Movable Type Developer Edition 3.0
05.13.2004I'm really excited to be able to finally post about our new version of Movable Type and the innovative way we are launching it.
As I said in my previous post to Mena's Corner, the plugin and developer community is one of Movable Type's greatest strengths. This is a sentiment we've seen echoed around the Movable Type community, as well, along with the question: if Six Apart recognizes that the developer community is one its strengths, what are they doing to foster that community?
I addressed some of what we're doing in my previous post, but I want to expand on that.
As I said above, today, we'll be releasing the Developer Release of Movable Type 3.0.
It will be available to everyone, not just developers; we're calling it a Developer Release to emphasize the fact that 3.0 itself is not a feature release in the traditional sense. With this release we hope that the developer community will implement some great extensions for 3.0.
Since many of Six Apart's employees are Apple fanboys/girls, we make the analogy to the first releases of OS X: the first releases did not offer that many new features themselves, only a more stable and robust platform for developers to build upon.
The Developer Release is just the first step in our commitment to developers.
Along with the release, we're doing the following:
Developer Contest
Today release, we are also announcing a contest, called "Plug into Movable Type: 3.0 Developer Contest" to motivate developers to build cool new plugins for Movable Type 3.0 that make use of the new plugin architecture. While we (Six Apart) are already building out the features that we'll be including in subsequent releases, we believe that we'll really amazed by the extensions that the developer community thinks of.
The contest is geared towards building upon Movable Type as an application platform, and taking advantage of the new features in Movable Type 3.0.
We'll be giving away fantastic prizes — a $7K computer system is the first prize — these are prizes that many people on our team have expressed they want to win (but, of course, now we realize why employees and family of employees aren't eligible). The judges (internal and external to Six Apart) will base their decisions on both technical criteria: which extensions are most robust, make the best use of the new architecture, are optimize to perform on a different set-ups and hosts, etc --as well as user-facing criteria: which plugins are the coolest from a user perspective and have the greatest mass appeal.
Developers own their work
For the winners, they'll get great prizes, but they'll also get exposure. The developers who enter this contest will retain full ownership over the plugins they develop. When we were discussing this contest internally, we wanted to make sure that this wasn't the sort of contest that took ownership over all work submitted. While those who enter will grant us permission to distribute the plugins, we will not own the copyright. And, if they want to sell their plugin in the future (if that appeals to them), they can do that as well.
In that vein, we'll be creating a Plugin Pack to distribute the winning plugins. This will give users the ability to easily take advantage of the new features and extensions.
Hopefully, this contest will serve multiple purposes:
1. To highlight the platform changes in 3.0
2. To produce plugins that non-developers can use
3. To bring Movable Type developers out of the woodwork so that we can recognize their work and bring them into a network for referrals.
4. Possibly find the sort of talent that we'd like to bring into Six Apart.
Jumpstarting the Developer Network
We'll be starting a more formalized developer network, as a way for developers to get exposure both in the Movable Type community and in the business markets that Movable Type has been adopted in. Part of what we've heard from the community is that they feel like they are one of our greatest strengths, but that they didn't know if Six Apart was ready to make a commitment to support its external developers.
As mentioned above, we've changed our licenses for Movable Type 3.0, removing the clauses that don't allow consultants to charge for supporting Movable Type. The new licenses give developers and consultants the chance to make a living around supporting, extending, and customizing Movable Type. And, Six Apart is dedicated to helping that community thrive.
As a kickoff to the network, we'll be setting up an informal developer workshop to get a sense of what developers think we should be doing, their feedback on the direction of Movable Type, etc. If you're interested, keep an eye out for an announcement in the coming weeks.
And no, there isn't going to be a fee to join the network.
Call for Talent
At launch, we'll be unveiling a slightly refreshed movabletype.org. We'll have a special developer page set up with a form that will allow consultants and Movable Type developers (this includes template designers, plugin developers, Movable Type pros, etc...) to let us know what we need to do to help make them successful and how they'd like to work with us in the future.
Since we've been focused inwardly for so long, we honestly don't know all the stars in the community.
If you're one of these stars or if you have stories about how you use Movable Type inside your company, we'd love to hear how we all can mesh best. We'll then have, if all goes well, a strong directory of those who provide services at the launch of the non-developer version of Movable Type.
This is the first step --a baby step --but a significant step.
A lot of information to digest in a post that was meant to be brief. I hope that I've conveyed the excitement we feel at Six Apart. We know that our community it incredibly strong, that there are some amazing people out there that will create great enhancements and that this is just the beginning of an even stronger relationship with our users.
We look forward to this release and the many to follow after.
Posted by Mena at 02:28 AM | Permalink
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.sixapart.com/mt/trackback/101
Here's what others have to say about 'Movable Type Developer Edition 3.0':
» MT 3.0 released from Dragon/kolibri
Well, the moment many MT-heads have been waiting for is here - MovableType 3.0 is here. There has been quite a lot of discussion and rumours about this for months, and unfortunately most of it has been negative. People have... [Read More]
Tracked on May 13, 2004 05:42 AM
» MT3 release news from Imablog
Ok, so the MT 3.0 Developer's Edition has just been announced. Quite frankly, I'm not sure whether to be happy or disappointed about the new release and pricing. From what I've seen playing with the beta, MT3 is pretty cool.... [Read More]
Tracked on May 13, 2004 06:47 AM
» Moving Family Blog to WordPress from Hoyt Family Blog
My wife and I have an MT family blog that we use for updates for friends and family. Since we have one blog and two authors, we now have to [Read More]
Tracked on May 13, 2004 07:42 AM
» Moving Family Blog to WordPress from Hoyt Family Blog
My wife and I have an MT family blog for friends and family. Two authors equals $100!!! We're moving to WordPress. [Read More]
Tracked on May 13, 2004 07:45 AM
» MovableType 3.0 from fozbaca.org
SixApart has finally released Movable Type 3.0, no wait that was the Developer Edition. My inital reaction is, much displeasure.... [Read More]
Tracked on May 13, 2004 09:57 AM
» MovableType Gets Commercial from Stefan Tilkov's Random Stuff
So, MovableType 3.0 is available, it’ll cost money, and Mena’s post is the one with the most trackbacks I have ever seen — and nearly all of them negative. Big deal, people. Grow up. I will stick with 2.661 for the foreseeable future,... [Read More]
Tracked on May 13, 2004 02:38 PM
» Well, ain't that a kick in the groan? from ***Dave Does the Blog
The Net has always had a sense about it that "the best things in life are free." Looking for a... [Read More]
Tracked on May 13, 2004 02:59 PM
» Bye, bye, mister MT! En Blogpocket from Noticias de Bitacoras.com
Antonio Cambronero: "La opinin generalizada es que los precios son excesivos y que los chicos de Six Apart cometen un craso error. Los usuarios tendrn que tomar alguna decisin al respecto (...)" Ver completa.... [Read More]
Tracked on May 13, 2004 03:56 PM
» MT3 perspective from Olivier Travers
Tim Appnel, one of the developers most familiar with Movable Type, provides some interesting perspective about MT 3 (Tim helped us architect and develop some of the things done at MarketingVox, where by the way I'm not active on a... [Read More]
Tracked on May 13, 2004 04:44 PM
» Movable suicide /2 - Il suicidio ufficiale di Movable Type from Macchianera
You broke three of most common and well known Internet rules: you can’t sell a product and value it ten times yesterday’s price. You can’t sell a product while yesterday you gave it away for free. You cannot sell less... [Read More]
Tracked on May 13, 2004 08:45 PM
» Movable Type blows a Drag Race from Marketing Playbook
Mena's Corner: Movable Type Developer Edition 3.0. Movable Type is probably the leader in the drag race for blogging tools. Like most classic early stage drag races, there are literally a hundred competitors. Yes, Still Movable Type did a great... [Read More]
Tracked on May 13, 2004 09:07 PM
» Movable Type 3.0 Developer's Edition from Chinwags From Abu Dhabi
You musta heard about it, the blogging world is in uproar over the release of Movable Type 3.0 which is now under the name of Developer's Edition. That's all good and great and this means the public can now see... [Read More]
Tracked on May 13, 2004 09:23 PM
» Movable Type 3.0 D "Developers Edition" from Lutz-R. Frank
This morning at 4am PDT, Six Apart has released Movable Type 3.0D, the developer edition of 3.0. This marks the first fully-public release of Movable Type 3.0 and along with it, a pricing scheme that makes it easy for people... [Read More]
Tracked on May 13, 2004 10:57 PM
» Iron fist in a velvet glove shoved straight up your ---! from verybigblog
Moveable Type goes mercenary - REALLY REALLY pay to play. This blog will NOT be updating I'll use 2.6 till I die or try other options. Clients will get the free version or the 2.6 copy I have saved now. This sucks and I'm not alone in that, read those ... [Read More]
Tracked on May 13, 2004 11:14 PM
» Ben, Mena, stato bello finch durato from >skip intro
Peccato che la storia di Movable Type finisca cos, alla versione 2.6eccetera. Mi ci ero affezionato e mi sar difficile affrontare questo lutto.... [Read More]
Tracked on May 14, 2004 12:46 AM
» Movable Type 3.0 発表！ え？ 有料化？ from Sky's The Limit
ついに Movable Type 3.0 が発表されました。 日本語版は引き続きベータテストが行われており、もう少し時間がかかるようです。楽しみです。 今回のバージョンアップの大きな特長として、... [Read More]
Tracked on May 14, 2004 01:35 AM
» Let Them Eat Cake from mashby.com
Yesterday SixApart, the company behind MoveableType, released a new version of their software along with a new pricing structure. For those of us running MT, we're going to have to seriously consider if we're going to stick with it because for some sit... [Read More]
Tracked on May 14, 2004 02:44 AM
» Once again, MT-Blacklist and MT 3.0 from MT-Blacklist/Comment Spam Clearinghouse
First off, for those of you who are averse to reading below the fold of the page, MT-Blacklist is NOT compatible with MT 3.0. It may even destroy your database[*]. This has been a public service for the comprehension-impaired.... [Read More]
Tracked on May 14, 2004 08:56 AM
» The Collective Deep Breath from MT-Blacklist/Comment Spam Clearinghouse
It's time for everyone to take a deep breath. Here are some words that may help. [Read More]
Tracked on May 14, 2004 09:13 AM
» The Collective Deep Breath from MT-Blacklist/Comment Spam Clearinghouse
It's time for everyone to take a deep breath. Here are some words that may help. [Read More]
Tracked on May 14, 2004 09:20 AM
» Here Comes MT 3.0 from Trommetter Tech
I'm getting ready to install MovableType 3.0. Every other MT upgrade has gone smoothly. I home this one will also.... [Read More]
Tracked on May 14, 2004 10:25 AM
» positively glowing over MT3 from kadyellebee
I am so excited to finally be able to talk more about 3.0! In case you haven't seen, the Developer's... [Read More]
Tracked on May 14, 2004 12:52 PM
» A good perspective on MT3 from The Puppy Pile!
For alll the hub-bub on the blogs I read right now about Movable Type's new pricing plan as announced in Mena's Corner, I ran across an entry that really makes some sense to me from Jay Allen... The Collective Deep... [Read More]
Tracked on May 14, 2004 01:12 PM
» MT 3.0 upgrade failed from StableValue.com
After the upgrade to MT 3.0, I could not log in anymore. Not sure what's going on, so back out the upgrade.... [Read More]
Tracked on May 14, 2004 04:03 PM
» MT 3.0 upgrade failed from StableValue.com
After the upgrade from MT 2.63 to MT 3.0, I could not log in anymore. Not sure what's going on, so back out the upgrade.... [Read More]
Tracked on May 14, 2004 04:04 PM
» Talk of the town from ne(one)piphany
Well, Six Apart has announced their new licensing terms and pricing structure for Movable Type 3.0, and it looks like I may be forced to look around for a new CMS solution sometime on the horizon. Please don't get me wrong -- I love MT and would gladly... [Read More]
Tracked on May 15, 2004 04:17 AM
» MT 3.0 Released and Costly from Ken Villines 1.0
I am very surprised and upset by the MT news surrounding the recent 3.0 release. I, like many others, had been under the impression that there were two versions being released. The MT 3.0 Free version and Pro version didn’t... [Read More]
Tracked on May 15, 2004 07:12 AM
» Mollified, and yet. from Long story; short pier
Just because I feel some sort of obligation or something: one more Movable Type 3.0 post. —They’ve spoken, after all, and addressed a few of the concerns raised (rather vociferously) over the past couple of days: They’ve stripped the... [Read More]
Tracked on May 15, 2004 09:12 AM
» MT 3.0 Developer Edition from jasun's blog
I've recently been reading the announcement made by Six Apart regarding the release of Movable Type 3.0 and the changes to the licensing. It seems that a lot of people are suprised at some of the points made and the... [Read More]
Tracked on May 15, 2004 09:49 AM
» WordPress vs. MovableType from Warnadunia.NET: eXtended
I think today's current topic is quite interesting -- about MovableType new pricing scheme. As noted at Mena's Corner, about... [Read More]
Tracked on May 15, 2004 03:23 PM
» Movabletype 3.0D Pricing & Licensing from Jay Shao: Articles
It seems that overall, is trying to draw a fine line between producing a revenue stream from (especially commercial users), pushing some users to, and encouraging the community around the software which has given them such an influential place in the b... [Read More]
Tracked on May 15, 2004 08:11 PM
» MT, TypePad之死敌 - Six Apart的商业化之路 from Owen's Blog
MT3.0的推出以及新的授权协议在blogger中间掀起了轩然大波,讨伐声此起彼伏.相关的报道以及背景介绍可以参看Topku, Jenny的文章.我在此不做鳌述了. 可以说,这已经是一个被讲烂了的话题.在Blog的... [Read More]
Tracked on May 16, 2004 04:26 AM
» What's the fuss about? from SO-PHOBIC
You wanna know exactly how things are heating up with the whole Movable Type business? [Read More]
Tracked on May 17, 2004 04:49 AM
» Clarifications from SixApart from Imablog
Plenty already logged to the blogoverse about 6A's clarifications to the MT 3.0D release. There still continues to be some vitriol expressed by people who insist on remaining offended by 6A's release and license changes though. Even a troll has... [Read More]
Tracked on May 17, 2004 06:44 AM
» Movable Type licensing: what about old versions? from www.gadgetguy.de
As I understand it, users of Movable Type's 2.661 version will not be affected by the new pricing. But: the 2.661 installer is no longer available on their web site. If I were to start blogging now, would I still be allowed to use an old copy of the in... [Read More]
Tracked on May 18, 2004 08:04 AM
» Anil takes responsibility for MT 3 mess and moves to SF from Joi Ito's Web
Anil DashTo use the requisite automotive analogy, if Six Apart were a shiny new car, I feel like I was... [Read More]
Tracked on May 20, 2004 08:19 PM
» Movable Type 3.0收錢? No Way! from Jan's Tech Blog
大家期待已久的Movable Type 3.0已經面世，對於不少MT用戶來說，都覺得是好事。不少人(包括亞當)當初都認為，MT到了3.0版本，加入了防Spam功能，可令自己的Blog更加「潔淨」。 的確，MT 3.0引入... [Read More]
Tracked on May 26, 2004 12:08 AM
» Site Changes and Upgrading from Suburban Playboy
I finally completed the redesign that I’ve talked about ages ago. That was a lot of work. I also upgraded to the latest version of Movable Type (3.0D). That involved some work, but not as much as the redesign. Trust me on that one, the... [Read More]
Tracked on May 27, 2004 07:18 PM
» Switched to Movabletype 3.0 from bLogicus
Today I upgraded to Movabletype 3.0 . . . primarily out of loyalty to the Six Apart for their contribution to the blogging community, the promised solution to comment spam and future expectations of plug-in advancements. On the positive side... [Read More]
Tracked on May 28, 2004 12:04 PM
» Review of Movabletype 3.0 from Dichotomy's Purgatory
A couple weekends ago, whilst visiting Chuckie, we upgraded alpha-geek.com and the sister sites (1, 2, 3, 4) to MovableType 3.0D. Initially, there was some hullabaloo over the licensing scheme; and the first versions of the licenses were restrictive to... [Read More]
Tracked on May 29, 2004 03:04 PM