Editorial and Pythonista
Editorial 1.3.4 was just released, with support for modern iPhone screens but not iCloud Drive. Pythonista remains at version 3.2, last updated in 2017.
I’ve just released an update for Editorial on the App Store that has been sitting on Apple’s servers for a while. It’s not the update some of you may have been waiting for, but it addresses some pain points like iPhone X support etc.
[…] I’d honestly feel better making it free (it’s still $4.99), but I’m concerned that this would lead to an influx of new users that I wouldn’t be prepared to handle support-wise, and who would end up disappointed anyway.
I feel terrible stretching this out for so long, but it’s come to a point where I just have to live with my negligence, born out of anxiety, and at least don’t let it die a death it doesn’t deserve.
[…]
The reasons I’ve stretched this out for so long are mostly personal and have to do with my mental health and experiences I’ve made in the last couple of years (mostly last year). I’m truly sorry that I’ve neglected something that quite a few people actually liked…
It’s great to get an update, even if minor. Zorn’s work has been an inspiration, and I wish the best for his health and business.
This whole thing about Editorial also applies to Pythonista of course, with the difference that my income actually depends 100% on that app, so there are also purely selfish reasons that I don’t just put it on GitHub and let others deal with the mess, i.e. it pays the bills…
…I’m not proud of it, but it’s not easy to let go of something like this because it’s become a rarity in today’s App Store to generate meaningful income as one person, and I’m not sure if I’ll be able to recreate something like this in a few years or even now.
Aside from that, I still have love and a drawer full of ideas for the app...
I spent a ton of time on this upgrade screen transition and heart-shaped particles. Just marketing? Sure, but it would have brought Python(ista) to a lot of additional people while still paying my bills – but: Too afraid my app is actually a gimmick and people are happy w/ free.
Previously:
Update (2020-02-14): Ole Zorn:
I completely forgot to post the Editorial 1.3.4 release notes here. It should be clear that this is a maintenance release to keep the app alive for existing users, but this is not the future.
The second is that Pythonista is utterly unique in so many regards. It is an unstated masterpiece, and (at least in my view) pushed the envelope of what it is actually possible to do on an iPad beyond anything anyone else (even Apple) has done, so I really it needs to be future-proofed somehow.
[…]
Apple, in particular, should take note. Swift Playgrounds were cute to begin with, but none of my kids used them after the first couple of weeks because they are too limited to do anything remotely useful, and this pushes forward the notion that the platform itself is, if not borderline hostile to developers, at least fundamentally unsuited for programming in general, even at the most basic levels.
1 Comment RSS · Twitter
That's too bad, it sounds like Editorial is living on borrowed time. I've started to move off of it because of the lack of Files support and the 3 device limit on Dropbox. I love the Taskmator support.
I will miss the workflow directory, I used it to get ideas on what I could do with Editorial or to learn how to write Workflows.
Ole could put it up for $5 a year and make a killing.
