obfusc88 wrote:Another poster who screams about no updates in 2 years, but has posted no bugs here, has not asked for any support or help with problems.
Since no problems in two years, why the frequent crying every six months for an upgrade. Has only posted to two threads, just to cry and moan.
Has not even made one suggestion for enhancements even if no problems were encountered.
I was really amused by the person that stated he switched to another editor that was, by his own admission, "buggy and slow" but at least was being constantly updated!
One way I look at all the fretting about TextPad that's going on in the forums is that feature-set is a secondary evaluation guide to performance. I take a lot of the comments as "Quit harping on a feature that's not in the program [yet]" and others (including some of my own) as "the internet/open-source/wikis-and-blogs has/have changed my expectations AND severely affected my tolerance of unresponsiveness." What brings these two different types to the same forum is TextPad's nonpareil performance. Without it, there's no reason to hang around asking for more features.
The friend who first opened up TextPad's potential to me described it recently as belonging to the category of "lightweight plain-text programmer's editors." I guess most of us in this forum think it's best in category.
What's been painful to discover is that TextPad isn't also the best app in the closely related category of "lightweight plain-text programmer's editors with Unicode support," especially because of how I use TextPad with XML and XML has support of internationalization at its core.
Lightweight and fast are essentials for me in these two categories. However else I'll opine about what things Helios could do differently with the program, there's no question in my mind that there's brilliance at the core of its creation.
In my own case, I need Unicode support for a growing amount of text files I handle. It doesn't fall into the category of feature or bug the way I see it, but performance suffers mightily when files get corrupted or have to be edited in a different tool than the others in the same project.
So I'm hanging around because I'm hopeful this performance issue can be and will be dealt with. (As you note, it's not like text editors should naturally divide into those that handle all kinds of text and those for only certain kinds of text.*)
If I didn't think it would be, or if I couldn't live with the current feature set, I guess I'd be looking elsewhere.
But right now, I'm in the TextPad forums.
Roger Sperberg
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* It's not just TextPad that has issues. On the same matter, I've beta-tested the dotReader and FBReader e-readers (both open-source) and the Stackz flash-card program (commercial), acting on the premise that I have to offer as well as ask, in order that small operations can get to the same level that Acrobat, MS Word and Excel, and OpenOffice have already managed.
Well. It seems obvious that some are happy with _no_ change, while others are not. I'd like to see a new version, or at least another update/patch, to offer some new features. Performance has always been fine, but writing code (which is what most TP users do with it) involves features more than performance. I'm of course relating "performance" to speed, resource consumption and stability. What seems to bother these folks most is the silence from Helios. It would be nice to at least know something definite is in the works, rather than wait and see. I'm sure I'll get some flames for this, but I'm just trying to be honest. Happy New Year!
I have used TextPad on an almost daily basis for 7-1/2 years, and I would be lost without it. However, there are any number of issues which have been raised up as possible future enhancements over a considerably period of time.
If this is just gonna devolve into a urination and lamentation thread between the two camps of "Where's the next release, b*tch!" and "What's the problem, b*tch!?", then I'm not interested. However, if there is a serious interest in collecting ideas for features to include in a future release and/or beta testing that release, then I am VERY interested. I'm currently beta testing another fantastic tool I use almost every day--the Cirrus release (version 3) of Scootersoftware's Beyond Compare.
The absence of a TextPad release in over 2 years does not bode well for the future of TextPad, IMHO. When new releases of tools I use come out, I generally take 'em for a quick spin and then buy the upgrade. Maybe the previous version is working just fine, and maybe the new features aren't all that absolutely necessary for me. However, I rather like financially supporting those tools that serve me well as it helps ensure those tools won't become obsolete and force me to go looking for a new tool. Money spent on upgrades saves me time and money later buying and learning new tools.
It is a not insignificant effort to build and upgrade tools. Takes time, effort, determination, and money. It's been my experience in the past that regardless of well a tool works today, and TextPad is superb, if it isn't enhanced to meet demand for new features then it will likely atrophy and die.
I've said this in various forms before, but I have come to the conclusion that there is no point bitching about delays to the release of the next version of TextPad. Helios clearly have a rule that they will not comment on future releases and intended features, this is their choice - it's their business and they set the strategy. One consequence is that they have to live with the fact that a prolonged silence may cost them users - again their choice.
Where does this leave the users? If TextPad continues to work well for you then you may choose to stick with it. If there are serious flaws or a lack of features then report the first (the application still being supported) and in the second instance assess the alternative applications and find a replacement that addresses the shortcomings. Throwing a hissy fit like a three-year-old is not going to achieve anything.
I have tried a number of alternative applications and (aside from Unicode) still use TextPad for the vast majority of my Windows text editing. My view is that nothing else is as efficient and elegant.
Yes, I realize people were suggesting enhancements to TextPad before I did in 2004. People were using TextPad before I began using it in 1999. What of it? I still fail to see the merit in grousing and groaning. It hasn't worked thus far. Perhaps honey instead of vinegar will yield a better outcome.
If Helios allows TextPad to wither and die, there's little you or I can do about it. We'll seek out a better tool, replace it, and think fondly about the good old days. PFE comes to mind.
