Introducing TheftSensor

Today we are unveiling TheftSensor, a brand new application designed for the new MacBook. Taking a page from the car alarm, MacBook Pro owners can enable TheftSensor by pressing the play button on their Apple Remote. When enabled, TheftSensor will start a loud alarm whenever the MacBook is moved, lifted or when its lid is closed. The alarm can be disabled by pressing the play button a second time. Head over to the TheftSensor page and see it in action!

TheftSensor might sound very similar to other applications out there (e.g. iAlertU). I want to stress, however, that we planned this functionality for Undercover 2.0, many months ago. While designing Undercover 2, we decided to spin off TheftSensor as a separate application because many Apple laptops don't have a built-in sudden motion sensor (SMS) just yet. Adding this functionality to Undercover would increase the application's footprint while it would add no functionality for 85% of our user base, so that's why we decided to release this as a separate app. That way, we can get as much feedback as possible from the Mac community. As more and more Apple laptops with SMS become available, we will integrate this functionality into Undercover.

Are you a beta tester?

We could use some help while working on the next generation Undercover version. If you have a MacBook Pro and if you are interested in testing, drop us an email. Selected testers will receive a free household license. We only need a couple of testers, so we are going to have a deadline of Friday 7 April (that's today) @ 11.59 PM GMT. Note that you do need to have a MBP!

Thanks!

What's next for Undercover?

If you are an Undercover user, you might have already asked yourself this question. Here is a summary of our Undercover plans for the months ahead.

The next version will be the 1.6 update that will make Undercover significantly smarter while consuming even less bandwidth (not that Undercover is currently a network-intensive app, but any improvement in this area goes a long way). I can't go into more detail right now, but development is going well and we hope to release this update before the end of June.

At the same time, we are working on a method that will enable you to closely monitor Undercover. Many people asked for such a piece of software. It's coming, although it might not be ready to be released alongside the 1.6 update.

Finally, we are currently planning the 2.0 release. This second version of Undercover will most likely be released in 2007. We do have a couple of ideas ourselves of course, but we are also wondering what features you would want to see in this release. If you have any ideas for great new features in Undercover 2, please let us know and/or post a comment.

The big Apple

The Undercover presentation was a unique experience: it's very satisfying to present your own software in one of Apple's flagship stores. Unfortunately, we could not use the store's theatre as they are rebuilding it and making it even bigger, but the temporary location worked out quite well. The Apple store staff was amazingly friendly and helpful to make sure everything ran as expected. Maybe we will come back to NYC once the theatre reopens...

Another great surprise was that my cousin Sali flew in from the Florida Keys, just to attend my presentation. It was great to see her back after 18 months. Sali is a very gifted illustrator / designer. Make sure to check out some of her work and her weblog. We hope to see her soon in Belgium.

It was my first trip to New York and I'm still quite impressed... I have visited a couple of other 'big cities' (London, Amsterdam, San Francisco, Paris,...). While they are all attractive for different reasons, New York really seems to be a class of its own. At least when it comes to the number of skyscrapers, corporate headquarters and other landmark buildings (such as the U.N.).

There are many things I liked about NY: Ellis Island, walking across the Brooklyn bridge, the MOMA, the Natural History museum, the NYBG, Central Park, the view from the top of Rockefeller center, ... all in all, it's an amazing city and we definitely plan to visit it again.

New York Undercover

This is not the title for a new TV show, just an announcement that we have been invited to present Undercover at the Soho Apple store in New York! Needless to say, we were excited to accept this invitation. The Undercover demonstration will take place on Tuesday March 21st @ 7 p.m. in the beautiful SoHo Apple store. We hope to meet you there!