Long-Delayed TextMate 2 Arrives as Public Alpha

textmatelogoIn 2004, a developer by the name of Allan Odgaard released a new text-editor by the name of TextMate. Over the next few years, the application became extremely popular with coders because of a number of powerful features, including extensive customization, macros, and much more.

TextMate 2.0 was originally announced in 2006, and three years later Odgaard wrote in a blog post that he was still hard at work on TextMate 2 and it was 90 percent complete. He hoped that "an alpha version will be ready before too long, but I can’t make any promises about dates." Time passed, and Wired named TextMate 2 to it's year-end vaporware list in 2009, along with StarCraft II and the US release of Spotify.

TextMate 2.0 has finally been released to the public in the form of a public alpha -- typically the development milestone that precedes beta.

The excitement for a new version has been tremendous and today we’re finally able to repay the much appreciated loyalty and moral support from the community by releasing the first public alpha: TextMate 2.0 alpha (r8930).

It’s important to stress though that being an alpha release; it is not complete. It has reached a point where it may suit some early adopters and provide some relief to those who have been questioning TextMate’s future. For the time being, the alpha builds are only for people who already have a TextMate license and an Intel Mac.

Being a complete rewrite there are too many changes to sum up but here is an overview of notable changes since TextMate 1.5.10.

The TextMate 2.0 alpha is only for current TextMate license holders and will only work on Intel Macs.

TextMate is available for €39 (just over $50 at current exchange rates) from the MacroMates website.

Top Rated Comments

savar Avatar
161 months ago
How is this front page worthy? It has NOTHING to do with Apple.
TextMate is Mac-only and has a cult following.

Edit: I haven't been to macrumors in a while, but I clicked through to read the rest of this article when I saw it on the RSS feed.

What's with all the hatred and vitriol? Is that what this site has become? Geez...

I routinely read news sites where I'm not interested in every single story they publish, but I don't resort to personal insults against the editors or the subjects of the news articles. I just skip the articles that don't interest me.

TextMate hasn't been updated in a long time, but I happily use it every single day because it's fast and stable and the bundle system allows me to add just about any feature that I'm missing.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ckelley Avatar
161 months ago
I love how some of you guys think you run this site. It's so cute.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nokq Avatar
161 months ago
How is this front page worthy? It has NOTHING to do with Apple.

Sure it does. Textmate is a Apple only text editor popular with developers.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Raptor235 Avatar
161 months ago
hell has frozen over!
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Anaemik Avatar
161 months ago
I for one am really excited by this news, and fully approve of its inclusion on the front page. People whine too much around here.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LittleChief Avatar
161 months ago
PowerBook G5 Next Tuesday? (Sorry!!)
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Delta Feature

Delta Game Emulator Now Available From App Store on iPhone

Wednesday April 17, 2024 9:58 am PDT by
Game emulator apps have come and gone since Apple announced App Store support for them on April 5, but now popular game emulator Delta from developer Riley Testut is available for download. Testut is known as the developer behind GBA4iOS, an open-source emulator that was available for a brief time more than a decade ago. GBA4iOS led to Delta, an emulator that has been available outside of...
iOS NES Emulator Bimmy Feature

NES Emulator for iPhone and iPad Now Available on App Store [Removed]

Tuesday April 16, 2024 11:33 am PDT by
The first approved Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) emulator for the iPhone and iPad was made available on the App Store today following Apple's rule change. The emulator is called Bimmy, and it was developed by Tom Salvo. On the App Store, Bimmy is described as a tool for testing and playing public domain/"homebrew" games created for the NES, but the app allows you to load ROMs for any...
iPhone 15 Pro Action Button Translate

All iPhone 16 Models to Feature Action Button, But Usefulness Debated

Tuesday April 16, 2024 6:54 am PDT by
Last September, Apple's iPhone 15 Pro models debuted with a new customizable Action button, offering faster access to a handful of functions, as well as the ability to assign Shortcuts. Apple is poised to include the feature on all upcoming iPhone 16 models, so we asked iPhone 15 Pro users what their experience has been with the additional button so far. The Action button replaces the switch ...
maxresdefault

Hands-On With the New App Store Delta Game Emulator

Wednesday April 17, 2024 12:19 pm PDT by
A decade ago, developer Riley Testut released the GBA4iOS emulator for iOS, and since it was against the rules at the time, Apple put a stop to downloads. Emulators have been a violation of the App Store rules for years, but that changed on April 5 when Apple suddenly reversed course and said that it was allowing retro game emulators on the App Store. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel ...
iOS 18 Siri Integrated Feature

iOS 18 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Friday April 12, 2024 11:11 am PDT by
iOS 18 is expected to be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. iOS 18 is rumored to include new generative AI features for Siri and many apps, and Apple plans to add RCS support to the Messages app for an improved texting experience between iPhones and Android devices. The update is also expected to introduce a more...