Writing Software for Writers

Posted by Dr Andus
Dec 28, 2012 at 12:05 AM

Jon Polish wrote:
Another thought about WhizFolders in particular, but many mature
>programs in general. If a program achieves its goal of functionality,
>except for bug fixes and updates because of OS changes, should we expect
>constant updates? WhizFolders is quite mature. I would like a more
>robust version history, but I don’t envision added features that would
>detract from its strength as a writing tool.

I have mixed feelings about that. On the one hand there are few things that can’t be improved any further. On the other hand it is certainly possible to destroy a perfectly good piece of software by over-innovating (this is especially happening in the smartphone/tablet app world where excellent software get constantly ruined by relentless “innovation”).

WhizFolders used to be my no. 1 favourite software. But then competitors like Scrivener and ConnectedText have tempted me away. Both of these are developed actively (or it’s reasonably clear where they are heading) and have an active community of users who contribute ideas on the respective forums.

WhizFolders doesn’t seem to have a forum, so perhaps that is one reason why development is slow. Don’t get me wrong: Sanjay is great and very responsive. But the game has moved on and now it’s about how you can involve your user base in innovation. I certainly think there are areas in which WhizFolders can be improved further.