XTicker 1.4.0-beta.9 (Beta)

XTicker 1.4.0 Beta 9

• Search for a city, region, or address in Nearby without granting Location Services access.
• Automatic location now shows progress, timeouts, and permission guidance, with the macOS usage description included.
• Choose a monitor in Settings, the menu bar menu, or the ticker’s right-click menu. Selection persists and handles disconnects.
• Right-click menu groups controls with separators and includes Quit XTicker.
• Updated Help and About version information.
• Beta installations now use a signed Sparkle beta update feed.

Signed and notarized for macOS 14 or later, on Apple silicon and Intel. Beta 9 is also offered through the existing signed Sparkle feed, so earlier installations can update in-app. Existing settings carry forward.

XTicker 1.4.0-beta.8 (Beta)

XTicker 1.4.0 Beta 8

• Added an optional air quality block with current modeled U.S. AQI, category, and PM2.5 for the saved location. It follows the same daily source schedule controls and colors readings green, yellow, or red.
• Made Clarus the Dogcow a rare, randomized cameo in the iTunes LCD marquee: one separator pass after a random 6–18 hour interval.
• Updated Settings and Help with air quality data attribution and the rarer Clarus behavior.

Air quality data comes from Open-Meteo and CAMS ENSEMBLE; estimates may differ from a nearby monitor. This beta is a notarized website download. The automatic Sparkle feed continues to serve the latest stable release.

XTicker 1.4.0-beta.7 (Beta)

XTicker 1.4.0 Beta 7

• Schedule each content source to appear during a daily time window, including overnight windows. For example, show headlines from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Added ABC News, PBS News, Al Jazeera, and Ars Technica as built-in news publishers. Selected publishers refresh together.
• Replaced the Control Strip’s colored square markers with monochrome source icons.
• Moved Clarus the Dogcow from the iTunes metal frame into the scrolling LCD as an occasional monochrome separator.
• Updated the in-app Help guide for schedules, publishers, icons, and source locations.

This beta is a notarized website download. The automatic Sparkle feed continues to serve the latest stable release.

XTicker 1.4.0-beta.6 (Beta)

XTicker 1.4.0 Beta 6

• Added Top · Below Menu Bar and Bottom · Above Dock to the ticker's right-click menu. Switching positions takes effect immediately.
• Added a small monochrome Clarus the Dogcow tribute to the brushed-metal bezel of the iTunes LCD theme. Hover for a "Moof!" tooltip.

This beta is a notarized website download. The automatic Sparkle feed continues to serve the latest stable release.

XTicker 1.4.0-beta.5 (Beta)

XTicker 1.4.0 Beta 5

This beta adds an early iTunes-inspired LCD theme with a muted green display, dark lettering, and a brushed-metal bezel. Its monochrome source icons now come from each ticker item, so named calendars and custom news feeds keep the right icon instead of showing an empty circle.

The About and Help windows also explain that XTicker is tip-supported. You can download and use it without a required payment, and support development through Buy Me a Coffee if you like it.

This beta is a notarized website download. The automatic Sparkle feed continues to serve the latest stable release.

XTicker 1.4.0-beta.4 (Beta)

XTicker 1.4.0 Beta 4

The LED ticker now has a soft curved glass reflection, a fine top-edge glint, and a subtle lower sheen. The effect is also shown in the Studio preview. LED text remains clear and the reflection does not intercept clicks.

This beta is a notarized website download. The automatic Sparkle feed continues to serve the latest stable release.

XTicker 1.4.0-beta.3 (Beta)

XTicker 1.4.0 Beta 3

This beta adds a searchable in-app Help guide modeled on CamDeck's topic sidebar and reading panel. Open it from the Help menu or the XTicker menu bar icon.

• Added Buy Me a Coffee… to the app menu and ticker menu, using the same support page as CamDeck.
• Kept Check for Updates… easy to reach in both menus and in About XTicker.
• Kept the floating ticker behind the Help window, and made Help follow the Studio light or dark appearance setting.

This beta is a notarized website download. The automatic Sparkle feed continues to serve the latest stable release.

XTicker 1.4.0-beta.2 (Beta)

XTicker 1.4.0 Beta 2

This signed and notarized preview build adds more control over news and stock quotes. It requires macOS 14 or later and remains outside the stable Sparkle update feed.

Changes since Beta 1:

• Six new topic choices: entertainment, science, art and design, health, sports news, and technology. Built-in topics use BBC and NPR feeds.
• Add up to five named HTTPS RSS or Atom news sources, enable or disable each one, and show their names beside headlines. Headlines from selected sources are interleaved and duplicate titles are removed.
• Optional Show stocks only while the U.S. market is open switch. It uses New York regular session hours and Nasdaq market status to hide quotes on holidays and after early closes. If market status is unavailable, quotes remain hidden.

Open the DMG and drag XTicker to Applications. Quit a running copy before replacing it. Existing settings carry forward. Beta 2 includes all Beta 1 features.

XTicker 1.4.0-beta.13 (Beta)

XTicker 1.4.0 Beta 13

• Prevents unsupported punctuation and feed characters from appearing as rows of question marks in the LED Matrix theme.
• Uses readable separators for U.S. AQI and PM2.5 readings.
• Improves local test-build signing and adds release-time checks that keep Sparkle's embedded components on the same signing team as XTicker.

Signed and notarized for macOS 14 or later on Apple silicon and Intel. Beta 13 is offered through the signed Sparkle feeds. Existing settings carry forward.

XTicker 1.4.0-beta.12 (Beta)

XTicker 1.4.0 Beta 12

• Fixes Studio Settings briefly appearing and disappearing on every launch. Studio opens automatically only on first launch; returning launches start with the ticker and menu bar controls.
• Centers the XTicker app icon and wordmark in the Studio header.
• Keeps Settings available from the app menu, menu bar menu, and ticker right-click menu.

Signed and notarized for macOS 14 or later on Apple silicon and Intel. Beta 12 is offered through the signed Sparkle feeds. Existing settings carry forward.