When Hype is Right

I read about Hype Saturday night while laying in bed suffering from serious whole body muscle aches because I went too hard in a kayaking class that I participated in over the weekend.

While I read up on the new Mac only app, I got HYPE myself.  I have been waiting for a tool that would do HTML 5 design as an alternative to Adobe’s Flash; a program that I love.

Since the iPhone was released Apple rejected the notion of having Flash capable devices leaving many scrambling to not lose the “newly vitalized mobile/smart phone market customer. I don’t even have to mention the urgency to bridge the gap since the iPad’s release last spring.

While Hype may be quite basic in features, it certainly helps you get he job done with a fully animated site in minutes considering you have some familiarity with scenes, timelines & object usage etc.

I was able to put together an updated version of my splash page (www.bygbaby.com) in less than 30 minutes (includes a short learning curve). I was so happy to see it working on my iPhone & iPad (nerdy, I know).

I’m already looking forward to the next release of the software because there are some features that I would love to see happen to take this app to the next level.

Designers are already buzzing about Hype & it appears to be doing quite well in the app store as the top-grossing app.  At 30 bucks, I found it to be a worthy investment no doubt.

The one and only thing that I do not like about Hype is the logo. It kinda sucks. You would think two former Apple employees would have access to a great designer. I’m just saying.

:::Peep this article on Hype’s creators:::

Why two engineers left Apple to build a Flash alternative: The Hype

Paul Hontz // May 23, 2011

Hype is an HTML5 Animation Builder for Mac OS X. It allows you to build interactive sites in HTML5 that rivals Flash. Hype launched last Friday and they are already the top grossing app on the mac app store.

Earlier today I had a chance to catchup with one of the cofounders, Jonathan Deutsch, to talk about his experience leaving a safe job at Apple to launch a startup, where his inspiration came from for Hype, and his experience with Y Combinator.

Where did the idea for Hype come from?

At one point after a trip to Europe, I wanted to make a photo website that would be as nice as a beautifully bound photo album, and use lots of effects.  Coding this with HTML5 would have been a nightmare.  There had to be a better way, and that’s how the idea for Hype was born.  It stuck with me, and eventually I realized this was going to be a great opportunity for a business.

Where did you work prior to launching your own startup?

I worked at Apple. I was the engineering manager for the Mail.app back end (Mac OS X), but also worked on software updates, automation technology, SJ keynote demos, and other engineering projects.

I met Ryan at Apple as well, celebrating after a successful WWDC kickoff. He was working as an engineering project manager for Mac OS X. It was a really central role; he (and the team he was on) were responsible for coordinating the entire release of Mac OS X. Sometimes at bars we’d run into people who were Apple or ex-Apple, and Ryan would introduce himself, and they’d reply, “Oh, I’ve gotten emails from you!”

What made you decide to leave a “safe job” at Apple and build a risky startup?

I had always wanted to have my own company; I suppose its “in the blood.”  It was getting to be pretty clear that there was a new wave coming to the web, much like “Web 2.0? but instead of it being called “Web 3.0? it was called HTML5.  It’s a marketing term really, generally referring to new HTML5 tags, CSS3 styles/animations, and better JavaScript performance.  It also refers to being able to have the full web on your phone.  It was always in the back of my mind that for any technology shift you’d need tools to help out.  I’m really a tools guy, though we tend to call them “apps” nowadays. (More Here)