FTPeel, the Sweetest FTP
Posted May 15th, 2003 @ 11:52am by Erik J. Barzeski
I hate marketing, so I won't do it here. I'm putting this in the "software development" category for a reason. Today, Freshly Squeezed Software has released a public beta (free) version of FTPeel, our FTP app. Yes, there are a lot of FTP applications out there. No, none of them have our MagicMirror in them.
FTPeel was a long time coming. It was pushed aside to work on MailDrop and some other products, so I'm glad to see its release. It's a Public Beta, so we've got a list features to implement and bugs to squash, and we're hoping our customers give us a bunch back as well. Feature-adding and bug-squashing in Cocoa is often a joy, and it's typically as simple as an appropriately placed NSLog();. FTPeel is highly modular, so updates should hit our CVS pretty fast-n-easy.
Hmm, fast-n-easy. That's the way software development should be. That's the power of Cocoa. Damn, looks like it turned into marketing after all. 🙂
Donate Life
Posted 15 May 2003 at 10:49am #
Transmit has a "synchronize" feature, which I think might be similar to the "mirror" functionality you're talking about. Not sure, though...
How does one use the mirror functionality in FTPeel? The only reference I can find to it is in the Preferences window. Maybe it's not implemented yet?
Some nice features, though--the choice between a list view and column view is kind of nifty.
Posted 15 May 2003 at 10:55am #
Buzz, I've always had problems with pure synchronization. Not implemented yet? Yes it is, and it's clearly explained on FTPeel's product page. The same one linked to above.
Posted 15 May 2003 at 12:00pm #
Any chance of some screenshots? I didn't see any on the FSS page, and some of us don't have os/x to admire the beauty of the app 🙂
Posted 15 May 2003 at 12:07pm #
Sorry--I'm officially a moron :-). I didn't notice the link above. I get it now, and agree that it's a damn good idea.
Posted 15 May 2003 at 12:26pm #
Nice!
2 minor points - the Help menu has an item named "SweetFTP Help" - looks like marketing changed the name 😉
and in the prefs the button to set where files are downloaded to is called "Find" - somehow this does not sit right - you are not searching - you are assigning.
Posted 15 May 2003 at 1:03pm #
I couldn't resist trying it out. So I'll simply post my first impressions here:
Very first impression: Nice icon. Looks juicy.
First impression: Not overwhelming. It's an FTP program after all. As I don't need the magic mirror (as I started keeping all my sites on the server and only occasionally making a local backup since I've got fast and permanent internet access - it's a good idea for modem users I guess. Does the mm have a memory so you can drag files onto it and it does its job the next time you're online?) I don't see advantages over RBrowser (yet).
Other remark: While I don't want you to go out of business, I'd definitely prefer Apple providing a non-crashing way to mount FTP servers. No holding of breath in that department, however.
Other than that, a list of problems that immediately got into my way:
Objective:
Doesn't use default downloads folder from Internet Settings
Not everything can be done using the menu bar.
'Columns' toolbar item doesn't wulork in Text-only mode. A very common bug in Cocoa apps, I might add, as doing this properly is unnecessarily painful...I could
A keyboard shortcut for the about box? Who'd want that?
Should display home directory instead of root directory on connect.
Any way to switch between List and Column view?
To address Buzz' issue: An item in the help menu pointing to your webpage is both helpful and only a few clicks in IB and two lines of code away.
Subjective:
Status-Bar mania: Double status bars, one of them flickering along quickly
Toolbar Icons cause eye-cancer.
Posted 15 May 2003 at 1:36pm #
Sven, though your comments are appreciated here, we have an established email address for submitting bug reports, feature requests, etc. Please use it.
Posted 15 May 2003 at 1:42pm #
So, um, like, are there any screenshots? I can't find them, and I'd like to see what it looks like before I download it. Especially because y'all are trumpeting some "Awesome UI" kind of thing....
Posted 15 May 2003 at 1:49pm #
There will be no screenshots in the public beta phase, because the UI is subject to change at any given moment, and we'd rather spend the time writing code than making sure our screenshots are entirely up to date.
Posted 15 May 2003 at 2:03pm #
Bah, guess I'll have to wait until I get home to give it a try 😛
Posted 15 May 2003 at 4:25pm #
I love those icons your applications use. Make 'em yourself?
Posted 15 May 2003 at 6:52pm #
Re: dedicated EMail address
I'll use it, should I have further comments. If you want people to use it, you should make it available from within the application, preferably the help menu. I got the download from VT and within the app you can neither access the web page or any e-mail address directly.
You see - I'm the one-armed blind analphabet type of user. And I'm prepared to go the way of least resistance.
Posted 15 May 2003 at 7:02pm #
I added it this afternoon and the next public beta will have it.
Posted 15 May 2003 at 10:34pm #
Less than a few hours hold and we've already gotten our first review of FTPeel. My favorite part? Then disaster struck! I should have stressed...