To begin with, I’ll address the obvious. It’s been nearly five years since the previous release of iFlicks. That is far too long. Furthermore, this release does not encompass what would be expected in that time frame.

Why release at all? Fair question. I’ll attempt to explain.

Since the last version of iFlicks, Mac OS X has seen three major releases and a transition to an entirely new CPU architecture. On a time line, however, iFlicks 1.2 is best placed before any of that occurred. Mac OS X 10.3 and PowerPC processors are still supported.

During that time, the code underlying iFlicks 1.2 has undergone significant changes. Most of these changes are a result of developing frameworks which can be shared among other projects that are currently incubating. In the course of this development, I came to a fork in the road where I could either move forward while stranding iFlicks in the past, or retreat and bring iFlicks into the present.

Rationally, the former option might have been wiser. Emotional attachment to my own code is strong, though, and the later decision was made.

In terms of functionality, iFlicks 1.2 is approximately equivalent to prior releases. The most significant and noticeable change is a streamlined user interface. When mentioning interface, I’ll reiterate my prior statement regarding the time line. Remember brushed metal?

Due to bugs and bit rot, Netflix RSS Feeds became dysfunctional in iFlicks 1.1. This issue has been fixed and normal operation has been restored. In a similar situation, Amazon is now requiring Product Advertising API requests to be signed. iFlicks 1.2 remains incompatible with this requirement.

With these details laid out, I hope the context of this release is clear. iFlicks 1.2 shows its heritage, and work remains for it to be fully modernized. At this time, I won’t make any promises as to when that work will be completed. But, this release establishes a position from which progress can be made.

a company is a laboratory to try your ideas

It’s been five years since there has been any discernible activity with Helixent as a company. That doesn’t mean that nothing has happened, however. Quite the contrary. During that time, I’ve moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and had the opportunity to work with incredible people on exciting projects.

I’m in the center of the technology industry, and technology is important because it empowers people. The innovation that occurs here is truly inspiring. Being an engineer, that inspiration yields ideas, which often lead to experiments. Occasionally, those experiments prove useful.

we all need a playground

Helixent is my playground.