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Omni Group Layoffs

mjtsai.com

31–40 of 257 posts

Re: Omni Group Layoffs

#31
post #14

I discovered Omni yesterday when League of Legends dumped 20 gB of text logs on my brother’s old MacBook, eating up all available disk space and crashing it. He asked me for help. I didn’t know what was taking up all his disk space so I searched for a tool to help me and found OmniDiskSweeper. Unlike the MacOS builtin tools that try to hide the underlying file system, OmniDiskSweeper actually helped me understand the…

I use WinDirStat for the same thing on windows. Lets you pick and then scan a drive and then gives you a graphical view where the bigger the file the larger its block is proportionally to the other files.

Not sure if WinDirStat got updated to use a different method by now, but a few years ago many people switched to WizTree [0] as it is almost instant thanks to reading the data differently.

[0]: https://antibody-software.com/web/software/software/wiztree-...

Re: Omni Group Layoffs

#32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s an amazing product. I cannot afford the price tag. I wonder how many more people would buy it if it was just a little bit cheaper.

I was saying the same thing earlier today. Most of their products are $100-200. I like OmniGraffle but I only need to make graphics a few times a year, and free alternatives like draw.io or even Keynote often suffice.

Yeah, I feel this. I strongly believe that the "App Store economy" has taught developers to underprice their work, and that $25, $50, even $100 isn't unreasonable. But Omni's stuff... it gets steep if you're a relatively casual user, especially if you want both Mac and iOS versions.

While it's possible I'm an outlier, I can't help but wonder if a different pricing structure -- say, $49.99 for most Mac programs, $19.99 for most iOS ones, and a (gasp) subscription of $39.99 per year for upgrading to the Pro version that covered both iOS and Mac versions of the app -- would actually make them more money in the long run.

Re: Omni Group Layoffs

#33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s an amazing product. I cannot afford the price tag. I wonder how many more people would buy it if it was just a little bit cheaper.

I was saying the same thing earlier today. Most of their products are $100-200. I like OmniGraffle but I only need to make graphics a few times a year, and free alternatives like draw.io or even Keynote often suffice.

That is the issue. It is not that it isn't worth $250 for the Pro version if you use it everyday, but it isn't worth it if you only use it twice a year.

Re: Omni Group Layoffs

#34
post #14

I discovered Omni yesterday when League of Legends dumped 20 gB of text logs on my brother’s old MacBook, eating up all available disk space and crashing it. He asked me for help. I didn’t know what was taking up all his disk space so I searched for a tool to help me and found OmniDiskSweeper. Unlike the MacOS builtin tools that try to hide the underlying file system, OmniDiskSweeper actually helped me understand the…

As a poor college student, I went for the cheapest storage option on my MacBook. Running OmniDiskSweeper every once allowed me to maximize the storage I did have.

Re: Omni Group Layoffs

#35
post #7
post #6

I think Omni Group's locked down to Apple is a mistake. As a iPad Pro/iPhone user I wish to buy their products but as a Windows/Linux desktop user the lack of cross-platform support is a huge dealbreaker.

Sometimes it's best to stick to what you do well and do it really well. The market for their product is very different on the Windows side.

How was this for the best when they had to lay off "usually off market" talent?

Re: Omni Group Layoffs

#36
I have been an OmniGraffle user from the very beginning (~2000). I love OmniGraffle. But I've seen Sketch come (and go) and there have been no significant updates for OmniGraffle for a very very long time. Omni only added to their iOS offerings and totally forgot about desktop. I understand that mobile "is the future" but, there is a significant need for desktop design applications. And although I still use OmniGraffle I would no longer buy updates.

Re: Omni Group Layoffs

#37
post #6

I think Omni Group's locked down to Apple is a mistake. As a iPad Pro/iPhone user I wish to buy their products but as a Windows/Linux desktop user the lack of cross-platform support is a huge dealbreaker.

It's also what made the company: they were originally developers of software targeting NeXT machines/OS. Their products are a better fit in the role of 'big fish in a small pond' of the NeXT and then Mac worlds. Also, the Windows world has never valued the kind of craftsmanship Omni puts into their products... it's much more of a corporate market where managers and purchasing departments decide which products win.

Re: Omni Group Layoffs

#38
post #14

I discovered Omni yesterday when League of Legends dumped 20 gB of text logs on my brother’s old MacBook, eating up all available disk space and crashing it. He asked me for help. I didn’t know what was taking up all his disk space so I searched for a tool to help me and found OmniDiskSweeper. Unlike the MacOS builtin tools that try to hide the underlying file system, OmniDiskSweeper actually helped me understand the…

I've used Grand Perspective for this: http://grandperspectiv.sourceforge.net/

Re: Omni Group Layoffs

#39
post #10
post #6

I think Omni Group's locked down to Apple is a mistake. As a iPad Pro/iPhone user I wish to buy their products but as a Windows/Linux desktop user the lack of cross-platform support is a huge dealbreaker.

Seems like a great opportunity to build a Windows alternative. Omni software is deeply Mac, using Mac UX/UI components that don't exist elsewhere. If they GTK/QT/JSed it, it wouldn't be Omni and it wouldn't be worth $50-$250 a pop.

Not really. In the Windows world Visio pretty much owns the market. Sure, the retail price of Visio is higher but it's also typically built into corporate pricing schedules for Microsoft software (i.e. discounted and on the pre-approved vendor list)... good luck competing with that. For anyone price-sensitive there's open source / freeware / web-based stuff. This doesn't leave much room for another desktop product.

Re: Omni Group Layoffs

#40
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems like a great opportunity to build a Windows alternative. Omni software is deeply Mac, using Mac UX/UI components that don't exist elsewhere. If they GTK/QT/JSed it, it wouldn't be Omni and it wouldn't be worth $50-$250 a pop.

Are you saying using mac components alone gives it the $50-$100 a pop value, if so thats some quality brainwashing going on.

It will be defended to the death. The cult is strong, if waneing.
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