Karelia Software

Thanks to the contributions of Houdah Software to the open-source component of our iMedia Browser application, we are pleased to announce an update to version 1.2.2 of this free utility that brings compatibility with Apple's Aperture 3 — both in browsing photos and movies.

This new version also fixes a couple of other minor issues that were affecting only a few users.

Download iMedia Browser.

We've just updated Sandvox to version 1.6.6. This is primarily a maintenance update, with fixes to a few problems that people have reported over the last few months.

The one new feature we wanted to point out is a subtle change in how file names are created. After reading a blog post by Google spokesperson Matt Cutts, we decided that it would be better for our automatically generated file names to use dashes, not underscores, to separate words. At least, this is how it will work for newly created, unpublished pages.

Here's how it works: Let's say you give your page a title like "Sandvox 1.6.6 Tweaks Search Engine Friendliness." Sandvox will automatically come up with a name for that post, based on the title of the post, by stripping out non-alphanumeric characters and substituting spaces for dashes, and truncating if the file name is going to be very long. (Sandvox wants to make sure that its files can be uploaded to just about any server, so even if your web host could handle longer names or other characters in the file name, it's better to be on the safe side.

In older versions of Sandvox, the file name would become something like "sandvox_166_tweaks_search_e.html", but in the new version, the file name will be "sandvox-166-tweaks-search-e.html". It's easier to type, and apparently easier for Google to extract the individual words from.

This file name shows up in the page details area in the lower left corner of the document window. You are free to override this title if you want — we did that for this page so that the more important words "search engine" are in there and the less important word "tweaks" is not. Note that once you explicitly override the automatically-generated title, or once you publish the page to your web host, the title will no longer change even if you change the title of your post.

What's important to notice is that Sandvox does not change the automatically generated file titles for any existing pages or collections. This is extremely important. Once your website is published, there is a good chance that somebody is linking to the pages on your website. It's not a good idea to be changing the file title — from which the URL is derived — on any already-published page.

If you really want your already-published pages to use dashes instead of underscores, you are welcome to change the file names and re-publish your website, but please be aware of the consequences. There may be links to your old page URLs, and if you don't delete the old files from your web host, you may end up with your old page still on your server, plus your newly-renamed page as well. That's a big mess, and you should avoid that! (If you are using Apache, you can probably get clever with .htaccess files and "Redirect" directives, but this is not for the faint of heart!

Most people will not even notice or care about this change. We just wanted to do as close to the "right thing" as possible going forward.

We've created an eBook (PDF book) called "One Hundred and Something Tips and Tricks for Sandvox" for fans of our new Karelia Software Page on Facebook and it's already being called a "MUST READ for all Sandvox users."

We're sure you're on Facebook, right? Come by and make yourself a "fan" of Karelia Software, and download this eBook!

Oh, and while you are there, we hope you'll make a note on our Facebook "wall."  Really, we won't mind!  Upload a picture of you showing off your Sandvox website, or with whatever your website is about!

The day after Thanksgiving in the United States has come to be known as Black Friday, and it's a major shopping day. Many companies — brick and mortar, or click and order — offer special promotions and discounts to entice shoppers to buy.

It's a day of buying frenzy!

It's quite ironic that Black Friday immediately follows an American day of celebration with family and close friends, in which we reflect upon all the things we have to be thankful for.

So we at Karelia Software would like to offer a bit of a twist on a Black Friday promotion. On Friday, we are going to offer a substantial discount off of Sandvox (regular or edition, individual or household license) but we ask you to think back to Thanksgiving day's thankfulness and full stomach, and make a donation to a charitable organization to help somebody in need — somebody who doesn't have the luxury of using a computer, building websites, reading and writing blogs, chatting with friends all over the world, having a big feast with friends and family, shopping all day at the mall (or in front of the computer screen), and so forth.

We're asking you to take some of the money you are saving by buying Sandvox at a discount — or any other money you are "saving" on Black Friday by getting such good deals on all that stuff — and send a charitable donation to an organization that you feel has a worthy cause. Spread some of the warmth you have to somebody who doesn't have as much to be thankful for.

Where could you make a contribution? There's a community center or food bank in your town that could use some help. (A Google search for "charity" will likely find some nearby organizations.) Perhaps you'd like to help with an area recently struck by disaster, such as helping the flood victims of Typhoon Ondoy in the Philippines. Or you could pick a nearby classroom in a low-income area that needs funds for its programs. If you've read Greg Mortenson's Three Cups of Tea you might want to donate to his peace-creating school-building program in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Or, look up another organization that resonates with you.

How much you give is up to you.

Let's make Black Friday stand for something more than just a shopping frenzy.

Oh yes, the coupon code for a 50% discount off of Sandvox, valid on Friday November 27 2009, is "make a donation". You'll save between $28 and $68 from this deal, and we hope you'll use that to give somebody else something to be thankful for.

Photo by goodrob13

☚ We wanted to point out that Sandvox, along with a host of other Mac applications, are on sale this week for 20% off, via the website One Finger Discount. At least one of our third-party designers is also participating, so search for 'Sandvox' on the page to see what offers are available.

There is more to Mac software than just the applications from Apple, Microsoft, and Adobe! There are apps here for remote collaborating, image editing, crossword puzzling, recipe filing, writing, disk organizing, money managing, game playing, language learning, website building, ringtone creating, hard drive checking, note taking, news reading, text processing, file transferring, collection organizing, health managing, time tracking, podcasting, blogging, video converting, password collecting, color coordinating, web researching, remote controlling, sound recording, morning awakening, dock de-cluttering, web server monitoring, preference shuffling, intruder detecting, domain name managing, FTPing, word processing, Wii transferring, invoicing, to-do list check-off-ing, geotagging, distraction reducing, story narrating, mind mapping, ipod recovering, window moving, puzzle solving, cross-stitch designing, pet record-keeping, audio processing, music notation quizzing, healthy eating, screenshotting, text expanding, spam preventing, weather predicting, and data organizing. And more that I'm not mentioning!

Come check out what these great companies have to offer! Most of these are "try before you buy" so you will know what you are getting before you commit your cash.

(view linked page for a fun full-sized image....)

Today we released an update to Sandvox.  The latest version, 1.6.5, contains a few fixes to publishing and the iMedia Browser. You can fetch it via the usual methods: a download from our website, or by checking for updates from the Sandvox menu of the application itself.

Along with this new version, we are also announcing a special promotion that starts now and lasts through the entire month of November — one that can get you a license to Sandvox Pro for Free!

We've teamed up with a couple of our recommended website hosts for the entire month of November and will be giving away a free single-user license to Sandvox Pro with proof of a new one-year hosting signup from either A2 Hosting or Server Logistics, if purchased through the links on our hosting comparison chart.

Here's how this special, one-month promo works: You decide which plan you want, from either Server Logistics or A2 Hosting, and sign up for a year (or more) of hosting using the online form our comparison chart links to. Then, just forward the hosting company's "welcome" email to freesandvox@karelia.com. As soon as we receive your email and verify the purchase, we'll send you a gift certificate code for a free single-user license to Sandvox Pro.

(If you already have Sandvox Regular Edition, and you are looking for a new hosting company, you can take advantage of this offer to upgrade your license to the Pro edition, as well!)

That's pretty cool, but it gets better.  The participating hosts are also offering special discounts on hosting for Sandvoxers.  Server Logistics is offering a 15% discount and A2 Hosting is offering a 25% discount on a hosting package — just enter the coupon code FREESANDVOX when you check out from the hosting company's website.

With the discount coupon code applied, you can easily get a full year of hosting, plus Sandvox, for less than the normal price for Sandvox itself!

Go here to compare the available plans, review the details, and take advantage of this month-long offer.