Simplify Media update, take 2
Earlier today we reported on an update to the media sharing tool from Simplify Media. It added some nice features, but it also installed a demo share on home machines that was not appreciated by many. It set off a mini-firestorm on the company blog, and we received plenty of negative comments as well.
Tonight, wasting no time, the folks at Simplify Media have pushed out another update for Macs, as well as Windows and Linux boxes. It defaults with the demo/test share turned off, but allows you to turn it on if you want to test to see if your system is working.
Paul Joyce of Simplify Media had some comments tonight on his blog:
Today I've been trading emails and comments with a few of you around a feature in Simplify 2.0 -- the Simplify Demo. The exchange has re-enforced one thing I already knew -- we have great, passionate users -- and one thing I know now -- I made a mistake in communicating this new capability.
Such candor is refreshing in a software company. This would be a minor issue, but the iPhone app that allowed users to have access to their large music collections from anywhere was a major hit at the App Store, and one of the most downloaded utilities, so a lot of people had a chance to be pretty angry about the installation of test content on their machine without permission.
Anyway, it's solved now, and it's a really positive outcome. I downloaded and tried the update, and indeed the test share is gone by default. A new version of the iPhone app will also be submitted this week. If all software developers were this responsive, it would be a better world.
Torches and pitchforks can now be stowed. A link to the new updates is on this page, about halfway down.
