Scotty of the Mac Developer Network recently invited me to be a guest on his wonderful interview podcast, Developer Lives. It was a lot of fun and I was surprised by some of the memories I dug up in the process. If you’re interested in learning a bit more about my background and how I came to be a Mac developer who runs his own business, check it out!

While we’re talking of the Mac Developer Network, I would like to remind readers of Scotty’s upcoming NSConference, taking place next month in Hatfield, UK. The lineup of speakers looks awesome, and I’m sure it will be a lot of fun for all who can make it.

Brent Simmons makes some great points in his essay on the role of zealots in the software industry. I especially relate to his observation that zeal, or the mere impression of it, can repel somebody from what might otherwise be an attractive technology.

In particular, Brent confesses that before he could even try the popular git source control management tool, he had to overcome his resistance to joining rank with some of the cult-like followers of Linus Torvalds, the famous developer of git who also created the world-changing Linux operating system.

After giving git a fair shot, Brent decided it was not for him. What eventually got to him was the usability, or lack thereof, of the system. The pesky little details really added up and ultimately made him feel that the tool was costing him more effort than it was saving.

Sounds like a Mac user to me.

Zealots are useful to society because of and in spite of their tunnel vision. When you find somebody who believes so strongly in something that they need to shout it from the rooftops, you can be damned sure something’s about to get done. The problem is that even if you don’t agree with what they’re shouting, you’ll have to stomach their success, unless you care enough to stop them.

From the Oxford English Dictionary definition of “zealot”:

One who pursues his object with passionate ardour; usually in disparaging sense, one who is carried away by excess of zeal; an immoderate partisan, a fanatical enthusiast.

It sort of reads like those contrived job interview responses to “what is your greatest weakness?” That is, a zealot is a deplorable person who you would very much like to have on your side.

We’ve all benefited from zealots who were on our side, and all suffered from those who were not. The famous zealotry of Steve Jobs, which Brent also alludes to, is at least partly responsible for the iPhones, iPods, and Macs that many of us love so dearly.

As for git itself, I’m inclined to agree with Brent. The technical advantages of this tool are because the people who pursued it did so with a great zeal for things that mattered to them. In my opinion, usability and a consistent interface were not among those things.

Now it’s up to somebody with a dissimilar zeal for source control to show us how it’s done. If git is the metaphorical Xerox STAR, how will you turn it into a Mac?

Many of you have been waiting patiently for MarsEdit 2.3, featuring support for Tumblr. Today, I’m happy to release a public beta with these updates. Please feel free to download and give it a try! I would also value your feedback on what I’ve done so far.

Click Here To Download MarsEdit 2.3 Public Beta

Special note for current MarsEdit users: It’s a good idea to make a backup of your current MarsEdit Application Support folder. You’ll find it in your home directory at:

[Home] -> Library -> Application Support -> MarsEdit

For this initial Tumblr support, I have only endeavored to support the Text, Quote, Photo, Link, and Chat post types. Audio and video are on the list for a future enhancement.

While the emphasis of this release is on Tumblr, there are a few goodies that will benefit those of you who are using MarsEdit on other blog systems as well:

• Opening the media manager is now much faster with lots of photos
• Improved usability and design of the Technorati Tags editor
• Improved weblog Favicon detection

Tumblr Caveats

I think there is enough here to get people excited about using MarsEdit for Tumblr, and hopefully you won’t run in to many pitfalls. But there are a few things that I already know are working less than perfectly.

• Autodetection of weblog settings fails if you host on a custom domain name. To work around this, give MarsEdit your tumblr-based URL, e.g. “http://marsedit.tumblr.com/”. I am working with the Tumblr folks to see if we can facilitate a way for MarsEdit to autodetect settings from a custom domain name.
• Fixed in 2.3b15: Post options such as selecting between Markdown and HTML , and setting whether a post is public or private, are not yet supported. I hope to support these in an update sometime after 2.3 ships.
• Fixed in 2.3b15: Only the first tumblelog for an account can be edited with MarsEdit. The Tumblr API has come a long way in recent months, but it is missing the capacity to specify a particular blog to edit when submitting or editing a post.

Have Fun And Keep In Touch

I hope you’ll give this new release of MarsEdit a try, and take the time to send me your feedback if you’ve got it. I’m not aiming for perfection with 2.3, but usable and lovable would be a good start. I appreciate your help in getting us there!

A little more than two years ago, Brent Simmons came to me with an intriguing proposition. Would I be willing to talk with NewsGator about the possibility of taking over MarsEdit, the desktop blog editing software Brent had developed as an adjunct to his RSS feed reader, NetNewsWire.

My answer was about as close to “hell, yes!” as one can get in a business context without appearing completely cavalier and freewheeling. I got in touch with the folks at NewsGator, who were as forthcoming and friendly as anybody could hope for. Within a few short weeks we had ironed out a deal and agreed that MarsEdit would become a property of Red Sweater Software.

We announced the deal two years ago today. Just looking back to the screenshot of MarsEdit from that announcement reminds me of how much things have changed since then:

• Added Flickr integration.
• Overhauled the post editor and main window UI.
• Enhanced markup macros for extremely powerful editing.
• Improved the speed and accuracy of the HTML preview.
• Support for saving drafts on blog server.
• Support for systems based on new AtomPub technology.
• Support for adding categories directly from MarsEdit.

I’m currently working on a bunch of new stuff. MarsEdit 2.3 is coming soon, and includes the previously promised support for Tumblr, which I know many folks are looking forward to. In my not so humble opinion, the Tumblr support is turning out quite well.

I tend not to share specifics of my future plans, because things are always in flux and subject to change. But I can assure you I will not be resting on my laurels. Lots of awesome features are high on my list. 2009 will be an exciting year for MarsEdit, if an exhausting one for me. I hope you’ll continue to check in on our progress as we find our way into the future.