As I worked to add a new feature to Hana 1.2, the tendrils of this new little monster was finding its way deeper and deeper in to every other part of Hana. The longer I worked on it, the more I lamented that I was not yet working on the new Hana code base for 2.0. What's worse is that this code would not be reusable in Hana 2. So, just a few moments ago I stopped lamenting and decided that there will be no Hana 1.2. I will begin work immediately on Hana 2.
What this means is that there will not be any updates to Hana between now and the release of Hana 2.0. This is planned for late in the summer. I will be looking for a small group of active Hana users to beta test 2.0, but that is still 6 weeks or so away from being released. The first Beta of 2.0 will have feature parity at the very least with Hana 1.1.x.
Hana 2.0 will be free for all customers who purchased Hana at any price. As of right now, this only excludes user who acquired Hana via the MacHeist promotion. If you are an active Hana user and you got your license from MacHeist, fret not. I will be announcing a short period, say a fortnight, in which any Hana from MacHeist user can get a free upgrade. I am doing this not because I want you to pay, but because I want the license that can be found on the web to not be valid in 2.0.
What can you look forward to in 2.0? First, Leopard only support. Apologies to my Tiger lovers! But I want to use several new technologies and for that I need to push Hana forward. I also expect Apple to announce Mac OS X 10.6 at WWDC. I do not want to be TOO far behind the curve! :-) Second, you can look for much more complete web browser features. While Hana is a web worker as opposed to a browser conceptually, technologically it is a browser. Third, options for focused working will be expanded and settable globally and by web app. Fourth, workspaces. You will be able to group your web apps and yes even have settings per workspace. Fifth, I have a few REALLY cool ideas for Hana that will make it a better site specific browser than others. And lastly, but not all by any means, I plan to add plug-ins for badging and other features.
I have already started design and am quite excited about the project and will be getting started as soon as I finish posting this entry. If you are in the US, I hope your Memorial Day Weekend is going well!
Fred