Transitions
October 27, 2009
Last week at the EECI Conference, EllisLab made two big announcements: ExpressionEngine 2 will be released on December 1, and it will include a fieldtype API, based on FieldFrame!
As exciting as the prospect of EE 2 is, it doesn’t mean much when you rely on third party add-ons that aren’t yet compatible. So I figured it’s high time I revealed my roadmap for EE2 compatibility. Keep in mind that sometimes things go faster than expected, and sometimes they take longer.
| Add-on | Target Date |
|---|---|
| Matrix | December 1 |
| Field Pack (Checkbox, Checkbox Group, Radio Group, Select, Multi-select) | December 1 |
| Wygwam | January |
| Playa | April |
| Gypsy | June |
There’s no need for FieldFrame to be ported, thanks to EE 2’s upcoming fieldtype API. You might have noticed that Sarge, Snitch, and Editor are also missing from this list. Sarge has already been replaced by FF Select, Snitch is being discontinued, and I’m not exactly sure what to do with Editor yet.
(You can read more about my EE 2 support on EE Insider.)
Pixel & Tonic
The EE2 transition isn’t the only big news for me, though. As I announced during my EECI presentation, I’m going to be leaving LEVEL at the end of the year, allowing me to put all of my energy into ExpressionEngine add-on development!
To be sure, this was an extremely hard decision to make. The people I work at LEVEL and Apple are top-notch, and continue to challenge and inspire me. But I’ve reached a point where both my day job and my EE work are suffering, and something had to give. Even still, I’m hoping to continue working with the team on a contract basis a couple times a year.
In tandem with going solo, I’ve decided to go legit and incorporate myself. The name I’ve chosen? Pixel & Tonic. Because I like UI, and I like gin & tonics.
Working with someone on the identity and building the new website will take some time, especially amidst this parade of EE 2 add-on porting, so I don’t expect to publicly launch the company for a few months. In the meantime I will continue to release things right here on my personal site.
A big thank-you to all of you that have made this move possible for me. I’m extremely grateful!
32 Comments
Kevin Goeminne
October 27, 2009 at 9:13 am
lets hope we can support you for even more magic :)
Erik Reagan
October 27, 2009 at 9:13 am
That’s great news Brandon. It’s a big step as you obviously know. I am very confident that you will continue to challenge and grow yourself and other EE developers. Best of luck planting your feet with Pixel & Tonic!
Eric Barstad
October 27, 2009 at 9:19 am
That’s fantastic news about Pixel & Tonic and FieldFrame, Brandon. Congrats!
You’ve made EE an even better system to use, changing the landscape for people like me, who rely on EE to make a living. Matrix and Playa are amazing add-ons and have made my life a lot easier. It’s hard to even imagine building a site without them anymore.
Good luck with the new company.
Lodewijk Schutte
October 27, 2009 at 9:24 am
Woohoo! Going solo FTW! Good luck, mate.
Robert Eerhart
October 27, 2009 at 9:34 am
Seems like you made the right decision, mate. Love the sound of Pixel & Tonic. Good luck!
Jérôme Coupé
October 27, 2009 at 9:36 am
Looking forward to these (and more) being released for EE2. Best of luck with your new company !
Angie
October 27, 2009 at 9:51 am
Totally agree with Eric B—your add-ons really have made EE that much better. Congrats again on the move to independent work!
Jason
October 27, 2009 at 10:13 am
Best of luck with Pixel & Tonic and many thanks for your contributions to the EE community.
Travis Schmeisser
October 27, 2009 at 10:40 am
Great news and congrats on your new venture!
Lea
October 27, 2009 at 11:16 am
Awesome, congrats! :) I also love the new name! Thanks for creating such great add-ons.
pablo
October 27, 2009 at 11:23 am
Best of luck with everything Brandon!
Jack McDade
October 27, 2009 at 11:26 am
Good luck Brandon! The EE community will be better for the change.
Rob
October 27, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Good luck in the new adventure Brandon, it’s a brave move but a good one. You’ve made a huge difference to the EE community and long may you do so!
Erwin Heiser
October 27, 2009 at 12:31 pm
All the best with your new endeavour! Glad to see Matrix will be 2.0 in December already… sweet!
Brandon Livengood
October 27, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Good Luck man it will be well worth it.
Casey Reid
October 27, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Awesome news Brandon. Congrats and good luck in your new venture.
John Faulds
October 27, 2009 at 2:48 pm
You’ve got the goods mate, I’m sure it’ll be a success.
Brandon Kelly
October 27, 2009 at 2:53 pm
Thanks everyone! The response has been very encouraging! Can’t wait to kick things into gear.
mahalie
October 27, 2009 at 3:06 pm
Personally I’m relieved to know you’ll be making brilliant add-ons full time. Can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Mark J. Reeves
October 28, 2009 at 7:25 am
Wow, congrats, Brandon! And welcome to the full-time solo/freelance/small biz EE community. This is great news for everyone.
Nathan Pitman
October 28, 2009 at 7:45 am
Wow, what amazing news! Congratulations and best of luck with this transition. :)
Patrick Clarke
November 2, 2009 at 9:14 am
Congrats! Looking forward to see the greatness you are able to create now!
Rob B
November 4, 2009 at 6:44 am
Congratuations and thank you! We’re quite lucky to have you devoting your time this way.
Also, I don’t know if it’s just me, but I’ve always appreciated the way that your extensions (and now, your new name) sound like names of rock bands.
Omkar
November 4, 2009 at 7:34 am
Congrats on making this big decision and am looking forward to your future addons!
Hambo
November 5, 2009 at 4:24 pm
I was all set to launch Vectors and Soda. Damn.
Tom Kiss
November 10, 2009 at 8:35 am
Congrats and all the best :)
Nevsie
November 10, 2009 at 9:25 am
Congrats - looking forward to seeing everything ported over.
Jae Barclay
November 10, 2009 at 10:55 am
Very very exciting new Brandon. We’ll support as much as we can - and congrats!
Chris Rowe
November 18, 2009 at 3:39 am
Great news, good luck with everything.
April can’t come soon enough though!
Josh
November 21, 2009 at 8:07 pm
Your contributions to EE are have really added to the overall value and power of the CMS. I am very excited for you and the talent you have to offer:)
Ibiza
January 28, 2010 at 1:12 am
Good luck! Curious add-on, did you know that “playa” mean in Spanish? Beach…
Luke
March 18, 2010 at 1:08 am
Any news on Playa’s progress? Trying to make a call on whether to use EE2 or 1 for an upcoming project. Thanks!