Some expected 2020 to never end. As it finally has, here’s a look back at what Random Projects accomplished.
Countr
The early part of 2020 was primarily focused on Countr 3.0. This was a full re-write of Countr, built using modern APIs and technologies. This launched in July with support for multiple counts, automatic data syncing via iCloud, and official support for iPad.
Making these changes brought some benefits and drawbacks.
On the plus side, synchronizing everything via iCloud meant that someone could update the value on their Apple Watch and see it reflected later on their iPad.
Unfortunately, because of the limitations imposed on Watch apps in the name of performance and battery life, data syncing has not been as reliable as I was hoping. Several bug have improved the situation slightly, but full resolution is yet to come.
With 3.1, the Watch got a bit of a boost with button themes. These allow the user to set, per count, a button theme. Do you miss the old Watch buttons? This lets you get them back.
There are still plenty of features that are to be built for Countr, including taking better advantage of the iPad’s larger screen, and these will come with future releases and updates to Countr 3.
The Future: 2021
Besides working on addressing data synchronization improvements and other features for Countr, there’s a new project that I’ve been working on for the past few months. I will announce the details later this month. If you have an issue with managing bookmarks like I do, then you might be interested!
Between Countr and this new project, I’m hoping 2021 will be a productive year. Countr has a steady and supportive user-base, and I am eager to build more features for them to enjoy. And this new app will allow me to reach a new set of users that, hopefully, will benefit from this app as I have.