PortableApps.com Status Update (2011-04-17): Translations for 2.0, 2.0 Platform Schedule, Site Upgrade Progress, etc

It's time for another 'PortableApps.com Status Update' on what's new in the last week. We've got the finalized translation strings for 2.0 available, a slightly revised 2.0 release schedule, progress update on the site upgrade, 126 new apps in 126 days, the status of additional new app releases, and more. Read on for the details

126 New Apps in 126 Days, Temporary Hiatus Til 2.0

This is the same update as last week, but I'm including it again for folks who may have missed it and are wondering where the new apps are...

We've released 126 new apps in the last 126 days up until April 5th, which is pretty amazing. All kinds of apps and games, many of which were never available for portable use before and that you'll find nowhere else. As we countdown to the 2.0 final release, though, we need to focus all our energies on the platform, so new app releases are taking a temporary hiatus for about 2 weeks. After the 2.0 release, we'll be re-opening the floodgates and have several days of more than one app per day to catch back up!

Drupal Upgrade Progress

We've made some progress on the Drupal front and have some of the scripts ready for manually converting data from Drupal 6, which the site is currently running, to Drupal 7. We have both up and running in the same database to make the transition easier (and faster once we run it). The new Drupal 7 theme for PortableApps.com is nearly complete and is looking really good. Unfortunately, we didn't have the time we were hoping for this past weekend and the update will take a bit longer time-wise than planned, so the update is on hold until after 2.0. We'd rather get the platform out first and then follow up with the updates to the site. We've got a block of time on the weekend of April 30th/May 1st to attempt again. We'll keep you updated!

Financial Update

Nothing new to report on this front, so I'm including last week's upgrade for continuity...

We're ramping up for a fund-raising drive in association with the 2.0 release. We like the idea of a PortableApps.com store where you can buy t-shirts, mousepads, mugs, etc and have made some progress on that front with our designed. We're also looking into doing a branded drive just as a fundraiser. We don't want to do it long-term as we're not looking to compete with our upcoming hardware partnerships.

As mentioned before, bandwidth costs continue to grow and the need for additional hardware presents itself, the additional funds are definitely going to help. In terms of monthly unique visitors, we're closing in on the likes of BoingBoing, SlashDot and similar sites and the hosting costs are reflecting that. Currently, we're covering the additional overhead from personal funding sources.

We still plan to kick this off soon and will be providing more details at the time. We may do something similar to wikipedia's call for donations, though likely without my face looking sad on every page of the site. :) We're always looking for ideas and suggestions as well, so feel free to drop us a note to our developer contact address or post a note in the forums.

Platform 2.0 String Translations Posted

We've got the strings posted, so now you can help translate the PortableApps.com Platform 2.0 to your language. We've included a few updated strings for the updater, app directory, fonts, categories and more as well as a few strings for the installer itself. As the platform is coming out over the coming days, we could really use the translations as soon as possible.

2.0 Platform Release Schedule, String Translations

As we mentioned last week, we nixed the idea of doing a 1.9.0 and followup releases and going with a straight 2.0 release. This release will consist of the current features of the 2.0 Beta 5 release plus a finalized app updater, the ability to automatically download and install apps via the updater interface, categories/folders which work automatically with the app categorizations as well as manual classifications, polished versions of the 2.0 Beta 5 themes, numerous bug fixes and stability improvements and an improved installer.

The new strings are posted and should be translated shortly. We will be posting the 2.0 Release Candidate on Monday or Tuesday depending on finalization of two OEM features and translation strings and will likely post the 2.0 Final shortly after we get enough testers downloading and providing feedback. We're still pushing for posting 2.0 Final this week.

As the 2.0 RC to 2.0 Final schedule is being severely compressed, we will likely be shipping a 2.1 release soon after (as in a week or two) with any additional translations we get in after the 2.0 ship date and smaller bug fixes. We would hold 2.0 for any showstoppers of course, but we don't anticipate any.

As mentioned before, once 2.0 has gone gold and is pushed out to the community, we'll be continuing to work on 2.1/2.2 which adds in several of the other features we'd originally planned for 2.0. This release is currently scheduled for May 10th and will be automatically pushed out to all current platform users, as will subsequent releases. As mentioned in the last update, we're adopting an accelerated upgrade schedule akin to Firefox post-4.0 and Chrome. As our users will automatically receive upgrades from here on out, we won't need as prolonged a test period or to do as monumental (and time-consuming) updates as we have been. By keeping to a tigther, more specific schedule, we'll be able to push out bug fixes, new features and speed improvements about twice a month.

That's it for this update. Keep an eye on this blog for the next update, keep an eye on the site for the 2.0 Release Candidate and 2.0 Final releases and have a great week everybody!

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