Update: TPG Usage Widget

Update: Make sure you get the latest version of the widget!

As requested by a few users, I’ve updated the TPG Usage Widget to be a bit smarter about setting the yellow and red levels in on the indicators.

Previously, yellow was at 75% of maximum, and red at 90%.

The widget now considers the level your usage should be at, given your monthly limit and how much of the month is left. If you’re beyond this point, the indicator bar will be red. If you’re within a day of hitting this limit then the indicator bar is yellow.

Try it out… it makes a lot more sense when you see this in action. Any feedback on this is welcome!

(Also fixed a bug in the days countdown)

Download TPG Usage Widget (version 1.2, 88kb)

Update 27/07/08: Update 1.4 to fix a major bug

8 Responses to “Update: TPG Usage Widget”

  1. 3:30 » Blog Archive » TPG Usage Widget for OS X Says:

    […] 22/06/08: Update to improve the indicator values and fixed minor expiry days countdown […]

  2. Gerard Says:

    Thanks for the new version. A few minor changes and it’s really quite awesome now while still having a really simple interface.

    Cheers

    Gerard

  3. ethan Says:

    Thanks for the feedback Gerard… “really simple” is exactly what I was after. Glad it’s working for you 🙂

    I’m just not sure that the “yellow” section is big enough… any thoughts?

  4. Adam Says:

    I think yellow at 75% is good, but that red should be at 100%+ so that you know you’re over the limit. Sorry to harp on it from the other blog trail, but a timeline would really help to see where you are relative to the time elapsed/remaining in the billing period. Great to have something that works and is simple and stylish (the “other” one that doesn’t work is uuurrrgly).

  5. Adam Says:

    I don’t understand how the widget works. Currently I’m on a 18/7GB peak/offpeak plan. My current usage is 3.5GB peak & 2GB offpeak, with 22 days (out of 30) left before usage reset. The widget for peak usage is showing one yellow and two red lights (out of 13 total). It’s also showing 5 green lights for my offpeak usage. I don’t get it.

    3.5/18GB = 2.52 lights, so 3 lights makes sense. Pro rata I should be at 4.2GB used for the month, so why aren’t the lights green?

    2/7GB = 3.7 lights, so why are 5 lit? Pro rata I should be at 1.6GB used for the month, so why aren’t the lights red?

    I’d really like to understand how I’m supposed to read the lights. Sorry if I’m appearing a bit thick…

  6. ethan Says:

    Hey Adam,

    No… it’s not you that’s thick at all… it was a bug in this version. It should be cleared up now. Can you download the new one and let me know how you go?

  7. Adam Says:

    I didn’t manage to get ahead of my pro rata usage in the last month, so I didn’t see how the yellow and red lights worked, so as far as that goes it was working. Now it seems to have a problem in that it forgets my login settings every time I restart my computer. Not a huge problem – I just type it in again once per boot, but it didn’t used to forget… Is there a Prefs file I should throw out from the Library or something?

  8. Adam Says:

    OK, I’ve got a red light this month. I’m at 3.4GB out of 18GB, with 24 days to go in a 31 day billing period (my billing gets reset on the 25th of the month). I’ve got 2 green and 1 red light on. I’m not over the limit, so why is it red? Does the program know the length of the billing period, or just how many days are left? P.S. I binned the prefs file from the library and it seems to be remembering my settings now.

Leave a Reply