TalkBack Central: Apple kills potential killer app

Apple just killed a potential killer application.

Apple's Filemaker division just announced the demise of HomePage. After Apple dumped the Claris division, HomePage was put under Filemaker's control, along with Filemaker Pro. HomePage remained at version 3 for years after that transition.

The fact is that HomePage provided the fastest way possible to knock out Web pages. It generated relatively clean code, provided a good script insertion tool, and, most importantly, had an interface that made your work go like a rocket ship. I've tried every WYSIWYG Web design program there is, and HomePage always gave me the results I needed -- quickly. The cluttered and over busy interfaces of both GoLive and Dreamweaver slow down your work -- a lot.

I still use it to layout the vast majority of my pages. Then, if necessary, I add some gizmos via GoLive and BBEdit.

But Filemaker just forgot about HomePage. All it needed was the ability to generate some newer tags, style sheets, and the ability to generate just a few gizmos (rollovers, etc.). Filemaker didn't bother. They didn't even bother to market the program. No updates and no marketing will always lead to declining sales.

So much for "killer apps".

John Galvin is a Web Designer out of New York.

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