Launch HN: SigmaOS (YC S21) – A MacOS web browser designed for faster work • Hacker News Board

Re: Launch HN: SigmaOS (YC S21) – A MacOS web browser designed for faster work

#191

Post by burlesona » Mon, Aug 16, 2021, 4:30 PM UTC

ftio wrote: post #160

Having watched the demo video, I think this looks interesting. A lot of the (overly nasty) comments here are talking about the pricing for this from a consumer/individual perspective. Frankly, they're right: I think that, for individuals, the benefit over using a vanilla browser is pretty limited. What piqued my interest in the demo are the 'multiplayer' features like super-fast sharing. Today, Sigma seems mildly sim…

I largely agree with this. Also worth noting that Slack includes a relatively generous free tier so that people can form habits around it without needing to overcome the payment barrier. Once those habits are formed, the improved paid experience feels much easier to justify.

Re: Launch HN: SigmaOS (YC S21) – A MacOS web browser designed for faster work

#192

Post by sauravmitra » Mon, Aug 16, 2021, 4:31 PM UTC

qwerty456127 wrote: post #174

sauravmitra wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Changed the title!

I can speculate this can actually attract even more of the target audience to you. Mac people probably feel more enthusiastic about Mac-specific software announcements and are steadier to go and take a look at something Mac-specific than at yet another generic browser. And for the conversion rate - this probably even is a serious boost.

We have been getting slightly more constructive comments since changing the title, so thanks :D

Re: Launch HN: SigmaOS (YC S21) – A MacOS web browser designed for faster work

#193

Post by BlissWaves » Mon, Aug 16, 2021, 4:32 PM UTC

vptr wrote: post #183

BlissWaves wrote: post #176

This is pretty much solving a problem that doesn't exist at all.

That's how you make $$$ in USA. 1. Invent a problem. 2. Market like crazy to make people believe that there's a problem. 3. Charge for a solution to a non-existent problem. 4. Repeat.

Show me one example which has worked with that formula and has generated significant amount of revenue?

Re: Launch HN: SigmaOS (YC S21) – A MacOS web browser designed for faster work

#194

Post by itisit » Mon, Aug 16, 2021, 4:33 PM UTC

sauravmitra wrote: post #112

itisit wrote: post #95

Serious question: what are you doing (or can you do) to prevent your company from getting sherlocked out of existence?

Sorry, I didn't quite get the question. Are you referring to another company copying our features?

> Are you referring to another company copying our features?

Yes, Apple. All/many of your great features can (and perhaps will) find their way into Safari. Any thoughts on this? Not being pessimistic or confrontational; I'm genuinely curious. Apple has been "sherlocking" for decades, and your browser IMO is a classic target.

Re: Launch HN: SigmaOS (YC S21) – A MacOS web browser designed for faster work

#195

Post by sauravmitra » Mon, Aug 16, 2021, 4:33 PM UTC

5350-uiop-1130 wrote: post #184

sauravmitra wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I found out Spectacle was deprecated when I got the new machine, but Rectangle seems to be its successor. Awesome tools! :D

Thanks for sharing, didn't know about that.

Getting used to the new keyboard shortcuts (you can choose the old Spectacle shortcuts as well) took a few days but had less conflicts and I prefer it now :)

Re: Launch HN: SigmaOS (YC S21) – A MacOS web browser designed for faster work

#196

Post by idreyn » Mon, Aug 16, 2021, 4:33 PM UTC

> Oh, and we don't sell your data

> Wondering why browsers are usually free?

There's a heavy implication here that most browser vendors sell your browsing data, but you don't state it outright because (aside from Chrome, arguably) I don't think it's actually true. Let's look at the others:

- Edge is probably sending all kinds of invasive telemetry to Microsoft

- Firefox is maybe(?) sending your email address to Pocket if you have an account with them

- Safari is a product that you pay through the nose for

None of these things are the same thing as selling data the browser collects. If you have any evidence that this is happening, you should put it on your website, because I'd love to hear about it! If you don't, you should probably not prey on people's deep confusion about who is tracking them on the web, and how.

Let's not shift established expectations away from the idea that there ought to be a browser that's both free to use and free of spyware when we already have such a browser in Firefox.

Re: Launch HN: SigmaOS (YC S21) – A MacOS web browser designed for faster work

#197

Post by whywhywhywhy » Mon, Aug 16, 2021, 4:33 PM UTC

WA wrote: post #34

simonvc wrote: post #2

Been beta testing this (full disclosure, angel invester) and i can honestly say i miss it when i'm not on my Big Sur machine. Vim keybindings are such a win, and Sigma does it better than all previous attempts at a vim-like browser because it's properly modal. You hit i to Insert (interact) with a page and escape to go back to controlling the browser. Or you can ignore all that and just use it as a tabs-on-the-sed br…

I'm probably not in the target market, but the slowest thing in a browser these days, for me, is the obnoxious closing of cookie banners and newsletter popups. Hence, uBlock Origin + cosmetic filter list. The productivity boost is more than any keyboard assignment can ever do I guess.

Still think it was a mistake of gigantic proportions when Apple removed the legacy extension support. Their content blockers replacement is nowhere near comparable to uBlock Origin used to be.

Currently there is no way to block YouTube ads on Safari MacOS and all the advice for extensions that do just sends you in a loop of the same few (many of which are paid for) that don't manage to do it for the past few months.

Re: Launch HN: SigmaOS (YC S21) – A MacOS web browser designed for faster work

#198

Post by danenania » Mon, Aug 16, 2021, 4:34 PM UTC

throwawayswede wrote: post #188

danenania wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is that the crew who reflexively post negative comments on Show/Launch HNs are mostly a loud (and smug) but unrepresentative minority with idiosyncratic tastes. Sure, you can learn something from any feedback, but most products would be made worse if the creators took these comments too much to heart, especially when it comes to pricing. That said, you can obviously get a lot of great feedback on HN too!…

Almost every Show/Launch HN post that has a slightly abrasive comment (which is not the same thing as negative or nonconstructive) gets a few comments in the same vein from the "people are negative" to the "people are toxic" kinds, which honestly speaking appears way more smug to me.

It's not just about being abrasive. It's about posting negative comments when you have nothing to offer. If your reaction to something new is that you have absolutely no interest or wouldn't pay a few cappuccinos per month for it then guess what: no one cares. You're just polluting the thread with noise.

Helpful: this is interesting, but I tried it and it's missing these features that I would need to consider paying for it.

Not helpful: subscriptions are the devil!

Re: Launch HN: SigmaOS (YC S21) – A MacOS web browser designed for faster work

#199

Post by BlissWaves » Mon, Aug 16, 2021, 4:35 PM UTC

danenania wrote: post #162

smoldesu wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe they shouldn't charge $15/month for a product that's incomplete. The only reason I'm not the target audience here is because I won't use a subscription-based browser, much less one that has fewer features than my current browser. I respect people who build software, but you have to get pricing right if you want people to care. > I wonder what it is about hacker news that brings out this incessant negativity in…

The problem is that the crew who reflexively post negative comments on Show/Launch HNs are mostly a loud (and smug) but unrepresentative minority with idiosyncratic tastes. Sure, you can learn something from any feedback, but most products would be made worse if the creators took these comments too much to heart, especially when it comes to pricing. That said, you can obviously get a lot of great feedback on HN too!…

Best cure for that is "treat others as you would want yourself to be treated". In this case I would really appreciate it if someone told me that my idea wasn't novel at all, sucked or that I was charging exorbitant fees for some minor improvement of my productivity.

A lot of times in life, kindness doesn't look like kindness.

Re: Launch HN: SigmaOS (YC S21) – A MacOS web browser designed for faster work

#200

Post by detaro » Mon, Aug 16, 2021, 4:37 PM UTC

danenania wrote: post #198

throwawayswede wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Almost every Show/Launch HN post that has a slightly abrasive comment (which is not the same thing as negative or nonconstructive) gets a few comments in the same vein from the "people are negative" to the "people are toxic" kinds, which honestly speaking appears way more smug to me.

It's not just about being abrasive. It's about posting negative comments when you have nothing to offer. If your reaction to something new is that you have absolutely no interest or wouldn't pay a few cappuccinos per month for it then guess what: no one cares. You're just polluting the thread with noise. Helpful: this is interesting, but I tried it and it's missing these features that I would need to consider paying…

The comment all this is under is not just "subscriptions are the devil!". Some responses seem more "reflexively negative" (against any criticism) than the comments they respond to.

you don't seem to offer much value over free competitors and why should we trust you might be hard points to address, but are important.