I had anticipated some backlash from the free-to-fee switch with version 2.0. I thought that the product really had to be much better to make people feel good about paying for something that had once been free. In my opinion, the software is much better - inside and outside. Obviously, most people only see the outside, so that in where 99% of the effort should lie, right?

There has been a lot of random chatter on the review sites like MacUpdate (which I apparently spurn) and VersionTracker (which I apparently prefer), (both of which I am actually indifferent to; in the spirit of French existentialism, ça m'est égale). Most of the negative comments seem a bit superficial, but the more interesting part is that the don't really track with the email I've been receiving.

One of the more frequent complaints was that the new version is "slow." After a couple weeks of vague accusations on the web, someone finally wrote me an email and supplied a key piece of information. In version 2.1, I fixed the root cause, which turned out to be the time required to save the rules file after editing it or quitting the application. This goes back to something I have written before - if you experience a problem, please take the time to email me with a concise description of the problem and if applicable, attach a crashlog. Although I originally wrote Safari to scratch an itch, I am interested in making sure it works for other people as well.

Another common question from the forums is "why should I pay for this version when the old one was free?" The answer is a little loaded, but let me break it down the basics - paying for software is good karma. Should you upgrade if the old version suits your needs? No, of course not. However, you if you appreciate the old version of the software, you might make a donation anyway and attach a comment explaining your feelings or reason for donating. If you want the new features of the latest version, then you are recognizing that it has something of value, the value attached to it is $10, so pony up!

After 6 weeks worth of data collected in the experiment, I can safely say that there is no way I should quit my day job (too late!) and try a solo career. From the perspective of fulfilling the certain materialistic needs we all share (rent, food, etc.) the experiment has been a failure. That's not to imply that I won't be working on PithHelmet in the future, just that it will always have to take a back-seat to some sort of day job.