Get your eat on!

Yesterday we released MacGourmet Deluxe. And while it's not our "usual" kind of writing-based app, the response has been wonderful. I was asked the other day to describe the product in 20 words or less ~ here is what I came up with:

"MacGourmet Deluxe helps you create and edit recipes, make wine and cooking notes, publish your recipes as a blog, export shopping lists, plan meals, even create your own high-end cookbook."

Ok, that's 30 words but as you can see that product is jammed packed with interesting features. The Cookbook Builder feature is my favorite. Imagine having dozens of family recipes that you now would like to share with family and friends in a cookbook. With MacGourmet Deluxe, you can now (and rather simply) create a high res PDF with a cover, images, table of contents, an author's preface among quite a few other features. We even have a few print-on-demand sources for you to have your masterpiece created in actual book form.

If you are intrigued and want to learn more or give MacGourmet Deluxe a test drive, feel free to visit our product page.

Have a great day!

Mike

The iPhone app pricing quandary

As July 11th approaches (the opening of Apple's App Store), one of the most frequently asked questions we are getting is how much will Mariner Calc for the iPhone cost?

Good question.

In discussions with Apple and several other developers these past few weeks, I've discovered that no developer really wants to be the first to "set the stage." Sure, a few game companies at the WWDC keynote announced they were coming in at the $10 price point, but what about productivity apps? professional apps? what about consumer apps? how about educational apps? No offense to gaming apps as some of them are jaw-dropping impressive, but I wonder if their $10 precedent suggests other apps should be priced higher since there is a greater perceived value in them? Another mindset which might be considered is that an app that will be marketed to corporate America will have a higher price point because the perception is that "I'm not buying it, the company is." Equally important in determining a price for an iPhone app is the new price of the iPhone itself. I know if I'm spending $200 on a phone, I'm going to look long and hard at a $30 app. A few of those and I've spent as much on software as I have on the phone!

Have an opinion? I'd love to hear it.

Mike

I guess the cat is out of the bag now!

Today, the fine folks over at macworld.com wrote about what we have been diligently working on for the past few months...Mariner Calc for the iPhone. I blogged about it a bit a little while ago but, effective today, the Mac community, or at least some of the readership of macworld.com, now know what our first effort into these uncharted waters (note the Mariner/ocean-going reference - ;-) will be. While there is still quite a bit of the unknown, I can tell you we are focusing on a core set of functionality. Here's a list of a few of the top features:

1. View native excel files
2. _Edit_ native excel files
3. 1,000,000 by 32,000 row and column support
4. CocoaTouch native application
5. Support for multiple sheets
6. Chart and object support

Stay tuned, folks. This is going to get interesting. :-)

Mike

Days before WWDC...

and most of the Mac community is wondering what Steve has up his sleeve. Have any guesses? Personally, I think the new iPhone will take center stage (no shock there) but, in addition to the iPhone, I expect developers will hear for the first time when the next operating system (code name: Lynx? Puma? Bobcat? Saber-toothed Lion?) and what to expect. Hmmm, maybe a Macworld 2009 roll out?

And speaking of the iPhone, we will hopefully have some news/screenshots to share for Mariner Calc on the iPhone. It's really starting to take shape!


Mike