Newest version (230 I think), does “see” the device but does not load device’s database. It says “searching…”, “halo not connected”.
When the program starts, it notifies that there is a new version and if I choose to skip version and stay with version 228 which “sees” the device’s database, and If later I check for updates it says “You have the latest update!”.
It can sometimes happen that a serial port is stuck. I see this on my Mac very occasionally and can usually fix it by either un- and replugging halo or plugging it into another USB port.
About the update issues: Which version are you running? 228 or 230?
Please see John’s post about reporting issues if you encounter a bug.