What are we up to, anyway?
Here’s the story…
CoffeeCup’s love affair with the Mac goes way back to 1999 when we bought our first iMac.
Way back then we made a crude version of our now famous HTML Editor that would run on a Mac, but we just weren’t happy enough with it to let it out into the wild. We really wanted to make our software for the Mac though, and in 2006 we decided to get serious about giving it another shot.
While we worked on the “CoffeeCup for OS X” plan, Apple started using Intel CPUs. This made it possible for our support technicians to use virtual machines and easily switch between multiple versions of Windows—a huge time saver. Our plan to show our staff what it really felt like to work on a Mac before starting design and development was born. We immediately scrapped all the old Dell boxes we had and bought everyone in the office shiny new iMacs and MacBooks.
From there we immersed ourselves in OS X and it didn’t take long for us to feel right at home on the Mac. Using all kinds of software, trying all kinds of new things, we were like kids in a candy store. However, we weren’t about to wave goodbye to all our loyal customers that would choose to stick to Windows. Yup, having high standards can get you in trouble.
A new approach to creating software
We looked at various cross-platform development environments and made some pretty cool applications at the same time. Unfortunately, none of these technologies allowed us to come close enough to the native look and feel that we wanted our products to have on both platforms.
We pretty much had to start from scratch. Combining a variety of technologies and programming languages, we figured out how we could make identical OS X and Windows programs that still felt native on each operating system at the same time. Behold: The birth of our cross-platform technology.
An App Was Born
Pretty soon we had some really exciting stuff working. Since then we’ve been focused on tweaking pixels and tuning code to get things running just right. And now, we’re happily debuting three spectacular new OS X apps (and they’ll be playing nicely together in the very near future, too).
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are you charging for the beta?
There’s two really good reasons for that. First, these aren’t half-baked betas—they’re fully functional apps that haven’t been released to the public yet. Second, you’ll get to upgrade to the final release at no extra cost, so you save a ton of money by jumping in now!
How much will these programs eventually cost?
Web Image Studio will be $39. The Web Editor will be $69–$89. Web Form Builder has proven to be so powerful that we decided to price it higher then originally anticipated. The price will be $69 (and it’s totally worth it). We love to host your forms on S-Drive though, so here is a free Lite version. Enjoy!
What’s so great about using the betas?
In return for helping us out, you get a fully-functional app, potential prizes for giving especially helpful feedback, and the satisfaction of knowing that you helped make those products the best that they could be.
How long ‘til the final product is out?
That depends. Sometimes a full release will follow in weeks, but it’s usually a few months to tidy up the code. We’ll keep you in the loop so you know what to expect and where to get your updates.
Get more information on our OS X apps here.
