So Federico and I have been casually tweeting about this big thing that’s happening this week, and here it is. We’re going to be hanging out with the guys at Fuel Collective, who make some truly great Mac software. And because this is MacStories, you can expect reviews and giveaways throughout the week. I’m really excited about this, because it’s the first time we’ve ever done an event like this, and it’s just super that we have Fuel Collective on board.
To kick things off, we wanted to get personal with the folks who’ve brought you all sorts of great software, from Snippet to Contents. Stephen Korecky, Fuel Collective’s master paintbrush and artisan, was kind enough to take the time out to answer some of our questions.(And because of a technical error, not once, but twice!)
As you read the interview, Fuel Collective is a prime example of what makes the Mac community so great. Meeting new people. Putting passion into your work. It’s what makes the Mac breed genetically different from everybody else. And overall, they’re really just a couple of fine fellows.
Interview:
Cody: Fuel Collective is definitely one of the big names in the Mac community. With Snippet and Swatch being infamous for being used by Mac developers and designers, it takes a good team to come up with such great applications. How many people are involved in Fuel Collective, and what’s the workflow like?
Stephen: Fuel Collective is made up of two people, myself (Stephen Korecky) and Krystof Vasa. I’m the CEO and Designer, but I also make the websites and keep our servers happy and work on some of the backed of our store and licensing system with some help from my friend Matt Polito. Krystof is our Software Engineer who makes all my crazy ideas work. I couldn’t ask for a better developer to work with. We both are the ones that answer all the support emails and questions.
Cody: So Fuel Collective is a designer & developer duo. Between you and Krystof, what are your most used applications when designing and developing new applications?
Stephen: Well Krystof is from the Czech Republic and I’m from the US (Chicago, IL) so we use a few things that would make this job seem impossible without. We use gTalk / AIM to communicate. Basecamp by 37signals is what we use to manage all our projects, files, and track time, it really is an awesome project management tool. Then we also use Tender by entp which is what we use to manage support emails and requests. If you send an email to us, it most likely goes to Tender. Lastly we use git / GitHub to manage our code and for repository hosting.
Working so far apart and having way different time zones really has almost no negative effect that I can see. We have learned to communicate efficiently and explain things in a way we can both understand. You really have to use your words wisely since there is no “hey take a look at this real quick”. But I think we got a great workflow that works for us.
Cody: Basecamp is definitely a wonderful tool that we employ here at MacStories. Being able to communicate effectively and work on projects, especially with people overseas, is incredibly important in our line of work. Stephen, I’d like to ask you how Fuel Collective came to be. Was it born out of an idea you had, or was it the result of collaboration between you an Krystof?
Stephen: I had an idea for an application and at the time it was PunchClock. Since I’m mainly a designer I needed to find a Cocoa developer so I posted to http://cocoadev.com/forums/ and got a reply from Krystof. By the time that happened I already had another idea for an app (Snippet) so we had to choose which one we would work on first. We went with Snippet. We quickly realized that this wouldn’t be a one app thing and decided to create a company from it. From there we registered Fuel Collective, LLC. and now we had a company!
Cody: The Mac community always has a way of bringing people together. Now with PunchClock being the third app to be released by Fuel Collective, you guys have certainly had a lot of time to develop the interface and integrate all of those wonderful services. What was the one thing that caused you to think about developing this application?
Stephen: I was frustrated by current solutions, every time tracking app seemed to also be a invoicing app and I didn’t want all the extra junk. There was one other time tracking app that at the time was similar to PunchClock but it seemed the developer abandoned the project and left all it’s users in the dust. So I wanted to pickup where they left off.
Cody: You certainly have nailed it with PunchClock. It really is a great time tracking application, and I love its integration in the menubar. Before I talk about some of your newer products, I’d like to talk about Snippet and Swatch. When I think of Fuel Collective, these are *the* two applications that instantly come to mind. Swatch in particular is an application I’m always using to make color palettes that I’ll use for reference, in Photoshop and Illustrator, or in Espresso. They’re just amazing, unobtrusive applications that, unlike most Mac apps, don’t reside in the Object Dock. Instead, you have universal access to Swatch and Snippet in the menubar. When you were developing these applications, why did you decide to do just that: make these applications menubar apps?
Stephen: Snippet and Swatch are apps that in most cases are meant to be running all the time and I’ve always felt that dock is not the place for an app like that. Users don’t want to fill up their dock with icons for app that will be running all the time.
Cody: Interesting. One of your latest applications, Contents, gives users almost superpowers over their Library. I think it’s absolutely perfect for finding a particular piece of cache, backing up mail, and even installing plugins. But I don’t see many people talking about it. I think it’s a relatively under-promoted product that needs to get in the spotlight. It deserves some recognition!
Stephen: Contents was actually a side project of Krystof’s even before Fuel Collective, and we decided it was a fantastic app that we could re-release under the Fuel Collective brand. Though it was a little different, we had never really been into big app launches (except for Permute) so with Contents, it just showed up in the store one day and had some promotion on Twiiter (@fuelcollective - shameless twitter plug).
But I think as we work more closely with Contents and get more feedback about the app we can really make it shine and give it more of the attention is deserves.
Cody: Okay. The newest application on your palette would have to be Permute, which looks amazing for converting media. I’d like you to tell us a little bit about it. Why did you guys develop it, and whose it for?
Stephen: Our goal with any of our application is to make it easy for the user to do whatever task they need to get done. We did a quick survey about converting media and found that almost everyone said they same thing about the apps they use now. “They’re too confusing”, “Too many options”, “Takes too long to setup”, etc. So we set out to solve that.
Why does converting media have to be hard? We then made is super easy to convert media with a drag and drop interface that anyone can use. We also solved some other issues like converting .dvdmedia / VIDEO_TS folders to an ISO. I spent days looking on Google for a way to do it, I ended up having to do it in the terminal. But now with Permute, even that task it easy.
Cody: Permute is just another reason why it’s so good to be working on a Mac - we always have access to excellent tools such as this. Can you comment on when you plan on making Permute available to the public?
Stephen: We will be releasing Permute tomorrow Monday at 12:00pm Noon CST! Where we’ll update the website http://permuteapp.com so you can download permute and try it out!
Cody: I can’t wait! One area I don’t see Fuel Collective having any products in would have to be the App Store for the iPad and iPhone. Do you have any plans on developing for these platforms?
Stephen: Yes! We have an iPhone app called “Meaty” that is a interface to interact with Tender. So if you use Tender for your support request Meaty can help you help others on the go. Meaty will be coming out soon!
Cody: Excellent! I can’t wait to see Meaty on the App Store. MacStories will definitely have to take a look at it. Before we go, I’d like to ask you a personal question. What was your first Mac computer, and why did ultimately choose to develop for the platform?
Stephen: We have always had Mac in our home, my Dad is a photographer so Macs where a natural choice. Our first Mac was (I Think) the Power Macintosh 6100-66 or something similar. Then it was the iMac G3 (turquoise) and then I got my own iMac G4 (snowball).
I’ve always loved the look and fee of a Mac from the outside to the OS, so I think it just made sense to develop for only the Mac.
Cody: Stephen, I want to thank you for taking the time to do this interview with us. It’s a pleasure talking to you, and we look forward to the wonderful week ahead of us!
Stephen: Thank you! I had a great time answering all your questions.
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Thanks again to Fuel Collective for taking the time to do the interview with us. We really appreciate it. All throughout the week, we’ll be reviewing the entire line of Fuel Collective’s offerings. So get fueled, and stay tuned.
