Still tasty?

January 16, 2017 11:05 PM

Is there any particular reason why I should upgrade to Delicious Library 3 instead of retaining Delicious Library 2 on my Macbook?

I'm particular with tracking my book purchases, and I've been using Delicious Library to catalog and track my books since 2007. I've held off on upgrading to DL3 ever since they first released it a few years ago, particularly because of all the performance issues for the initial versions. Most of the reviews I saw around that time saw the DL3 iteration as almost a downgrade of DL2, and as such I did not upgrade.

With the current version, is DL3 now worth an upgrade? I installed the current demo, although that demo limits me to adding 25 books at most. I'm interested to know what your experience is in using the software, as well as any highlights or gripes/nitpicks you've accumulated since you started using it, to help me make a more informed decision (and maybe save 40 bucks in the process?).

posted by FarOutFreak to Computers & Internet (6 answers total)

Best answer: Hi, I’m Wil Shipley and I wrote Delicious Library. I don’t want to violate the terms or the spirit of this site so I’m not going to attempt to market it to you, but I would like to make myself available to you (or anyone) who would like to just, like, talk to the creator.

Also, since you’ve been a loyal customer, I’ll just send you a free code to Library 3 if you like. You can keep it, and if you end up loving it you can buy it someday. If not, just keep using Library 3 on me — I’d rather you use 3 than 2, since I can’t really maintain Library 2 any more (I don’t have any machines that it’ll compile on, or a compiler that can target operating systems going back that far).

Again, I’m new to MetaFilter, so if I’ve done something wrong posting this please let me know.
posted by wilshipley at 2:15 AM on January 17, 2017 [26 favorites]

Response by poster: Hi Wil, didn't really expect you of all people to be the one to reply here, but I guess welcome to MeFi? At the least, I hope this post helps you get in touch with some of the other users around here who may have stuff to tell you about either DL2/DL3.

I'll send you a separate MeMail instead to give some context, but in any case thank you for the offer.
posted by FarOutFreak at 5:12 AM on January 17, 2017 [1 favorite]

He didn't actually say anything about why DL3 should be preferable to DL2, though. Only that it's easier for him to develop.

For what it's worth, I've been using the set from Bruji -- they have separate apps for movies, music and books that operate in a way reminiscent of, but simpler than iTunes, and integrate with an iPhone app.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 8:31 AM on January 17, 2017 [1 favorite]

> Only that it's easier for him to develop.

Hmm, I'm not a programmer, but I'm around enough of them to know that "I can’t really maintain Library 2 any more" means "There is no plan for any future work on Library 2, so it shall remain as it is." Conceivably some kind of emergency could arise such as a hypothetical major vulnerability in DL2 that transforms your mac into an open mail relay, in which case he might turn up to fix it, but there is nothing on the roadmap for Library 2... forever.
posted by Sunburnt at 9:54 AM on January 17, 2017 [1 favorite]

OK, but the original question was that OP had heard reports that DL3 is inferior to its predecessor. Mr. Shipley didn't really address that.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 11:59 AM on January 17, 2017 [1 favorite]

I'm also very happy with Bruji's *pedia series (Bookpedia, CDpedia, etc.). When I tried them both out a few years ago, I concluded that Delicious Library sacrificed functionality for eye candy, which is why I opted for the *pedias.
posted by klausness at 4:55 PM on January 26, 2017 [1 favorite]