MacBreakZ is a sophisticated Personal Ergonomic Assistant designed to promote healthy and productive computer use.
4th August 2022
The new version makes it easier to end a rest break.
12th July 2022
The new version now locks the entire screen(s) rather than just putting a transparent floating window on top of existing windows.
This was a long time coming and will be especially beneficial to those who find it hard to walk away from their Macs.
I do realize, however, that it is a big change for long term users and not everybody will be comfortable with this change. That's why you can still download the old version with the floating window from the product's download page.
I urge everyone to give the new feature a proper go, but I might do the additional work to make this optional in the future.
30th January 2021
This release contains an interim fix for a problem affecting some users.
Adding Apple Silicon support forced us to update the keyboard shortcuts framework to a newer version and while this works well for most customers, we have had some reports of the program blocking the 'b' key in other programs.. this version removes the default Command-Control-B shortcut, so you will need to re-define it in the preferences if you are using it.
We are working on an in-house replacement for the third party framework, which should be finished in the next few weeks and we will ship a new version as soon as this is ready.
10th February 2021
Late last year, making MacBreakZ 5 run natively on the new Apple Silicon M1 Macs meant that we had to update the third party keyboard shortcuts framework that we are using to much more recent version and that was causing trouble for some users.
Development of our own framework, over which we have more control, is now finished and this version is the first of our tools to adopt it.
We have also used this opportunity to update the code base and solve some minor bugs introduced in the M1 and Big Sur migrations.
30th January 2021
The new version fixes another keyboard shortcut issue.
28th December 2020
The new version fixes a keyboard shortcut issue.
4th December 2020
This release fixes a number of minor bugs in the previous release.
28th October 2020
This release fixes another bug in yesterday's native Apple Silicon and Big Sur compatibility update.
28th October 2020
This release fixes a small bug in yesterday's native Apple Silicon and Big Sur compatibility update.
27th October 2020
This release brings native Apple Silicon support and Big Sur compatibility.
19th August 2020
The new version allows the informal break detection sound to be muted.
6th July 2020
The new version fixes a problem with the Setup Assistant when running in Dark Mode.
25th October 2019
The new release adds compatibility with macOS 10.15 Catalina.
25th September 2018
The new release adds compatibility for macOS 10.14 Mojave.
5th July 2017
This release includes improvements to the auto-update feature.
8th March 2017
The new version resolves a problem with dark mode on macOS 10.12 Sierra.
8th December 2016
This new release fixes backwards compatibility with macOS 10.10, which was broken in previous release. Sorry!
30th November 2016
This new release improves the status bar countdown.
24th May 2016
This new release adds new and updated ergonomic tips.
22nd March 2016
This release fixes a minor bug in the microbreaks feature.
17th February 2016
This release improves the mailing list sign-up experience.
2nd February 2016
This release fixes a software update vulnerability in the Sparkle framework that was exposed on the 29th of January.
17th November 2015
The new version adjusts the default volume of the sound notifications.
3rd November 2015
This new version fixes a number of problems on Mac OS X 10.11 El Captian
23rd September 2015
Minor bug fixes.
29th July 2015
This new version further improves the installation experience.
18th May 2015
This new version fixes a bug that affected users who had previously configured MacBreakZ to use the Growl notification system instead of the built-in notification engine.
11th March 2015
The new version features improved startup behaviour.
13th January 2015
This is the first Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite-only version of MacBreakZ.
This new version:
28th November 2014
MacBreakZ is leaving the Mac App Store, so that we can concentrate on developing the product rather than on satisfying ever more stringent sandboxing requirements.
11th November 2014
MacBreakZ is leaving the Mac App Store, so that we can concentrate on developing the product rather than on satisfying ever more stringent sandboxing requirements.
This latest release fixes a drawing bug and is the last release that will be 10.8 compatible.
20th May 2014
The latest version fixes a minor preferences bug.
18th March 2014
The latest version adopts the new ARC memory architecture.
16th January 2014
The latest version further adopts Mavericks energy savings features.
6th November 2013
The latest version adds global keyboard shortcut improvements.
24th September 2013
The latest version adds support for starting, ending and delaying breaks via global keyboard shortcuts.
30th July 2013
This release makes it easy to bring the application to the front by clicking on its menu bar icon.
18th June 2013
This release makes it easier to join our new opt-in mailing list.
14th September 2012
The new release fixes a startup problem due to framework problems. Sorry about that!
11th September 2012
The new release adds full support for high-resolution Retina graphics.
9th May 2012
The new version adopts Developer ID signing in preparation for Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion.
6th February 2012
The new version fixes a minor problem affecting hot key behaviour.
5th October 2011
The new version adds new menu bar item display options.
11th August 2011
This latest release adds support for Growl notifications.
8th June 2011
This version fixes a memory utilisation problem.
25th May 2011
This is the first major release of MacBreakZ for a while and concentrates on updating the look & feel and on bringing the tool up to date with the latest technologies.
MacBreakZ 5 requires Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard or later.
22nd April 2009
A direct link to our brand-new support forums has been added to the "Help" menu.
19th January 2009
The new release fixes two minor bugs:
29th October 2008
This fixes a display bug due to a change of behavior (bug?) in WebKit that caused the stretching instructions to be displayed in tiny 9 pixel text!?
28th October 2008
The new release adds improved menu item feedback.
30th September 2008
This new release focuses on better support for stylus and tablet user input devices.
14th July 2008
This is a minor bug fix correcting a spelling mistake in the stretch instructions.
29th April 2008
The latest release includes complete a complete Apple Help Book for the program.
23rd January 2008
The new version allows the voice volume to be adjusted from within the MacBreakZ preferences.
12th December 2007
The new version:
23rd October 2007
Delivers Leopard compatibility and makes some minor corrections.
3rd October 2007
The new version addresses a typical situation that everybody runs into when using a break timer: Sometimes you want to be sure not to be interrupted for a while.
Whether you're giving a presentation, showing your boss the latest figures or you simply positively need to get on with it, it would be great if you could disable the program for just a little while.
The new release allows you to disable the program for:
As soon as you're done, MacBreakZ will unobtrusively re-activate itself.
4th September 2007
The new version allows you to switch off the "Clock keeps running" and "Clock runs backwards" features of the activity monitor.
These features were designed to minimize the number of breaks by ensuring that breaks only occur after prolonged typing or mousing. This "rewards" you when you use your input devices sparingly (a good idea!) by forcing fewer breaks on you. In this manner as long as you work safely, you may never get interrupted by a forced break.
Postural problems, headaches and eye-strain prevention, however, are more tightly linked to the amount of time you spend in front of the computer than your activity level. Switching off the "clock runs backwards" feature can make you benefit from more frequent and more regular stretch breaks.
11th July 2007
Apple's DVD Player application simulates user activity during playback to prevent the screen saver from activating.
This "fake" user activity is now ignored by MacBreakZ, making it safer to watch DVD's while running it.
28th March 2007
The new version adds the ability to add your own stretches to the program.
18th February 2007
This minor update significantly reduces CPU utilization.
31st January 2007
The new version adds 10 additional stretches, as well as some minor bug fixes and improvements.
20th December 2006
New features:
28th November 2006
The first full release of version 4.
Changes from beta 3:
19th October 2006
New Features:
Improvements & Fixes
4th October 2006
The new version add a new user interface mode that allows the menu bar and the dock icon to be hidden for more discrete operation.
The volume of the built-in sounds has been reduced, microbreaks are now more configurable, the defaults have been improved. The new release also contains a number of other refinements as well as some minor bug fixes.