Singularity Version 0.2 Released

 If you've been following this blog recently, then you'll know that I finished off the newest version of Singularity last week! If you're interested in messing around with it, you can download the source codefor the release here. That said, if you're just looking for a feed reader, then you should probably wait for the next release. This set of updates brings major stability improvements, and adds a number of 'must have' features, but still lacks some of the polish and smaller features that you'll find in other applications.

Now that I've got that out of the way, here's a quick rundown of what got added in this version:

• Added support for downloadable attachments.
• If there's room, multiple items can sit on the same row.
• Additional work is no longer required to get Singularity running properly once it is installed.
•  Added a 'Welcome Screen' that appears when your database is empty, prompting you to subscribe to some feeds.
• Singularity can now periodically check your subscriptions for updates while running.
• You can also manually tell Singularity to check for updates.
• Added settings!
• Also added a feed-specific settings pane to override application settings on certain feeds.
• Replaced the automatic clearing with a more powerful rule-based system
• e.g. "Delete read, unstarred items after 5 days",  "Star unread, unstarred items after 1 month", etc.
• Improved how command-line arguments work, making them work like they do everywhere else.
• Also added flags to display help and enable verbose output.
•  Added a 'mark all as read' menu option.
• Singularity now asks for confirmation before deleting feeds.
• Added an 'about' dialog.
• Moved the feed adding dialog to a pane.
• This addition doesn't actually change or improve anything, but it'll allow me to add some nice stuff later down the line.
• Items can now be starred/unstarred.
•  Updated the update status emblems to be higher-res.
• Fixed a ton of bugs, some of which were quite major.

So there you have it, 3 months of bug fixes and improvements. Now that the push for 0.2 is over with, I'm going to be taking a break from this project for the most part. I need to get back to making games, after all! Singularity will still be receiving occasional small fixes and improvements as necessary, of course, so it's possible that some smaller releases will be popping up from time to time.

Lastly, I should probably remind you that this is my last weekly post. As I explained here, the 'post once a week' model doesn't seem to be working out for me, and I think it's leading to worse content overall. This means that you probably won't be hearing from me as much here, but I plan on spending more time and effort writing each individual post. Hopefully, I'll eventually find a good balance. For now though, I must ask you please continue putting up with the constant changes.