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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

#21

Post by SyneRyder »

cactusplant7374 wrote: post #16
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…

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

Apparently not that tiny, if a competitor has the same product priced at $30 and is currently on to version 4 after 12+ years in business!

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

#28

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…

I think that’s a fair question.

My thinking is pretty simple: most people will probably choose the basic 2-device plan, which works out to about $0.85 per month. For an app like this, I think that is a reasonable price.

Another reason is that a lot of Mac apps charge a one-time fee upfront, but then require paid upgrades later. In practice, that often ends up being similar to paying for a few years of ongoing support anyway.

I also think a low-cost subscription sets a clearer expectation that the app will continue to be maintained and kept working as macOS changes. For software like this, where OS updates can easily break things, that felt like the more honest model.

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

#29

Post by fii »

Subscription on something like this is goofy, and extra subscription per seat even for personal is goofier. For free, I can use Alfred/Raycast, Aerospace, and either sketchybar or zebar and have all this functionality executed even more skillfully and ergonomically. If you want to throw money into it, Alfred power pack is £34 and supports a great company with a lifetime purchase.

But I also understand I’m not the target audience for this, and some of my coworkers that wanted a Mac because “it’s a Mac” and now compare everything to Windows would probably use it. I’ll just have to feel bad for their wallets.

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

#30

Post by applfanboysbgon »

Remember when we bought software, and owned the right to use it in perpetuity? Good times those were. Now fucking taskbars are SaaS. There is no end to rent-seeking behaviour. In a decade or two, I suppose we will not only be renting the right to use our computers, but also the mouse and keyboard will be time-gated rentals as well. Mousewheel and numpad only available on the Pro subscription, of course.
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