Yep - that's the one. The transfer instructions mention trouble connecting to DB from iBM1 - but like you I had no trouble in that step.
Of anyone has a workaround for this please post
Of anyone has a workaround for this please post
I bought iBrewmaster a few years ago and have loved it ever since. This guy has CONSTANTLY offered upgrades, fixes and updates for free and is now, finally doing a complete rewrite and is charging for the new program.
While the overall support is quite amazing, we do realize that some users have not received the past 4 years worth of updates free, and wanted to take a brief moment to explain our dilemma with releasing iBrewMaster 2. Unfortunately, Apple does not provide us with any discounting options for previous users, nor do they offer any "maintenance" programs as we've suggested numerous times. (Provide developers a way to charge a small yearly maintenance fee for users to get continued updates, while allowing those who decline to continue to use the app in it's last version under maintenance.) Their pricing is simple…one price for everyone!
I dove in and bought iBrewmaster 2, below are my thoughts:
- It's really glitchy and crashes a lot, in fact the first time I opened it on my iPad and on my iPhone it crashed on both
- There needs to be a seemless way to keep the apps on different platforms in sync (iPad and iPhone)
- Importing your recipes/batches/DB from iBrewmaster 1 is a joke - you need to make sure your batch sizes are correct and you will HAVE to update your mash profile FOR EACH RECIPE AND BATCH, completely unacceptable as I have way too many old batches to go back in and update when those beers are long gone. I will not be doing this, which means iBrewmaster 1 will forever live on my devices in addition to iBrewmaster 2
- This app is pretty much unusable for a brew day at the moment. Every time I try to add 0.5 lb Crystal 40L to a recipe it adds the grain correctly but lists the measurement as 8 oz. Cannot figure out away around this
- Login with Facebook creates an endless loop of login/confirm screens
- Many screens and options were not thoroughly tested - there are apparent glitches, options and settings that don't function properly
- Dropbox integration is very glitchy at the moment
- Seriously, water additions can ONLY be shown in quarts still? WTF
- They tried to remove those number roller selector things but I don't know that the replacement is any better - I always end up at the second or third decimal and have to backspace through the values. It should just disappear when you jump to the input field
- Weird keyboard actions on several occasions which make it difficult to see what you are typing because the field is hidden by the keyboard
- Should have a way to disable "Fullscreen mode" - I need my clock/time at the top!
- There doesn't appear to be an easy way to provide feedback to the developer/crash reports
- There needs to be a place where notifications live, the flash screens and pop-ups are really, really horrible
- Why are the icons at the top of the batch/recipe screens still there? There should be one button within the recipe/batch that gives you access to those features
Bottom line: Save your money for now. At $18 I feel like I've "been had" for the quality of what was delivered.
The developer needs to hire or work with better beta testers - in only a few short minutes with the app I've been able to identify an unacceptable amount of defects. I work in software and tech development and if I was overseeing this project I would have listed the apparent defects and sent this back to the development team to check their work
Some of the calculators are quite nice, I like the yeast one but it is no mrmalty.com - it doesn't have the option for a yeast starter or it doesn't tell you how many vials/packs you need which makes you have to try to guess or research it elsewhere. Easier just to use mrmalty if you ask me. The SG correction is useful just because it's there when you need it and is at hand. The "bottling calculator" is also pretty cool so you know how many bottles to clean and sanitize. All of the calculator screens are suffering from the same problems though - keyboard covers input fields, or scrolling isn't set to the appropriate pixel heights so you can scroll way past the end of the screen.
Here are screenshots of the screens in question so you can see them.
You can customize the values in the water profile or create your own. I just clicked Denver so you can see what it looks like.
Not sure on the salt additions as I don't do any of that yet and don't have a water profile set up. (Edit: Just set up a new water profile for my city. I got the data from the local water district and saved a new profile. Then tried to add it to a 'batch' and what do you know - it didn't save!)
Any other screenshot requests let me know...
You need to save the water profile under set up, not create a profile while working from a batch. If you save the water profile from the set up screen, it will save the profile.
I was a beta tester on IB2, and although I haven't used the released version yet (I have been in trial the last nine days), will provide some insight for those on the fence.
1) The source/target water calculator is OK. What you have is the ability to save your "home" water as a profile and then select it as your source water. You can then select a target water profile and be taken to a screen where you see both profiles and what looks alot like an ez water style adjustment section. The program (at least in beta) did not suggest additions that would bring your water in line with the target water, but you could see how additions would change your profile and bring you closer or farther from your target, all from one screen.
2) I really like the brix/plato converter although I am ashamed to say that I did not ask if there was a wort correction factor. In my process, the refractometer stays in the garage with the brewing rig and is used for pre boil gravity and OG while I take FG readings the old fashioned way in my basement with a hydrometer.
3) In my process, the calculators are the real upgrade here. The brix/plato converter, the yeast pitching calc, the water chemistry calculator (different than the source/target water profile tool) are all nice and make IB2 a stand alone app for me whereas IB1 wasn't.
4) Speaking to 241's post on the "buggy" issues, I will admit to being perplexed as to why the first version went out to Apple when it did. I was still sending bug reports to Joe when he told me that version 1 was already at Apple for approval and that he was then working on version 1.01. Version 1.01 is out now, but since I haven't downloaded IB2 yet (will before I brew this weekend), I don't know if Version 1.01 fixes the last set of bugs.
5)The last set of e mails I exchanged with Joe dealt with his attempts at a real no sparge calculator. I am hopeful that version 1.01 incorporates the calculator we discussed, because the one that was in the intial release was pretty near useless.
5) Losing the mash profile on import sucks. I was told that there was nothing that could be done about that since the new program combines the mash and equipment profile in one step rather than two as before. I believe that was done for efficiency within the program but it has no discernable effect on how we use the program that I was able to discover. I can not tell you how frustrating it was to recreate an equipment profile and a mash profile every couple of days and then go through each recipe and batch to add that info. So maybe I am a bit jaded as to whether the "upgrade" to a combined mash/equipment profile was worthwhile.
6) The lack of integration between the ipad and iphone is a minor pain in the ass. In my process, I use my ipad to build recipes/prep for brew day/manage inventory etc but use my iphone when I am brewing. So I was really hopeful there would be a simple sync button that would harmonize the data on both devices. Don't misunderstand, the way it is set up is not horrible. Realistically we are talking about three "key strokes" to back up the database on one device and a like number to restore it on another. I have not had any of the drop box issues you guys are reporting, probably because there were far fewer people going in and out of the drop box when the program was in beta. Hopefully that issue gets fixed quickly.
7) On the other issues raised by 241, I agree that calculating water in gallons would be better. I was told that it was a one or another deal and that Joe felt quarts was a more accurate measure. I don't really mind the wheel counters or that the program converts .5 pounds to 8 oz, so I have no comment on those points. I did not experience any of the issues with the text field being hidden by the keyboard, so I can't comment on that either. On the ipad at least it would be nice to see your timers at the top of the screen. I would send an e mail directly to the developer on that point. He has always been very responsive.
Conclusion - If you are looking for a single brew day app, then IB2 is a significant upgrade over IB1. If you are looking for a historical manage batches/recipes archiving program, then IB2 is not really a significant upgrade over IB1.
I still think it's a risk to purchase, but if some of these tweaks are made it really does seem like an "all-in-one" brewing app, which to me is the magic bullet that would get me to purchase. Right now I get my yeast pitching calcs from one spot, refractometer adjusments from another site, water calcs from a spreadsheet. Having GOOD versions of these various modules in one spot would really set this software apart.
IMO, iBM did a lot of things right which has made it my sole brewing software I use. If iBM2 can do this and get the rest of the new features right, then I'd be sold.
You need to save the water profile under set up, not create a profile while working from a batch. If you save the water profile from the set up screen, it will save the profile.
4) Speaking to 241's post on the "buggy" issues, I will admit to being perplexed as to why the first version went out to Apple when it did. I was still sending bug reports to Joe when he told me that version 1 was already at Apple for approval and that he was then working on version 1.01. Version 1.01 is out now, but since I haven't downloaded IB2 yet (will before I brew this weekend), I don't know if Version 1.01 fixes the last set of bugs.
7) On the other issues raised by 241, I agree that calculating water in gallons would be better. I was told that it was a one or another deal and that Joe felt quarts was a more accurate measure. I don't really mind the wheel counters or that the program converts .5 pounds to 8 oz, so I have no comment on those points. I did not experience any of the issues with the text field being hidden by the keyboard, so I can't comment on that either. On the ipad at least it would be nice to see your timers at the top of the screen. I would send an e mail directly to the developer on that point. He has always been very responsive.
I continue to be perplexed as to why this was rolled ouot before the beta testing was done though.
DFP51 said:I continue to be perplexed as to why this was rolled ouot before the beta testing was done though.
iTunes Store just sent you a full refund of $17.99 USD for your purchase.
241 said:I think you're right alestateyall (btw just added you on Twitter @zacbdct)
I just went through the process of trying to add a recipe and it crashed twice, losing my progress both times. I got fed up and requested a refund from the App Store. Just got this email:
Wow. I didn't know refunds were possible.
Thanks for following on twitter. Not that I have much to say.