It is with considerable pleasure that I can now announce Flow 1.0.1’s immediate availability.

To grab 1.0.1, if you already have Flow, click “Check For Updates” from the “Flow” menu while it’s running. If you’re a new user, you can download it directly.

The first update to Flow addresses a myriad of issues — in some areas, it’s an order of magnitude better. Feel free to check out the release notes.

As always, I encourage you to continue providing feedback as many (existing, and potential) customers have done thus-far. I often brag about how great my customer-base is — you guys simply provide the most detailed, accurate, and thorough feedback I’ve ever seen. You’re awesome!

Just a quick note on the feedback front — to be absolutely clear, I want to point out that not all bug reports or feature requests will receive a response from Extendmac. I do personally read through each and every one of them, but unless a response is necessary, I usually just file the case as closed if it’s implemented or dismissed. On the other-hand, the average response-delay for technical support seems to be between 1 and 3 days — not optimal, but it’s the best I can do at this point.

Tomorrow I’ll begin working on 1.0.2 as I continue to make my way through your bug reports and feature requests. I hope the rate of development here reassures all of you who were concerned I’d up-and-go after 1.0.

Have a great day!,
Brian Amerige.

What an incredible last four days these have been! The exciting news of Flow’s release has been received positively by more blogs and news outlets than I could possibly list here. While the focus of this post isn’t to talk about the launch, I just wanted to briefly thank everybody who has supported Flow (and myself) through this whole process, once again. As I’ve said in an unhealthy number of e-mails, it means a lot to me.

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That being said, I want to talk a bit about the future, and mention the first bit of infrastructure Extendmac will be employing to help us get there.

While I’m incredibly proud of Flow 1.0, obviously there are bugs that must be (and will be) addressed, as well as features you’ve all made clear you want implemented. As I’ve made a point of saying in other corners of the internet, this is just the beginning of the true development cycle, not the end.

Unlike many other applications on OS X, testing fixes for an FTP app is significantly more difficult, as there are quite literally thousands of server-setups we’ve got to support. Obviously, at Extendmac, we don’t have thousands of servers to test on, so when I think I’ve addressed an issue, the best way to make sure it’s fixed, is to have the reporter test to make sure.

So instead of e-mailing internal revisions of Flow to bug-reporters, I’m going to do something a whole lot cooler. Introducing Flow Nightlies.

Nightlies are pre-release builds of Flow intended to ensure, first hand, that your bug has been addressed.

When you submit a bug report, and we think we’ve fixed it, you’ll receive a notification via e-mail requesting you verify the fix. Whether or not you do so is entirely up to you, but I get the feeling that many users will appreciate the ability to get their fix without waiting for a public, official, dot-release.

If you’ve got comments, thoughts, or suggestions, as usual, I’d love to hear them.

What makes Flow different from any other FTP client on OS X?

I’m glad you asked! Flow is different because of how it feels to use. It’s hard to quantify, but immediately obvious when you begin using it. Despite being an incredibly powerful application, Flow is always light on its feet. It’s fast, it’s gorgeous, and it makes sense.

But there’s more to Flow than being delightful to use. Flow is also very smart: Flow can QuickLook just about any file on your server, can automatically copy the URL to the file you just uploaded to your clipboard, and can edit your files too, complete with tabs, syntax coloring, code sense, and live-previewing.

Words only mean so much, though. Download Flow, and fall in love with the FTP client that makes you smile.

What about support? What about the future?

Included with each license is unlimited support to help you out when you need it. Even our beta testers have been surprised at how quickly and accurately we respond — I’m sure you will be too.

As for Flow’s future, you can bet on it being big. As I’ve mentioned previously, Flow 1.0 is truly just the beginning, and I can’t wait to get started on the exciting ideas that are in place to be implemented in future Flow 1.x releases.

Thank You

To those of you who’ve been watching since the beginning: thank you. The endurance of your enthusiasm and support is what keeps me going every single day. I couldn’t have done it without you!

To Flow’s Beta Testers: thank you. You guys, all 1700 of you, have been awesome. You’ve been invaluable. You’ve been perfect. I couldn’t have asked for a better group. Together, you helped shape the development of a hand-crafted piece of software I care about an awful lot. Your participation, activism, and enthusiasm have made it clear that Flow means an awful lot to you, too.

To my family, friends, and everyone in a 10 mile radius to my house and/or TwitterFeed: thank you. I can only imagine what it has been like to put up with me these past few months. Needless to say, it hasn’t been easy, but I appreciate it. I couldn’t have done it without you, either.

Flow’s development has been a long, long journey, but I couldn’t have asked for a better beginning to an exhilarating adventure.

Passionately, Excited, And Truly Yours,
Brian Amerige.

(P.S. - Thoughts? Comments? It’d make my day if you’d let me know by posting a comment!)

Tell your friends, family, and colleagues — the first Leopard-Only FTP client will be made available on Friday afternoon, for both download and purchase.

Good times ahead!,
Brian Amerige.

Once the decision is made, it will be final for the remainder of that major version. That is, if 1.0 includes support for Tiger, *ALL* 1.x releases will support Tiger. I think it’d be unethical to drop support for an operating system as a minor release.

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That being said, after opening up and seeing the incredible support from the community earlier this month, I think it’s super important that I get your opinion about this issue.

To help you best answer the question, I’ve outlined the benefits and deficits of being 10.5 only. I’ll give you fair warning though: while I tried to be as objective as possible, being 10.5 only makes me my job easier (and allows me to make a better product). I’m definitely bias.

Benefits of being a Leopard-only Application

• Flow will be able to take advantage (moreso post-1.0) of the latest Leopard technologies. This means less time spent on getting technicalities right, and more time spent on implementing really cool features.
• With 10.4 out of the picture, I can stop writing “dual code” in certain situations, which saves time and increases the rate of development.
• Better performance because Flow could take advantage of the latest APIs.
• An increase in support and issue resolution efficiency. Supporting two operating systems is understandably more difficult than supporting one. Dropping 10.4 support means I no longer need to fix 10.4 only bugs. Fair warning: As of now, there is only one outstanding 10.4-only bug. In the future, though, this may not be the case.

Deficits of being a Leopard-only Application

• If you’re a 10.4 user, you can’t use Flow. According to the latest statistics available, about 20% of the Mac user base is running on 10.5 right now. More interestingly, 83.1% of the current beta testers are running on 10.5 right now. This tells me that there is a high correlation between people who are interested in third party software and those who are interested in first party (Apple) software.
• If you’re a primary 10.5 user, but still have an old mac running 10.4, you can’t use Flow on your old mac. The practicality and applicability of this “deficit” is questionable at best. Honestly, I just thought it’d look unfair if I only listed one deficit

So, what do you think? Would you mind if Flow was 10.5-only? Why, or why not?

[Update: I posted my thoughts and conclusive action to the discussion as a comment. The short version: Yes, Flow will be Leopard-only!]

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Many of you reading have been following the maturation of Flow for almost one year now. If you haven’t been following for that long, here’s the synopsis: I released one small video of a head-to-head speed comparison of Flow and Transmit in around February of last year, and it received (what I consider) a whole lot of attention. People were really excited, not only for the speed, but for the interface, and the idea that there’d be a new kid on the FTP block — a new chance for someone to do things a little bit differently, and most importantly, a new branch of innovation to happen in the market. It was that last aspect — the idea that we could take an FTP client to places it had never been before — that excited me most about the whole ordeal. It’s the reason my whiteboard is never empty.

—

Unfortunately, I was a bit naive a year ago. Flow is (and was) the first piece of software I’ll actually be publicly distributing, and so I was definitely new to all of this — and as a result, I was vastly unaware of how long it took software to actually blossom into something I’d consider good enough for 1.0. If you’re not the type who makes software, I’ll just summarize this epiphany bluntly: Making software is hard. It’s not that programming is particularly difficult, but turning an idea into full-fledged product is hard work. It’s work I love, and that’s why I keep at it, but make no mistake about it — it’s tough.

I’m a stickler for quality, and at the same time, I really wanted to get 1.0 (what I refer to as the “solid foundation”) out the door and into your hands. And so I promised dates I missed by a long-shot, and since then my tactic has been to simply not reveal dates at all. The downside of this is that I’m leaving you guys in dark. I’m not a fan of that.

It’s for this I’d like to apologize. Everyday I feel pressure to move forward at faster rates, and that’s because I feel terrible for showing Flow off (or at least part of it) so early in the development cycle. As I mentioned, back then, I didn’t even know it was early in the development cycle, but what’s done is done. That being said, I’m more grateful than you can possibly imagine to those who have shown their support in the past year. I can safely say without exaggeration that your support is why I’ve kept working on Flow even when I’ve felt I was on the brink of losing it. Again, thank you. There’s a certain contradiction in this situation — I want to keep these supporters waiting as little as I can, and at the same time I want to provide the best quality I can.

So basically, this is a matter of time.

—

If you know me personally (or you’ve googled me), you probably know why time as a deterrent is so gosh-darn obnoxious for me. I’m a student — a high school student. I’ll be graduating in June of this year. While I’m in New York now, by September I’ll either be in California or Massachusetts, attending a university.

The trouble here isn’t, in fact, anything else but time. I’ve got the feedback I need. I’ve got the tools and resources and knowledge I need. What I don’t have is eight hours a day to work on the thing I wake up every morning thinking about. To say that sucks is a vast understatement. Hell, I’ll level with you. It blows.

Many of you will probably wonder why I’ve taken so long to bring up this fact. The reality is that I don’t think it’s something you, as a customer, should need to be concerned about. I still hold that belief. The quality of Flow is in no way dependent on the fact that I’m a student — the rate at which it’s developed, however, is.

—

While the above may have been a surprise to you, it may surprise you further to discover that I’m the only person working on Flow (at all). With the exception of the beautiful icons and website that Sebastiaan de With and Adam Betts designed (respectively) for me, literally everything else that’s been made has been done by me. From the custom authenticated beta-center download system, to this blog, to Flow itself, it’s been my blood, sweat, and tears.

And make no mistake, I loved every minute of it. And thus, for all intents and purposes, Flow is a one-man-show. Personally, I think that’s wonderful. There’s no communication overhead in any portion of the product, and that makes for a tighter delivery. Additionally, a big part of why I develop for Mac OS X is because this type of thing is actually possible with it’s strong development platform. You don’t find that anywhere else. (I’ve checked.)

However, unlike some other companies, this means I’m comparatively slow in terms of development and man-power.

—

To put it simply, I’m sharing this information with you because I think the next best thing to being able to develop Flow as fast as I’d like to is to let you know why I can’t. Rest assured, I’m devoting as much time as I possibly can to Flow (I wake at 6 AM and sleep at 2:30 - 3:00 AM), so by no means do I intend this entry to be an excuse; I simply want to share what’s happening inside the beast.

—

As I mentioned previously, one of the upsides to Flow being a one-man-show is that you get to talk directly with the guy who writes the code. So when I say your feedback counts…trust me, I mean it. Whether you’re an existing beta tester or you’re just watching from the outside, I’m interested in what you think. If you’d like to make my day, leave a comment and let me know exactly what that is.

Thanks for the continued support,

Brian Amerige.

That being said, it is a somewhat exciting announcement — well, if you’re the type of person to get excited about sexy Cocoa wrapper classes that eliminate the necessity of writing ugly carbon code. We sure are!

Briefly put, today we’re open-sourcing a class we use internally at Extendmac. EMKeychain makes working with OS X’s keychain a whole lot cleaner, shorter, and easier. So if you’re a developer who uses keychain, check it out, it might just make your day.

It certainly made ours!

Edit: Made a few updates to EMKeychain, now at v0.12.

A few days ago, I made a small landing page for extendmac.com — Because Extendmac plans to work on more than just Flow in the future, it made more sense for our home page to do more than just redirect to Flow. It should give notice to company branding, not just product branding. Following that change, I updated the Extendmac Blog design to reflect that. While everything I have written here so far has been related to Flow, in the future, this will not be the case. As such, it makes sense that the blog follow a similar design to the landing page, and not just that of one product. It’s still rough around the edges, but if you observe anything out of whack (or would like to share your opinion), leave a comment and I’ll try my best to tackle it.

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That aside, I thought it’d be nice to speak about how the expanded beta is going:

We’ve got roughly 2,000 active beta testers right now, and while that’s a fairly huge number of testers (especially for such a small company like us), I think it’s working out really well so far. We don’t believe in unit-testing as much as we do in real user-testing, and having such a huge pool of real people is the best way to make sure Flow is as mature as it can be for the 1.0 release.

Progress is steadily coming along, especially behind the scenes. Right now I’m rewriting the open-source SFTP implementation of ConnectionKit, Flow’s connection engine. To summarize, it’s being written with a much more solid, robust, and concurrent-friendly core. Once I finish up with this change, Flow’s SFTP support should be just as robust as FTP, and the others. Current Beta users can expect this updated-SFTP support in the upcoming Beta 4.

As of Beta 3, Flow optionally collects statistical information about your machine to help us better judge the market we’re working with. Of course, all the logged information is entirely anonymous, with no user-specific information being retained. Personally, I think the most important part of these statistics is the OS Version (Leopard or Tiger), because that will help us determine when we can drop Tiger support, and delve into the amazing new technologies in Leopard.

Any feedback, is, of course, welcome.

Thanks for being patient,
Brian Amerige.

Today, Extendmac, LLC. shipped the first beta of Flow to MacHeist/MacUpdate participants. As stated in the e-mail, Flow has matured tremendously over the past two months, and we hope the new testers’ activity will have an equal, if not more significant effect.

If you’re a MacHeist/MacUpdate promotion participant, you should have received an e-mail from Extendmac with instructions to download Flow. If you haven’t received your e-mail, or have another concern, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

It’s been rather quiet on the public front from Extendmac lately, but rest easy — that means it’s been everything but quiet behind the scenes!

For more than one reason, we decided to overhaul the Flow Preview page¹. We think this new layout makes better sense for the content, and also allows you to get a fuller scope of the application. Additionally, now that we don’t have to load up all that javascript to power the media-switcher, the page is also considerably smaller in size, allowing for acceptable load times. If you’ve got comments on this stuff, feel free to share — we are always listening.

While we’re at it, we may as well give an update on the private beta. Simply put, it’s going really really well. We’re getting tons of great feedback, comprehensive bug reports (which are, of course, promptly fixed), and insightful feature requests. We couldn’t be happier with the group we’ve selected.

In the past month or so we’ve received many questions from those of you who participated in the MacHeist/MacUpdate promotion. To repeat: after the private-beta is complete, Flow will be distributed to those participants. You will receive early access before the public beta once we feel we’re ready.

That’s about all we can share for now — as usual, we’d love to hear from you in the comments!

¹ : Yes, those screenshots of Flow are from Mac OS X Leopard. We will be Leopard ready on day one!