Wizecoder Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Hi everyone, As you may know, for the last few months we have been working on OLLY, the first ever homeschool planning software for Mac. I am excited to announce that it is (finally) finished and available for purchase from our website! (Available from the Mac App Store soon) I hope you all enjoy. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristinaBreece Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 I have the beta version and i <<<<<3 it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfatherslily Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 I just downloaded the trial. It looks very comprehensive! I'm not really looking for a planner (cause, um, I don't plan ahead...), but I thought I'd see if I could be persuaded. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 I'll give you a little bump. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wizecoder Posted May 2, 2012 Author Share Posted May 2, 2012 (edited) @KristinaBreece Glad to hear you like it! @OhElizabeth Much appreciated :) Edited May 2, 2012 by Wizecoder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 I just wanted to thank you, Wizecoder, for being completely upfront and honest about who you are, instead of doing what many others have done in the past, which is to come here and rave on and on about some "great new product they just heard about," pretending they are huge fans rather than being truthful and coming right out and saying, "Hey, I'm selling this new product and here's what it is." I hate shills. I'm glad you're not one of them. :hurray: I haven't had a chance to check out much of your website, but what I have seen so far looks very good, and I'm definitely going to spend more time there tomorrow when I have more time. I don't know what the forum rules are about product promotion, but I'm just happy you didn't try to pull a fast one on us, and again, I truly appreciate your honesty. I wish you the best of luck with your new planner! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraidycat Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 Awesome! I will am going to download the free trial and try it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 Could I ask a dumb question? If it's going to be in the app store, does that mean it will run on the ipad? And if it runs on the ipad, will it require wifi or be installed right on the ipad and sync when you connect your ipad to your computer? Hopefully that made sense, lol. You know I've never really done extensive planning, just put one foot in front of the next, but the info on your software gave me ideas for how I could do things differently next year, things I had never thought of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wizecoder Posted May 2, 2012 Author Share Posted May 2, 2012 Wow, I really appreciate the great response everyone! @OhElizabeth Well for now it is going on the Mac App Store, which means that although Apple will be distributing it, it won't yet be available for mobile devices. But, over the next weeks/months I am going to try and figure out a solution for wifi syncing. Once that is figured out, I am going to create a version of OLLY for iPhone and a version for iPad. I don't want to set any firm dates on that though because syncing is rather difficult to design. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 Well just as a suggestion, can it sync when you connect the ipad to your computer? We don't have wifi, so it's much better for us if we can just sync the old fashioned way. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wizecoder Posted May 2, 2012 Author Share Posted May 2, 2012 I don't think that it is possible for non-Apple apps to iPad sync via a cable due to security lockdowns that Apple has put in place. But, most Macs from the last five years or so come with bluetooth support, so I will try to build in support for bluetooth syncing. In your top bar there should be a squiggly sort of icon, click it and there should be some bluetooth options, if so than your Mac has bluetooth! More info about bluetooth can be found at: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3887 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova147 Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 Keep us updated regarding the mobile app. We have a Mac, but DH often takes it to work, so I use my iPad much of the time. But I love supporting other small businesses! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkeller Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 So once you have the iPhone/ iPad app available, will those be stand alone programs? Or do you need a Mac to run the program? I do not have a Mac but have both an iPhone and iPad. Just curious! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wizecoder Posted May 3, 2012 Author Share Posted May 3, 2012 The plan is to have the iPad version be standalone, and the iPhone version to require either a Mac or an iPad version to sync to. The idea is that an iPhone will be too small of a screen to have all of the functionality of the full version, so we will be creating it as basically an accessory to the larger versions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairyMom Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 I watched all of the videos and it seems very flexible no matter what curricula you are using or will use in the future. I use the iPad mostly, so I would love to have an app for the iPad! Keep us updated. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudboots Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 I'm not sure what the vendor rules are, either, but I just entered my first set of lesson plans on the trial version, and it seems flexible and intuitive! It's nice to have the routines available on the right hand side, too. I ran across the idea for Olly at least a year ago, when I was looking for Mac planners. It's cool to see it get off the ground now - and right when I really need a planner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMCassandra Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 Thank you so much! I'm always glad to support Mac developers. I downloaded the trial and hopefully will buy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veritaserum Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 Wow, I really appreciate the great response everyone! @OhElizabeth Well for now it is going on the Mac App Store, which means that although Apple will be distributing it, it won't yet be available for mobile devices. But, over the next weeks/months I am going to try and figure out a solution for wifi syncing. Once that is figured out, I am going to create a version of OLLY for iPhone and a version for iPad. I don't want to set any firm dates on that though because syncing is rather difficult to design. :P The plan is to have the iPad version be standalone, and the iPhone version to require either a Mac or an iPad version to sync to. The idea is that an iPhone will be too small of a screen to have all of the functionality of the full version, so we will be creating it as basically an accessory to the larger versions. :thumbup: I've been waiting and waiting for someone to come up with a Mac program and I would be over the moon about syncing capabilities with iPad or iPhone. The program I currently use is Windows only, so I have to run virtual Windows on my iMac. For mobile "editing" I have to print the week's lists to .pdf and use a .pdf writer on my iPad to check things off. Then later I have to go check things off in the program. Streamlining via syncing between my iPhone and iMac would be marvelous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wizecoder Posted May 8, 2012 Author Share Posted May 8, 2012 Hi everyone, Thanks again for all of the great feedback! I am pleased to announce that OLLY has just been accepted into the Mac App Store!! If you are on Snow Leopard and up and would like to buy it from the MAS you can find OLLY at: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/olly/id519279964?ls=1&mt=12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 The main thing I make sure we finish is my daughter's Singapore math. It has chapters, but subsections of each chapter, for example, each day is an exercise in a chapter. There are different number of exercises in different chapters. So, you have Chapter 1, exercise 1, 1.2, 1.3, etc. Some chapters have 5, some have 9, it varies. Is there an easy way to enter this? I keep it in Excel now, but if it was really easy might consider it, especially as they get older and we do more things that I would want to track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veritaserum Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 The main thing I make sure we finish is my daughter's Singapore math. It has chapters, but subsections of each chapter, for example, each day is an exercise in a chapter. There are different number of exercises in different chapters. So, you have Chapter 1, exercise 1, 1.2, 1.3, etc. Some chapters have 5, some have 9, it varies. Is there an easy way to enter this? I keep it in Excel now, but if it was really easy might consider it, especially as they get older and we do more things that I would want to track. Yes, I'm wondering this as well. Homeschool Tracker Plus (what I've used for the past couple of years) allows this, which is helpful. Another thing I'm wondering about is if there is a way to see a printable weekly schedule beyond the current week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 Mac site says it requires an OS of 10.6 or higher. Ollyhomeschool site says 10.5. Which one is correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wizecoder Posted May 8, 2012 Author Share Posted May 8, 2012 shukriyya: Both. The Mac site is talking about the version available on the Mac App Store, and the Mac App Store can't be installed on 10.5. Anyone still on 10.5 though can buy the version from our site and it will work fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wizecoder Posted May 9, 2012 Author Share Posted May 9, 2012 ElizabethB: Yep, the assignment generator in OLLY makes it easy to create these types of assignments. If you choose the assignment type "Chapter Subsection", once you have entered some initial information, a page appears to enter in the number of subsections for each chapter, along with an optional topic to apply to all of those subsections. Hit finish and it creates all of the chapter subsections. The final assignments are created in the format "Chapter 3 - 4 Singapore Math Exercise" indicating the 4th exercise in chapter 3 of Singapore math. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 ElizabethB: Yep, the assignment generator in OLLY makes it easy to create these types of assignments. If you choose the assignment type "Chapter Subsection", once you have entered some initial information, a page appears to enter in the number of subsections for each chapter, along with an optional topic to apply to all of those subsections. Hit finish and it creates all of the chapter subsections. The final assignments are created in the format "Chapter 3 - 4 Singapore Math Exercise" indicating the 4th exercise in chapter 3 of Singapore math. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudboots Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 ElizabethB: Yep, the assignment generator in OLLY makes it easy to create these types of assignments. If you choose the assignment type "Chapter Subsection", once you have entered some initial information, a page appears to enter in the number of subsections for each chapter, along with an optional topic to apply to all of those subsections. Hit finish and it creates all of the chapter subsections. The final assignments are created in the format "Chapter 3 - 4 Singapore Math Exercise" indicating the 4th exercise in chapter 3 of Singapore math. This is helpful - thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Literary Mom Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Has anyone used this to create a schedule for TOG? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REv1053 Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Wow. I am not yet to the point of writing down next years curriculum, but this looks awesome. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bee Happy Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 I am looking to move away from HST Online. I was using the program on my PC for many years. Then I got a MacBook and had to use HST Online. I can't get over paying a monthly fee for it forever. Nor do I want to have to depend on their site working to access our records. So, I've been looking at Olly. I downloaded an old beta some time ago and played around with it. It didn't fit my needs, but I thought I'd give the new version a go. Unfortunately, I can't seem to get it installed. It's shooting back errors about database corruption. I actually posted a thread on your forum. I hope I can get it figured out since I am planning the next year and need to get something quick! =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schsmom Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 I like the idea of having a mac based planner but my issue is I downloaded it and it isn't a full version so I can't see if it actually works for me or not. It does not allow me the option of typing in new lesson plans. Only journal entries show up?? Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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