John Spahr

Update your moral compass! 8/29/2020   Earlier this evening, I was looking at some of my old Windows programs when I found something I had mostly forgotten about. It was a program I wrote as a joke nearly a year ago, and it's surprisingly still quite entertaining! Meet the Moral Compass Updater. ​ ​The Moral Compass Updater is very simple. You press a button, and it gives you some tips to think about in the future before you act. It's not particularly useful, and it gives you the same tips every time you use it, but it still amuses me whenever I try it out. The people I've shown it to have found it funny as well, so it's not just me! It's very silly, but if you want to try out the Moral Compass Updater, you can download it  here . I hope you like it! (even if it doesn't really serve much of a purpose)

binoc... on Windows Mobile? 8/24/2020   Hey, everyone! Yes, it is true. I have released a version of binoc for Windows Mobile! It's not nearly as feature-rich as its  Android counterpart , but it does give you a quote and let you set an intention for yourself. You can check binoc for Windows Mobile out  here . On that note, I have updated my Random Number Generator for Windows Mobile. Thanks to some major UI improvements, it looks a lot better now! Just like binoc, you can check it out at the  Windows Mobile  page. Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

What's going on? 8/23/2020   A little while back, I wrote a post about how a new era had begun for Tectra. However, to be able to move on from the Tectra of old, I realized that I was going to have to kill off some of my older projects. That is why many of my programs have disappeared or been moved to the archives in the last few weeks. Why do I feel the need to phase out some of my older projects? To make a long story short, I had a lot of projects that I had to maintain. However, a lot of them suffered from lack of polish, too many features, and/or not serving much of a purpose. I found that a lot of my older programs simply weren't worth maintaining for one reason or another, and I realized to begin this new era in Tectra software, I would have to make some room for new things. It is for this reason that programs such as Writer, Lynx for Windows, and Octua have been discontinued. Am I sad to kill off these old projects? Surprisingly enough, not really. I know that they are p...

widgets for binoc 8/22/2020   Hey, everyone! I just started rolling out an update for binoc that adds one big new feature: widgets for your Home Screen! ​The first one is the quote widget, which (you guessed it!) displays a quote from binoc. The second one is the intention widget, which displays the intention have set for yourself. Neat! ​ I have started the rollout to production, which means this update will be available shortly on the  Play Store . I hope you find these widgets useful and continue to enjoy binoc! As always, thanks for reading, and have a wonderful day! ​

Meet LifeBoard! 8/17/2020   Notes applications are nothing new. However, LifeBoard, Tectra’s latest and greatest Android app, despite having many of the core fundamentals of a notes app, is truly unique! When I was creating LifeBoard, I realized that I would have to do a few things differently if I wanted my app to stand out. As a result, I shifted gears and decided to make LifeBoard less of a notes application, and more of a digital bulletin board. ​ Limitations In order to make this idea work, I knew I'd have to set some limitations for the app. However, I wanted to be sure that they made sense. No editing:  With a  real bulletin board, you don't usually take a piece of paper or note down just to make a quick edit. LifeBoard is the same way. LifeBoard is supposed to be a place where you jot stuff down, not write your next story. As a result, I decided that not having the option to edit existing stickies, though controversial, could be a great way to make it clear that L...

How I am going to handle paid apps... 8/14/2020   A few days ago, I announced that I would hopefully be releasing my first paid app soon. This is the beginning of a new era for Tectra, but some things will always remain the same: ​ No ads, subscription services, or in-app purchases:  I hate how ads and in-app purchases are in most apps these days. As a result, I have no intention to put either of these in any of my apps, as I understand that they make the user experience a lot less pleasant. In the case of my new Android app, there will be a one-time fee of $0.99, and that'll be it. There won't be a premium version, subscription service, or anything like that. I respect your privacy:  I  never  collect any personal information, no matter what. About the only data I collect is app crash reports through the Google Play Console. I respect your privacy, and I don't want people to feel unsafe using my software. This has been how I've run Tectra in the past, and ...

GoFrench 2.0 is here! 8/12/2020   Hey, everyone! I just thought I’d mention that I released a big update for GoFrench: GoFrench 2.0 This update introduces a new user interface, a French news feed, and a dropdown menu with several useful links to French-related sites. Needless to say, I’ve added quite a few new features! I know most of you aren’t super interested in GoFrench, especially since it’s mainly intended for French students and teachers, so I’ll keep this post short. However, I thought I would share what’s new. You can try out GoFrench 2.0  here . As always, thanks for reading, and have a nice day!

A New Era 8/11/2020   This post marks the end of an era for Tectra. In the past, I’ve worked on a number of projects, all of which have been free. However, today, I am going to reveal one of the biggest secrets about the app I am working on: I’m going to likely charge $0.99 for it. Wait, what? Feeling confused? I wouldn’t blame you. Just a year ago, I was referring to Tectra as a “nonprofit organization”. However, over the last year, I have been transitioning from Tectra being a company to more of a personal portfolio. Tectra has always been the place where I share my creations, but about a year ago, I had very different plans for it. I wanted it to be a nonprofit. As a result, I “hired” a couple of volunteers for writing and graphic design. However, shortly after, I realized that being a nonprofit was not as glorious as it had seemed. There was much less freedom, and I seriously considered giving up on Tectra, as the direction it had taken had made me lose motivation. About a few ...

Something big is coming... 8/2/2020   Hello, everyone! Today is August 2nd. This is important because tomorrow, I go back to school. This means that I will have a lot less time to work on new projects. However, I do have some good news. I prepared for this! ​ How did I prepare for the decreased amount of free time that school will undoubtedly bring? Well, I spent almost 20 hours over the last 4 days working on a new Android app! I can't reveal a ton about this new app yet. However, I can tell you that I have gotten a lot of the difficult stuff done. There's still plenty of work to do, but I have made some serious progress. Anyway, with some luck, I'll hopefully be able to release this new app mid to late August. Until then, you can stay tuned for more updates!