You may ask, what happened to Alpha version 0.1? Well, version 0.1 was more or less prior to statistics being added, now we have an in-app statistics display (Woot!). Full Description and Webpage Github Repository OSX Download: BBR (.zip) There are many interesting statistics I have added and there will be more improvements coming soon. I intend to release version 0.3 in two weeks, 0.4 the following two, etc. There are a large list of features I would like to add (several pages) and based on my time schedule and progress I am estimating I will launch a full beta version some time this fall (my actual estimate is July, but lets add two months for safe measure).
Alpha vs Beta?
The alpha vs beta phase of a product is not understood by many, and the way I am using the term “alpha” refers to being buggy and not ready for a full launch. The current version is not open to any mobile app store, nor on the OSX App store. Therefore it is only accessible to users who either download the OSX version on my website or compile it themselves. That being said, I hope to add more pre-compiled versions this weekend (Windows, Ubuntu, OSX will likely be the big three). The alpha version contains bugs which should be fixed before the beta launch, at which point user feedback will be used to improve the application.
Features – Alpha v0.2
- .txt readability
- Quick page/chapter searches
- Statistics gathering
- In app viewable statistics
- Rating system
- Note taking available
- Graphics controls over statistics
TODOs (for Mid-May Release)
- Convert the QTextBrowser to QGraphicsView, enabling Epubs and potentially PDFs (oh do I hate PDFs).
- User specific account
TODOs (for Early-June Release)
- Downloadable books (free books from hosted location)
- Uploadable statistics (Anonymous)
- Optional uploadable backup data (non-anonymous, and will be secure)
Would love to see the Windows version out soon.
The issue I’m having is I currently do not have a windows PC. However, I may try to get access to one in the next couple of days. Qt is cross-platform so I should be able to compile it to every desktop, and with some minor tweaks iOS and Android.