|
A few weeks back, on the heels of the Mac OS X beta release I sat down with Wade Cosgrove, co-author of clipEdit and Dock Manager, to have a little chat. Read along as I pick the brain of one of the co-founders of Everyday Software.
Let's begin by giving the readers a brief introduction about Wade Cosgrove.
I'm 22 years old, and I was born on June 10, 1978, in Cherokee, IA. I have a twin brother, Will—he's the other half of Everyday Software (he'd like to think he's the better half, but I disagree :). I moved to Orange City, IA, when I was in 3rd grade. After I graduated, I went to college at Iowa State University in Ames, IA. I studied computer science as well as graphic design (not concurrently). I just started working full-time for CE Software, Inc., based out of Des Moines, Iowa.
Since you are only 22 years old , I think I could safely say you have probably grown up using computers. I am sure readers would find it interesting to know what exactly inspired you to concentrate your career in computers.
I’ve always been interested in electronics, and I like to tinker with things. You know, take something apart just to see how it works and then see if you can put it back together without any extra pieces when you’re done. This was the case when I got my first computer, a Performa 6360 (I was 17). Right after I got it, I started playing with it and seeing how everything worked. It snowballed from there, until I got to the point of wanting to know how software worked. Thus I started programming. Programming to me is an art form. It takes patience, extreme attention to detail, and is always progressing. I enjoy seeing my ideas turn from sketches on a piece of paper to a working program—there’s nothing quite like it. Every program forces you to overcome new challenges, which forces you to learn more and refine your techniques.
Ah! The parts left over from tinkering—I can relate to that. What I do find surprising, however, is that you have only been using a Mac for roughly five years. What was it that lead you into the Mac platform then? Your graphics degree?
For the record, I was only in graphic design for a year, and no, it wasn’t the design aspect that got me interested in Macs. What really started me on the Mac platform was my high school. My school had a lab full of 5200’s which were used in a variety of classes. I ended up taking all the computer classes (computer applications & intro to programming) my HS offered and decided a Mac was the machine I wanted.
Interesting, I would have thought it was graphics. Still it is great you’ve had that variety of computer experiences. Unfortunately for me, computers were several years off when I graduated high school. I probably would have headed into computers in college myself. Were you torn between the arts and the science of computers?
Yeah, this was kind of a dilemma for me, I really enjoy the arts, but I’m also good at math and science. When I entered college, I thought computer science would be great. After a few years of computer science, I realized that I wasn’t having fun with it so I decided to switch to graphic design. I had always liked playing in Photoshop and designing web sites so I thought graphic design was something I wanted to try.
My computer science education consisted of a couple of basic programming classes and a whole lot of math and science. When I wrote Dock Manager, I was still in computer science, but we hadn’t learned anything even remotely close to the code that I was writing for it. I enjoy learning on my own; in fact, basically all the programming and computer skills I know are self-taught. Once I wrote Dock Manager, I knew that programming was something I enjoyed doing. I just got side tracked with the whole graphic design thing.
In a way it sounds like the students I have in college, where they question why they need math and English when their degree is in something “unconnected.” Wouldn’t you agree, though, that the computer classes you did take added to your capabilities?
That’s an interesting question. It’s rather hard to decide. The only thing that I really learned in those classes was how to use and create a “class” when programming. The computer classes weren’t very helpful in actually describing what a "class" was in a broad sense. It wasn’t until I started programming with REALbasic that everything started to make sense. The classes may have helped my problem-solving skills a little, but they didn’t help me in a programming sense. As I said, the computer science program at ISU wasn’t the best at the time. They have since revamped the classes that I had taken, and they’re supposedly much better.
The one thing that turns people onto Everyday Software, in my opinion, is the usefulness of it. I doubt any software developer decides to make software that is not useful. What I am referring to, however, is your software takes two elements of the Mac—clippings and the Application Dock—and makes them even more functional. Common sense functionality, in fact. What drew you to these two programs?
Dock Manager was a program that I decided to write after I tried modifying my application dock using “a competing” program. The program didn’t work how I thought it should, and it wasn’t very Mac-like. I thought I could make something better that would allow you to access all of the hidden functionality of the application switcher. So I set out to create Dock Manager.
After I finished Dock Manager, as I was trying to think of another program I could write, one of my friends recommended writing a program that allowed you to modify text clippings. It sounded like a good idea to me so I started work on clipEdit.
Everyday Software has done an excellent job with those programs too. Now we should move into the area of Mac OS X. It is, of course, one of the hottest topics in the Apple community currently. With the release of the beta a couple of weeks ago, the most frequently asked question is “Will this program or this application work? While you are at it—if you do not mind— what is Everyday Software’s programming software of choice? I will have a seat now and let you answer these questions for the readers.
Currently, we use REALbasic primarily, but we’ve also written some programs using CodeWarrior. Starting with our next project, we are going to be moving over to Apple’s Cocoa development environment. We will be Carbonizing some of our current applications using REALbasic 3.0, but once we get that done, we plan on doing very little future work in REALbasic or Carbon.
REALbasic is a great program—it introduced me to a whole new world of programming—but it becomes limiting when you want to get into more advanced programming. Bookit is a prime example of this. We had a clear vision of how we wanted Bookit to operate, but we simply couldn’t implement the functionality within REALbasic.
We decided to go to Cocoa over Carbon for numerous reasons. The biggest reason is that Mac OS X is the future. There are no “if, and’s, or but’s” about it, Mac OS X is going to be a great operating system. With that being said, we want native support under OS X, and that means Cocoa. Sure Carbon will work, but why would you want to make life more difficult than it already is? Cocoa has many features that are built-in “freebees” that the NeXT community has enjoyed for years. The Cocoa development tools make programming a breeze compared to Carbon.
We will probably lose some customers with our rapid transition to Mac OS X, but we feel it’s the best move. Our user base has primarily been the upper-level Mac users who expect the best programs with the latest technologies. This gives us the opportunity to create new applications to suit their needs under Mac OS X.
It appears you have a pretty good grasp on the direction you want to take Everyday Software. I think a lot of programmers are toying with the direction they want to go, especially when it concerns the Cocoa and Carbon aspect of the future Mac OS X system. What about you personally? Is the future planned as well for your career?
The future is a hard thing for me to try to predict right now. I wish I had a crystal ball so I could peek in and check things out myself. ;) With my new job at CE Software, Inc., I will be working on some of the best software on the Mac platform. I would like to see future projects I work on become the best software available for Mac OS X. Right now my main focus is the work I do for CE. However, that doesn’t mean that Everyday Software will fall by the wayside. We (Everyday Software) are currently beginning a new project for OS X and hope to have it done before the end of the year.
One of the most interesting things about computers is they provide a wonderful learning experience—by using them on their own or by connecting to the Web. Hardly a day goes by that I have not acquired some knowledge by using a computer. What is the most important thing you have learned or gained because of computers?
That Microsoft writes bad code.... :) Just kidding, I couldn’t help myself. Seriously, the most valuable thing I’ve gained would be the knowledge that I can do things my way and be successful. That may sound a little strange at first so I’ll try to explain. When I entered college, I really wanted to work with computers—Mac programming was what I wanted to do. Well, after a few years of bureaucratic BS, I wasn’t sure if programming was for me. When I got out of computer science, I realized I really enjoyed programming on “my terms.” I continued to work on software for Everyday, and things were great. However, there was the problem of school and what I was going to do. Then this past summer, CE Software contacted me regarding a software engineering job they had available—the rest is history. Now I’ve got a great job working on Mac software, which is exactly what I wanted to do in the first place.
A little levity is fine with me, Wade! If you read any of the news groups concerning the new Mac OS X, you are either completely turned off or turned on to trying it. What is your take on the approach Apple has taken with Mac OS X beta? Can you tie that in with how this is helping or hurting Everyday Software as a smaller developer company.
So far Apple has done a nice job with OS X. They have made it available for power users that would like to try it out, and they’ve also made it clear that you shouldn’t use it if you’re “Joe user.” I also believe Apple has done the right thing by refining the UI of the Mac OS. I’m not talking about Aqua, but rather the removal of the Apple menu and Applications menu. (You know, the things everyone seems to be complaining about for no good reason.) There are still a few holes in the OS, but in time they should be filled by Apple or third-party developers like myself.
Programming-wise, OS X is a great compromise. If developers want to update their existing programs, they can simply Carbonize their apps; but if they’d like to create an all-new OS X app, they have the awesome Cocoa API to work with. The whole idea of Carbonizing an app is amazing—this is a great move by Apple which is advantageous to all developers. However, the huge advantages will come from the Cocoa framework. This API allows smaller companies to develop professional-quality programs in a fraction of the time it would take to write the same app under Carbon. This means smaller companies can create programs that will compete with programs from larger companies like Adobe or Microsoft. Ultimately, the consumer running Mac OS X wins out because more competition means better software, and that’s the goal of any software developer.
Wade, I thank you for your time and doing this interview. I wish Everyday Software the very best in the future.
You’re welcome. It’s always nice to be recognized for our efforts in the Mac community. Thanks to ResExcellence for giving shareware developers a chance to tell their stories.
Thanks to Donna Shadovitz for her help in preparing this interview.
|
