Notepad++ Creator Calls Out 'Fake' Mac App Over Trademark Violation
www.macrumors.com
Notepad++ creator Don Ho said the macOS version of the popular Windows code editor is fake and using the Notepad++ trademark without permission. The unofficial Notepad++ app for macOS In a blog post, Ho said the macOS app is "not authorized, not endorsed, and not affiliated with" the official version of Notepad++ in any way, adding that it is "misleading, inappropriate, and frankly disrespectful to both the project and its users".
  • XLE@piefed.socialEnglish
    48·
    7 hours ago

    Dev: uses N++ name and logo without permission

    Dev: adds Don Ho to the list of authors

    Don Ho: “I did not authorize this”

    Dev: “so in coordination with Don Ho, I am renaming the app”

    • DougPiranha42@lemmy.worldEnglish
      4·
      3 hours ago

      I settled on sublime. It is not exactly the same as np++, but works great on both Mac and Linux, so at least I don’t need to get used to a separate editor for those two environments.

    • comador @lemmy.worldEnglish
      12·
      7 hours ago

      CotEditor and BBEdit 15 are probably the best Mac alternatives that will fit most needs.

      • MurrayL@lemmy.worldEnglish
        6·
        7 hours ago

        Yep, CotEditor is fantastic - solo dev and they’re very careful to follow the actual macOS interface guidelines, so it looks and feels native throughout.

  • comador @lemmy.worldEnglish
    723·
    8 hours ago

    It’s a real application that looks and works just like NP++, but it isn’t NP++ and never will be as NP++ is heavily written using Win32 and C++.

    NP++ would need a complete rewrite to work on anything other than Winblowz, which is what this Mac port is: a rewrite.

    I think it’s valid that they have to change the name, but the app itself isn’t fake.

    • Mark with a Z@suppo.fiEnglish
      22·
      6 hours ago

      but the app itself isn’t fake.

      When someone calls a plastic rolex a fake, they don’t mean that it isn’t a watch

      • comador @lemmy.worldEnglish
        213·
        4 hours ago

        lmao. I’ve been around FOSS long enough to remember when GIMP was considered a rip off of Photoshop much in the same light and Blender was a Maya rip off early on.

        NP++ for Mac works, I’m running ut and it isn’t plastic fake anymore than GIMP or Blender are. They fucked up in using the name though, it’s not an official release.

        • finalarbiter@piefed.socialEnglish
          9·
          4 hours ago

          GIMP never called itself Photoshop. The problem here is this clone is using the trademarked name and lying about official association with Ho, not that it has similar functionality to Notepad++.

          Also, Blender predates Maya by at least a couple years, so not sure what you’re going on about there.

        • XLE@piefed.socialEnglish
          61·
          4 hours ago

          That’s a bit odd, considering Blender was released in 1994 (development can be traced back to 1987), while Maya was released in 1998…

          And even if the dates were reversed, I didn’t have any trouble distinguishing the word “Blender” from the word “Maya”, nor telling their logos apart