What a major bummer. Sad to see one of the big web development stars on the Mac come to such abandon. Like many others, I tried Espresso, and didn't care for it. I don't need a site management program or anything like that. I've been handling huge web sites with nothing but an FTP program and a text editor for a decade. CSSEdit fit lovely into that role, and while it wasn't the best tool for making sure everything looked good in Windows (but really, what is on the Mac) and it hadn't been updated in ages, it's still been used by me to write thousands of lines of CSS over the years. Bah. Three stars for the memories. I'd stay using one operating system for years if I could; but I can't.
Also, just as a comment: it would be nice to have a version we can actually buy. App Store is just software rentals when you get down to the actual stipulations and rights you get from it. I'd like a version I can buy from you, archive on my personal server, and unlock with a serial number for the next 15 years no matter what happens to the App Store, or the software.
The main thing that separates MultiMarkdown from Markdown is that it has been optimised for writers, and the production of long documents which require such things as footnotes, tables, cross-references, glossaries, and bibliographies. There are a lot of great Markdown editors out there these days, but most of them are focussed on what Markdown is good at: web publishing. MultiMarkdown Composer, with its integrated table of contents feature, drop-dead simple table creation and editing (better, I dare say, than most heavy-weight implementations in Cocoa and most other word processors), and more will make for a nice semantic writing environment.
There are still some areas that could use improvement. Footnotes could be better. They could cross-link instead of requiring manual searching by the marker ID. They could also have a helper that generates an anchor ID, pastes it at the bottom of the document and lets you type, then easily return to where you put down the marker, like I developed a macro for in TextMate.
A few other little things would make it better, but rest assured this is a very solid 1.0 and for a limited time it's a steal at $8. One word of advice: make a demo. Fletcher might have my cash on the barrel without a flinch, but not everyone knows the integrity of his designs. A demo helps people make that decision, and with a solid piece of software like this there is nothing to fear in letting the usability shine for 15 days or so.
Hmm, looks interesting. No demo and App Store only, though. I'm not a big fan of the MAS model. I've got software---often small useful stuff like this---that ends up abandoned years later. I can still install it register it thanks to serial numbers and backed up copies of the download. If I had bought said utility on the MAS, I wouldn't be able to download it, and I couldn't transfer my rightfully purchased software from one computer to the next when I upgraded. So, yeah, if you don't give me a real sale rather than a rented version, I'm not interested. Sorry.
Yeah, I noticed the same thing. I finally found what appears to just be a larger version of a graphic that pops up when you click on it. No info. Ah well, it's too bad because it does look like an interesting idea. I just hope they read these and consider a more traditional reseller like Kagi or eSellerate. Plenty of good services out there for doing this easy.
These developers bought out SecretBook to develop this application, which is largely just a UI update. They tout such features as "sheets" as being modernised and improved. Further, they are refusing to support existing customers of SecretBook. My support request was very simple and probably would have taken a few minutes to address, but instead their response was simply: "We only help customers".
Any business that neglects a vital aspect (customer list) of what they have purchased is probably not safe to trust for other aspects of their business as well.
I wouldn't go anywhere near this company for any of their software.
Perfect if you do not have the wallet to support WriteRoom's cost. This is a text editor with a beautifully done old-school interface. Funny how these old methods still work so well. You can change every single function in this application without once reaching for the mouse.
I wish it jumped straight back into full screen when you Cmd-Tab back to it, that is the only major issue I had with it. I love fixed width fonts so that aspect is no problem for me.
I love how people keep posting that, because you can zoom the entire interface, you don't need a tool that only shows part of the screen magnified. Oi.
Universal Access zooming is not a developer tool. It *interpolates* which means it is worthless for getting pixel accurate views of your work. You cannot do any real work with it, because your development applications are zoomed as well (and probably ten miles to the left off-screen).
Anyway, this is a nice little tool. Does just what it needs to do. It could probably use a little refinement, but for the most part a good tool. If you don't like circles for some reason, there is a preference to use a rectangle.
Finally, it is free, further making the "just use Tiger's Zoom" people look even more dense.
[Version 1.3]
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+3
CSSEdit
Amberv reviewed on 26 Oct 2011
+3
MultiMarkdown Composer
+4
MultiMarkdown Composer
Amberv reviewed on 23 Oct 2011
There are still some areas that could use improvement. Footnotes could be better. They could cross-link instead of requiring manual searching by the marker ID. They could also have a helper that generates an anchor ID, pastes it at the bottom of the document and lets you type, then easily return to where you put down the marker, like I developed a macro for in TextMate.
A few other little things would make it better, but rest assured this is a very solid 1.0 and for a limited time it's a steal at $8. One word of advice: make a demo. Fletcher might have my cash on the barrel without a flinch, but not everyone knows the integrity of his designs. A demo helps people make that decision, and with a solid piece of software like this there is nothing to fear in letting the usability shine for 15 days or so.
WindowCommander
+33
MacVim
Amberv rated on 15 Mar 2011
[Version 7.3]
Yep
Amberv rated on 28 Dec 2010
[Version 2.1.0]
Scrivener
Amberv rated on 14 Dec 2010
[Version 2.0.2]
+4
SecretBox
These developers bought out SecretBook to develop this application, which is largely just a UI update. They tout such features as "sheets" as being modernised and improved. Further, they are refusing to support existing customers of SecretBook. My support request was very simple and probably would have taken a few minutes to address, but instead their response was simply: "We only help customers".
Any business that neglects a vital aspect (customer list) of what they have purchased is probably not safe to trust for other aspects of their business as well.
I wouldn't go anywhere near this company for any of their software.
+1
JDarkRoom
AmberV reviewed on 19 Jan 2009
I wish it jumped straight back into full screen when you Cmd-Tab back to it, that is the only major issue I had with it. I love fixed width fonts so that aspect is no problem for me.
Computer Glasses
AmberV reviewed on 02 Aug 2007
Universal Access zooming is not a developer tool. It *interpolates* which means it is worthless for getting pixel accurate views of your work. You cannot do any real work with it, because your development applications are zoomed as well (and probably ten miles to the left off-screen).
Anyway, this is a nice little tool. Does just what it needs to do. It could probably use a little refinement, but for the most part a good tool. If you don't like circles for some reason, there is a preference to use a rectangle.
Finally, it is free, further making the "just use Tiger's Zoom" people look even more dense.