Cabel.Cabel.

Coda: One Week Later

Phew! Two weeks ago I was in the middle of one of the most intense working weeks of my life — finishing a website, tying together the order system, sending out beta builds, and dreaming constantly about Coda. Now it's out, and overall, it's gone really well. While there is still a lot of stuff we'd like to add to Coda, what's been most gratifying to us is hearing that people are just as excited about this idea that we've been for the last year. That's a nice thing. Sure, Coda isn't for everybody, but it's nice to know that it can hit that sweet spot for many. ("Coda is amazing! It's like a lightening bolt straight to the chest. And when I came to consciousness I realized how badly I needed Coda but didn't even know it", wrote one effusive user that we love. "i was wondering if i could get a discount on your software if i show you where i spotted a spelling mistake?", said yet another user who we love just as much.)

Anyway, the Coda train is still rolling, but I wanted to record for posterity a couple of interesting "launch numbers".

27 Mbit: Peak Web Throughput

Our colocation facility — and our lone Xserve G5 — held up as amazingly as ever. We did have continual problems with MySQL stalling under duress, which really sucked, but Apache handled the incoming flurry of web requests with aplomb.



Actually, 27 Mbit of peak traffic was not too bad, overall. Why wasn't it way higher? Well...

643 GB: Amazon S3 Traffic

...for the first time ever, we offloaded the bulk of our file transfer needs — the Coda download itself — to Amazon S3.

The result? Amazon pretty much saved our e-asses. We just threw the file up on Amazon S3 (possibly using a certain development build of a certain file transfer client), and rewrote the link to point to S3. That's all. There's nothing worse than seeing the Apache process list fill up with processes that nothing more than long downloads, as those requests could be doing many other things like, for example, allowing someone to buy the program. It was great to off-load the heavy lifting and never have to think about it again.

So, all told, users downloaded 643 GB worth of Coda in the last seven days. The total bill? $128. Mellow.

Aside for Mac Devs: Yes, I decided to go with a .zip archive for this release, instead of a tried and true .dmg. Here's why: 1) It "safe opens" exactly the same as a .dmg would, extracting the application and thoughtfully trashing the .zip. 2) If people have "safe open" turned off, there's no chance of classic "running it off the .dmg" user confusion — also known as "the question mark in the dock experience", a great band name — as the user just double clicks the .zip to get the app in a pure form. 3) They're easier to make, and a little bit smaller too. And not a single e-mail (yet) about the change? That's-a hot-a zip!

1,748: E-Mail Messages

When we release major updates, I like to take over the support box for a week or two. It gives me a very real, direct sense of how the app is being received, what the major issues are, and what people really want in the future. (Plus, I enjoy talking.)

The final score? Of the 1,748 e-mails we've received in the last week, I've replied to 1,638 so far.

I actually enjoy it — my wrists, not so much.

Top requests: Subversion. Find/Replace and Compare Differences across many files. Improved local previewing. Draggable tabs. More languages; mainly ASP, JSP, and ColdFusion. Tag balancing. Etc. Noted!

Now that the support velocity has slowed to normal, today I'll hand the box over to the ever-capable Tim.

One: Congratulatory Snack Pack

The talented and thoughtful Dan Messing of Stunt Software, a Friend of Panic, just sent over some Zany Canadian Candy / Sucrerie Canadienne Folle. I don't suspect it'll take long to eat it all.


A very thoughtful treat...


...with possibly the best package I've ever seen.


Thanks so much, Mr. Messing!

Next Up: 1.0.1

We're just now putting the finishing touches on Coda 1.0.1. Of course, if you set Coda to automatically download and install updates, you won't have to do a thing — just use Coda, and we'll take care of the updating for you! Otherwise, keep an eye on the Panic website, and thanks so much for trying Coda and giving us your thoughts. Onward!

32 Comments:

Oh god! It does taste like soap! Gack!
Anonymous Dave 4/30/2007 3:13 PM  
OMG "It still tastes like soap!" LOL
Blogger extrarice 4/30/2007 3:24 PM  
I can't decide if It doesn't taste like soap anymore! would be funnier or not.
Blogger Nick Valvo 4/30/2007 3:31 PM  
Coda? No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame.
Blogger Paul 4/30/2007 3:41 PM  
Wow, that's quite a few bytes you've been pushing there. Congrats on the release!

Now, I hope you'll be letting some of your old testers in on that "certain development build of a certain file transfer client" in the near future ;)

And more blogging please :)
Blogger Andreas 4/30/2007 4:34 PM  
Hrm. At first I thought, "well, why didn't they just sign up with Dreamhost? 1.6TB/mo for $9.95/mo isn't bad."

Hrm. But then say you want to go month-to-month just to cover the initial spike. So that's a $50 setup fee. You're up to $60, just under half of what you paid for S3.

Then there's Dreamhost's recent reputation for unreliability. Last thing you want is for your downloads to go down during the honeymoon period. That's easily worth the price of one registration.

And voila. S3 is same price or better. Sounds like you nailed it.
Blogger Jim 4/30/2007 4:43 PM  
Re: the developer note

As I detailed in the linked text recently, I am fully with you for zip archives as the preferable option for Mac software distribution these days. However, I think convenience is key here. Just compare the speed and reliability of zip files versus disk images.

Strangely, I usually find that disk images turn out slightly smaller than zip archives of the same applications.
Anonymous ssp 4/30/2007 5:51 PM  
Thrills are great because they taste appalling.
Blogger Cameron 4/30/2007 6:16 PM  
I just registered mine today. I agree with the TidBits article that there are a few wonky noun/verb interface issues, but I love it so far. The only problem is that I registered my copy at home with my Transmit 3 serial... now I need to convince my employer to pay for a copy for work.

Keep up the great work. I can't wait for 1.01 and the next version of a certain FTP client!
Anonymous Chris Coleman 4/30/2007 8:41 PM  
The only downside I've seen with ZIP is that you get the odd Windows user that says "I don't see any application to run".

I could say something snarky here, but I won't :-)

-ch
Anonymous Craig Hockenberry 4/30/2007 9:18 PM  
Well, all this Coda stuff is fine - I will stick with TextMate/YummyFTP/Terminal though - but when are you going to find the time to ship my T-shirts? It's worth 2 Coda Licences...

RL in France
Anonymous Anonymous 4/30/2007 11:24 PM  
Double Deckers, Mars Bars and Crunchies are UK snacks through and through! It looks like someone went to a Canadian UK Chocolate store to buy those gifts! (I visit one myself when in Toronto!) ;)

Oh yeah, uh, very impressed with Coda! How about being able to drag and drop an image into a page and have it insert the img code?

Cheers!
Anonymous Rick Curran 5/01/2007 2:54 AM  
Well, I do hope that the "certain development build of a certain file transfer client" will become a public beta (or a release) really soon! I've been waiting for that for quite some time now … :-(
Anonymous Christian 5/01/2007 3:57 AM  
Ahh, Canadian candy... Thrills, MacIntosh Toffee, Popeye candy smokes, and Eatmore!

I am sitting in Brisbane Australia reminiscing and drooling. 8-)
Anonymous Anonymous 5/01/2007 4:01 AM  
I'm so glad you got a marshmallow hamburger. I've been eyeing one at the store here for weeks and thinking of you, but wasn't sure if you had them in the States or not. Simultaneously glad and disappointed that someone filled that void in your life. Congratulations again on awesome product development and marketing.
Anonymous courtney 5/01/2007 4:33 AM  
I'm totally with you on the zip vs. dmg issue. I've never understood the point of using disk images for downloads, apart from the NIH factor.
Anonymous Jens Alfke 5/01/2007 8:04 AM  
Congratulations guys, seriously. Coda looks absolutely incredible. In fact, I think it's exactly the app I've been hoping for to finally start learning PHP and CSS. I've been meaning to teach myself for a while, and over time I've purchased licenses for CSSEdit and TextMate, but I've always hated this very workflow that prompted you to build Coda. I know it sounds kinda lame to wait for a specific app to finally start doing or learning something, but I've tried a lot of solutions and workflows, including Dreamweaver (I just bought CS3 Web Premium and I'm *still* confident I'll invest in a Coda license), and have just despised them all.

Thanks for finally getting it right guys.
Anonymous David Chartier 5/01/2007 12:46 PM  
To the Canadian in Brisbane - you can get some canadian treats from http://www.canadiancomforts.com.au/ - they have Mackintosh Toffee for example, but may take requests for soap flavoured food too...

(Also, to all other north american candy lovers in Australia, there's another place http://www.usafoods.com.au that gets a lot of American stuff. Like Chocolate Jello pudding. yummm)
Blogger Mark 5/01/2007 3:21 PM  
"certain development build of a certain file transfer client"

Maybe I am being dense but this caused me to do a double take. Are you implying Transmit is going to support S3 or are you using the latest dev build of Interarchy? It seems a bit strange to be mentioning the competition.
Blogger Adam 5/02/2007 7:35 AM  
Dude, Coda is the BOMB-izzle! Its straight pimp'n d-O-double G! Hows that for props?

I really would like to see a forum of some sort created so we, users, can yap to our hearts content regarding this great piece of software and design in general... please!

I wrote you an email saying as much and I would be willing to create / host the forum... I just can't stand the 1993 email list other editors use. *wink*
Anonymous Michael Martinez 5/02/2007 4:38 PM  
I love that a fellow mac software developer sent you a congrats note, I like it when there is no competition. oh and what the hell is up with the countries and there soap candy? In australia there is Musk flavored LifeSavers... like soap. also I'd like to hear more about this certain unreleased ftp app....
Anonymous Ben 5/02/2007 7:53 PM  
I'm sorry, but they didn't send you Smarties?

You were cheated, my friend.
Anonymous Kanuck 5/02/2007 11:43 PM  
... I was wondering where the Smarties were too! They could be at the bottom of the pile somewhere. Congrats to Panic for such and awesome release, and thanks to Cabel for the email support! Great job all around.

ps. S3 in Transmit sound good to me.
Blogger wreleven 5/03/2007 10:00 PM  
Haha... right after you said that, I realized you can actually see the Smarties in the bottom of the pile. Look between the Double Decker and the Mars; the Nestle logo, brown and white text and colourful packaging are clear as day.

I retract my earlier statement. These are good people, doing good things for mankind.
Anonymous Kanuck 5/04/2007 12:17 AM  
Hallo. I was a little surprised that there is no decent support page/blog/forum etc. about coda yet. So thanks for sharing a little insight behind the beautiful but not so talkative panic.com. Great great GREAT app, we will see if it will stand the test of time for me, against the nerd-power of the textmate-ftp-combo. I already uploaded new colors for the syntax highlighting, for everybody interested! New Syntax Highlighting Colors for Coda
Blogger Tilman 5/07/2007 8:51 AM  
LOL, I do backend stuff and haven't done site design in a couple years. I went looking for an app for site development about a week ago, downloaded several and loved coda. Perfect for the non-fancy sites I am developing. I had no idea it was just released, given the typical pattern for OSS release numbers I figured it had been out for a year or so if it was already at 1.0 :)

I aspire to someday design a site that steals some of your eye-candy so that I can get on the ripoff page

typo: "processes that [are?] nothing more than long downloads"
Anonymous Anonymous 5/09/2007 9:44 AM  
So, now that Coda is moving along, dare we dream of a new musical?????
Blogger Jessica 5/11/2007 12:46 PM  
Can you introduce a way to turn the interface effects off? Just for interface speed?
Blogger Nicholas 5/11/2007 4:01 PM  
Rock on.
Blogger Lucius 6/01/2007 9:20 AM  
Any news (release time frame) on S3 being built into Transmit? At the moment there are no decent solutions for the Mac, at least not that I can find...

Thanks - Alex
Blogger alexmuller 8/11/2007 2:24 PM  
This post has been removed by a blog administrator.
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Name:Cabel Maxfield Sasser
Job:Co-Founder, Panic Inc.
Location:Portland, OR
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