First of all, it's been a while since I last updated this blog - I apologize, as I have been working on several projects at once, and it's getting more and more hectic every day haha…
The mediocre news I present to you today is not all that bad… to sum it up, EleMints 1.3 (along with Mild EleMints 1.3), is gong to take a little bit longer than expected to be released, and my internal blog system is annoying me because I get too much spam. Until I get some time to put a moderation system in place, it's simply going to keep annoying me, but enough of that.
The good news! I finally am blessed with help in the form of a fellow co-worker — Dina Nicholaou is here to help input and format data for my various applications. EleMints will be getting ionization energies, binding energies, and isotopes all in one update, and if anyone would like any additional properties before 1.3 is released, voice it out in the comments below or send me an email (email preferred as comments are infested by spam on a daily basis).
Additionally, SmartFrench, a new application just finished a couple days ago, should be hitting the App Store as soon as it passes Apple's review team. SmartFrench focuses on teaching you how to speak French like French people do, and as a fellow French speaker, I would have to say that the phrases included are geared perfectly towards any situation.
Now for random news. As my obsession of Japanese has gotten worst during the summer, I came across an interesting channel on YouTube. AkitaTom seems to have done the exact same thing I plan to do in about a month - go to Japan as a graduated high school student giving another go at high school, just this time in Japanese. Although I might not do it as often as Tom has, I plan to also record a video log of my adventures over there, so for those of you interested, please drop by my YouTube channel in about a month's time to watch the life of a programming exchange student living in Japan!
Finally, a few people asked me about this, so I might as well answer everyone (including one reviewer on the App Store). Why choose Californium for the EleMints icon? The answer is quite simple, actually:
- Californium (and Berkelium) where both synthesized at UC Berkeley, my university of choice if I ever feel like getting a degree in anything.
- Being the Apple fanatic that I am, I simply couldn't resist using Californium. In several Apple applications, namely Mail on the Mac, and the Maps and Weather App on the iPhone, Apple placed references to Cupertino, California, aka Apple Headquarters. Being a fellow Californian, I decided to go with the flow and use Californium for the icon.
- It was either Californium, or Dubnium, symbol Db — aka my initials :P.
Thats it for now :) We have some exciting apps coming out soon, along with a lot of work coming out of me, so expect some previously promised ones to be coming as well.