On a “recent Core Intuition”:www.coreint.org/2011/03/e… Daniel and I talked about version numbers and the message you send by going to 2.0 or 3.0. The version is as much about marketing as it is about technically tracking the release.
I can think of no better example of this than “Acorn 3”:flyingmeat.com/acorn/. The app started simply enough — first as just a new FlySketch, then as a simple image editor, then becoming more advanced with each iteration — but it has really hit its stride with 3.0. The landmark feature, layer styles, alone warrants the bump to 3.0.
Combine with the overall maturity of the app and you get a blockbuster release. Acorn made the top grossing list and was outselling all other non-Apple software. My Twitter stream lit up with good things about the app.
The version number is a part of that. This isn’t a 2.5. The 3.0 is saying: this is big news, and anyone who has maybe heard of Acorn but never tried it needs to give this version a shot.
I’m particularly happy for Gus because he’s earned this success over years. From the archives in 2005, “Gus’s post on being an indie”:gusmueller.com/blog/arch…
"Just plan, set realistic goals, meet those goals, diversify, save up, add four cups of patience, and have fun. And most importantly- work your ass off. It's not difficult, it's just not easy. It takes time and patience and hard work."
One of the first great blog posts about working for yourself writing Mac software.
