Start Usage Meter upcoming changes

I wanted to write a quick blog post to comment on some upcoming updates to Start Usage Meter. Before I get into these changes, I wanted to circle back to my reasoning for splitting Start Usage Meter into two branches (perpetual 2.5.8.x, and 2.6 and beyond).

Why the change?

When I first started writing Start Usage Meter: I wrote it as a native Mac app and it was built from the ground up using Apple technologies. It was built to support as many older releases of OS X as possible from its birth. This meant that the app launched with OS X Lion support, even though it was released a couple of years prior to the apps development. I chose this for two reasons: (1) I felt it was important to support users on older operating systems, especially for a utility app where some users may not be able to progress past a certain OS and (2) I wanted to challenge myself to support OS X 10.7 Lion as long as possible, while still supporting the newest releases of the Mac operating system.

This was relatively easy to do for a long time. If an API didn’t exist in an older version of macOS, then I created workarounds to create the same outcome wherever possible. The only downsides were that it took some extra work and maintenance with potentially a little less polish (e.g. base localization couldn’t be supported since I cannot target OS X 10.7 and build with base localization, which meant that I needed to create separate XIB’s for each language and maintain them all separately. This meant that each language may not be pixel perfect). Where critical API’s didn’t exist, I just didn’t display it to the user (e.g. Notification Center wasn’t available in OS X 10.7 Lion, so I don’t support it and didn’t display any options relating to it).

I continuously announced my commitment to support OS X 10.7 for as long as possible and was able to keep it up for a while. I was able to work around the lack of new API’s in some cases. As long as my tools allowed me to continue, then I would.

Then Xcode 12 was released. This new version of Xcode included the new macOS Big Sur SDK’s and offered some pretty cool enhancements. The downside? You could only target OS X 10.9 or later. I had to make a decision. Do I keep the app on an old toolset, convert to a different environment, or drop OS X 10.7 and 10.8? I ultimately settled on dropping OS X 10.7 and OS X 10.8 so I can continue to build for macOS using native tools and SDK’s; however, I decided to create a second branch of Start Usage Meter: Start Usage Meter 2.5.8, which I plan to back port critical fixes and improvements from the later versions. I will always distribute 2.5.8.x as a signed and notarized app and will do this for as long as possible. This lets me finally modernize the app.

So what’s coming?

I plan to release Start Usage Meter updates shortly for the Mac App Store version. 2.6 already has some improvements that were held back due to old OS support, such as base localization and new UI improvements.

The upcoming releases will take this much further. I plan to transition Start Usage Meter entirely to Swift and modernize the codebase. There will be big UI improvements to help it feel even more like a new modern native Mac app (it is and always has been a native app, but older OS support meant holding back on some UI improvements).

The immediate upcoming changes will have some pretty impactful UI interaction improvements, which should greatly improve the user experience.

I just wanted to provide a bit of a heads up about what to expect from updates, and provide some additional clarity as to why the OS changes were made in the first place. I can’t wait to share the updates with you, and I hope it improves the experience as intended.

Start Usage Meter 2.6 Released

New modern app build

Note: Users running OS X 10.7 to OS X 10.8 or earlier must use Start Usage Meter 2.5.8.1, which is available from my website as an app verified by Apple and notarized. If you are running OS X 10.9 or later, then you should use the Mac App Store version as usual.

Start Usage Meter 2.6 has been approved by Apple and is now available on the Mac App Store. As previously mentioned, this version only supports macOS 10.9 and later.

This app has native support for Apple Silicon (looking at you M1 chip!). This marks the first version of Start Usage Meter that includes a universal binary. This update also contains a few fixes to polish the app. It also includes some minor UI tweaks for macOS Big Sur.

  • Modernized many parts of the application to use newer macOS technologies!
  • Native support for Apple Silicon. The app is now a universal binary
  • Fixes an issue where the daily usage window would not highlight the row representing today
  • Icon improvements for Big Sur
  • UI enhancements

Start Usage Meter 2.5.8.1 Released for OS X 10.8 and earlier (including FAQ)

Note: Users running OS X 10.9 or later (including the latest versions of macOS) should use Start Usage Meter 2.6, which is available in the Mac App Store, built for the latest versions of macOS, and contains support for the newest Mac hardware

Start Usage Meter 2.5.8.1 has been released as a notarized app and is now available. It is an Intel app.

This update contains a few fixes for Start Usage Meter that have been backported from Start Usage Meter 2.6 (available on the Mac App Store for OS X 10.9 and later). This release has been checked and notarized by Apple.

SHA256 SUM (although unnecessary due to the fact that the binary is signed and notarized by Apple)
Start-Usage-Meter-2.5.8.1.zip – a1129fe051bcc2c5e9dc9b5fe08ae585d2938b7e216301bfdf2de267a6b3fb60
Start Usage Meter.app/Contents/MacOS/Start Usage Meter – 1b4abd4bbde01bb9e11beaeefd04a692371ef8bd4c2b893e1cd755ac3b8f36e1

Start Usage Meter 2.5.8.1 has been released as a notarized app for OS X 10.7 or later, available exclusively through my official website. As previously mentioned and planned, this marks the first version that will not be available through the Mac App Store since version 1.5. It contains back ported improvements relevant to its current feature set. Notably, this update:

  • Fixes an issue where the daily usage window would not highlight the row representing today

FAQ

What’s notarization?
Notarization is a feature from Apple that allows me to send my app to Apple for confirmation that it does not contain malicious content or anything that will harm your computer. It essentially offers the security advantages of a Mac App Store app, outside of the Mac App Store.

Is the app still sandboxed?
Yes. Start Usage Meter 2.5.8.x is essentially the same version you’d find on the Mac App Store if I were able to continue to offer it with support for the older versions of macOS. As the app and tools evolve, I’ll need to split the app into two versions; however, the security aspects of the app remain the same (i.e. the app is sandboxed and verified by Apple). Any release outside of the Mac App Store moving forward will always be sandboxed and notarized by Apple for your security. Always make sure you download from either the Mac App Store or https://dwightd.com.

Why not just cut support?
I’m really happy about my ability to continue to offer the app for all users on all operating systems. I’d like to continue that for as long as possible, and Start Usage Meter 2.5.8.1 represents my attempts to make this a reality. It contains a bug fix that is available in Start Usage Meter 2.6 on the Mac App Store. Although I may not be able to port all new features back to 2.5.8 for older operating systems, I’d really like to keep it running smoothly and issue free.

Is it still a native app?
Yep! Everything about Start Usage Meter remains the same as the Mac App Store build. It is still a 100% native app written using native Apple tools and languages. It does not contain any Swift code to maintain compatibility with OS X 10.7.

Old Icon (Click to Download)

Old icon?
Start Usage Meter 2.5.7 changed the icon to follow the macOS Big Sur design language. Since 2.5.8 was the last version to support OS X 10.7 and it contained the Big Sur icon, I’ve left it the same way in 2.5.8.1. That said, I have attached the 2.5.6 icon and you can copy it and paste it in the icon field by clicking the icon in the apps “Get Info” window.



Side note: the icon was slightly reduced in size in Start Usage Meter 2.6 to better match the rest of Big Sur. 2.5.8.1 contains the original, slightly larger, Big Sur icon introduced in 2.5.7.

Start Usage Meter 2.5.8 released (Merged: Start Usage Meter 2.5.7 released)

Start Usage Meter 2.5.8 has been reviewed and approved by Apple and is now available on the Mac App Store. This version consists of Start Usage Meter 2.5.7 along with an additional fix for macOS Dark Mode.

This update, as previously mentioned, has various improvements and polishes the app. It also includes an updated UI, including the main icon that is designed for the Big Sur era. This update:

  • 2.5.8: Addressed an issue with macOS Dark Mode
  • Adds a new macOS Big Sur-era icon
  • The daily usage window will now display an error message if the app fails to load daily usage data, giving the option to retry
  • Improved the daily usage window performance and reliability. This greatly reduces the energy and resource consumption that this window usually takes
  • Updated the main configuration user interface
  • Various fixes and improvements

As Mentioned Earlier
This may be the last update to support operating systems before OS X Mountain Lion (or potentially more recent operating systems).

If a future update drops support for OS X Lion and/or other versions of OS X, I will upload a notarized and signed version of the app at https://dwightd.com that will be maintained and updated with back ported improvements for OS X Lion and other older versions of OS X.

Looking forward

What’s he looking at, anyway?

Fresh off the heels of the WWDC20 Keynote, I figured it’d be a good opportunity to provide a little bit of an update on some of the apps I currently maintain. I’ve already made a commitment earlier this year to focus on modernizing my apps codebase.

Considering the huge announcement that Apple let loose regarding the shift to Apple-based SoC’s for Mac (and the move away from the macOS/OS X 10.x naming scheme), I wanted to provide a little insight into my current plans for existing apps (which is a relatively big undertaking, albeit not as big as the one Apple has planned for their Mac lineup!)

You can skip all the details and see an overview of the plans
Click the link above for a brief rundown on the plans for the apps

Speech Jammer
Speech Jammer 5.0 was released earlier this year after quite a bit of testing and development. It utilizes an entirely new audio engine and added a few big features to help make sharing easier. However, the focus of Speech Jammer 5.0 was modernization. For example, 5.0 moved the app to a more modern core that allows the app to utilize proper multi-tasking support. This means that users can now leave the app and continue to experience the app, even with it closed.

Speech Jammer 5.0 was just the beginning. Although there were many optimizations and many new features added in 5.0, my plan for Speech Jammer 5.x is to re-write many parts of the app for efficiency and to make sure that it’s ready for the future. The primary goal here is to move Speech Jammer entirely to Swift. Essentially, 5.x is a period of refinement.

The real work that went into Speech Jammer 5.1 is under the hood. While some components of Speech Jammer were written, or re-written at some point in Swift (namely the tongue twister feature, the FAQ system, the support system, and shared link feature), most components are still based in Objective-C. This isn’t inherently a bad thing at all, but the codebase is getting a little long in the tooth and could use some cleanup beside an overhaul, and this is a perfect opportunity to move Speech Jammer onto a modern programming language and have it better aimed for the future.

Speech Jammer 5.1 and the move to Swift
Speech Jammer 5.1 is scheduled to be released very shortly some new features and reliability improvements. Notably, it adds a new options system that allows customization of many features of the app. It also allows users to use the microphone on their Bluetooth headphones (or, using the new options system, use their devices microphone for the highest quality audio). There are a lot of other options and feature requests that were implemented in this upcoming update, but we’ll discuss that in the update blog post when it’s released.

Speech Jammer 5.1 brings most parts of the app completely into the Swift world. The recordings service, sharing service, archiving service, and file management service have all been completely re-written in Swift (including the UI controller). This also brings some major efficiency improvements that can be felt throughout the app.

Speech Jammer 5.2 and beyond
Speech Jammer 5.1 should be released shortly, and it brings with it a new deployment target of iOS 10 or later. It is almost entirely written in Swift (sub the main core), and lays the groundwork for the future. Speech Jammer 5.2 is also under development for release later this year, which will (hopefully) have the entire app completely moved over to Swift with a new codebase. Of course, there will be new features available with it, but the focus of this post is to provide a little bit of an update on the big transition I’ve been working on.

By moving to Swift, I can make sure that the app is ready for the future. This means I can quickly implement new features in new versions of iOS, and make sure that the app is using the fastest possible libraries.

New Start Usage Meter icon for macOS

Start Usage Meter
Usage Meter for the greatest ISP ever
Start Usage Meter is another project that I’ve wanted to focus a lot of my efforts on. I’ll have some more updates on it shortly; however, I’m pretty happy with where it is right now. Version 2.5.7 will be released within a few weeks containing some very minor tweaks and enhancements.

There are a lot of pieces of Start Usage Meter that use outdated or deprecated practices. For example, it doesn’t use base localization, it uses some heavier API’s, and doesn’t have a single line written in Swift. These decisions were all intentional in an effort to offer full support going back to OS X Lion. It still provides a really modern app experience on the latest operating systems, but will still run on OS X 10.7. I would still like to move it onto a more modern codebase (written in Swift) and update it, and am currently deciding the best approach. Any changes to the deprecated practices I’m currently using, will likely mean a deployment target of OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion or later.

Moving Start Usage Meter forward
My current plan is to test, release, and sit on Start Usage Meter 2.5.7 to make sure it is running smoothly and without issue. At some point after its release, I am going to stamp Start Usage Meter 2.5.7 with the “battle-tested” sticker and fork it, effectively creating two separate app builds. At that time, Start Usage Meter 2.6 will be born and will be a more modern version without support for the oldest versions of macOS. It will gain all the new features which, if possible, will be ported back to the 2.5.7 version and made available through my website for those on older versions of OS X. Otherwise, 2.5.7 will receive bug fix build updates only.

I don’t have a date in mind for this yet; however, I did want to make it clear that 2.5.7 will still be available through my website as a signed, sandboxed, and notarized app. It will receive updates alongside the new versions (which may contain new features, or just back ported bug fixes). Version 2.6 and later will still be distributed through the Mac App Store and will be the best experience you can receive, so if you can run it, stay on that build path. Start Usage Meter 2.6 will also support Apple Silicon-based Mac’s natively and will also support macOS Big Sur along with the UI improvements that come with it.

Summary of plans

Speech Jammer

  • 5.x has a goal of refinement and improvements. Building a stronger codebase for the future
  • 5.1 will be released and will have transitioned most of the app to Swift
  • 5.2 will have the entire app using Swift and modern API’s
  • 5.1 and later will require iOS 10 or later (this is potentially a moving target)
  • I plan to support the app on Apple Silicon-based Mac’s
  • The goal of Speech Jammer 5.x has always been to modernize the codebase, and that work will continue through the 5.x release cycle.
New Start Usage Meter icon for macOS

Start Usage Meter

  • Start Usage Meter 2.5.7 to be released shortly with tweaks and enhancements
  • Start Usage Meter 2.5.7 (after extended testing) will branch off into a separate release cycle with support going back to OS X 10.7 Lion
  • Start Usage Meter 2.6 will be created and updated through the Mac App Store for more modern versions of macOS
  • Mac App Store version will support Apple Silicon-based Mac’s natively and macOS Big Sur UI changes
  • 2.5.7 will receive back-ported improvements and will be distributed as a signed, notarized app on my website for versions of macOS going back to OS X 10.7 Lion.

Start Usage Meter 2.5.6 Released

New Start Usage Meter icon for macOS

Start Usage Meter 2.5.6 has been reviewed and approved by Apple and is now available on the Mac App Store.

This update includes improvements to the user interface. Specifically, this update:

  • Contains improvements to the Daily Usage window user interface. This includes (but is not limited to) correcting UI glitches that result in some rows appearing bold when they should not and improving spacing for better readability.
  • Added information text to provide clarity about the highlighted row on the Daily Usage window.
  • The Daily Usage window will now use the operating system’s default system font.

I hope everyone is staying safe during these trying times.

This update remains compatible with all releases of OS X from OS X Lion to macOS Catalina as of writing. I will always work to maintain compatibility with older versions of OS X for as long as I can; however, the best Start Usage Meter experience is on the latest version of macOS.

Start Usage Meter 2.5.5 Released

New Start Usage Meter icon for macOS

Start Usage Meter 2.5.5 has been reviewed and approved by Apple and is now available on the Mac App Store.

This update focuses on design and UI improvements. The update also changes default behaviour by modifying default settings. This update:

  • Adjusts the default update interval to every 2 hours. This will not impact users who have explicitly selected a different update interval, and updating every hour remains a selectable option; however, 2 hours is now the default.
    • This change was made to lessen the amount of times the app calls out to the Start.ca server while still providing meaningful updates. Two hours adds one additional hour to the previous update time, but it will also provide a larger glimpse of changes to data usage throughout the day.
  • Changes all menu dropdown display options to active by default to provide the most information possible. Previously, only the Downloaded (Quota/Grace) data was visible in the drop-down menu by default.
    • This change was made to provide more meaningful information at a quick glance and gives better visibility to these options for new users who may not have been aware of their availability. This should not impact users who have explicitly disabled menu dropdown options, and users may return to the previous behaviour by opening the Preferences window and deselecting desired display options.
  • New icon to match the new design patterns in the latest macOS release.
  • UI tweaks to improve clarity
  • Now built using the latest macOS Catalina technology.

If you have any questions or suggestions relating to these changes, feel free to email me at dwight@dwightd.com. All default behaviour changes that were made in Start Usage Meter 2.5.5 are reversible through the preferences window, and any explicitly set preferences prior to the update will be retained.

Start Usage Meter 2.5.4 released (merged with 2.5.3 announcement)

Start Usage Meter 2.5.4 has been reviewed and approved by Apple and is now available on the Mac App Store.

Start Usage Meter 2.5.3 was re-released as 2.5.4 with a fix for an issue that may cause the app to continue to display 0MB while loading data, instead of the cleaner Start.ca text.

This update focusses on improvements to the menu bar and other UI elements of the app while data is being retrieved from the Start.ca server. It also contains bug fixes for rare cases where the next update time may be incorrect. Specifically, this update:

  • Improved the initial launch experience by preventing the menu bar from rapidly displaying 0MB momentarily while actual usage data is retrieved from Start.ca servers
  • Improved the menu bar experience while switching connections or updating the current connection usage data. The menu bar will now momentarily show Start.ca, instead of previous usage data. This improvement should make it much easier to see when Start Usage Meter is actively updating usage data information.
  • Fixed an issue that could cause the next scheduled update time to be displayed incorrectly when changing the update interval while multiple keys are present
  • Improved initial setup handling and app behaviour when all keys are removed (the app should no longer display an error before you hit “Save and Check Usage.” This process is now automated)
  • Fixed an issue that caused the currently selected key text field in preferences to become empty after removing a key (even if another key is available to use)
  • Improvements to the user experience when removing keys to make sure old data is not presented to the user when it is no longer relevant after a key has been removed
  • Various improvements to efficiency, particularly with the initial app launch. The app has been streamlined to prevent unnecessary duplicate requests, which should result in a ‘snappier’ app experience
  • UI improvements and optimization to handling of multiple keys

macOS Compatibility Report
To provide a quick update on my commitment to supporting as many macOS versions as possible, Start Usage Meter 2.5.4 supports versions of OS X dating back to OS X 10.7 Lion up to macOS 10.15 Catalina.

Start Usage Meter 2.5.2 released

Start Usage Meter 2.5.2 has been reviewed and approved by Apple and is now available on the Mac App Store.

This update focuses on UI improvements throughout the app. Specifically, this update includes:

UI Improvements to the Daily Usage Window
UI Improvements to the Daily Usage window
  • UI Improvements to the daily usage window (cleaned up the layout)
  • Updates to the daily usage window which now highlights the current day in a light green colour to make it easier to get a quick glance of todays usage
  • Various improvements to performance and reliability
  • Improvements to clarity of informational text throughout the app
  • UI Improvements on the detailed usage window, particularly when the app is on top of a bright window in the background

macOS Compatibility Report
To provide a quick update on my commitment to supporting as many macOS versions as possible, Start Usage Meter 2.5.2 supports versions of OS X dating back to OS X 10.7 Lion up to macOS 10.14 Mojave.

Start Usage Meter 2.5.1 released

Start Usage Meter 2.5.1 has been reviewed and approved by Apple and is now available on the Mac App Store.

This update focuses on minor UI improvements, compatibility with older versions of macOS, and adds some clarifying warning messages to the app. This version is available for and compatible with OS X 10.7 Lion through macOS 10.14 Mojave, continuing my commitment to making sure the app works with as many versions of macOS as possible.

This update:

  • Addresses an issue which could cause the Daily Usage window to display a dark-mode background on macOS 10.13 High Sierra and earlier
  • Added a new warning on the Daily Usage window to warn when the user is not using a compatible connection and the app cannot retrieve usage details
  • Made some minor tweaks to improve compatibility across all versions of macOS