The state of Journler and towards open source

[phildow]

There isn't any good way to begin this. It's apparent to most of the users on this forum and to myself that I am failing to complete the next iteration of Journler, version 2.6.

The difficultly is the same as it has been. Some time ago I began pulling apart the different layers of Journler so that I could isolate them from one another and put them back together as independent components.

I'm having a hell of a time putting things back together. It seems it was too large a task for me to undertake by myself. I struggled, which meant Journler struggled, and Journler struggled, which meant I struggled. Not a healthy circle.

Saying this, I'm not angling for sympathy. I've read the frustrated posts and emails. My performance is inexcusable. I know this.

When I began refactoring the code, the goal was to isolate those layers so that some of them could be open sourced. I envisioned three layers: the core layer, the interface layer and the application layer, each dependent on the previous. The core and interface would be open while I kept the application, mostly glue if executed correctly, private.

This is still the goal which I have still been unable to accomplish.

I haven't abandoned Journler although it seems I have. I've certainly considered it. I'm tired of failing, tired of receiving and not answering emails and forum posts, really just very tired of everything that is associated with running a software outfit. I didn't anticipate the requirements that a large user base would bring, and I don't think I have the qualities to make it succeed in the long term. I hope my tone is not mistaken. I'm not bitter or upset. I'm just, well, tired. It's not healthy.

And yet, despite the lack of progress, the bugs and the frustration, many, many people continue to use and rely upon Journler. New users continue to purchase the application. Long time users have put a lot of information into it.

I am not quitting on Journler just yet. "Just yet" because I do envision winding my involvement in the application down, but I do not plan to let Journler come to an end in its current state.

The project, however, needs some momentum. To that end I am beginning to open source Journler's underlying layers. Generic Sprouted code is already available. This evening I posted Journler's AVI code (the bit that lets you make audio-video recordings and take pictures in one window). In the coming days I plan to release the Core layer and after that the Interface layer. Folks interested in this can read more in the developer forum:

http://www.journler.com/community/forums/viewtopic.php?p=17755#17755

My hope is that open sourcing these lower layers of code will expose them to a number of interested developers who may be able to help in their organization. A good deal of my difficulty lies in the confusion of code that in some places is more than three years old, written when my coding practices were not well established. I hope that fresh pairs of eyes will be able to see problems which mine do not.

In the meantime I understand that users have become disappointed with the application and are leaving it. I won't attempt to discourage you from that decision. My performance over the last year and a half has not been adequate. Nevertheless I will find a way to release version 2.6, even if it has taken over a year now.

~Phil
Journler, Sprouted

[Stu]

That's a big and brave decision Phil.

To know that Journler will live has made my week.

Thank you for all your efforts so far - this really is a killer app and you should be able to walk away proud of it :-)

[greay]

I pretty recently started using Journler, and really like it - despite a couple rough edges. I hadn't been using it long enough to pay for it, though – I've been comparing it to other, similar programs, like Yojimbo. This is definitely the one I was leaning towards, but couldn't decide on a winner.

This sealed it, though. I just bought a license. Whether you're able to continue working on it personally or not, I want to thank you the best way I can for opening up the guts – and that's by throwing money at you ;)

[patgilmour]

Phil,

Journler is the best journaling app for Mac. I've looked at all the alternatives. The others are not as good.

I appreciate your frustrations with tackling a project that has become so unwieldy. All the same, I really hope you can keep some momentum in the project either through your own efforts, open source or selling the application to another developer. It's too good to die and you should take pride in your work to date.

IG

[sarahmichelef]

Thanks for the update, Phil. I'm not a coder, but I hope that there are enough folks who love the application and are for it to be rejuvenated by this change.

[Shrike]

Sad to hear it's been causing you too many problems. But here's hoping that open-sourcing it will be a healthy boost to the system. I think that the vision of a plugin-enabled Jourlner is amazing. Hopefully we'll get there in the end.

However, I was wondering (not even sure if you're reading this still), if you've done any active searching for collaborators? You've opened up the code, but maybe a more general call to arms in the open-source community will help you get some people involved?

Digg? Slashdot? Sourceforge? Macrumors or TUAW perhaps?

I know TUAW pimped Journler for quite some time (the reason I got hooked), so I'm sure they wouldn't mind putting out a little wanted ad.

[HuubL]

Phil, I'm very sorry to hear you won't be able to further develop Journler. I love your program dearly. It's been on my Mac since the day after I switched from Windows. I hope that despite the lack of future updates, I can continue using Journler on Snow Leopard.
Can you or one of the other visitors of the forum comment on SL compatibility?

[sportsman0811]

I was in touch with Phil yesterday and he said that he had been testing Journler with Snow Leopard and that he didn't forsee any problems.

[librarymonkey27]

I think that is right...

that said...I don't know of many open source programs --- without a driving force (programmer) that succeeds.

o how I wish WriteNow was still around

I hope someone comes along, but I haven't seen much of a hint it will.

to that notion, Thanks Phil

it's been great

[adriaya]

I need an open source anti-virus software that scans the system and deletes the viruses. My computer is infected with 200 some trojons, worms, and viruses. I need a tried and true open source software to get rid of them.
_______________________
matrimonial

[supenguin]

adriaya:
How'd you end up here with that question? This is a site for discussing the Mac application Journler.

Here's a couple sites to check out. Not all the antivirus programs listed on these are open source, and some aren't even free, but some of them should help:

http://lifehacker.com/5399564/five-best-antivirus-applications

Recommended alternatives to Norton Antivirus
http://alternativeto.net/desktop/norton-antivirus/

You'll likely be better off finding forums that discuss this type of thing for whatever operating system you're on.

[gabossy]

Which is the best anti virus program for a desktop? Any open source software exists? i am a desktop user from the last 7 years. i would like to install an antivirus program to support my system. which one is the best for that. Are there any open source or free software exists which are comparable with the commercial ones?
___________________________
affiliateelite