1P on MAS Only

jb510

I just learned of this and read most of the now closed 30 page thread... Wow...



Just to have my say... personally I like the Mac App Store, but I [b]HATE[/b] the idea of 1P being MAS only. and I really hope this decision gets reversed just like that horrible decision to switch to Get Satisfaction last year...



The MAS is great for infrequently updated software that operates independent on other software, I own lots of MAS software. However, 1P by it's very nature is dependent on other software and needs to be quickly and frequently updated very frequently and I'm not sure I'd ever feel comfortable owning it via the MAS.



In the last year 1Password has been repeatedly broken by browser updates, the fix sometimes taking weeks or months to make it out of beta and into the mainstream release. Huge chunks of functionality (support for Fluid SSBs) have been lost.



I understand you've separated the app from the browser extensions, but the Browser Helper has been constantly crashing and losing it's connection to the app for weeks maybe months... It's had a warning triangle on the browser icon for weeks and updating 1P 3-4 times this week hasn't fixed it). Lately when I hit the 1P icon in the browser the window pops up but won't take any input and I have to restart Chrome...



1P has gone from a reliable app to a very flaky one needing almost daily updates to try to keep up with the browser makers rapid release cycles. While I love 1P and would gladly pay to upgrade to version 4, even paying way extra if I could get Fluid.app support back... There is no way in hell I'd by 3.9 right now on the MAS and I'll be waiting at least several months after 4 is released in the MAS to see it's stable and reliable enough to trust running it via the MAS and it's delayed update cycle.



One last note... Agile has proven over the years to be very responsive to it's user base, most other companies I wouldn't bother giving feedback to... fingers crossed...

khad

Hey jb510,



Thanks so much for taking the time to post this. We're reading everything folks send our way and taking it all to heart (which is much more difficult to do with some of the mean stuff).



Regarding Fluid support, Apple removed Scripting Additions from developer builds of Lion and brought them back only at the last minute. This is likely a sign that Apple plans to phase this technology out, and soon, but is giving developers a little more time to make the transition. Because we're trying to standardize our extension experience across browsers and prepare for the future, we have already taken Apple's progressive philosophy to heart and are looking towards the future to create a better experience for all customers.



At the moment we don't have a quick solution for Fluid, as it does not provide the same extensions framework available in Safari, but we never say "never". For now we're focusing our efforts on browsers with a rich set of tools for extensions; currently this includes Safari, Firefox, and Chrome.



If you are having trouble with 1Password (specifically the issue you mentioned with the connection between the background process and the extension(s)), I would love to get things sorted out for you. We've been making the connection much more robust every day, but there are still some edge cases that need a little bit of massaging in order to function as reliably as they should.



Can you tell me what version of Chrome you are using? The latest 1Password 3.8 beta plays nicely with non-stable Chrome builds, but normally only stable builds are supported. Could you also tell me what version of OS X, 1Password, and extension you are using?



Offhand, there are some known issues with firewalls and proxy servers blocking localhost connections and using Chrome's experimental multiple profiles feature. If either of those apply to your situation, let me know.



Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts, and thanks in advance for allowing me to help you get 1Password working as reliably as it should be for your setup. I'm sure we can get it working as well as it is for other folks and as well as it once was for you too. <img src='http://forum.agilebits.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/skype_smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':-)' />

LosInvalidos

Jb510 I think has great arguments that are all valid. Agile knows my own stance on this by now, I assume, which is that I won't be using any mas software.

FrankoCDN

I'll add a suggestion to the devs: can you guys keep us informed when you've submitted an update to the MAS? I don't know if updates too have to be approved by Apple but if so, the time they take can lead customers to wonder if anything is going on. Even a simple " Awaiting approval by Apple for 3.9.1 update" can go a long way <img src='http://forum.agilebits.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />

hmurchison

In Lion the Mac App Store already has provisions to help us know when apps have been updated



http://developer.apple.com/technologies/mac/whats-new.html



[quote]

[b] Push Notifications[/b]



The Apple Push Notification service allows you to notify your users of important information or updates even when your app isn't running. Push Notifications can be used in a wide variety of apps. For example, if you are designing a sports app, you can notify users of key game updates. If your app manages tasks, you can show the number of tasks a user has to complete. A badge will appear on your app icon or on launchpad, letting a user know there's a notification waiting for them.[/quote]



I don't know of many developers using PN for MAS apps, perhaps it's not "turned on" yet but it's certainly coming.

khad

I have to say that I was not aware of the Push Notifications myself. That seems pretty interesting. I know most folks probably don't care so much to be notified about "upcoming updates" to all their applications, but as an option I can certainly see the value in it. Thanks for mentioning that. The developers probably know all about it, but I'll mention it to them. <img src='http://forum.agilebits.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/skype_smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':-)' />



Offhand, I don't know why we [i]wouldn't[/i] mention when an update is submitted for approval. We've been pretty forthcoming with that information so far with regard to our iOS apps and the iTunes App Store. There may be a reason which is yet unknown to me for not sharing that info, but if it is up to me, I'll certainly let you folks know when an update is submitted. <img src='http://forum.agilebits.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/skype_bigsmile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':-D' />