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Show HN: Automatic private time tracking for OS X

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Re: Show HN: Automatic private time tracking for OS X

#61
Did you test it thoroughly for websites tracking? I made a Firefox plugin[1] to track how long I would spend on facebook but it never had really accurate results.

Do you track only the current tab? Do you still track it if it's not foreground? Even if Firefox has many windows?

How do you track tabs in the browser from the OS by the way?

[1]: https://github.com/mimoo/FirefoxTimeTracker

Re: Show HN: Automatic private time tracking for OS X

#62
post #2

I was not happy with features and UX of other productivity trackers. Most of the time tracking software is made for controlling employees or for billing clients and I just wanted an automated productivity measurement. I tried RescueTime before but it was too expensive for its functionality ($72-108/year) and also collected all my tracked data on their servers. There is standalone ManicTime on Windows but OS X standal…

What is your long-term monetisation plan here then? One-time payment won't last forever, as we've seen from different programs lately.

Why not? Thousands of app companies exist on one-time payment for many years, releasing payed updates sometimes. MacPaw is a good modern example.

Re: Show HN: Automatic private time tracking for OS X

#63

I like the idea of this a lot, but not working with Firefox is a dealbreaker. If only 100% of my time spent in Firefox was actually productive....

Firefox does not report URL to OS X accessibility.

I'm going to file a bug or even dig into the sources later.

Re: Show HN: Automatic private time tracking for OS X

#64
post #2

I was not happy with features and UX of other productivity trackers. Most of the time tracking software is made for controlling employees or for billing clients and I just wanted an automated productivity measurement. I tried RescueTime before but it was too expensive for its functionality ($72-108/year) and also collected all my tracked data on their servers. There is standalone ManicTime on Windows but OS X standal…

What is your long-term monetisation plan here then? One-time payment won't last forever, as we've seen from different programs lately.

Hat tip to the software author for showing some morals and not trying to bleed consumers dry with a monthly service cost for something which is not a service. He has just won some custom from me.

Re: Show HN: Automatic private time tracking for OS X

#65
post #46
post #2

I was not happy with features and UX of other productivity trackers. Most of the time tracking software is made for controlling employees or for billing clients and I just wanted an automated productivity measurement. I tried RescueTime before but it was too expensive for its functionality ($72-108/year) and also collected all my tracked data on their servers. There is standalone ManicTime on Windows but OS X standal…

Looks like an excellent start, and definitely fills a needed niche under OS X. As far as feature feedback, and perhaps for 2.0, one possible addition you could consider for your idle detection or tracking capabilities would be Bluetooth device reads. When I leave my system I take my phone, so in turn that can act as a useful automatic proxy for whether I'm in the area so to speak or not. I use that already to automat…

Thank you a lot!

I will definitely consider the small business option. We now have educational discounts and the license is also works for the whole family (up to 5 machines).

Re: Show HN: Automatic private time tracking for OS X

#68
I bought the app, and I'm really happy with it, thanks!

I know it's a long shot, but some sort of shell integration would be awesome. My typical day is > 60% iTerm2. iTerm2 has shell integration: https://iterm2.com/shell_integration.html, and maybe that would be one way is something that Qbserve could be fetching info about what's going on in the terminal.

Re: Show HN: Automatic private time tracking for OS X

#69

Looks beautiful. Any plans to add 'Focus' mode like Rescuetime. Basically just ability to block distracting websites? I'd probably switch over from rescuetime if that's added :)

I'm thinking about it but it's not a priority since there are many apps that do it already. Free StayFocusd, WasteNoTime for browsers and also the Focus[1] native app (paid).

[1] https://heyfocus.com/

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