a/k

Review: Marsedit 2 vs. ecto 3 Beta

The Quest for the Perfect Blogging Client on Mac

I've been searching for a desktop blogging client for approximately six months on my Macbook. I know many beginning bloggers just use the online editor found in their blogging software, but trust me on this one, using a desktop client will not only make you a better blogger, it will save you time, frustration, broken computer screens. Once you've found a desktop solution that works for you, you will never want to use your online editor again.

After I migrated from numerous Windows XP setups to one Macbook (no more syncing, yay) last August, it took awhile for basic tasks to become second nature. It was basically my first introduction to the Mac platform and while I can say (like everyone else) I would never go back, it was not love at first sight (more on that later, okay?).

It soon became obvious that there are only two options when it comes to desktop blogging on Mac.

1. ecto, a project by Adriaan Tijsseling, a 30 something developer who works at Technorati Japan and develops ecto in his spare time. Don't be fooled by the "beta" packaging on the rewritten 3.x trunk. In the words of Adriaan, this version is "very stable".
2. Marsedit, a project originally developed by Newsgator, the same company that produced everyone's favorite RSS reader, Netnewswire (now free). Marsedit was sold to Daniel Jalkut at Red Sweater Software on February 22, 2007. Jalkut, a talented programmer has made a good program better. Marsedit is currently in version 2.1.2.

Since both of these programs have free trial periods, I downloaded both and began testing. Here's the results.

Interface

Obviously the two were very similar in regards to interface. Both had a main screen which listed blogs in the sidebar and displayed blog posts in an easy to read way. It was only minor differences that set them apart in interface.

Of the two, Marsedit definitely behaved more like a native app. The icons were modern and professional, and overall the interface was snappy. The post editor was beautiful in its simplicity, with a only a few text fields; definitely the epitome of uncluttered. A sidebar was available (but not open by default) which displayed available categories and other post options. A few code aids were available from a drop down list (and keyboard shortcuts) which automatically inserted tags for "bold" or links. Think minimal here.

ecto, on the other hand, was anything but minimal. Its interface was also very pleasing, even though the icons seemed outdated and the interface was juiced up with a tacky blue color. The post editor also had a sidebar (open by default) to define categories and tags. Of course, one of the most notable differences between Marsedit and ecto was the presence of a WYSIWYG editor in ecto. The editor included formatting buttons within easy reach.

Edge: Marsedit

Features

The feature set is very similar as well. Both support a wide myriad of blogging platforms. There's no silver bullet here. But let's take a look.

Marsedit is undistinguished by its features. Support for native tags (I only tested Wordpress tags) is there but unapparent. A preference change reveals a new text field where tags can be entered. As one begins typing, previous tags matching your input will pop up. It's a simple but not brilliant way of doing things. I found I had to tweak quite a few things in the settings before things felt "just right". For instance, Marsedit was perfectly okay with me publishing a post even though I had forgotten to set any tags or categories. A quick preference change prompted a reminder. Integration with Flickr was there and worked fine but was unastounding. I concluded that while Marsedit's feature set is solid, it is not elaborate or even obvious. Most of it's just there, and it works, but it's not pretty all the time.

ecto, on the other hand, is feature king. It not only includes features, it makes them easy to find and use, and most are working by default. The WYSIWYG editor works flawlessly for the most part (no, this is not your grandpa's WYSIWYG editor that pumped out crappy code). When you switch from the code view to the rich text view, if there's any code errors a dialogue will pop up that allows you to fix your tags or let the program do it automatically. The tags generated by the editor are clean and valid xhtml, a definite bonus. I never ever thought I'd use the WYSIWYG editor, but I find myself using it often (and the ability to switch between it and the code view at breakneck speeds is a definite bonus). The media plugin which allows easy insertion of iPhoto pictures, iTunes music or Quicktime movies is a killer feature for anyone that regularly posts media from those apps. ecto's ability to easily edit and resize pictures is also one that is lacking in Marsedit. Everything that ecto does is graceful and works perfectly, whether it's tags and categories, Flickr and Amazon integration, or viewing the word count and changing the page slug. Bottom line? There is nothing I did in Marsedit that I couldn't do just as fast or faster in ecto. And that for me is huge.

Edge: ecto

Price

This one's easy, and while it may not be a deciding factor for most people, it is still important. Marsedit costs $29.99 while a copy of ecto can be acquired for a mere $17.95. Why almost double the price for Marsedit? The difference is the developers––Jalkut is solely supported by the software he creates; Tijsseling develops ecto on the side.

What's ten (or twelve) bucks though? The price difference won't be a huge issue. Either price is very reasonable for the stellar performance of these apps.

Edge: ecto

Support

I found both developers to be friendly and responsive; a test email I sent was replied to within minutes by both. This speaks volumes about the high quality software we're talking about here. And even though there must be stiff competition between the two in a not-too-big market, they remain on friendly terms with each other. When asked which app is better, Marsedit's developer, Daniel Jalkut responded,

"I think the best thing to do is just to try them both and see which appeals to you more."

ecto's developer echoed him,

"That's something for you to determine."

Edge: Tie

Conclusion

In the end, I went with ecto, as it seemed to be better suited to my workflow and I liked it more. But the choice is yours. Both of these apps are high quality and will get the job done. And that is the most important thing after all, is it not?