Ez-Mix, a new FREE mixing calculator is released today

[sparks]

Go HERE , where you will find full information, screenshots, and a link to download it.

Enjoy!

[a1laserboy]

Windoze only?

[sparks]

Follow the link I gave. You will find information on running Linux and Mac OSX

[a1laserboy]

Sorry, but trying a workaround isn't the same as a native app

An OSX version might be more popular than you think.

[a1laserboy]

Please don't think I'm knocking you - your program looks great, and giving it for free is very generous

I'm just a mac user who has been overlooked by the mixing app makers

[Greigster]

Downloaded, Thanks

[Deleted]

pretty good, I like the cost tracking ... think it misses the drop measuring for me ... ml are ok for large volumes but sometimes its quicker to drop with smaller volumes

[sparks]

Jun 12, 2013 14:53:43 GMT a1laserboy said:

Sorry, but trying a workaround isn't the same as a native app

An OSX version might be more popular than you think.

Maybe, but you are in a minority, and the cost of tools to develop software for the Mac are very expensive, so I would have to make it shareware. That would make it unpopular, as people expect everything for free! - regardless of the cost and time it took to produce.

[Blownupdolly]

Jun 12, 2013 15:19:54 GMT sparks said:

Jun 12, 2013 14:53:43 GMT a1laserboy said:

Sorry, but trying a workaround isn't the same as a native app

An OSX version might be more popular than you think.

Maybe, but you are in a minority, and the cost of tools to develop software for the Mac are very expensive, so I would have to make it shareware. That would make it unpopular, as people expect everything for free! - regardless of the cost and time it took to produce.

Not so sure about that. The only half decent one available for iPad is Liquix which cost £1.49 and I know quite a lot of people who use it as there is nothing else out there.

[sparks]

Jun 12, 2013 15:17:13 GMT @ashmal said:

pretty good, I like the cost tracking ... think it misses the drop measuring for me ... ml are ok for large volumes but sometimes its quicker to drop with smaller volumes

See the Help file under 'Drops vs ml' to see why I do not advocate this approach. When I first started mixing, I tried using 'drops' myself, but soon realised its shortcomings, and now it seems a crude and amateurish thing to do. Having said that, I note that, occasionally, flavour vendors give recommendation of quantity in drops (using their bottles). I may address this aspect in the next version.

[Deleted]

Jun 12, 2013 15:32:09 GMT sparks said:

Jun 12, 2013 15:17:13 GMT @ashmal said:

pretty good, I like the cost tracking ... think it misses the drop measuring for me ... ml are ok for large volumes but sometimes its quicker to drop with smaller volumes

See the Help file under 'Drops vs ml' to see why I do not advocate this approach. When I first started mixing, I tried using 'drops' myself, but soon realised its shortcomings, and now it seems a crude and amateurish thing to do. Having said that, I note that, occasionally, flavour vendors give recommendation of quantity in drops (using their bottles). I may address this aspect in the next version.

I'm fully aware of the shortcomings of dropping.

Calculators are there to support multiple techniques however ... there are plenty of people who like to drop ... that's one of the reasons why EJMU is so popular

I work on percentages of flavour and when calculating a juice from the start and doing a small tester I will drop because the figures are so small, the percentage needs to be recorded for later reference and when upscaling I switch to syringes. That's why I think having the figures as part of the calculation rather than putting in notes would be a good idea.

[sparks]

The only half decent one available for iPad is Liquix which cost £1.49 and I know quite a lot of people who use it as there is nothing else out there.

At prices like that, I would have to sell over 800 copies to break even, and that doesn't include the e-commerce fees that I would have to pay. And I would need a Mac system to test it on, and they don't come cheap!

Besides all this, I bet there would be problems in handling recipe files in their native format, and handling the printing side of things. Also, I would not be too happy about maintaining and updating TWO completely different versions.

So, if Liquix is already out there, use it.

[sparks]

I work on percentages of flavour and when calculating a juice from the start and doing a small tester I will drop because the figures are so small, the percentage needs to be recorded for later reference and when upscaling I switch to syringes. That's why I think having the figures as part of the calculation rather than putting in notes would be a good idea.

So, if you are working with such low mix volumes, and one of the flavours comes out to 1.43 drops, how are you going to cope with that? and that is assuming that the drops/ml are correct. Should Ez-Mix report this as 1, or 2 drops?

If you occasionally come across very low volumes, then it is an easy matter to convert this to drops yourself, providing you have confidence in the conversion factor, which could easily be different between different liquids. Then make a note of what you did in the Notes.

[Deleted]

On a 2ml mix using 5% for a specific flavour, I have 3 drops using a precision pipette. Given a recipe might have up to 5 flavours in it I find it far easier to drop at this stage.

If the quantity is so low that it reports 0.x drops I would naturally only put as little as possible in. To answer your question on 1 or 2 drops it is largely immaterial at 2ml, I guess I would like not to have move it from the notes back into the calculator. This is very picky sparks admittedly.

It's also worth noting that not all syringe usage is equal and without a really good quality one, getting the full sub 1ml dose cannot always be trusted to give you accuracy

[sparks]

The strange thing is that out of 82 people that comprised the focus-group that previewed Ez-Mix before release, only 3 bought up the question of 'drops', and only one of those thought that drops were an essential part of the mixing culture.

I am currently listening to all comments about Ez-Mix, to gauge what is likely to be included in the next version. If there is a strong cry for adding drops, then this may be addressed in some way, but I am not going to let it interfere with the clarity of the interface, or make print formatting difficult.