http://www.panic.com/goodies/ Why? ==== A Developer's Rant by Cabel Sasser, Panic Co-Founder DEVELOPING MACINTOSH As developers, there was never really any question. Sitting in a cafe and discussing our new company and business plan (really more of a business "napkin" at the time), we made the decision that our first product was going to be Macintosh only, and that was that. End of discussion, case closed. We then got terribly frightened and ran around trying to justify our decision, like a vegan giving into a little bite of Extra Tasty Crispy. We knew it was the right thing. We didn't know why it was the right thing. But we were excited about the right thing. To make a potentially blah-blah story short, it took us three months -- with no prior Macintosh development experience -- to make the first beta of Verso. (Ease of development.) We received over 1,000 downloads the first day we put up beta one. (Attention in the marketplace, not over-saturated.) Our beta-testers were first rate and suggested a lot of neat ideas (More attentive, eager users.) Of course, that didn't help us sell the program to any publishers (Tarn-sarnit.) But we've got another program coming out soon, and we think Mac people will be just as excited and responsive as they were with Verso. SUPPORTING MACINTOSH As a company, we're die hard Mac-heads. When we go to CompUSA (the world's brightest computer store) and the display Performas are demoing that exciting, Gouraud shaded, 3D-graphics filled multi-media application called "Sorry, a system error has occured", we gently coax the machine into something more exciting like Marathon 2. And crank the volume. If we overhear a platform-decision conversation, we're not afraid to butt in and "Appleappleapple" like we're talking in bizarre (but persuasive!) religious tongues. Yes, some of us even have Apple static stickers in the back of our cars, no matter how postively 1985 that may be. I did similar things when I had an Amiga, way back when having an Amiga was like having a Mac. And stepping back, I realize that I have to own and believe in my computer. My computer should give me something to fight for. My computer has to have a culture. OPPOSITE OF MACINTOSH I have a Wintel box and a Macintosh box on my desk. I built the Wintel box myself, the result of frequent trips to Fry's Electronics. I bought the (stylish, let me tell you) case and the motherboard and the disk drive and the SIMMs and the graphics card and the sound card and a few cases of Coke (and a toothbrush because it was right there by the cash register and I couldn't resist). I spent the next few days cursing like a drunken, legless French sailor as I struggled with the always-classic IRQ's and DMA's. And jumpers. And little tiny screws that caused my hands to bleed from hundreds of annoying microscopic cuts. And when I was done, I had a Pentium 100. Honestly, I enjoyed putting the machine together, and fighting with technical support, and downloading drivers. And honestly, I've enjoyed watching the machine gather dust and do nothing. Seriously, it just sits there. I install new apps, and it still sits there. I install games (and I return them) and it still sits there. I keep using my Macintosh, and relishing my Macintosh, and appreciating it even more. I've come to the conclusion that Windows and PC fanatics are suffering from the "Ewwww!" effect. Let me elaborate: remember in science class? Someone would invariably wind up making this god-awful, nasty concoction that utterly destroyed their sense of smell because they forgot to "woft" instead of sniff. And what would they do the second after they created pure stanky and singed the interior of their schnoz? "Hey, man, smell this!". And you'd smell it, wouldn't you? And you'd go "Ewwww!" and not smell again for a week. Didn't matter that you knew it stunk. You had to experience the stink for yourself. And the stink became a bond between you and the stinkee. You shared a common experience, like rambling war veterans, a common hell that you'd laugh about in 6th period, and write in the yearbook next to "Have a great summer!". Wintel users appear to have never grown out of the "Ewwww!"-bonding phase. Wintel users share this Windosian hell, and relate to each other through this hell. One Wintel fanatic friend of mine -- a consumate graphics professional -- refuses to purchase a Macintosh machine. Instead, he purchased a Sony "It's purple, okay?" Vaio, because he likes tinkering with his PC. He said he'd miss DOS and IRQ's and DMA's. It's his car, his piston and valve and whateverthehellelse is in a car. This is why Wintel fanatics love Wintel. Sadomasochism. ALWAYS MACINTOSH It's not to say that Panic, as a company, will shy away from making a Windows application. Hey, if it rakes in the big bucks, we'll do it! But we'll always be Macintosh first, and Macintosh at heart. The users are consistantly more supportive, intelligent, less likely to use ALL CAPS in beta reports, and excited about products. I mean, our next product is an FTP program, for gods sake. Not exactly pure applicationary sex, but because our product is the best FTP program the Macintosh has ever seen (hey, it's my job to plug) and takes a fresh approach, loads of people have expressed interest with little press. That's what we love, and that's why we're glad we went with our intuition. The Mac, truly, rules. Any developer that says otherwise has forgotten what it means to love computers. -- ---> Jarmo Lundgren Multimediasuunnittelija Kuulalaakeri Kenk�: 043-82-3390191
