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Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS

boringbar.app

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Re: Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS

#101

Post by a-ve »

sonofhans wrote: post #11

I am the target audience for this, from a UX and tech perspective. It addresses a problem I have and for which I periodically audition solutions. A subscription for a menu bar, though, kills it for me. I have apps on Macs that are over 20 years old. Some of those companies don’t exist anymore. I’m not going to risk paying $100 for a decade of your app and hope that your company, or your goodwill, stays around that lo…

Since this is the top comment as of now - hijacking this to introduce a change to pricing:

------

OP here - based on the feedback, I’ve switched boringBar to a perpetual license for personal use: https://boringbar.app

It’s now $40 for 2 devices and includes 2 years of updates. After that, you can keep using the version you have, or choose to pay for updates again later.

For businesses, I’m keeping the existing annual pricing.

A lot of the comments on pricing were fair, and I appreciate people being direct about it. I still care a lot about long-term maintenance for an app like this, but I think this is a better balance.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47743992

Re: Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS

#105

Post by DrammBA »

a-ve wrote: post #101
sonofhans wrote: post #11

I am the target audience for this, from a UX and tech perspective. It addresses a problem I have and for which I periodically audition solutions. A subscription for a menu bar, though, kills it for me. I have apps on Macs that are over 20 years old. Some of those companies don’t exist anymore. I’m not going to risk paying $100 for a decade of your app and hope that your company, or your goodwill, stays around that lo…

Since this is the top comment as of now - hijacking this to introduce a change to pricing: ------ OP here - based on the feedback, I’ve switched boringBar to a perpetual license for personal use: https://boringbar.app It’s now $40 for 2 devices and includes 2 years of updates. After that, you can keep using the version you have, or choose to pay for updates again later. For businesses, I’m keeping the existing annual…

Given how many developers here use LLMs daily, how do you think about defensibility? Tools like this seem relatively easy to reverse-engineer and replicate with enough time and LLM assistance. Did that influence your decision to charge a subscription or the change to a personal license?

Re: Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS

#106

Post by risyachka »

DrammBA wrote: post #105
a-ve wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since this is the top comment as of now - hijacking this to introduce a change to pricing: ------ OP here - based on the feedback, I’ve switched boringBar to a perpetual license for personal use: https://boringbar.app It’s now $40 for 2 devices and includes 2 years of updates. After that, you can keep using the version you have, or choose to pay for updates again later. For businesses, I’m keeping the existing annual…

Given how many developers here use LLMs daily, how do you think about defensibility? Tools like this seem relatively easy to reverse-engineer and replicate with enough time and LLM assistance. Did that influence your decision to charge a subscription or the change to a personal license?

>> how do you think about defensibility?

defensibility nowadays is app support and development. the more work you pour into it the more defensible it will be.

I personally would gladly pay to have app constantly polished and improved. What I would not use is some vibe-coded alternative that was slopped with AI in a day and pushed to github with a tweet "i made a free X alternative" and then abandoned.

Re: Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS

#107

Post by a-ve »

DrammBA wrote: post #105
a-ve wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since this is the top comment as of now - hijacking this to introduce a change to pricing: ------ OP here - based on the feedback, I’ve switched boringBar to a perpetual license for personal use: https://boringbar.app It’s now $40 for 2 devices and includes 2 years of updates. After that, you can keep using the version you have, or choose to pay for updates again later. For businesses, I’m keeping the existing annual…

Given how many developers here use LLMs daily, how do you think about defensibility? Tools like this seem relatively easy to reverse-engineer and replicate with enough time and LLM assistance. Did that influence your decision to charge a subscription or the change to a personal license?

That's the reason why I added a subscription in the first place - you would pay a dirt-cheap price for a "boring" product with an added insurance that someone will be there to support it.

People will replicate it, sure, but supporting it regularly is another thing. I guess the majority wanted a perpetual license - so it's a win for the masses.

Re: Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS

#108

Post by cactusplant7374 »

comboy wrote: post #39
cactusplant7374 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a tiny market. Why would they bother if only 10 people will give them $10?

I have the same bias as the parent. I'd rather pay $50 one time than $9 a year even if I throw it away after 4 years. But the main reason I wouldn't install it despite being happy customizing linux is that it's yet another black box I need to trust and that knows way too much. It's really insane how much you need to compromise your security on macos to have a decent developer experience.

It's not economical. Lifetime sales for a lifetime unlock would probably be under $100. So not worth it for the developer.

Re: Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS

#109

Post by sonofhans »

a-ve wrote: post #101
sonofhans wrote: post #11

I am the target audience for this, from a UX and tech perspective. It addresses a problem I have and for which I periodically audition solutions. A subscription for a menu bar, though, kills it for me. I have apps on Macs that are over 20 years old. Some of those companies don’t exist anymore. I’m not going to risk paying $100 for a decade of your app and hope that your company, or your goodwill, stays around that lo…

Since this is the top comment as of now - hijacking this to introduce a change to pricing: ------ OP here - based on the feedback, I’ve switched boringBar to a perpetual license for personal use: https://boringbar.app It’s now $40 for 2 devices and includes 2 years of updates. After that, you can keep using the version you have, or choose to pay for updates again later. For businesses, I’m keeping the existing annual…

[dead]

Re: Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS

#110

Post by a-ve »

theowaway213456 wrote: post #41
a-ve wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Adding on to this, apps that hook into window management and multi-monitor behavior can break in subtle ways over time. I ran into some of that with uBar on my setup, especially around multi-monitor use and waking from sleep, and I wanted boringBar’s pricing to match the expectation of continued support and fixes.

I 100% understand why you are using a subscription-based model. It makes sense, and I agree it's the most honest model given that you have to continually support it and you don't want to have to either over-promise on extended support, and offer refunds if you can't fulfill that promise. I just hate managing subscriptions. If you gave me the option to require manual subscription renewal, rather than auto-renewal, I w…

I've added a perpetual license - $40 for 2 devices and 2 years of updates.
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