2 January 1999
Happy New Year!
The long awaited (and long promised) update for EjectDisk (version 3) is progressing very well - much better than expected. I am hopeful that beta-testing can begin by the middle of the month. If beta-testing goes well, EjectDisk 3.0 should be released by the end of the month. This is good news for the many people who have had problems with EjectDisk and System 8, or have upgraded to a new machine and found that EjectDisk no longer works with their CD-ROM drive (myself included).
Other news - less than a month after the new site was put online, Marina (the web master) is already working on an overhaul. The small sample I've seen looks very impressive! Look out for it in the coming months.
5
January, 1999
So much for my prediction "look out for it [the new site] in the coming months". Marina spent the better part of a day working on the new site, and you are now looking at the results. I, for one, am impressed!
8
January, 1999
EjectDisk continues to be completed ahead of schedule, with it entering beta testing earlier in the week. So far the response has been good - no one has had any problems, and everything appears to work ok. If no major problems are found, EjectDisk 3.0 should be out by the middle of the month!
On other news, EjectDisk being almost ready to release has given me time to start work on our next project. No word on what that project is yet - I will probably make an announcement here in the next few months. I can say that Beyond Midnight Software will be branching out into the "entertainment software" field (in other words, our next product is a game).
20
January, 1999
EjectDisk 3.0 has been released! Several days later than hoped due to last minute delays (Murphys Law no doubt), but we managed to get everything completed in the end. Hopefully everyone will be pleased with the new version. You can download the latest version from the EjectDisk description page.
Our next project is proceeding well. I am hopeful that it can be finished by the middle of the year, but too many things are happening in Real Life™ over the next few months for that to be certain. Before this, Days To Go may (may!) receive a minor update. And, of course, we will be fixing any bugs found in EjectDisk.
15
June, 1999
As you will have noticed, Beyond Midnight Software has moved to a new location. Thanks to Karl Goiser, the web site has been moved to a new server. It will take several days to finish setting everything up, but the results should be well worth it.
Work on the EjectDisk and Days To Go updates is progressing. The new version of Days To Go is almost complete -- so far there have been no problems found (yet) by the beta testers, so the new version should be released early next week. Adding USB support to EjectDisk is progressing, but very slowly -- a lot slower than I was hoping. Unfortunately, this means that the EjectDisk update is likely to be a month or more away.
22
June, 1999
A mailing list has been set up on the new server for announcements of new releases, updates, etc. All currently registered users of our programs will be added to the list. To subscribe, send a message to macjordomo@tassiemade.com.au, with the text "subscribe bms-announce" in the body of the message (no quotes). You will receive a message asking you to confirm your subscription -- simply follow the instructions in the message.
A page will be added to this site sometime in the next few weeks that will allow you to subscribe via the web (simply by filling out a form).
23
June, 1999
Days To Go 2.1 has been released! This latest version allows you to change the appearance of the messages displayed on the screen at startup. The font, font size, font style, text alignment and colours used can now all be changed. You can download it directly from the Days To Go information page.
30
June, 1999
Two items of news which may be of some interest to people. Firstly, EjectDisk 3.1 has just entered beta testing. With any luck (ie: no major problems are found), it should be released some time in the next two weeks. Secondly, we have been having some problems with the software used to host the mailing list. Hopefully they will be resolved by the end of the day, and a general info message can be sent out to people. If you have subscribed to the list over the last few days but don't receive the message, you will have to subscribe again.
8
July, 1999
Days To Go 2.1.1 has been released! This version fixes several bugs which have been discovered since Days To Go 2.1 was released. It is recommended that all users of Days To Go 2.1 update to this version. You can download it directly from the Days To Go information page.
EjectDisk 3.1 is still in beta testing, although so far no problems have been found. It should be released early next week.
12
July, 1999
EjectDisk 3.1 has finally been released! The major feature added to this version is support for USB devices (currently the Imation SuperDrive and Iomega Zip). This will be good news for iMac owners, and people with the latest G3 desktop machines. Other improvements include a slight speed increase when ejecting disks, and an increase in the delay when ejecting CDs at shutdown. A bug when selecting which removable to eject when one of the removables was an IDE Zip drive has also been fixed. You can download it from the EjectDisk information page.
19
July, 1999
It seems that the changes made in EjectDisk 3.1 to speed it up for some people are causing problems for others. I apologise for any problems which people may be having with EjectDisk 3.1. I am working on a minor update (3.1.1) which should fix this problem. I hope to have it released late this week or early next week.
23
August, 1999
EjectDisk 3.1.1 has been released. EjectDisk 3.1.1 adds support for the Apple USB floppy drive, and makes the scanning for SCSI devices optional (EjectDisk 3.1 attempted determine this automatically, but could get it wrong in certain situations on older Macs). As always, you can download it from the EjectDisk information page.
28
September, 1999
The next program to be released by Beyond Midnight Software (currently titled Flip!) has just entered beta testing. If all goes well, it should be released in the next few weeks.
If you aren't subscribed to the bms-announce mailing list, here is a brief outline. Flip! is a puzzle game which (can) combine skill, strategy and just plain luck. The aim is to create a pattern in a grid of tiles (the pattern and size of grid are selectable at the start of the game). Flipping a tile will flip other tiles around it. Only tiles with a particular side showing can be flipped.
In the next week or so I will add a page to the products section of the website to describe Flip! in more detail.
12
October, 1999
A page describing the next program to be released by Beyond Midnight Software, currently titled Flip!, has been added to the web site. At the same time, the pages for Days To Go and EjectDisk have been redesigned slightly, hopefully for the better.
Beta testing of Flip! continues. So far no major bugs have been found -- the delay has been from adding several suggestions that the beta testers have made. If all goes to plan, Flip! should be released by the end of this month.
(But when does anything ever go to plan in the computer software industry?)
26
October, 1999
Flip! has been released! For those that haven't visited the web site recently, and aren't subscribed to the BMS Announce mailing list, here is a brief outline. Flip! is a puzzle game which combines skill, strategy and just plain luck. The aim is to create a pattern in a grid of tiles (the pattern and size of grid are selectable at the start of the game). Flipping a tile will flip other tiles around it. Only tiles with a particular side showing can be flipped.
More detailed info is available on the Flip! product page, where you can also download it.
16
November, 1999
EjectDisk 3.1.2 has been released. This is a minor update that shouldn't affect many users of EjectDisk. This version corrects a problem which stopped EjectDisk from working with ORB removables when using ORB Tools 1.2 or later. If you don't currently use an ORB drive, there is little point in downloading this version. If you do, you can download the latest version of EjectDisk from the EjectDisk information page.
On a separate note, initial work has already begun on the next game from Beyond Midnight Software. This new game will star a young penguin in her search for her favourite snack! More information, screenshots, etc as the game progresses.
News from other years
