Tech Blog

[#1]

Recently I read on MacStories that 1Password had been updated to version 3.9. The funny thing was that no matter how many times I checked for updates on 1Password on my machine, it still said that 3.8.5 was the latest version. Then I learned that 3.9 was only available on the Mac App Store and I’d have to pay to get it.

I was not a happy camper.

Then I learned that it would only be $20 (50% off).

Then I learned that buying 3.9 at 50% also got me a free update to the forthcoming 1Password 4.0.

My tuned changed, I bought the update and, man, I’m glad I did.

First off, 1Password 3.9 is only for Lion (and above), so if you’re still holding out on Snow Leopard (which I don’t understand, but some folks don’t want to be a part of the pride—yes I mean you Tod Maffin), version 3.8.5 is the version for you. And, from what I gather, that’s going to be as high as the app is going to go for you.

For those of us using Lion, 1Password 3.9 taps into more of Lion’s features (like full screen, which I don’t get, but okay), app sandboxing (better security to prevent apps from going rogue on your Mac), and better overall security. The great folks at Agile Bits have a blog post that explains the ins, outs, and reasons for their switch. Might customers be **bleep**? Yeah, maybe. Was I **bleep**? Yeah, a little. Then after reading, saw the sense in making the jump to an easier way for them to sell software and enticing loyal fans to switch with a tasty 50% discount (which includes a free update to 4.0) was fine with me.

Is the Mac App Store perfect? Not by a long shot. Do I still like picking up apps from it? Oh you bet I do. Easy, peasy. Self installing, fast, and if I get a new machine or if by some miracle I manage to pull off getting and iMac and a MacBook Air, I can quickly get a bunch of my apps pushed over to it. Yeah, I’m willing to live with Apple working out the kinks within the Mac App Store for the longer-term benefit I’m sure I’ll see down the road.