This hit the front page of reddit today, thought it would be good to let the list know about it. I found it to be a well written piece and keeps me happy moving forward.
http://blog.macromates.com/2009/working-on-it/
There are a good deal of comments on the blog as well as reddit about the no pay for version 2 issue. I am more or less in the camp of "charge for version 2", especially if the lack of a charge is in any way adding to a lack of motivation to get 2 out the door.
That being said, I do not believe it would be wise to go against a statement made in the past that version 2 would be a free upgrade. Remember, there is nothing stopping any of us from just buying version 2 outright when it comes out if that is the direction you want to go in.
This may skew stats a little on new users, versus upgrade users which could be undesirable. My suggestion, when this day comes, simply make version two require a checkout process, to get a new serial, and charge $0.00 to whatever you feel it is worth.
Personally, if version 2 solves a good deal of my needs that are lacking in version 1, I will be donating one way or another, $100.00 for my copy. I pay my mortgage, dinners, clothes, and the rest of my life as a result of TextMate, $100.00 is a small price to pay for making it easier for me to make a living.
Thank you for coming forward with a new plan to keep users updated on the progress. It has been long overdue, though users are generally forgiving. I also feel, the most vocal, that make a lot of noise, are probably a very small percentage of the true count of the user base.
Yay for 2.0 news! Very nice to know at least one person is using 2.0 on a daily basis as well. Have a nice end of the weekend to you all.