On a roll

Hi all,

Yep, we’re definitely on a roll.
Lots of releases this month (eight of em!) and more coming up next month. On Windows, on Android, on iOS, and yes, we even have a release coming up for Mac OS X (gasp!).

• CLZ Barry for Android is live!
• Comic Collector 5.1 for Windows
• Movie Collector 8.1 for Windows
• v1.1 updates for all Android apps
• Update on Mac OS X development
• Server upgrade completed

CLZ Barry for Android is live!

It is live: the Android edition of CLZ Barry!

Finally you can scan barcodes with your Android’s camera and wirelessly send them to your PC or Mac, to any program, any text box, including of course all Collectorz software!

Buy the CLZ Barry app for Android ( US $7.99 ) here,
or just search for “clz barry” in the Android Market on your device itself.

Comic Collector 5.1 for Windows

Movie Collector users loved the new Backdrop feature we introduced in version 8. And we started thinking: wouldn’t this feature be a perfect fit for Comic Collector too?
So our content managers went to work on our online comic database, to add Backdrop images for thousands of titles. And on September 12, we were able to release Comic Collector 5.1 for Windows, bringing Backdrops and more:

• Backdrops (= background images) for the Details Panel
  Comic Collector now automatically downloads Series Backdrops and uses those images as series-specific backgrounds for your Details Panel.
  Or: you can opt to use the automatic Preview Art as the Backdrop. Finally, you can set series- and issue-specific Backdrops manually.
• Cover Flow view, a 3rd viewing option next to List and Images.
• New: Publisher and Imprint logos for the Details Panel.

Movie Collector 8.1 for Windows

Movie Collector 8 keeps getting better…

Of course, the 8.0.1 release was pretty cramped with new stuff already:

• More automatic data for movies.
• More automatic data for TV Series (and for much more new series too)
• New list and Details Panel icons for Format, Regions, Ratings and Audio Tracks
• New V8 templates for Details Panel and Add Auto Preview
• Improved and easier to use layout of Edit Movie screen.

But then (in 8.0.3) we took the new Movie Backdrops feature to a new level:

And this month, we released version 8.1, which introduces the new “Cover Flow” view, a 3rd viewing mode for the main screen, next to List and Images:

Still using a pre-V8 version of Movie Collector for Windows? Then this is the place to be.

v1.1 updates for all Android apps

Yesterday, we released version 1.1 updates for all our CLZ apps for Android, all five on the same day.

Version 1.1 brings you an improved search feature, lists that remember their position and many other small enhancements and fixes.
The full list of changes and update instructions can be found here.

The CLZ Android apps are all available on the Android Market here.

Update on Mac OS X development

Our Mac OS X team is a on a roll too:
Ronald is working on the upcoming major upgrades of Movie, Book and Music Collector, based on the new Mac framework we created. Yes, on all 3 at the same time. We’re building them side by side, for maximum efficiency, still hoping to get at least one of em out before the end of the year (probably Movie Collector).

In the meantime, Dinh and Bernard have been working on the long awaited 5.1 update of Comic Collector for Mac. You know, the one that will finally add the missing Linking, Updating and Syncing features.
And the good news is: they’re done! We’re now just testing and fixing some minor issues. Next week, on Monday October 3, it will finally go live.

If you want to stay up-to-date on the latest news about our Mac development,
then use the form below to join the Collectorz.com Mac Club.

Server upgrade completed

The upgrade process was a serious nightmare again, and even caused some extra post-upgrade downtime but the entire hardware upgrade is completed.

We’re now running on two brand-new machines, one running all 5 media databases and Connect, the other hosting all our images, millions of em.

The effects of the upgrade are most noticeable when using Connect, but all searches in your Add Auto screens should be considerably faster too. Enjoy!