Next Release (bugfix) status

Thankyou so much to all of you for supporting us.   The team was very excited to deliver the last build, and we are collecting the feedback that is coming in via discord, comments on here, and in messages.  Here's the status of the bugs we know about and where we are.  If you have other bugs you're hitting on the latest release PLEASE let us know in the comments so we can batch the fixes in and get them fixed for you!  We want to stabilize so we can get you a solid build, and then we'll run off and go work on the next generation of features (more on that below!)

First the bug list and status:

Bug: Sometimes photos randomly show up rotated
Status: Fixed in next build
More info: When we redid the algorithm to speed up large images, we lost the orientation data stored in images that are taken from cameras.  I didn't realize this, but if you rotate a camera and take a picture...the picture is actually the orientation of the camera and saved that way...but then the angle the camera is rotated is stored as well.  Since we don't look at that extra data, we show the pictures 'raw' which means anything taken by a camera may show up sideways.  This is understood and fixed in the next build, and was a neat tech thing to learn. :)

Bug: Uploading files via the web UI is failing
Status: Need your help! -  We have at lest 2 reports of this, but we have been unable to reproduce it.  We will add logging and try to get more information...if you're hitting this please message me so we can work to understand what may be going on here.  

Bug: IP address is blank after pairing with a phone
Status: The issue is understood. The IP address pops up a bit fast and we weren't catching it...this will be fixed in the next build

Bug: Unable to navigate to the webUI from a PC
Status - still looking into this one, may be a firewall issue or network issue.

If there are other bugs we are missing, please let us know!

Next feature release
Ok so now some exciting stuff...what's the next feature release going to have?  We have a few planned features we are working hard on.  

1) Timer for shutting the frame on/off - This will be a page which allows you to say what time you want the frame to turn on, and what time to turn off...and then we'll have the monitor switch on/off at those times.  Stretch goal is to have it support multiple times throughout the day, and variable times for each day of the week.

2) Plugins - We actually have the engine for plugins working, but we don't have a way to configure them or download them.  So that's the next thing.  This may be ongoing work, but when it ships it'll be very exciting because we'll have a backlog of plugins ready to go, and we'll work to make it so you can develop your own as well!

3) A smart update solution - We know that imaging sucks.  We have to do it too.  It's not a great story to say 'here have this new greatness' and then have you download a giant file.  So we have been working on an update system that we will roll out with the next build.  You'll have to do a clean image for that build, however you'll be able to get the following images with codes that will be provided beyond that.  We'll eventually have a base image that people can install and then they'll put in that months code to update it to the latest. 

4) Easy font upload - We find the infobar is at it's most powerful when you have fun and nice fonts to select from.  We did the work to give the font dropdown in the last image...and put some fun ones in there. But we know that fonts can be a very personal thing, and we can only provide freeware ones...there are tons that are free for personal use that we think you'd enjoy.  So in the next build you'll be able to easily drop a bunch of fonts into a folder and they'll get updated on the frame.

5) Exif data improvements - I'm working on adding filtering by tags (inclusive and exclusive) as well as working on making the data that is chosen customizable (locations, date taken, etc).  Ideally we'll also have sorting by this data.  The thing is, this is an area of investment where we'll continue as we believe long term it will be a very powerful area to display data (imagine home automation alerts, spotify 'now playing', the story behind an image, etc)

That's what we have for now.  If you have features you need in sooner than later please message me or comment here.  I know I owe some of you branded builds..those will be coming as soon as the stabilization work above completes so your customers have a reliable build to use.