If you’re having trouble importing serial numbers into LicenseKeeper for the apps you purchased through MacUpdate’s recent app bundle, then the file MU generated for you is probably improperly formatted.

You can easily fix the file by following these instructions:

1. Open the MU data file in TextEdit
2. Search for “Michael Simmons” using Command+F. You should find the text as the publisher for the app Fantastical.
3. Modify the text “Michael Simmons & Kent Sutherland” to read “Michael Simmons & Kent Sutherland”
4. Save and Close the data file
5. Import into LicenseKeeper as usual

The LicenseKeeper data file is a simple Mac OS X plist that needs to follow a specific XML format. The “&” is an illegal character and it needs to be HTML encoded so it doesn’t break XML parsing.

Update (Sept 12, 2011): MacUpdate has fixed the invalid encoding in the LicenseKeeper data file and newly downloaded files should now work as expected.

We’re readying the next release of Knapsack, our travel planning and journaling app for Mac, and we’re looking for help testing all of the new features and changes.

If you would like to help out, please let us know: .

On the heels of the last release, LicenseKeeper 1.8.2 is now available and fixes Sync to iPhone (which was broken in 1.8) along with several crashes and minor user interaction problems.

Read the full Release Notes for details.

You can install this update using the menu item LicenseKeeper > Check for Updates… or download the newest version directly.

This is a free update for all LicenseKeeper owners. If you don’t own it yet, click here to buy LicenseKeeper, securely and instantly.

LicenseKeeper 1.8.1 fixes failing imports and database migrations started with version 1.8.

Read the full Release Notes for details.

You can install this update using the menu item LicenseKeeper > Check for Updates… or download the newest version directly.

This is a free update for all LicenseKeeper owners. If you don’t own it yet, click here to buy LicenseKeeper, securely and instantly.

LicenseKeeper 1.8 improves Lion compatibility with 64-bit and an updated user interface.

This update drops legacy support for Tiger (Mac OS X 10.4), Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5), Growl, Microsoft Entourage, and PowerMail.

Read the full Release Notes for details.

You can install this update using the menu item LicenseKeeper > Check for Updates… or download the newest version directly.

This is a free update for all LicenseKeeper owners. If you don’t own it yet, click here to buy LicenseKeeper, securely and instantly.

To celebrate the summer travel season. We’re offering 25% off the regular price of Knapsack our travel app for Mac.

But hurry, the offer is only good through August 31, 2011:

• Single License:$29.99 $39.99
• 5-Pack Family License: $44.99 $59.99

Purchase Knapsack app on the Mac App Store or direct from us.

Because of this incredible adoption rate, I’ve decided to finally make the move to start dropping support for older OS X versions along with PowerPC (PPC) in our Mac apps with the next round of updates.

Tiger

Mac OS X 10.4, Tiger, was released over six years ago on April 29, 2005.

Except for Bullfrog, almost no-one is still using Tiger on a regular basis. Because it’s free, Bullfrog won’t hold up this move.

Leopard

Mac OS 10.5, Leopard, is now four years old and was released on October 26, 2007. More of our customers were already running Lion before it was even publicly released.

PPC

Apple stopped supporting PowerPC Macs with the release of Snow Leopard in August of 2009 — three years ago.

Schedule

The next set of updates for each or our applications will require at least Snow Leopard (10.6+) to run.

LicenseKeeper

I’m currently working on LicenseKeeper 1.8. I still have several open items to take care of which will then require a fair amount of testing. I’m hoping to have this update out in the next couple of weeks — sometime in August.

Knapsack

There is a lot planned for Knapsack over the course of this year. Knapsack 2.3 is scheduled to follow the LicenseKeeper update which will also require Snow Leopard (10.6+). Development on Knapsack 3 along with iPhone and iPad versions has already begun.

Bullfrog

Because Bullfrog is free, it takes a low priority for us and tends to sit on the back burner. I don’t have any specific releases scheduled, but I will no longer be updating Bullfrog for Tiger and Leopard. Any updates that do make their way out will require at least Snow Leopard and possibly only Lion.

Questions & Concerns

If you have questions or concerns regarding these changes and plans, please let me know.

The current versions of our apps will continue to run on your existing configurations and you will not be forced to upgrade to the newest versions.

Today, Apple unleashed the latest version of their Mac operating system, OS X Lion via the Mac App Store.

We’re Lion Compatible

The latest versions of all of our Mac apps are Lion (Mac OS X 10.7) compatible and should run without issue.

Knapsack 2.2.2

LicenseKeeper 1.7.2

Bullfrog 1.2.3

If you do happen to find any problems with our apps and Lion, please let us know so that we can get a quick fix out.

Knapsack 2.2.2 is now available on the Mac App Store and direct from our online store.

This update fixes a bad undo bug that would leave things in an unpredictable state which could lead Knapsack to freeze up. It also fixes some memory leaks that would crop up while navigating through custom trip groups.

You can read all about the details in the release notes.

Knapsack 2.2 is now available on the Mac App Store and direct from our online store.

This new version gives you the option to add photographs and other images to activities in your itinerary. Photos are copied into your trip and displayed inline with the times, names, and descriptions of all the activities in the trip.

Printing trips has been improved to use a new cleaner layout that includes the new activity photos along with all location and trip photos.

Finally, with Knapsack 2.2, you no longer have to unschedule a trip to modify the number and order of days in your trip — even if the trip is sync’d with iCal.

You can read all about the details in the release notes.

Follow Knapsack on Twitter or Facebook.