Hey...where the heck did Chronos go?
The Short Answer...
Well...that's hard to say. The short answer is that Chronos was re-named to ClockWorks. Same product (hopefully better), same author. I would ask you to delete any old copies you may have from your hard drives. I would further ask that web masters update their links, remove old copies of the software and download fresh, shiny new copies of Cesium.
The
Long Answer involving lawyers and stuff...
The long answer is something of a cautionary tale for shareware developers...On April 16 1998, I received a message from W. Ron Sutton at ACCUSPLIT, alledging that I was infringing on their trademark, 'Cronus'. A great deal of mail went back and forth about this issue.
Not being a litigious type, (Joke: How do you get 50 Canadians out of a swimming pool in a hurry? A:"Uh, could you get out of the pool, please?") and with no resources to fight this even if I had the inclination, I have simply changed the darned name.
I do this for fun, not profit. I like making things which are both functionally and aesthetically pleasing and I hope Chronos...er...ClockWorks...umm...Cesium is both of those.
I offer this voyeuristic window into what developing shareware is like when faced with legal challenges. I offer it as a cautionary tale to other developers. What saddens me most is that Mr. Sutton's e-mail stripped me of my fun and made this all serious-like. What was a happy pursuit as brain exercise suddenly became fraught with legal complications and the possibility of lawsuits and damages. Hardly the stuff that hobbies are made of...I mean, imagine waterskiing with a brace of lawyers hanging off your waist...;-)
Cesium is better because you, the users, made it better with your suggestions. Your steady stream of criticism, good, bad or indifferent, has made this fun, engaging and enlightening. Keep 'em coming...
And I wish ACCUSPLIT and Mr. Sutton all the best.
Having spent considerable time and effort mopping up after the Chronos thing, I carefully chose the next name for Chronos, namely, ClockWorks. I had very little time to make the name change in the heat of a very busy period at work.Once things calmed down, I discovered that ClockWork (no plural) is the name of an agenda product for the Macintosh platform. So I sent the folks who make ClockWork a note, all friendly-like, just to make certain that I wouldn't have a problem down the road. And they immediately threatened legal action.
And so, many months later, ClockWorks has become Cesium. Here's hoping that this is the last time.