Some of you may recall as I’ve been developing this site, I’ve been using a great little application called MAMP. It essentially allows you to run a local copy of a website with PHP and MYSQL functionality with single click ease. There’s nothing to install, no terminal hocus pocus or anything like that. Just fire up the app, edit your preferences and you’re all set. It even includes a handy start page that fires up in your browser which then gives you access to your MYSQL database. Beautiful and simple.
But this being a greedy, consumer led society, where we’re encouraged to upgrade all the time, I thought to myself, MAMP is great, but MAMP Pro looks even better. Sure, it’s not free but I can run several sites at once and just look at all those extra things it can do. Surely it has to be better? After all, more features equals better product, right?
I regretted upgrading as soon as I saw the difference between the two interfaces. Why does pro have to mean a more complex set of buttons and options? I still have one simple goal. To run a website with PHP. But all I wanted to do is have several on one machine. I thought the pro version would build on the beautiful simplicity of it’s free cousin. But no, instead we have rocket science complexity - because hey this is pro and we need to show the world that we’re a bit clever us pro people!
The upshot of this was I ended up having to totally reinstall my site - things no longer worked like they used to. Now there was error messages a plenty and weird domain things going on. So eventually I ditched MAMP Pro and welcomed back it’s less able, but more beautiful cousin. Because it just worked, and that’s all I wanted it to do.
In some ways the whole experience reminded me of when I upgraded my phone to the very crap three network. I used to have a lovely Motarola V3 phone. Now I have the three network equivalent - a fat oversized bloated mess - but wow it can play video! Er - thanks but I just want to make phone calls and send text messages. I don’t want to see the latest JayZee video thanks all the same. The difference here though is I can’t just go back to 02 and my slimmer phone. Not for another 12 months.
I’m sure for many people MAMP pro is great. But for me the user experience of normal to pro wasn’t actually enhanced in any way - in fact the converse was true. And from a brand point of view one minute I loved MAMP next minute it was making me swear at my Mac. Yet this was the same brand? It would be great if they could apply the same beautiful simplicity found in the free version to the pro version and still have available all the extra functionality if you want it. Less is usually always more.
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I’m exactly there with you brendan, I didn’t have any real issues with the upgrade, but wasn’t too thrilled with the added features — all I really wanted to do was run multiple projects simultaneously -
I eventually found a great solution classic Mamp & Headdress
http://headdress.twinsparc.com/
works great..I’m much happier..
SAUL / 08/07/2007HTH