New in Basecamp: An easier way to add 10 milestones at a time

Basecamp has always had an "add 10 milestones at a time" feature, but the date picker wasn't the easiest to use. We had three pulldowns - one for year, one for month, and one for day. It worked, but it wasn't optimal.

Today we launched a nice improvement we think you'll like. Now just click a "Pick a date" field and up pops a calendar. Click the day and it's set. That's all there is too it. Faster, easier, more contextual, and more fun to use.

Thanks again for using Basecamp.

New in Basecamp: Add due dates to to-dos!

This one's been a long time coming. It's been our top request for quite a while. Now you can add due dates to to-do lists in Basecamp.

We spent a lot of time working on the experience, the interface, and flow, and the speed of this feature. Countless variations and hundreds of little tweaks later, we think we nailed it. We hope you'll agree.

Here's a video showing you how it all works:

This is phase one of this new feature. We have some additional features rolling out for to-dos shortly. The next major feature will be showing dated to-dos on your Dashboard and Overview calendars. Currently those calendars only show milestones due in the next 14 days. Soon they'll show to-dos as well. We'll also be revamping and modernizing drag-and-drop reordering. We think you'll really like that as well.

So thanks again for your patience while we developed the due date feature for to-dos. We took the time to get it right. We think you'll agree it was worth it.

Thanks again for using Basecamp!

Haystack: Improved city, state, country navigation

We just made it easier to move between cities, states, and countries when browsing Haystack. This is a subtle, but important improvement.

When you're in a state (California, in this case), you see a list of the top cities in that state below California. See the pink highlighted band in this screenshot:

When you're in a city (San Francisco, in this case), you see a list of the top cities and a link to the state under San Francisco. See the pink highlighted band in this screenshot:

And when you're in a country (the United Kingdom, in this case), you see a list of the top cities in that country below United Kingdom. See the pink highlighted band in this screenshot:

This really makes moving between cities, states, and countries a lot easier. You no longer have to go back to the main city, state, country listing page to navigate nearby locations.

Thanks again for using Haystack!

An update from Research In Motion re: Basecamp and Blackberry

We just received an update from Research In Motion regarding an issue with BlackBerries and Basecamp notifications.

Due to a recent change in the way BlackBerry devices handle (or rather ignore) certain "Reply-To" addresses, people are experiencing issues when replying to Basecamp notifications on a BlackBerry (i.e. the BlackBerry incorrectly sends the reply to "notifications@XXX.basecamphq.com").

Research In Motion has acknowledged the bug and they said they are working on a resolution:

Hello,

Thank you for contacting BlackBerry Customer Support in reference to the reply to address not working on the BlackBerry Smartphone.

This is a previously reported issue and will be fixed in a future release of the BlackBerry Internet Service. No estimated time of repair is provided.

We have narrowed this to an issue with messages in a UTF-8 format and it appears our system is stripping the reply to field.

Since no further information can be provided I will be resolving this case.

If you require further assistance, please feel free to contact us.

Thank you again for contacting us.

Sincerely,

Jason
BlackBerry Customer Support
Research In Motion Limited
Tel:
NA Toll Free: 1-877-255-2377
UK Toll Free: 0808 100 7466
Europe: +44 1753 558400
Worldwide: +1-519-888-6181
Email: help@blackberry.com
Web: www.blackberry.com

We wish we had better news, but since the issue is on Blackberry's end there's nothing more we can do at this time. We'll post any updates we receive and follow-up with them to make sure they remain aware of the issue. Sorry to everyone affected — we hope this is resolved soon.

New in Highrise: More storage, same price

Good news: We've just added more file storage to all paying Highrise accounts — at no additional charge.

• Max accounts are upgraded to 75 GB (was 50 GB)
• Premium accounts are upgraded to 30 GB (was 20 GB)
• Plus accounts are upgraded to 15 GB (was 10 GB)
• Basic accounts are upgraded to 5 GB (was 3 GB)
• Solo accounts are upgraded to 5 GB (was 3 GB)
• Personal accounts are upgraded to 2 GB (was 1 GB)

We hope this additional storage helps those who are already near the limit, and encourages others to attach even more files to their contacts without worrying as much about hitting their limit.

Thanks again for using Highrise!

Now all Highrise accounts include SSL security

As of today, all Highrise plans — including the free plan — include SSL secure encryption (what's SSL?). Prior to this update only Solo, Plus, Premium, and Max plans included SSL.

To turn SSL on for your account, click the Settings link at the top of the screen and scroll down to the SSL section.

We hope you enjoy this added level of data security. Thanks again for using Highrise!

New in Basecamp: More storage, same price

Good news: We've just added more file storage to the Max, Premium, Plus, and Basic Basecamp accounts — at no additional charge.

• Max accounts are upgraded to 75 GB (was 50 GB)
• Premium accounts are upgraded to 30 GB (was 20 GB)
• Plus accounts are upgraded to 15 GB (was 10 GB)
• Basic accounts are upgraded to 5 GB (was 3 GB)

We hope this additional storage helps those who are already near the limit, and encourages others to share even more files without worrying as much about hitting their limit.

Thanks again for using Basecamp!

New in Highrise: Quickly file a note or email under a case or deal

Today we launched a new Highrise feature that makes it a lot faster and easier to file a note or email under a case or deal. This new feature will save you clicks and time — especially when filing a lot of notes/emails one after another. We think you're really going to love it. Thanks again for using Highrise!

Here's a quick video showing you how it works.

Good citizen update: Now all Basecamp plans include SSL security

Last night we rolled out an update that may not make short-term financial sense for us, but it's the right thing to do. Now all Basecamp plans — including the free plan — include SSL secure encryption (what's SSL?). Prior to this update only Plus-and-higher plans included SSL.

How to enable SSL

Existing customers on Basic, Personal, and Free accounts can turn on SSL by clicking on the "Settings" tab on the Dashboard and scrolling down to the "SSL 128-bit encryption" section. SSL will be off by default for you. If you choose to turn it on just click the "On" button. Note: SSL is a bit slower than non-SSL so if you value speed over security you are free to keep it off. It's your call.

A new position

SSL was initially positioned as an upgrade driver to higher plans. And while we don't know what percentage of people considered SSL a key reason for upgrading, we believe everyone is entitled the best security we can offer. There shouldn't be first class or second class customers when it comes to security. It doesn't matter if Customer A is paying us $149 and Customer B is not paying us at all — they are all customers and their data is equally important.

Step one

This is the first step in our renewed focus on being a better corporate citizen. We plan on rolling out similar SSL upgrades across our entire product line (Highrise, Backpack, and Campfire). We're also examining additional good citizen initiatives beyond security. Profit will be considered (we are a business, after all), but it won't always come first.

We hope you enjoy the added security and thanks again for being our customer.

-The crew at 37signals

New in Highrise: Twitter integration

Today we're excited to release basic Twitter integration in Highrise.

Highrise is the best way to keep track of who you talked to, what was said, and what to do next. Twitter integration allows you to have an even better view of what's on a person's mind, what they're saying right now, and what their current interests are.

This is especially handy if you check a person's Highrise page before contacting them again. Now you can check your previous communications history as well as what they are tweeting right now. Tweets are great conversation starters that show you're paying attention to what's going on in their world.

Here's a video to show you how easy it is to add Twitter info for a contact:

We really hope you like this feature! Thanks again for using Highrise!

(Be sure to follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/37signals)