The Stoneage has arrived

Since I first obtained an iOS device in 2009, I've wanted to build an app for the iPhone. While the glory days of the App store have came and gone, it's still entirely possible to single-handedly put together then launch an app.

Today, I've done just that. 

 

Introducing Stoneage: Stone & Pounds.

Born of frustration that Apple Health didn't talk Stone and Lbs, Stoneage is a weight tracker built for the UK and Ireland where we still think of bodyweight in the old units. I also gave it a trusty dial, just like the bathroom scales you remember.

You may find it on the app store, or find out more on its webpage at 4casuals. It's only £1.99, pay once and it's yours to keep.

Stoneage: For those who prefer the old weighs. 

The Casual Mindset and Software4Casuals

The modern app experience is awful. Bloatware abounds. Ads, extortionate subscriptions, AI shoehorned where it doesn't belong. To that end, I have defined the Casual Mindset in opposition to the curse of "enshitification". 

The Casual Mindset 

We embrace Almost-Stressless Computing: Death to nagging, adverts, deceptive pricing, anti-patterns and stealing your data.

The Mindset Defined: 

• Respect for time: Every screen is obvious. Every interaction is purposeful. 
• Ownership: Pay once. Your data stays with you. No leasing your own history. 
• Craft: Borrowing the texture and gloss of the iOS glory days, refined with modern layout discipline. 

Applied, that gives us the casual promises:

• No recurring fees for core features. Buy the app once and get on with your life. Subscriptions will only ever be used to cover optional extra services, never for rent-seeking, and therefore priced accordingly. 
• Sane updates. Updates arrive when there's something worth your while, not to satisfy a monthly quota. Neither to add 300Mb to the app size because management demanded we rewrite it in React and Electron for some extraneous reason. 
• No nagging. No pushy onboarding, no “rate me now” demands, and certainly no AI hallucinations hijacking your data. 
• No ads. Your attention is precious. We don't give it away to needy advertisers. 

Software4Casuals 

I've learnt enough SwiftUI to build a simple iPhone app that solves a very particlar problem. It will be launched shortly. But I needed a new name to embody the casual mindset, and serve as a front for all my upcoming iOS/MacOS endeavours. To that end, I announce the birth of Software4Casuals. 

Software4Casuals exists because modern apps lost the plot. Between onerous subscriptions, AI noise, and ads everywhere, the joy is gone. So I decided to build the apps I wish we could still buy: precise, paid once, and forever yours. We deliver no frills, no gimmicks. Certified Nonsense-Free Software.

The casual future has arrived.

 

Visit Software4Casuals at www.4casuals.com!