – no stretchy Photoshopped images here! Click the image to see a full-size version.

I’ve also given Feeder’s UI a bit of a revamp, but that could still be in progress so I’ll save it for another day. 😀

Feeder got another mention in Episode 21 of This Week in Tech – the one recorded live in the SF Apple Store. Both the mention and the whole live TWiT thing are very cool.

Like many people, I was a little aghast to see yet another interface style appear with iTunes 5, particularly one that isn’t available to everyone else and that has a few little quirks, such as the non-standard radius on the window corners and the way that the gradient starts at the top, ends at the source list then starts again below the lists. On the equaliser window, the same gradient goes from top to bottom – fair enough, but this indicates that the theme is more that just a background and (I suspect) unlikely to become available for everyone exactly as seen in iTunes should the new theme replace brushed metal.

But let’s hope it does, because many people will want to emulate the look and even the best implementations of BM appear a little scratchy next to iTunes now. Besides, the last thing we need is another interface theme in the long run. While I see the need for a device-like theme to limit the evolution of endlessly inconsistent skins, I’m no fan of brushed metal. I think it’s too heavy, too clunky, surprisingly dated and requires an incredible number of changes to standard controls to make them look good. Perhaps the best BM implementation is Safari, but even that has straight corners at the bottom of the window, which isn’t standard for BM windows where all four corners are usually rounded.

Overall, I think the new iTunes theme is a huge improvement, but that isn’t to say I’m totally enamoured with it. I spent most of yesterday being reminded of the Mac version of Windows Media Player, although looking at Windows Media Player again, it’s nothing like it (thankfully!). I also feel better about the iTunes look today, so perhaps it’s a grower. It helped after I updated Feeder’s iTunes preview (for release with 1.2.2 in a week or so) to see that looking much smarter. I wouldn’t expect BM to get replaced before Leopard, however, because of the problems that might cause with existing applications. We’ll see.

Hearing Adam Curry raving about OmniOutliner Pro lately reminds me that my business is almost entirely run using that app. Every feature of each release of my applications, past, present and future can be found in an outline, along with time estimates, notes, link to specifications, etc.

OmniOutliner is perfect for this, not only because you can check each feature off once it’s done and drag them around as necessary, but also because it can show calculated summaries of project-plan style durations (such as 1d, 2h) without having to fiddle with dependancies, dates, etc.

I’ve also used the dynamic HTML export feature to put Feeder’s release notes online when there are so many changes that a collapsable outline makes sense. I also use it to hammer out testing errors, make lists of things that need doing, and sometimes just to organize the scattered thoughts in my brain. I don’t tend to use the new fancy features all that much but it’s good to know they’re there.

The only things I don’t like about OmniOutliner 3 are the application and document icons, but those are easily fixed. I’ve yet to decide whether I like, or can even understand, the latest version of another one of my favourite applications, OmniGraffle, not that I use it much these days.

Feeder 1.2.1 is released today and about time too as far as I’m concerned, not that anyone has complained. I don’t normally add new functionality to x.x.x releases, but with the previous release (v1.2) I tried to get the iTunes functionality out there as soon as it was ready, to quell the endless emails of desperation. That meant postponing some of the things I originally wanted to include such as file publishing and AppleScript.

File publishing appears in 1.2.1 but I still haven’t got the AppleScript support in there. I did start it, but it was taking much longer than I expected so I thought it better to get the release with my tweaks and fixes out there now. AppleScript support is not high on the request list but it is something I think is sorely lacking right now. It’s also been good to let the iTunes stuff settle and I’ve added and improved on apsects of that functionality based on feedback and my own judgement.

The rest of the originally planned 1.2 release will go into a 1.3 release due towards the end of this year, along with some more cool new features that should make their first public appearance at the Podcast and Portable Media Expo in Ontario, California this coming November. 😀

In other Feeder news, it was great to hear This Week in Tech‘s Leo Laporte sing Feeder’s praises in his interview with Adam Christianson on a special edition of the MacCast – thanks again to Adam, he is also a big Feeder fan and I’ve had a ton of hits from his site over the last month or so. You can find that episode here.

Finally, Feeder appears in the September issue of SVM Mac in France and a PDF version of the article is available here. This is the first appearance of Feeder 1.2 in the press. Vive la France!