Delicious Monster
Latest
Dev Interview: Wil Shipley, Delicious Monster
TUAW and MacTech are once again teaming up to interview developers surrounding Apple's announcements at WWDC. Hear what they have to say. Introduction We'd like to welcome our guest, Wil Shipley, Chief Monster at Delicious Monster. Delicious Monster develops products for Mac, iOS, and Wil took some time to tell us about WWDC and how it impacts the company. What were you most excited about hearing in Apple's recent announcements? iCloud Drive is something I want to use all the time. I like the improvements in Mail and Safari a lot, and I appreciate that they're concentrating on making those apps solid instead of doing crazy new stuff and letting their old apps rot. Continuity is a technology I've wished for every time I go to a website on my Mac. I end up texting a lot of stuff to myself, this is SO much nicer. And we used to have caller ID and dialing our phones from our Macs back in 2004 with iSync and our Moto RAZRs, it's nice to see it's finally back with the iPhone. Swift seems like it could be really fun, but I'm a bit more guarded about that. New languages are hard to get right, and I've been using Objective-C for 25 years now. What does your company do? Delicious Monster sell Delicious Library, which lets users catalog all their books, DVDs, music, hardware, software, and other collectibles on their Macs. What is the coolest thing you can tell us about what you do? We pioneered the "shelf" interface that iBooks uses and invented the videocamera-based barcode scanner which is now industry standard. Did Apple make any announcements that will impact your direction? Their HomeKit ties in directly with work I'm doing on my next, unannounced product. I hope like heck it's supported on the Mac and iOS! I'm also incredibly glad to see SceneKit on iOS. I lobbied hard for this, since both Delicious Library and my new app use it extensively. I may be able to use the new iCloud features to publish users' libraries from Delicious Library even more easily, but I can't make any promises until I've seen what it does. What's coming from you and your team? I'm working on my first all-new product in 10 years. I haven't announced what it does yet, but it'll be amazing if I pull it off. Anything more you can tell us? I'm excited by the changes in OS X and iOS. I think Apple has taken a close look at the apps we use every day, and trying to make them incrementally better for us. I spend 90% of my time in Mail, Preview, Safari, Calendar, and Xcode, and so it's great to see those get lots of love, instead of them announcing some new way for me to play drums. Find out more For more information on Delicious Monster, see http://delicious-monster.com This developer interview was put together by the staff of TUAW and MacTech Magazine about how Apple's new technologies will impact them and you, their customers. What to know more about MacTech? See the web site, or check out one of the many live events MacTech puts on each. If you're a developer, consultant, or IT Pro, come join TUAW and media throughout the industry at MacTech Conference 2014.
Delicious Monster releases Delicious Library 3 with companion iOS scanner app
Delicious Monster is known for Delicious Library, a comprehensive inventory app that lets you track items from every nook and cranny of your life. The OS X app was updated today to version 3.0, and the changes that Delicious Monster made to Delicious Library are impressive. First and foremost is an improved UI that not only looks better, but has nice touches like the book icons, which vary their thickness based on the number pages in the book. The bookshelf now has crown molding as well as improved lighting and reflections to make it more realistic. Items on your bookshelf now have a 3D look and even pivot to follow your mouse cursor. New features are abundant in Delicious Library 3 and include a recommendations engine, a wishlist pane and smart shelves that let you create rules to easily populate any shelf. There's also a global search function that supports voice search and shows results from your collections and friend's collections. Number-crunchers will appreciate a new stats page that shows you the types of products in your collection and their collective value. You can read the full changelog on Delicious Monster's website. One of the biggest additions to Delicious Library 3 is Delicious Scanner, a new companion scanner app for your iPhone or iPad. The app lets you walk around your home or office and add items to your library by scanning UPC and EAN barcodes. Delicious Library 3 is available from Delicious Monster's website or the Mac App Store. Version 3 of the app costs US$25, which is $10 less than the original price of Delicious Library 2. There is no upgrade discount for current users as Apple's Mac App Store policy does not accommodate upgrade pricing. You can download a free trial of Delicious Library 3 to try it before your buy it.
Delicious Library 3 to add recommendation engine, iOS cataloging app
Longtime TUAW readers may remember that about five years ago, one of the hot app updates we were looking forward to was Delicious Library 2 (US$34.99), the latest incarnation of a media cataloging app from developer Delicious Monster. MacRumors reports today that the next iteration of the app will be arriving in the Mac and iOS App Stores soon. When it first came out, Delicious Library seemed like magic -- it used an Apple iSight camera as a barcode reader to let you inventory DVDs, CDs, books and other media. The app won Apple Design Awards in 2005 and 2007, and the bookshelf-like user interface appears to have been the inspiration for Apple's iBooks iOS app. Delicious Monster CEO Wil Shipley told MacRumors that Delicious Library 3 will move from simply being a cataloging app to providing recommendations based on its knowledge of the products you already own. In addition, the company will offer an iOS app as well to provide a handheld "scanner" for easy walk-around cataloging. Finally, Delicious Library 3 will have a 3D cover-view interface for the eye candy that you expect from Delicious Monster. The new app should be available soon. To see what was exciting, state-of-the-art and cool at Macworld Expo 2008, check out this classic video featuring former TUAWer Scott McNulty and "Mayor and founder of Appsterdam" (and former Delicious Monster developer) Mike Lee talking about Delicious Library 2.
MacTech 2010: Wil Shipley on Noogle Noggles, a new Delicious Library and the Mac App Store
Wil Shipley is probably the premiere Mac developer -- he co-founded The Omni Group, and now runs Delicious Monster, whose Delicious Library app pretty much embodies the best of this platform we love so much. Wil kindly sat down to talk with me at last week's MacTech 2010 conference here in Los Angeles, and we chatted about what's next for Delicious Library, what the response was like to his company's Noogle Noggles app, and what he believes is in store for Apple's upcoming Mac App Store. Shipley began by saying he was a little disappointed with the way Noogle Noggles worked out -- the idea was, of course, to beat Google Goggles to the App Store, and Google worked faster than he expected. "We thought we were going to beat them by two and a half months, but they beat us by a day." Still, the app has seen a solid chunk of downloads so far. "Last I checked it was 35,000 people, and I'm like that's a pretty good number of people for working on something for a month." Photo by Flickr user Inju, licensed under Creative Commons.
Wil Shipley: Apple "copied me"
When Steve Jobs was introducing the iPad last week, a number of us familiar with Delicious Monster had the same reaction during the iBooks demo: "That looks like Delicious Library." Developer Wil Shipley noticed, too. In an interview with The Washington Post, Shipley complained about the striking similarity. "But the thing about iBooks is, it's a book-reader. So, of course they looked around, found the best interface for displaying books (Delicious Library's shelves), and said: yup, this is what we're doing." He notes that he didn't copyright the idea of showing photo-realistic books on wooden shelves, and that if Apple had called ahead of time they would have revealed a secret on one hand, and admitted that the two apps were similar on the other. "...they can't write someone a check unless they got some value in return. And if they got value, the lawyers would ask, how much was it? How was it determined?" Before you call "coincidence," note that many former Delicious Monsters employees are now at Apple. Of course, you can't say that this was malicious. In fact, Shipley's assertion is probably correct: They felt that Delicious Library's implementation was the best and ran with it. In a way, it's flattering. Something he made has been acknowledged by a huge corporation known for design. Still, it's gotta sting. Shipley again: "But your [designs] aren't really yours. They have lives of their own. So when your designs do change the world, you have to accept it. You have to say, 'Ok, this was such a good idea, other people took it and ran with it. I win.'"
Puzzlotto brings a different kind of game (and a cash prize) to the App Store
Puzzllotto has been about as hidden as the lemurs you can see in the screenshot over there, for some reason -- the concept isn't real easy to grasp, and if you just stumbled across the "game" in the App Store, odds are that you'd think you had $5 stolen from you. But there is a weird story hidden here, both literally and figuratively. David Lanham and Mike Lee contributed to the Puzzllotto, which features unusual game play -- there's just a picture of a forest, and a few eyes that you can touch to make lemurs and other creatures pop out. I would tell you more, but I haven't actually figured it out yet -- there's a "fosa" that will scare away any lemurs or butterflies you've summoned, and I know that the butterflies are basically a progress meter, but other than that I have no idea.But Puzzllotto isn't just that perplexing app -- it's been dubbed "fundware" by Lee, and 10% of the proceeds from the game will go to the Madagascar Fauna Group to support the habitats of lemurs, fosas, and butterflies. And it's actually a puzzle to be solved, with a cash prize -- if you can be the first to figure out the "puzzle" behind Puzzllotto, United Lemur will give you a cash prize out of their prize pool, currently at $5000, and growing every day for 31 days. If no one claims the prize at the end of the 30 days, all the money will go to charity, project over. You can follow updates on their Twitter -- it sounds like no one's claimed any prizes yet, which is no surprise -- if there are any clues in the app, they're very, very hard to find. United Lemur claims that there is a game in there (and that it is worth the $5 entry fee), but so far, all players have found is a few screens of the weird lemur puzzle.But it is a different kind of game -- a cash prize handed out by a flabbergastingly tough puzzle disguised as an App Store game, all designed to benefit a charity. Lee says on his blog that they wanted to make a game where players couldn't cheat by telling each other the answer, but maybe they didn't realize that part of the fun of Myst is sharing the strategy with other players. And if you don't want to shell out the $5 on Lee's word, it might be fun to just wait until the solution gets posted somewhere anyway. Have you solved any part of Puzzllotto yet?
Delicious Library 2.0 is now shipping
The beta period is over and Delicious Library 2.0 is officially ready to go (we took an early look at version 2 back in March). If you're unfamiliar, Delicious Library is the beautiful personal media database (that's the fancy way of saying "it keeps track of your stuff") that's as fun as it is useful. Use your Mac's iSight camera to scan the UPC on a book, DVD, software, games, etc. and watch it appear on your "shelf." From there, you can track who you've loaned it to, publish your library to the web and a whole lot more.Version 2.0 includes more than 100 changes, including One-click web publishing Speedier graphics iTunes integration Three-click selling There's plenty more, of course, and you can read the rest here. Delicious Library 2.0 requires Mac OS 10.5 and a single license will cost you $40US.Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
TUAW Interviews Mike Lee of Delicious Monster, looks at Delicious Library 2
Mike Lee, the "world's toughest programmer," and official Major-domo for Delicious Monster sat down with Scott to show off some features coming to Delicious Library 2. We know a lot of you are itching for the release of this one, and Mike gives an answer to when it'll ship... sort of.Other items in the video:- sharing your library- media launching- more categories (now tracks gadgets)- .Mac (and more) publishing options- metadata support- robust import/export tools- one click backup- why no pro version?- scripting support!- plus a first look at a feature that will have Cory flipping outMike also talks about charity, and his efforts to help in Madagascar. The read link will take you to Mike's Club Thievey where you can help. The video is after the jump.
Shipley confronts Apple on "contain and engage"
Wil Shipley (he of Delicious Monster) has a big piece up about Apple, the iPhone, and the iPod that's making the rounds of online Mac onlookers. He calls out Apple (as they've been called out before) for leaving the iPhone a closed platform, and he answers a lot of questions that were asked by Erica's article the other day.Shipley says that Jobs made a number of mistakes, the first of which was combining forces with other companies, including the record companies and AT&T. In the early days of all this, Jobs was seen as a hero, convincing the record companies to change their minds, and bringing AT&T into the realm of a really great phone. But, Shipley says, Apple plus another company doesn't equal Apple anymore. As much as Apple seemed to have brought record companies around to its point of view, it turns out that the record companies have brought Apple over to their side as well.Case in point: ringtones, in which Apple is asking us to pay three times for the same song just so we can play it when people call us. And then combine that with Jobs' harsh requirements for locking down the Apple aesthetic, and suddenly, instead of finding ourselves locked inside a closed system we like (iPod + iTunes), we're trapped inside a closed system that charges us for no reason (iPhone + ringTones).How to fix things? Shipley says an SDK for iPods and iPhones, which is a big duh. Apple should have done that long ago, and developers have been saying so ever since. They've trusted developers to make beautiful programs for the Mac, and they should trust them on the iPhone as well. And he says Apple needs to open up-- either let their music out, or let others' in. Clearly, people prefer having control over their content rather than, say, what NBC is planning, so if Apple makes a serious effort to free their content (music, movies, and ringtones alike), they won't need the companies-- they'll have all the audience.Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
Wil Shipley appears in Penny Arcade
Wil Shipley, he of the Delicious Generation's namesake, appears in yesterday's Penny Arcade comic, as a guy hopefully waiting in the iPhone line. (Little does he know that they'll have plenty there even after he makes his way to the front.)The appearance came out of last year's Child's Play auction, in which Shipley donated a nice amount of money to charity for the privilege of appearing in a PA strip. On his blog, he says that he originally planned to have his iPhone held for him (along with PA Gabe's), but that turned out to be a no go with Apple, so they did actually stand in line together. And PA isn't the only place he's been seen standing in line-- Wil also got featured in the Seattle Times as an iPhone linewaiter. And finally, for those of you who appreciate a little blue (as in NSFW) humor, the guys from PA even did a special version of the strip just for Wil-- maybe all of this iPhone line fame is starting to go to the guy's head.
TUAW Interview series with Wil Shipley: The Leopard delay - does it change anything?
In the first interview of this new mini-series, Brent Simmons of NewsGator / NetNewsWire shared some of his thoughts on Apple's delay of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard in light of the iPhone. For this second installment, Wil Shipley of Delicious Monster / Delicious Library steps up to the plate on feeling like a new programmer again, a reason to be happy that Leopard was delayed and why the iPhone's release is a great time to work at Delicious Monster. Wil has a great perspective on Apple and their products, and - as anyone who reads his Call Me Fishmeal blog will know - an entertaining way with words. Read on for Wil's responses to my questions after the jump.
The Cocoa Conundrum
When it comes to software on the Mac platform it's a mixed bag. I don't mean like on Windows, where the bag is full of snakes, scorpions, rusty blades, and the occasional bit of peach. Software on the Mac has been in flux for a decade. When Apple bought NeXT, most of us figured Copland was dead in the water (and it was). Personally, I wish we'd seen OpenDoc come to fruition, but that comes from years of dealing with bloatware. OS X pushed the "Classic" Mac OS further and further into the shadows, until, with the advent of Intel Macs, it's pretty much dying off... Read the fine print on these Leopard features for developers, and you'll realize how dead "Classic" really is. Perhaps we should call it "Relic."Now ask anyone (well, almost anyone) who's coded Cocoa apps and they'll tell you it's lovely. Shoot, Apple's so proud of the frameworks they provide for devs, they even touted a new one, Core Animation, as one of the 10 things coming in Leopard. But we're still living a dual-existence (triple or quadruple or more, if you get technical) in that you have Cocoa apps, and you have the non-Cocoa apps. Perhaps you know about Java, which is what Limewire uses. Or X11's ability to run apps like GIMP. Both of those have their quirks. Java apps can be all over the place, and X11 doesn't integrate the UI of OSX, among other issues. Carbon is a mix of old-skool API's (implemented in good ol' C if I recall), and permeates Mac apps like Office and Photoshop, where a teardown/rebuild would be too unwieldy. There's also the fact that key apps like Finder and QuickTime are Carbon enough to still have some legacy code from way back when, which might account for some of their quirks too... No holy wars about Cocoa vs. Carbon, OK? I'm with David Weiss on this one. So you have Cocoa, Carbon and everything else.Getting granular for a moment, look at a tale of two browsers: Safari vs. Firefox. Safari is a Cocoa app, and it is tightly integrated with OS X tools. It maintains the ability to look up words in the Dictionary app with a right-click, and access the OS X Keychain. Firefox is not a (full) Cocoa app, and you can't niftily use a keyboard shortcut to look up a word, nor will it store passwords in Keychain. I've learned to use this "wall" to my advantage. Since the passwords are stored differently, I can automatically log in to systems (like gmail) using two accounts simultaneously. I use my business gmail on one browser, and personal on the other. Unfortunately, you're limited to 3, as all Firefox-based browsers will share their version of Keychain, and all Webkit-derived browsers use Keychain. I say three, because Opera stands alone (and doesn't always play nice with Gmail). There's the conundrum: to the average user, they don't care, but when little non-Cocoa quirks appear, they scratch their heads and wonder why the Mac doesn't just "do stuff" one standard way.Keep reading for my take on shareware, freeware, and malware in OS X...
Bookpedia
I have two passions in life: technology and books. I can't figure out how I didn't know about Bookpedia until yesterday when I stumbled across it. Sure, Delicious Library is the big name in Mac personal media management, but Bookpedia only costs $18 bucks and it pulls info from libraries as well as Amazon (cool!).It has the iSight UPC scanning, the shelf metaphor, and the lending tracking features, as well as an iPod and HTML exporter. Check it out if you're as much of a book lover as I am.My one gripe about all of these book cataloging programs is that they are good for tracking what you own, but I really would rather track what I have read. Maybe that's just me though.
Delicious Library 1.6.1
Delicious Library has gone Universal as of version 1.6.1, which was just released. This point release also enables user to use Delicious Library with the built in iSights in both the iMacs and MacBook Pros.There are also numerous bug fixes which is to be expected in any point release, as well as several new translations so you can now lend out your movies in Swedish.
