Tania and I started work on Chime, officially, February of 2017. Just looking at that date kinda embarrasses me. It’s just over three years from the date of this post. That’s a long time to work on anything, and way longer than we originally planned. There were many twists and turns along the way, but we’ve made it. It is with both immense pride and some fear that we can announce Chime 1.0.
We really hope you like it.
From the very beginning, we set out to build something that satisfies a very specific goal. We wanted an editor with great language-level support, modern design and feel, that was made for macOS. To that end, we adopted a strategy that has now become our philosophy. Fewer features, built with more polish. It has been a challenge deciding exactly what features we do take on, but the real work is making the ones we do ship stand out.
Delivering on that promise of polish has been at constant odds with actually shipping something. Earlier this year, we sat down and made a list of the things we’d like to include in an initial product. It felt absolutely daunting. Especially given that we’d already been at it for longer than expected.
We did have to pull back on some of that polish as we made our way towards a 1.0. That was a hard thing to do. There are a few areas in this release that make me cringe. And a number of features that, to my great disappointment, didn’t make it. But, getting things across the finish line is important, so we prioritized.
And, now that we have managed to get 1.0 out the door, we’re immediately thinking about what comes next. So, here are our plans for the next few months.
First, and foremost, we’ll be supporting our new customers. We want to make something you’ll love. And, we’re really excited to hear from you. Please do get in touch.
Next, we’ll be working on finishing some great features that didn’t make 1.0. The core editing experience, in particular, is going to be receiving a lot of attention.
We’re also going to be really focusing on making sure Chime’s UI feels awesome. There are a few non-awesome parts today, and I lose sleep over them.
And, finally, we’re going to try to blog more. This is an area that we’ve really neglected, and it feels good to try to make it more of a priority.
Chime is a paid product. But, to make sure it’s right for you, we offer a trial. Missing a fixed trial window is the worst, so Chime allows 20 foreground hours of use. You do not need to worry about downloading the trial and forgetting about it. This system should give you plenty of time to kick the tires at your own pace.
After that, you’ll need to purchase a license. This will get you one year of updates. That license will never expire. So, you can keep using the latest version released within that year forever. We will not bill you again. If you’re interested in getting updates after that, you must renew your license. That renewal will be offered at a discount, for life.
It’s absolutely amazing how much stuff you have to do to ship a 1.0. Stuff that doesn’t feel at all related to the core product. It’s been this goal of ours for so long, sometimes seeming impossibly far away. But, now that it’s here, I find myself feeling relieved. Not just because Chime is out there, but because we can finally get back to real work. A 1.0 always feels like a huge milestone.
Here’s to next next one!
Thu, Feb 27, 2020 - Matt Massicotte