I've always had a love/hate relationship with growl. Sometimes it just seems a bit excessive and overly distracting. With growl being a paid app now, will developer support wane? Now that I have to buy it, it might be a good reason to stop being distracted by it for me.
It would have been a better solution if they released a free stripped down version, and a 'Pro' version with the new toys.
The 1.3 SDK allows for applications to generate Growl notifications without Growl installed. This is called "Mist" and is a new feature of the 1.3 SDK. Thus, Growl becomes the "pro" version of Growl when installed, allowing you to customize the notifications, and the "free" version is the built-in notifications.
I think this will, if anything, increase the usage of Growl by third-party developers.
You can deliver Growl support built-in to your app, users just won't be able to customize the appearance and tweak other knobs unless they buy Growl themselves. Seems like a very reasonable compromise to me.
That isn't how I read his statement, even after reading your reply to me.
However.. the SDK is still free, easy to integrate (having done the integration process myself) and users still like it. That last point is, really, the important part here.
You know? I had a long post written out. About how I'm actually one of those developers who you're questioning and so on. But, none of that is relevant. The only thing that matters is this:
Growl is the #2 app in the entire Mac App Store. It has been in that position since the Growl developers first put it on the App Store weeks ago. The only thing outselling Growl is Mac OS X itself.
So, please. The next time you want to accuse someone of being "deliberately obtuse", consider that the person you are talking to might actually know what they're talking about and step back before you make yourself look silly and condescending. :)
It would have been a better solution if they released a free stripped down version, and a 'Pro' version with the new toys.