Indie Anniversaries ⇥ mjtsai.com

Michael Tsai put together a great collection of notable indie developer anniversaries, including one from Ken Case of the Omni Group:

Speaking of time flying, today marks the 30-year anniversary of the day we started doing business together as “the Omni Group.” We registered the omnigroup.com domain on September 8, 1992 — thirty (30) years ago — back when having an Internet domain had nothing to do with having a website.

And here is one more — Rogue Amoeba is celebrating its twentieth birthday. Paul Kafasis:

20 years ago this month, Rogue Amoeba unveiled Audio Hijack 1.0.0, the very first version of what has become our flagship product. To celebrate that anniversary, we’ve got a great deal to share with you. But first, take a gander at what things looked like way back on September 30, 2002: […]

I am trying to decide whether I prefer the early Aqua stripes in the Audio Hijack screenshot, or the marble-textured Omni logo in Case’s post. Both have their appeal.

There is something very special about using products made by independent developers like these. It is software with personality, driven by a level of care and passion that is understandably lost in larger organizations. When I am having trouble or want to request a feature enhancement, I can send an email from somewhere in the application and receive a response from a real person who has the power to make things happen. Institutional developers have their place, but I feel an level of individual care from the indie software projects I use on a daily basis. Congratulations to the Omni Group, Rogue Amoeba, and the many other indie developers who make the software many of us rely on.