logan hasson

Well would you look at that. More than a year after the last post, and I’m still alive! This is just a quick update that has absolutely nothing to do with Rapid Racer. Since I’m currently teaching at a public school in New York City, I decided to whip together a really (really) simple site that let’s me know if it’s the last day of school. It uses some very messy javascript to check your location and then, based on a large school district in your state, figure out if it is the last day of school yet. Check it out:

Is it the last day of school yet?

If you haven’t yet downloaded Rapid Racer, now’s the time to do it! On Sunday, March 22nd, after months of being free, Rapid Racer will cost $0.99 on the App Store. I’d love to keep it available for no cost, but in order to really devote time to improving the game, I need to be able to monetize it slightly. (Don’t worry, there will never be ads. Promise!)

Anyway, go ahead and download it in the next few days if you can. Ninety-nine cents is pretty cheap, but nothing beats free.

The new version of Rapid Racer is now available for download from the App Store. If you have a new iPad with a retina display, this update makes the game playable again. Here’s the update description:

This is just a tiny update:

~ Support for new iPad with Retina display
~ One tiny bug fix
~ Raises minimum iOS version to 4.3

Please rate the new version if you have a moment…I appreciate your (hopefully five star) feedback! Thanks so much for playing!

As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to contact me…I’d love to hear from you!

E-mail: heyyou [at] loganhasson [dot] com
Twitter: @loganhasson

Go get it now!

Unfortunately, I noticed today that v1.0.2 of Rapid Racer doesn’t play well with the new retina display iPad. In fact, it’s entirely unusable. So, I’ve submitted a quick update that makes it all better. Hopefully it will be approved in the next couple of days.

Many apologies to those of you who got a shiny new iPad today and were terribly confused by how wonky Rapid Racer looks! I’ll let you know as soon as the update is available to download.

If you download one app and one app only, make sure it’s Clear for iPhone by Realmac Software. I know, I know…I should be telling you to download Rapid Racer (which you should). But, Clear is such an incredible piece of software that I just couldn’t help but plug it.

It’s a todo list app. Sounds boring, but it’s not. I’ve never been made quite so happy by anything else on my iPhone. Really. I smile when I use it.

So, yeah. Download it now.

Clear for iPhone

(This is a completely unsolicited plug, by the way. I have absolutely no relationship with Realmac Software.)

Well, I’m surprised that it’s up so soon, but Rapid Racer v1.0.2 has been approved and is now available for download on the App Store! This version brings with it some bug fixes and a few exciting new features, including OpenFeint integration! Yep, that’s right, there’s now a leaderboard, several achievements for you to complete, and all the other advantages inherent to OpenFeint. Oh, and you can also play your own background music now. ;~)

I’m really excited for this update, and hope you like it! If you don’t already have Rapid Racer, this is the perfect time to download it. And if you are using v1.0 or v1.0.1, go update now! Here’s the full list of changes, from the App Store description:

This update is just full of goodies! Here’s what’s new…

New Features…What?!
==============

~ OpenFeint integration! Yep, that’s right, Rapid Racer is now all kinds of OpenFeint-capable. Challenge your friends, climb your way to the top of the leaderboard, and complete exciting and challenging achievements! You’ll notice two new buttons on the scores page—Leaderboard and Achievements—and a new OpenFeint button on the main screen.

~ The music in Rapid Racer is simply awesome, if I do say so myself. But hey, maybe you want to recklessly drive through traffic while listening to some of your own tunes? Well, now you can! Rapid Racer now supports your own background music. You’ll find a new mute/un-mute button on the main screen and on the pause screen so that you can tell the game to cool it with the music.

Minor Changes:
==========

~ Fancy new icon with an OpenFeint badge.

~ Added a confirmation pop-up for when you reset your high score. How will you ever prove you scored 2 million points if you accidentally erase all evidence of your crazy skills?

~ Changed the pause game behavior ever so slightly. Now, you’ll get a few car-free moments after returning to the game.

The Boring Bits:
==========

~ BUG FIX: So, there once was this red car who thought he was just too cool for school. In fact, he thought he was good enough to just drive right on through anything that got in his way. Oh, he thought he could hide, but boy, oh boy, was he wrong. You may have found yourself able to pass through a car every once in while without crashing…well, that’s been fixed.

~ BUG FIX: Posting to Facebook from the Scores page no longer redirects you to a really funky looking error page. Sorry about that, I made a little typo. :-S

~ It’s that time of year. You know, holiday season, which is code for overeating. And Rapid Racer enjoys a good bit of gluttony every once in a while. Luckily, Rapid Racer wears an extra ~1mb pretty darn well.

What’s Next?
========

~ Better Facebook and Twitter integration/posting.

~ Upgrades will be available in the next version, promise.

~ Game Center integration, sometime in the near(ish) future.

~ Performance improvements. Always like to make things run more smoothly!

~ Boatloads of other, secret, fun stuff. ;~)

=======================================

I hope you’ve been enjoying Rapid Racer! If you run into any issues at all, need some help, or just generally want to get in touch, please feel free to drop me a line (http://loganhasson.com/contact)

Twitter: @loganhasson
Email: heyyou at loganhasson dot com

There’s a new Rapid Racer page on Facebook. I’d really appreciate it if you’d go check it out! Here’s the link: Rapid Racer.

Or, you can click just click right here to like it ;~)

It seems that many people attempting to update their copy of CheckCheck are running into the following error: “The application could not be downloaded. Hash mismatch.” This error is really annoying, I know, but luckily there is an easy solution. You’ll just need to completely uninstall CheckCheck and then go back to the App Store to download the update. The unfortunate side effect of this is that you’ll lose any to-dos you currently have saved, but this is hopefully a one time issue. I’m not entirely sure of the cause, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it is caused by the fact that between updates, I changed the types of processors that CheckCheck supports.

So sorry for the inconvenience!

Christopher Hitchens, dead at 62.

:~(

CheckCheck v1.0.2 just went up on the App Store for download. It’s again a fairly minor update, but should solve many of the crashing issues experienced by Snow Leopard users. For everybody else, you will only notice that the “New To-Do” and “√” buttons have a slightly different appearance. Grab it here: CheckCheck 1.0.2.

The first update for Rapid Racer, v1.0.1, is now available on the App Store for download. This update fixes the three annoying bugs you may have come across, so you should download it as soon as you get a chance. Since I already spent an embarrassing amount of time crafting the language for the “What’s new in this version?” section of the App Store, I’ll just go ahead and include that here:

Bug fixes galore:
==========

~ Freezing-be-gone! That’s right, the pesky issue that was causing some button presses to cause Rapid Racer to freeze has been solved. Some fancy screen transitions had to be lost in the process, but things sure are better without the fear of a crash looming behind each and every press of a button!

~ You want music? I got your music! Yep, that whole problem with the music cutting out after several consecutive rounds has been fixed. :~) This problem shouldn’t crop up for you any longer, but if it does, please-oh-please-oh-please do let me know!

~ Hey Speedy McSpeedster…guess what? Collect rings, stars, and health as quickly as your little heart desires now! Remember when Rapid Racer seemed to forget you were actually playing for about half a second after each object you collected? Well, that’s been solved, thankfully.

Other Changes:
=========

~ Boring, behind the scenes change to Facebook posting code.

~ Pause button now also pauses the music.

~ Audio system has been significantly retooled, paving the way for a glorious future in which you can have your own music playing during the game. (But that’s for a later date.)

~ Slight performance improvements! You should notice slightly less “jittering” of the cars as they enter the screen. (If you didn’t notice any before, well, umm, move along. Nothing to see here!)

~ Rapid Racer, already quite handsome, is now 5mb more svelte! :~)

Exciting Changes Coming Soon:
===================

~ Upgrade your ride!

~ Achievements!

~ Other fun stuff, of course.

New Bugs? Oh no!:
===========

~ I had to keep things interesting, right? So, just to keep you on your toes, there’s a tiny issue with Facebook posting that may or may not crop up for you. Sometimes, if you press “Go” on the keyboard and then press any of the buttons within the Facebook window, the window will just disappear. It’s funky, and doesn’t happen all the time, but just in case it happens to you, it’s an easy fix. You’ll just need to press the “Close” button, and try again. Easy as pie. :~)

==================

I hope you’ve been enjoying Rapid Racer! If you run into any issues at all, need some help, or just generally want to get in touch, please feel free to drop me a line! (http://loganhasson.com/contact)

Twitter: @loganhasson
Email: heyyou at loganhasson dot com

So there you have it! Rapid Racer v1.0.1 is ready for you to download here: Get it now!

Yep, it’s only a day after Rapid Racer became available on the App Store, but I’ve just submitted the first update. This version (1.0.1) addresses the three big-ish bugs that are present in the current version. Hopefully it gets approved quickly! :~)

Just a quick, exciting update. Rapid Racer has been approved and is currently in the “processing” stage to go live on the App Store. Yay!

UPDATE: And now it’s live! (Or, at least, it will be within 24 hours.) Get it here: Rapid Racer.

John Gruber over at Daring Fireball does a nice little summary of Carrier IQ’s “media alert” concerning the crazy stuff about them that is coming to light. Here’s my favorite “translation” from corporate speak into plain English:

“Carrier IQ enables a measurable impact on improving the quality and experience of our customers’ mobile networks and devices. Our business model and technology aligns exclusively with this goal.”

We are high as a kite.

Check out the whole article here.

The wisdom of Louis C.K.:

Choice quote:

The next Steve Jobs will totally be a chick, because girls are No. 2–and No. 2 always wins in America. Apple was a No. 2 company for years, and Apple embodies a lot of what have been defined as feminine traits: an emphasis on intuitive design, intellect, a strong sense of creativity, and that striving to always make the greatest version of something. Traditionally, men are more like Microsoft, where they’ll just make a fake version of what that chick made, then beat the shit out of her and try to intimidate everybody into using their product.

The whole thing is rather short, and as it is by Louis C.K., it’s worth a read.

Rapid Racer has been submitted to the iOS App Store for review! After tons of testing with several wonderful beta testers, I’ve decided that it’s time to let Rapid Racer loose in the world. There’s obviously a bunch of stuff that I’d like to eventually change/improve, but for my first go at a game, I’m extremely happy with it.

CheckCheck took about a week for approval, so hopefully Rapid Racer will be available relatively soon. Fingers crossed. It’ll be *free* for about a week, and then will be priced at $0.99.

Get excited!

I’m just about ready to submit my first iOS app to the store for approval. It’s a retro-esque racing (sorta) game called “Rapid Racer.” It’s not the prettiest thing in the world, but it’s actually quite fun to play. Here’s a screenshot from the main menu:

I kind of lucked out with my hotel room. This is the view from one of my windows.

That is all.

Many thanks to Lukas Mathis at ignore the code for lending me his code to handle timestamps. As you may notice, posts are now using relative dates rather than just an explicit date and time. With Lukas’ code, they are handled quite simply and elegantly, and display in rather natural terms.

Anyway, just a quick update.