A big update is now available to our iOS users today. The biggest change in this update is that we are dropping support for iOS 5. iOS 7 will be available to almost every device made in the last 3 years, it has come time to drop support for the very oldest devices. We have been running analytics on the number of devices in use, and should only be about 2% of our existing user base. Fear not existing iOS 5 users, your existing app should continue to work fine for now, but future updates may require you to update to keep receiving the best Simple In/Out support.

Ok, now that we’ve dispensed with those unpleasantries, on to the good stuff. We did manage to squeeze in a few goodies into this update. We had to drop support for iOS 5, but we have some great new features in store for this fall. So stay tuned.

Here are some of the changes with our latest update:

– Timezone support. We have revamped the entire app to show all dates relative to when they actually are. So if you have users in Los Angeles, the users in New York will see the timestamps relative to their own timezone rather than being locked in to just the server timezone.

– Cleaned up the pull-to-refresh controller to the built in system refresh controller.

– New font

– Resized the board view, this should make it a bit easier to see and read.

– Removed old backgrounds and pattern images. Cleaner view and background all around.

– Big update to the Geofence Settings page. Should be much easier to see which fences are on or off without having to open the detail page for each fence.

– Lots of bug fixes

We hope you enjoy this update. We’ve put a lot of hard work into this update. We are sorry if any iOS 5 users feel left out, but it was a necessary evil to get things prepared for iOS 7 this fall. We expect some more big changes, this is just the start. Thanks for understanding and continuing to support us as we make Simple In/Out even better.

**UPDATE** We have shipped a quick update to the App Store for this version. There is a bug that can cause a crash if you try adding too many geofences. It shouldn’t affect many users, but we have submitted the fix to the App Store and should be available in a few days.

Simply Made Apps – Developer Interview | MacNews

One of the strengths of Simple In/Out is the ability to have a list of everyone in your organization, with their current statuses, right in the palm of your hand.  While that’s great, there are those times where you need that same list in a place for the world to see.  Whether that’s in your reception area, your war room or your television at home, Simple In/Out has you covered.  Here are a couple of different ways to get Simple In/Out displaying in eye-catching ways.

If you have an iPad, you have lots of choices for displaying Simple In/Out.  We recently released FrontDesk, an iPad app specifically designed for Simple In/Out to allow for users to quickly check in or out.  This is perfect for reception areas or mirrored to a TV via an AppleTV.  

Recently, we did an integration with Panic’s StatusBoard.  This app is built exclusively for the iPad and allows users to build sexy widgets for display on TVs and the like.  Simple In/Out is a first-class citizen, making it as easy as a tap or two to get started.  Check out the blog post for how.

If you don’t have an iPad, you can use our website.  We offer a great full screen mode built right into simpleinout.com.  Using this, you can place Simple In/Out on a spare computer or a computer/iPad hooked right up to a TV.  You can even bypass the computer altogether by following this advice from the great folks over at Atlassian.  They recommend using just a hacked AppleTV, which will run you just a bit over $100.

We hope to see your Simple In/Out boards while we’re out and about.  Send us pictures of your board in the wild, we’d love to see them (brandon [at] simplymadeapps [dot] com)

Today, Simple In/Out crossed a significant milestone:  we’ve now handled over one million status updates.  That’s one million folks showing up, going home for the day, heading out to a meeting or taking vacation.

Thanks to all our loyal users, you mean the world to us.

We have gotten lots of requests over the last couple of years, and we have always done our best to oblige every request. Today, we are happy to announce we have filled a very big, oft requested feature, FrontDesk.

FrontDesk is a dedicated iPad app for your reception area or common access areas. FrontDesk allows you to quickly check yourself in or out from the main app without needed to use your phone. Or for those smartphone-challenged users, a way to toggle yourself in or out as you go by.

We have made FrontDesk very easy to use with ease and speed in mind. While we have kept things simple, there are plenty of features packed into this first release.

• Swipe to check in/out
• Tap to select customizable messages
• Multiple columns to quickly see who is in or out at a glance
• Customizable Status Message, create your own list of status for users to choose from
• Automatically refreshes so the board is always up to date.
• User customizable settings (Quick Picks, Refresh Interval, Auto-Off, etc)

We know that it is impossible to make everyone happy (but we sure do try). If you see something amiss or missing, be sure to reach out and let us know. We tried to build FrontDesk with the most users in mind, but we can’t think of everything. That is where your suggestions come in. So be sure to keep them coming.

So go get it! FrontDesk by Simple In/Out

We couldn’t be happier to bring a new app to the Simple In/Out family. We hope you like it. Enjoy!

Tech News 24h: Top 10 Mobile Apps For Organizing Your Business

Every once and a while, we get to do something small and wonderful that really has an impact for some of our customers.  Today was one of those days.  I’m proud to introduce Simple In/Out’s support for Panic’s Status Board.

Status Board is a wonderful product from the folks at Panic.  It’s an iPad app meant to display vital business information on your iPad, TV, you name it.  The app is seductively simple yet powerful, exactly what we at Simply Made Apps like to strive for. In fact, Panic has been an inspiration to me personally for some time.  Not a day goes by when I’m not using their wonderful Transmit app for the Mac for all my SFTP needs.  

To use Simple In/Out on your Status Board, we’ve created a new link right inline with our other Public Links.  If you’re on your iPad and have Status Board installed, you can simply tap this link (located under Settings -> Company Settings), and it will instantly launch Status Board and add it automatically.

Between Full Screen Mode, our new Windows 8 app and now Status Board integration, we have a lot of great options for seeing your Simple In/Out data on a display near you.  We have one more surprise up our sleeves very soon that will add even more to our Simple In/Out family.

We have had several requests over the last few months to restrict some of the information available to users, namely the 7-day history. While there isn’t a ton of private information within Simple In/Out, we can understand why some users would want this information private. So we are happy to announce today that we have added a setting to restrict the visibility of the 7-day history. Of course this can only be changed by admin users, but the history can be changed to be visible to Everyone, Admins only, or no one. By default, the history setting is set to Everyone, but you are free to set it to a level appropriate for your users. You can find the new change today under Settings—>Company Settings—>History Visible To. 

Thanks to everyone that requested this new feature. While it might not be needed for everyone, it is always nice to have the option if the need arises. We love hearing from our valued customers and users. You are what makes Simple In/Out great. So keep the suggestions coming.

Today, we’re excited to announce that Simple In/Out has arrived for Windows 8!

We’ve received lots of requests for this over the last year or so.  Some folks wanted a widget to avoid having to load the website.  Some were interested in making life easier for admin users and receptionists.  Some still were just looking for more cool stuff from us.  We think this release is a great opening salvo.

We’ve been working directly with Microsoft to get this into the Windows Store for the past few months (many don’t know that Microsoft has a large campus right here in Fargo).  They’ve been great.  A special mention to Sheila Wamre and Jed Bontjes for helping me with the final push.

For our 1.0 release, we kept things simple.  We support viewing the board, updating your status via manual and one click Quick Picks, and viewing other users.  Admins can update the statuses of their other users.  We support landscape, portrait and the convenient Snap View for those that would like the board open all day.  

Go check it out on the Windows Store.

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