51–60 of 93 posts
Those are all paid software and I bet the authors are making good lives from their software
Earlier quoted context omitted.
VIM ftw
Even though I think that VIM is the best text editor (please no Emacs vs VIM now) it is not a good editor for the casual user and doesn't blend into Mac OS X too well. Most of my coworkers in my old company didn't touch it with a ten foot pole - even though they were programmers. They used TextMate or Sublime or Coda. I tried to sell them on VIM but in the end the learning curve was too high and they settled for some…
You should qualify that with the demographics at your previous company. VIM (and Emacs) are perfectly good free editors for the Mac or any other platform.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
VIM ftw
Even though I think that VIM is the best text editor (please no Emacs vs VIM now) it is not a good editor for the casual user and doesn't blend into Mac OS X too well. Most of my coworkers in my old company didn't touch it with a ten foot pole - even though they were programmers. They used TextMate or Sublime or Coda. I tried to sell them on VIM but in the end the learning curve was too high and they settled for some…
Certainly still an option. There's a long history of folks like that, the market for e.g. Mac apps was if anything helped by the launch of the Mac app store (some devs more than others, long story, ask them for the specifics). I could give you two dozen examples from my social circles but most of them would not appreciate the publicity. That said: can I talk you out of it? I've done both, and from a business perspect…
What is definitely dead are Java Swing apps. I believe desktop BCC was a Swing app. Swing app installation and updates are a major pain. Native apps on an App Store dont suffer from these issues, and their ability to integrate with special OS features make them more compelling vs a web app. Not so with Swing.
Whereas, when you make your app a web app, the changes you make are instant (for better or worse) and you don't have to worry about supporting various versions.
I'm a lone developer hacking away on a couple of Mac apps. I also have a few iPhone apps, but these generate little to no income. The Mac apps are better. Most notable is InstaDesk ( http://www.instadesk-app.com ) which generates my main income and I can live off it thus living the dream (i.e. right now I'm sitting outside in a small cafe, enjoying the sun, watching people, and fixing a couple of bugs for the upcomin…
I've noticed, correct me if I'm wrong, but pirates are more abundant in Windows users than Mac users... I did a quick search and there's barely anything available for download on TPB for Mac (Just the usual big company name stuff), and tons for Windows. Seems Mac users have no problem paying for the software they use, considering that it's not overpriced crap that costs $60. But decently priced like $4.99
We are (at http://www.blumentals.net ). Windows apps, in fact, and not for big companies but regular people. I don't know what to tell you, the market is far from dead, maybe it will be dead someday, but right now things are fine. The hardest thing about making mass-distributed Windows apps is getting your good app to the customer through a pile of crappy ones.
I don't want to offend you or anything, but maybe a redesign of your site would give you some extra boost!
We are (at http://www.blumentals.net ). Windows apps, in fact, and not for big companies but regular people. I don't know what to tell you, the market is far from dead, maybe it will be dead someday, but right now things are fine. The hardest thing about making mass-distributed Windows apps is getting your good app to the customer through a pile of crappy ones.
Desktop apps still have a place in some B2B settings. For a year I worked for a company that developed software that managed fork lift battery inventories for warehouses. These were warehouses that had little to no internet connectivity on the floor and so having a desktop application was crucial. It was a niche market but highly profitable.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
What is definitely dead are Java Swing apps. I believe desktop BCC was a Swing app. Swing app installation and updates are a major pain. Native apps on an App Store dont suffer from these issues, and their ability to integrate with special OS features make them more compelling vs a web app. Not so with Swing.
Swing vs Native isn't the issue. The issue becomes users using old versions of your software and having to support them when bugs pop up, even though it may be fixed in the newer versions. It is hard to get everybody up to the latest version (even if the upgrades are free). It can eat up a lot of time doing support. Whereas, when you make your app a web app, the changes you make are instant (for better or worse) and…
Automatic patching helps with this, although it requires a little more work designing a patching system (you might not want everyone hitting your servers at once), and it doesn't affect everyone (some people's computers are offline or require a proxy to be set up for patching.)
Im make about $2k/mo off a Mac App