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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

#131

Post by satvikpendem »

kstrauser wrote: post #112
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…

Feedback from a potential customer: I despise 2-device limits. I used DEVONthink for a decade but dropped it because of that exact thing. At home, I have a Mac Studio[0] set up in my office with my music stuff, and I'm writing this on my MacBoor Air[1] here on my lap in the living room. I also have a work laptop, although it's safely tucked away in my backback right now. My wife has an MBA, too, but that's hers and I…

What's the alternative?

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

#132

Post by kstrauser »

satvikpendem wrote: post #131
kstrauser wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Feedback from a potential customer: I despise 2-device limits. I used DEVONthink for a decade but dropped it because of that exact thing. At home, I have a Mac Studio[0] set up in my office with my music stuff, and I'm writing this on my MacBoor Air[1] here on my lap in the living room. I also have a work laptop, although it's safely tucked away in my backback right now. My wife has an MBA, too, but that's hers and I…

What's the alternative?

Trust and respect, which is a 2-way street. I've bought some relatively expensive apps (the pro version of nearly everything Omni Group makes, Things, etc. etc. etc.) and all of them let you install and use the apps on all of your computers. They're licensed per person, not per device. I despise technical controls on this for the same reason I despise DRM on physical media: it's an inconvenience to rightful owners and a temporary speed bump to pirates.

I'm not about to abuse my OmniFocus licenses, even though I could. They sold me a great product at a reasonable price, with permission to throw a copy on everything I own so I can use it no matter which chair I'm sitting at. They trust and respect me, and I trust and respect them.

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

#133

Post by madhacker »

user34283 wrote: post #130
risyachka wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> 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.

I would not. I'm not paying $40 for a taskbar replacement. And not for two years of updates and a two device limit on top. Maybe if it was $10, I could consider it. Prices for macOS apps are insane in my opinion. Everyone wants to charge yearly or every two years now too.

I second this! As a lite Mac user, $40 is a bit steep. I'll manage without boringBar no matter how great it is.

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

#136

Post by Lawand »

starkparker wrote: post #20
mynameisvlad wrote: post #4

I use uBar for this: https://ubarapp.com but this looks like a nice lightweight alternative!

https://lawand.io/taskbar/ as well and https://noteifyapp.com/activedock/ , which is less extreme but has a start menu-like launcher option Both have one-time/lifetime purchase options. Taskbar is $25 one-time with a free but expiring older version. ActiveDock's one-time prices are $15 (1 year of updates, but usable forever) and $60 (lifetime updates).

Thank you for mentioning my app (https://lawand.io/taskbar/). It's been around for a couple of years and it's considered the best alternative to uBar according to the extremely positive reviews by my users

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

#138

Post by danpalmer »

a-ve wrote: post #99

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 i…

Doesn't this make Personal licences about 6x the cost of Business licences?

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

#140

Post by hirvi74 »

user34283 wrote: post #130
risyachka wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> 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.

I would not. I'm not paying $40 for a taskbar replacement. And not for two years of updates and a two device limit on top. Maybe if it was $10, I could consider it. Prices for macOS apps are insane in my opinion. Everyone wants to charge yearly or every two years now too.

Honestly, I have tried to really cut down on my usage of 3rd-party dependencies when possible. In a way, it's kind of freeing. Whatever I still need, I write myself. If I cannot write it, then I try to find something FOSS. If I find nothing, then I consider purchasing something.

For example, I am rolling my own window manager (that needs some much needed TLC). I ditched Alfred for Spotlight. Though Alfred is better, I will survive just fine. And the list goes on.

I am not trying to take a dig at the OP. I am sure he or she put effort into this application. But I am genuinely curious -- does anybody actually need this software? Cmd+Tab, a decent window manager, and Spotlight would solve the same problems for free.

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