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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

#41

Post by theowaway213456 »

a-ve wrote: post #31
a-ve wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

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 would 100% buy this right now. Basically allow me to purchase for 1 year then click a button to confirm that I'm still getting value out of the product. If I don't click that button then you should assume I'm no longer interested and cancel my subscription.

(I don't like using my mac but sometimes I have to use it for work, and I wish I had this.)

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

#42

Post by vivid242 »

I‘d be happy to pay for an upgrade if future macOS changes break the functionality of this - cool - app, which would require the creator to update it. More work, which I would pay for. But not a subscription, sorry!

Plus, I‘d prefer to (but that’s impossible?) install via the App Store, to avoid a black box.

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

#43

Post by a-ve »

jorl17 wrote: post #37

Hi! Over the years, I've tried several of these dock replacement apps. The one that stuck the longest was uBar (which I used with a setup similar to what you have here, emulating a "windows taskbar". I've hit issues with most of them that forced me to move back to the normal Dock, but the number one issue has always been around notification badges: they always seemed to break in strange ways. For example, can your do…

Hi there - I ran into the same issue myself, but sadly I still haven't found a way to show the badge count without opening the app. I'm still experimenting with it.

I expected some pushback on subscriptions, but after trying uBar and running into quite a few issues with it I wanted to build something that feels reliable and polished. I’m pretty much all-in on the Apple ecosystem now, even though I only switched ~6 months ago. My intention is to keep supporting boringBar regularly, as I use it every day myself.

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

#44

Post by randomeel »

There are MORE apps that have a better reputation like sidebar , dock fix , active dock (has been around for years and years) , and a subscription does not make sense since most can be done for free like window previews with dock door , group windows by app is free in desktop and dock settings for Mission Control , the native dock can also do many things like notification badges, click to show desktop or use a hot corner or trackpad gesture , pin apps in the dock , there are a billion app launchers , spotlight is built in . Most people will stay away from subscriptions as I have observed in the comment below (Pls be nice I’m new here and I don’t know how to comment properly )

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

#45

Post by thehamkercat »

applfanboysbgon wrote: post #30

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.

They're milking the final drops, before LLMs become so good that they'll write something like this in an hour

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

#46

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…

Fair point. The billing part of it is managed via Stripe - I'll put up the update/cancel subscription part on the Customer Billing panel soon.

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

#47

Post by randomeel »

nxpnsv wrote: post #13

I am using BoringNotch, which is great. Is this somehow related?

No , boring notch is a Dynamic Island like utility and it also hasn’t been updated since November , I suggest you to try out atoll which is a fork of it and pretty great .

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

#49

Post by 18182939393939 »

BoorishBears wrote: post #35
SyneRyder wrote: post #17

While I don't use a Mac as my primary anymore, I'm surprised I like the look of this! It actually looks quite Mac-like as well. Subscription is a big nope here, though. Especially for Mac software, I'd expect something where you pay for one major version, that is guaranteed to works on specific macOS versions, and gets minor bugfix updates too. But maybe the next macOS version requires a newer major version update to…

Please don't overindex on this comment OP, $10 a year is completely reasonable and the status quo they describe has killed so much software for so little benefit It's a subscription with extra steps and worse retention.

This reminds me of when I got my Vaxx subscription after the 5th booster.

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

#50

Post by gunapologist99 »

cosmic_cheese wrote: post #40
amarant wrote: post #27

Ah, good old Apple, where for only $9.99 a month, you can experience what Linux offered for free 15+ years ago.

Not really true if what you want is a full macOS-style desktop experience with a few choice features from elsewhere bolted on. Linux desktops are predominantly Windows-style or minimal tiling thing, with the exceptions (GNOME, Pantheon) bearing only surface-level Mac aesthetics and being more comparable to superpowered tablet OS experiences.

MacOS is neutered for any advanced or even power user compared to practically any Linux desktop experience. Trying to just resize or remove a window should convince you of that instantly.
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