[SML] RigCalc is back (slightly commercial post)

[Alex French]

RigCalc is back- as good as ever, and a little bit different.

First, it has just returned to the iOS App Store, fully compatible
with latest iOS (well, status is "Ready For Sale"... it may take a few
hours or more before it shows up as an update on a specific device, or
in some searches).  It returned to the Google Play store for Android
devices several weeks ago.  Functionality is unchanged beyond some
look/feel/presentation changes to match iOS 8.

Second, RigCalc is under new... slightly different... reduced
management.  Delbert and I have been looking to part ways for quite a
while, because Delbert had aspirations for RigCalc to continue growing
that were beyond my interest in the project.  When I was unable to
resolve RigCalc's issues with new iOS versions in a timely manner, we
eventually settled on a different option where I bought out Delbert to
take sole control of RigCalc.  Delbert was able to quickly bring a new
product to market that I expect expands RigCalc's capabilities and
builds on his work publishing a rigging math book.  Delbert will
continue to be credited for his work developing the original RigCalc,
but he bears no responsibility (or blame for RigCalc's long absence).

For several years RigCalc chugged along on both mobile platforms with
relatively few updates, so I was caught by surprise when iOS 8
required quite a bit of work- the first freezing up that stopped users
cold was the easiest of several things that had to be resolved.  That
work was satisfying, and quick, compared to the tedium involved in
just updating OS X on my development machine so that I could upgrade
Xcode so that I could upgrade iOS libraries... then repeat that full
cycle half a dozen times before actually getting things working... and
then finally deal with the slightly different App Store submission
requirements, including producing more than a dozen app icons in
slightly different sizes (which mystifies me because iOS is already
dynamically scaling so many things).  RigCalc is a side project, at
least second on the list of side projects by profitability, and about
17th by interestingness, so getting through that tedium and getting
RigCalc back in the hands of users didn't get the attention that it
needed.

Anyway... I certainly hope RigCalc will continue without any similar
interruptions, but make no promises.  But blame for the outage, and
responsibility for the future, is mine alone.

The good news is that RigCalc is back now, and I'm happy to hear from
anyone with specific problems in the future.  I won't promise
responsive, but I am always interested- whether it's a bug or a
suggestion.

Alex French