Conceited Blog RSS Feed

Hey folks!

Just wanted to let you all know that Linkinus for iPhone 1.1 and Linkinus for iPad 1.2.1 are now available in the App Store. This pair of updates fix several user-reported issues and are highly recommended for all users.

What’s New?

• Support for /ignore and /unignore
• Font size and other style preferences now take effect immediately
• Fixed a bug where certain visual settings weren’t applied properly
• Fixed a bug where input bar may be hidden below keyboard under certain circumstances
• New Style: I Are Sea!
• Updated Styles: Better link detection, removed flash embeds, resolved several minor UI glitches in Control, Circus, Midnight, and Whisper.

Linkinus is the most powerful and flexible internet relay chat (IRC) software for iOS there is, yet it’s easy to use and newcomers will instantly know how to use it thanks to its elegant design and over 330 built-in networks. You can purchase both Linkinus for iPhone and Linkinus for iPad on the App Store.

Tags: app store, ipad, iphone, iphone 4, Linkinus, Updates

Hey everyone, it is with great pleasure that I announce the immediate availablility of Linkinus for iPhone! Now, you can enjoy the most powerful and flexible internet relay chat (IRC) software on your iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad or Mac.

Linkinus for iPhone provides many great iOS features, including:

• (new!) Multitasking: stay connected in the background for up to 10 minutes at a time. You’ll receive a notification when your about to be disconnected so you can jump back in if you’d like to remain online
• (new!) New Styles! Control, Circus, Midnight, and Whisper!
• (new!) Media Embedding: Just like the desktop! Get inline images, audio, and some HTML5 video. (More embedding options coming soon!)
• (new!) Configurable style options including font size, emoticons, timestamps, nick coloring, and more!
• (new!) Adjustable scrollback buffer
• (new!) Sort user list alphabetically or by privileges
• (new!) Redirect CTCP requests or notices to console, current window, or separate window
• (new!) Auto-correction (toggle on or off to your liking)

Aside from these great new iOS features, it shares many great features found in the Mac and iPad versions, including:

• Network selector helps you pick servers from the most popular chat networks
• Connect to an unlimited number of networks and channels
• Highlights: IRC can be overwhelming, but with Linkinus you’ll never miss an important message. When someone mentions your nickname, that line will be highlighted so you don’t miss it.
• Identities: it’s you, on IRC. Save your preferred and alternate nicknames in a reusable fashion. And if you provide password credentials, Linkinus will automatically authenticate to NickServ, NickOP, Q, X, G, SrvAuth and AuthServ.
• Displays IRC colors
• Autoconnect/autojoin features
• All standard IRC commands supported from the input field, such as: /me, /all, /away, /ban, /bankick, /clear, /nick, /join, /query, /notice, /quit, /part, /topic, /server, …)
• Blowfish support in channels & queries (/setkey sets the key, /delkey removes it, /key shows it). Automatic key exchange is also support via /keyx
• Channel op commands (/op, /deop, /voice, /devoice, /halfop, /dehalfop, …)
• OPER commands (/oper, /kill, /gline, …)
• Exploding emoticons (tap to cause them to explode)

Linkinus for iPhone costs $2.99 and is available now in the App Store.

PS: A note to our iPad users: These great new features will be available in Linkinus for iPad 1.2, submitted to Apple and waiting for approval.

Tags: app store, chat, ipad, iphone, iphone 4, Linkinus, release, Themes

Just wanted to give you a quick update that Linkinus for iPad 1.1 *just* hit the App Store. Update when you get a chance!

This has the much-wanted SSL fixes. There is more detail below:

- SSL support improved

- Added dialog to trust self-signed SSL certificates

- Fixed a crash in the input field

- Improved channel topic display

- Performance improvements when scrolling

There are other fixes and enhancements planned for future releases, and I will update you as I have more information.

Cheers,
Aaron Kulbe
a.k.a. SuperLag

UPDATE: It appears that some users are reporting crashing when clicking on links in 1.1. We found and fixed the issue and submitted 1.1.1 to Apple for approval. Sorry for the inconvenience.

UPDATE: 1.1.1 was approved and released on 6/21 – please update now!

Tags: Linkinus

While I am still learning about programming, I like the general idea… that is, developers scratching itches.

A lot of programs start out by doing just that. A developer has a personal need, and then writes an application to meet that need.

It’s how I approach purchasing software, as well. I needed an IRC client for work. We use it to share information about support calls, in real time. Being a Mac user, I wanted something with some *beauty* to it. Something in GUI form. That’s what good Mac apps are made of.

I’d used irssi previously, but as someone said today on IRC, that’s using the terminal in a way it wasn’t intended to be used. Why resort to a hack, when you can use something that builds on the strengths of the Mac?

Linkinus scratches my itches. I like an app with a well-designed interface. As I’ve said before, I think Linkinus is the best-looking IRC client on the market.

I needed an IRC client that had the options that Linkinus provides, and it’s only going to get better from here!

What do *you* use IRC for? How does Linkinus meet your needs?

Come on in to #linkinus on the Conceited network. Share your stories with us!

Aaron Kulbe a.k.a. SuperLag

As promised, Linkinus 1.0.1 has passed Apple’s approval process and is available in the App Store.

What’s new?

• Added interface for adding custom networks
• Added support for extended /server syntax: ‘/server hostname:port password’ (standard server) and ‘/server hostname:+port password’ (SSL server)
• Fixed an issue with the ‘/whois nickname’ command
• Fixed a bug where channels/connections wouldn’t be deleted appropriately
• Redesigned app icon

Screenshots

Here is a screenshot of the new custom server screen:


We also made some slight modifications to the interface to make things a little easier to use. For example, you no longer have to go into Edit mode to connect or disconnect to servers. Simply click on the blue disclosure button and you’re off to the races.

The navigation bar button layout has changed a bit, so that the + and Edit buttons are aligned more closely with Apple’s built-in applications and now the Channels tab is the default, allowing you to start chatting immediately after opening the app.

This should address our two most requested features: Custom servers and SSL. We’re already hard at work on version 1.1, subscribe to our RSS feed to stay up to date on the latest and greatest.

Tags: app store, ipad, Linkinus, Update

Hey guys!

Some of our new customers are reporting that there is no way to connect to custom servers or IRC networks not provided on the list. It is true that there is not currently any user interface for doing so, however it is possible to join custom servers using the /server standard IRC command. Simply click in the input bar, type /server followed by your host and port and you are off to the races.

An Update is on the way

We have an update, which includes a user interface for adding your own servers, specifying an optional server password if so desired, as well as some additional bug fixes. We will be finishing our testing and submitting the update for Apple’s approval tomorrow.

Linkinus for iPad is at a very early stage and will continue to improve. If you have any suggestions or bugs to report, please let us know!

Update: If there are any IRC networks out there that aren’t on our list and would like to be, please contact us and we’ll add it ASAP.

Linkinus for iPad has arrived.

With the US iPad launch in just a few hours, we are extremely pleased to announce Linkinus for iPad. Linkinus, the most powerful and flexible internet relay chat (IRC) software is now available on your brand new iPad. It’s easy to use and newcomers will instantly feel right at home thanks to its elegant design and over 330 built-in networks. We are launching with the introductory price of $7.99.

While Linkinus for iPad is at a very early stage, it provides many great features provided in the Mac version, including:

• Network selector helps you pick servers from the most popular chat networks
• Connect to an unlimited number of networks and channels
• Highlights: IRC can be overwhelming, but with Linkinus you’ll never miss an important message. When someone mentions your nickname, that line will be highlighted so you don’t miss it.
• Identities: it’s you, on IRC. Save your preferred and alternate nicknames in a reusable fashion. And if you provide password credentials, Linkinus will automatically authenticate to NickServ, NickOP, Q, X, G, SrvAuth and AuthServ.
• Displays IRC colors
• Autoconnect/autojoin features
• All standard IRC commands supported from the input field, such as: /me, /all, /away, /ban, /bankick, /clear, /nick, /join, /query, /notice, /quit, /part, /topic, /server, …)
• Blowfish support in channels & queries (/setkey sets the key, /delkey removes it, /key shows it). Automatic key exchange is also support via /keyx
• Channel op commands (/op, /deop, /voice, /devoice, /halfop, /dehalfop, …)
• OPER commands (/oper, /kill, /gline, …)
• Exploding emoticons (tap to cause them to explode)

Linkinus for iPad costs $7.99 for a limited amount of time, and is available now in the App Store.

Tags: ipad, Linkinus

Looks like it’s treat!

And what a treat it is. Ever experience problems with large log files or lacking the option of plain text logging? You are going to like what I am about to write.

To briefly describe the problem mentioned above: the current stable release logs messages in a database that has the tendency to grow a little larger than average for a fixed period of time compared to plain text.
We are, of course working on this size issue as well as reintroducing plain text as logging option you can optionally toggle. This means, you can have the database (with all styles, highlights and colors) log for a couple of days only* and keep it at a more than handy size but keep all logs in plain text and move them as you wish.

* The next version of Linkinus will allow you to set an automatic pruning time for old logs. I.e. you can have Linkinus prune logs older than days.

So what else is new? Tab completion will also receive a spec bump. You are in a very crowded channel and want to highlight a person somewhere in the middle of the nicklist? If he was talking to you a minute ago you’ll now be able to tab complete his/her nick way faster than before because Linkinus can now tab complete in “last spoke” order as well as alphabetically.

Stay tuned and if you want to give it an early try, why don’t you opt into the beta program?

Tags: Linkinus, Logging, Update, Updates

Once upon a time, as a developer pricks his finger a drop of blood falls on the snow that had fallen on his aluminium keyboard frame […]

That aside: Now with Apple having released Snow Leopard to the general public you certainly wonder about Linkinus’ Snow Leopard compatibility – aside from Rosetta of course.

Due to some … let’s say fancy bone of contention concerning scheduling the final 2.0.2 build will be delayed a little while.

Wait, wait wait a minute … to ease the transition as well as give you some chance to test 2.0.2 on Snow Leopard before it’s actually released for real we give you the chance to join the free and public beta so you can see for yourself. Just follow this link and read the instructions that’ll appear on your display drawn in your own blood assuming you agree to the horrible terms.

One thing in particular you beta users will most likely have notice presuming you take a look at the Styles preferences and Simplified in particular: Linkinus now supports Variants.

Variwhat? Variants are, essential the same theme in different color settings. Like Whisper originally shipped separate as Light and Dark version, Simplified now ships as a single theme – with two Variants. This is one of the many new additions to the theming engine. More detailed changes about this and other shiny things we included secretly in this build will be disclosed later in more detail.

Tags: Linkinus, Snow Leopard, Update

It’s been a long couple of months for a lot of you. Especially with the last Snow Leopard developer builds. We are, however, currently working on 2.0.2 to remedy this. Along with renewed Snow Leopard support, naturally, a number of bug fixes will be shipped.

This isn’t all, though! For good measure we’re going to throw in a couple of updated scripts and new themes: I Are Sea! (by drudge) and Simplified (by Cowboy). All of you calling out for “classic” IRC client themes will be delighted to hear that both are variations of the classic [timestamp] [name] [message] layout.

For more Information concerning Simplified visit Cowboy’s blog, please.

Stay tuned for more news, we’ll try to keep you informed and give you more details as soon as possible. As always, we look forward to providing you a great IRC experience. Don’t hesitate to let us know if there is anything we can do for you.

Edit: Linkinus 2.0.1 is supported on Snow Leopard in Rosetta mode.

Tags: Linkinus, scripts, Snow Leopard, Themes, Updates