Musings from The Software Underground

Now that I've had a break to think about the whole MarsEdit acquisition a couple of days ago, I think that this is not only a good thing for Daniel and MarsEdit users, but it's yet another sign of the vibrancy of the Mac software market. I think that it, like the NewsGator acquisition of NetNewsWire, clearly shows that not only is a worthwhile pursuit to develop Mac applications from scratch, but it's also worthwhile to acquire Mac applications because of their increasing value in a growing market.

What's ironic is that the whole thing seemed to come out of another acquisition "gone bad" which led Daniel to post:

But what I can’t believe is that a relatively mature product like this sells for only $5000. And Garrett was including 50 hours of consulting with the deal. By my reckoning that means he was essentially selling 50 hours of work and throwing in the business for free.

But this got me thinking. Will anybody sell me their product for $5000? I am a good buyer. Make me an offer, and if I like what you’ve got, I’ll pay cold hard cash for it. No installment crap. If you won’t sell for $5000, how much will it take? -- Sell Me Your Product

I think this succeeded beyond his expectations, which is great. (The MarsEdit buy probably didn't come out of this, but Daniel has been blogging about one acquisition that did.)

What does this all mean though? It can't be anything but a good thing that an indie Mac developer is growing his own business, and saving 2 applications at the same time. I think it is really great to see the blogs and Mac news sites light up in support of these things.

This is yet another sign that the Mac market is alive and thriving. As the Mac market continues to grow (ignore the market share numbers, they are more or less meaningless) software developed for this market will continue to gain in value. More and more you see individuals casting off the chains of the rat race that is the "typical" job market, and going into business for themselves. You gotta love it.