MacHeist is giving away my Mac app ShoveBox and $154 of other apps(macheist.com)
macheist.com
MacHeist is giving away my Mac app ShoveBox and $154 of other apps
http://www.macheist.com/nano
51 comments
I was thinking the same thing, except with Evernote - I started using it a few weeks ago and have already built up a sizable switching cost. Maybe it'd help to hear more about import options as well as competitive differences?
Dangrover, I just wanted to let you know that I think ShoveBox is a great application. I have been on the verge of buying it for a year now because I enjoy its use and find it so elegant, but I never have done because I haven't been able to find a superior placement for it in my workflow. I don't think this giveaway will change that state of affairs, but even as I don't find it personally necessary I think Shovebox is just very well designed indeed.
Thanks so much!
I'm hoping to return the app a little to its roots and make it something more hackers will want to use in version 2.0, while keeping the existing functionality/marketing approach.
For instance, there's a feature called Targets that replaces Rules and makes it so you can define targets in addition to the existing ways to get info into the app (e.g. add your own menu items, bookmarklets, floating blob/tab thingies). And I really want to have bindings for everything in the app in some language -- I'm thinking Lua. AppleScript is kind of a pain.
I'm hoping to return the app a little to its roots and make it something more hackers will want to use in version 2.0, while keeping the existing functionality/marketing approach.
For instance, there's a feature called Targets that replaces Rules and makes it so you can define targets in addition to the existing ways to get info into the app (e.g. add your own menu items, bookmarklets, floating blob/tab thingies). And I really want to have bindings for everything in the app in some language -- I'm thinking Lua. AppleScript is kind of a pain.
I take it from this response by you that a big reason you participated in giving away your software with this MacHeist was to increase your user base to garner more feedback for your upcoming version?
That is a great idea friend and not one many are willing to consider because they would feel defeated by giving something away that they work so hard on.
Cheers and the best of luck. If you want any feedback directly from me as a first time user of your software with high hopes, let me know.
That is a great idea friend and not one many are willing to consider because they would feel defeated by giving something away that they work so hard on.
Cheers and the best of luck. If you want any feedback directly from me as a first time user of your software with high hopes, let me know.
Dan,
Captain Kangaroo was a very nice man. He (Bob Keeshan) and Hugh Brannum used to come into a restaurant where my Mom worked and make me origami. They also gave me a stuffed toy frog once. He shouldn't be on your list. On a more serious note, Shovebox looks really cool...can you also organize files with tags?
Captain Kangaroo was a very nice man. He (Bob Keeshan) and Hugh Brannum used to come into a restaurant where my Mom worked and make me origami. They also gave me a stuffed toy frog once. He shouldn't be on your list. On a more serious note, Shovebox looks really cool...can you also organize files with tags?
Hah. My dad (a nurse) actually took care of Captain Kangaroo in a hospital once.
Tags are coming in v2.
I should note it's not really meant as a file organizer -- it just-so-happens to import certain types of files, but that's not the primary use case it's designed for.
Tags are coming in v2.
I should note it's not really meant as a file organizer -- it just-so-happens to import certain types of files, but that's not the primary use case it's designed for.
Might I suggest JavaScript bindings? That way, when you make the web app version the plugin API will be the same language. There's even a JavaScript interpreter with Objective-C interop written by Apple.
Wow, great job on ShoveBox. I've been searching for something like this for a while. I'm going to use it for a week or so, and I'll probably end up purchasing it anyway to support you. Thanks for creating it!
I wish MacHeist provided a box to explain why you would pay the amount you specified.
When they are collecting this data, how are they going to know why someone would be willing to put out $20, $25 and so on for the bundle?
Just an observation. For me, I really need to give this ShoveBox a try. Wish I knew it was out there a long time ago. I've constantly complained about my Safari bookmark management and that there has to be a better way. Is ShoveBox it?
When they are collecting this data, how are they going to know why someone would be willing to put out $20, $25 and so on for the bundle?
Just an observation. For me, I really need to give this ShoveBox a try. Wish I knew it was out there a long time ago. I've constantly complained about my Safari bookmark management and that there has to be a better way. Is ShoveBox it?
That is what I don't like (see my other comment). It is just the same marketing trick every other vendor in the world uses. You know when you shop for clothes and you peel off the "reduced price: 50$" sticker, and underneath you see that the original price was in fact just 40$...
Looking at MacHeist, if you haven't bought those apps before, then they have not been worth 20$ for you - so you don't save a thing. Instead, you spend money on stuff you wouldn't have bought otherwise. Yet many users fall for it, somehow.
Looking at MacHeist, if you haven't bought those apps before, then they have not been worth 20$ for you - so you don't save a thing. Instead, you spend money on stuff you wouldn't have bought otherwise. Yet many users fall for it, somehow.
Dam I love it! Finally I can get rid of that clutter Evernote... Love the drag function too awesome app guys!
Edit: I'd love to have a web interface with this but.. can't have everything right? lol Definitely getting the iPhone version to sync up
Edit 2: If you guys could add uploading as well to share on twitter for eg. Well gosh darn that would be something special right there ;)
Edit: I'd love to have a web interface with this but.. can't have everything right? lol Definitely getting the iPhone version to sync up
Edit 2: If you guys could add uploading as well to share on twitter for eg. Well gosh darn that would be something special right there ;)
Sign up system is pretty awful. Tried 4 different user names, they were all taken. Had to unhide the hidden reg form every time. Had to re-enter my password twice, every time.
Not sure about the apps, but that is one beautifully designed site.
Obviously I'm the only one who can't get the serial numbers generated? How long did it take for serial numbers to generate for you? I'm using Firefox 3.5.4 on Mac OS 10.6
It took 2 hours for me. You need to wait a bit, don't worry.
I haven't gotten mine as yet though :(
I'm pretty sure they'll come in at some point
Ha, I'm going on almost a half hour now, you?
I think I'm about the same lol, race ya?
I'm going to send the server processing the request some left-over candy from Halloween, so expect to lose.
EDIT: According to @oscardelben above it took him almost two hours. He didn't use candy.
EDIT: According to @oscardelben above it took him almost two hours. He didn't use candy.
Downloaded it earlier this evening. WriteRoom and Shovebox are the only two apps I was really looking forward to getting. Can't wait to try it out over the next few days
I played Hordes of Orcs while waiting for Slicehost to resize my slice due to the brutal pounding from MacHeist users. :)
just installed. registration code doesn't work. also, there's no way to close the registration window once you run the app. any ideas?
Make sure you didn't move the app while you were running it.
if you mean move the app's directory location, then no. i ran the app, but there doesn't seem to be a way to close the registration window after i've exited the game. i can't even force quit.
Oh. I have nothing to do with Hordes of Orcs. I thought you were talking about my own app. I had the same issue with that game. You can still close it by clicking "later" or whatever, it just doesn't seem to be attached to anything with a dock icon.
The nano bundle was disappointing. Only TinyGrab seems like a nice app. The rest is poorly written or just low grade. Not the usual MacHeist quality.
That seems to be my impression of this years offering. But still willing to give it a shot and I really want to try ShoveBox.
Maybe the big values (like in MacHeist past) will come in later?
Maybe the big values (like in MacHeist past) will come in later?
Also, writeroom is a very popular app among bloggers
Isn't MacHeist just a clever way to make Apple fans buy stuff? Nothing against the apps in question, but I hate to see this marketing scheme on HN.
Yeah? And Paul Graham made Hacker News as a clever way of sucking people into YCombinator, and lots of people here comment as a clever way of getting their product name out. There is nothing inherently wrong with marketing whatsoever.
In this case, a supposed $150 value is being offered for free. That's news worth posting.
In this case, a supposed $150 value is being offered for free. That's news worth posting.
"There is nothing inherently wrong with marketing whatsoever."
So can I sell your email address to all the spammers?
So can I sell your email address to all the spammers?
That's your best response? To conflate all marketing with spam? Grow up.
Know how you found the computer you're using? It was marketed to you. The books you read, the movies you watch, all marketed. Do you read content online? It's paid for by advertisers who're marketing their products. If you've seen a movie in the last decade you've seen things paid for by product placement. Every article of clothing you wore was marketed to you, either in a catalogue or just positioned in the store in a way to catch your eye.
Marketing is an incredibly subtle trade. I should know: It's what I'm learning. Practically everything counts as marketing. When I make my headline big on a web site, that's to market the title to you. When I make my fonts attractive, I'm marketing a certain attitude as a designer, which is why a site that uses certain fonts looks and feels different than other fonts. It's all manipulation, which isn't to say it's bad. Manipulation is a natural part of life, and it helps us find things we wouldn't see otherwise.
Because I'm learning this, and spending quite a lot of effort to comprehend it all, it rather bothers me when you, Anonymous Internet Person, denounce it while simultaneously showing you don't know what marketing is. I follow politics, too, does that mean I approve of Naziss? And I really do like technological advances, which means I definitely support nuclear weaponry. Of course I don't like spam. But this isn't spam. It's marketing.
Know how you found the computer you're using? It was marketed to you. The books you read, the movies you watch, all marketed. Do you read content online? It's paid for by advertisers who're marketing their products. If you've seen a movie in the last decade you've seen things paid for by product placement. Every article of clothing you wore was marketed to you, either in a catalogue or just positioned in the store in a way to catch your eye.
Marketing is an incredibly subtle trade. I should know: It's what I'm learning. Practically everything counts as marketing. When I make my headline big on a web site, that's to market the title to you. When I make my fonts attractive, I'm marketing a certain attitude as a designer, which is why a site that uses certain fonts looks and feels different than other fonts. It's all manipulation, which isn't to say it's bad. Manipulation is a natural part of life, and it helps us find things we wouldn't see otherwise.
Because I'm learning this, and spending quite a lot of effort to comprehend it all, it rather bothers me when you, Anonymous Internet Person, denounce it while simultaneously showing you don't know what marketing is. I follow politics, too, does that mean I approve of Naziss? And I really do like technological advances, which means I definitely support nuclear weaponry. Of course I don't like spam. But this isn't spam. It's marketing.
First off, I am not anonymous. My HN profile is public and contains links and my email address.
Second, yeah, my response was a bit short, as I did not have enough time.
Third, I hope as you study more, you'll abandon your tunnel vision with respect to marketing. At the moment "to a person with a hammer, every problem looks like a nail" comes to mind.
I have nothing against people writing interesting articles for marketing, that is, marketing essentially paying for those articles. That doesn't imply I have to like EVERYTHING that is done in the name of marketing. For Hacker News there is a certain expectation. I don't think "save 20$ on groceries with this cool voucher" would be welcome here, for example. The expectation is that the articles posted have some relation to "hacking" (in a certain wider sense), that is, enables me to learn stuff.
That is why I mentioned spam, because if you pour marketing content into a channel where it isn't welcome, it is spam - that is the analogy I saw, even though it is a grey area. I just wanted to refute your argument that marketing is always OK. Some people might subscribe to a "the best free offers" list, and they would welcome news about vouchers.
Since this MacHeist stuff got a lot of upvotes, obviously opinions in this community also differ. I am just surprised, that is all - I think it is an Apple effect... Because I don't see the big difference to a groceries voucher.
Perhaps one could argue that the MacHeist way of selling stuff is in itself an interesting hack (a marketing hack). They sold a frigging 4 millions pieces of software people wouldn't probably have bought otherwise. I would be interested in discussion on how they pulled it off...
Edit: to make it clear, if the news had been something like "new version of ShoveBox is out", I would have felt differently. It would have been new technology that is available. "ShoveBox now costs 20$ less" is just a voucher.
Second, yeah, my response was a bit short, as I did not have enough time.
Third, I hope as you study more, you'll abandon your tunnel vision with respect to marketing. At the moment "to a person with a hammer, every problem looks like a nail" comes to mind.
I have nothing against people writing interesting articles for marketing, that is, marketing essentially paying for those articles. That doesn't imply I have to like EVERYTHING that is done in the name of marketing. For Hacker News there is a certain expectation. I don't think "save 20$ on groceries with this cool voucher" would be welcome here, for example. The expectation is that the articles posted have some relation to "hacking" (in a certain wider sense), that is, enables me to learn stuff.
That is why I mentioned spam, because if you pour marketing content into a channel where it isn't welcome, it is spam - that is the analogy I saw, even though it is a grey area. I just wanted to refute your argument that marketing is always OK. Some people might subscribe to a "the best free offers" list, and they would welcome news about vouchers.
Since this MacHeist stuff got a lot of upvotes, obviously opinions in this community also differ. I am just surprised, that is all - I think it is an Apple effect... Because I don't see the big difference to a groceries voucher.
Perhaps one could argue that the MacHeist way of selling stuff is in itself an interesting hack (a marketing hack). They sold a frigging 4 millions pieces of software people wouldn't probably have bought otherwise. I would be interested in discussion on how they pulled it off...
Edit: to make it clear, if the news had been something like "new version of ShoveBox is out", I would have felt differently. It would have been new technology that is available. "ShoveBox now costs 20$ less" is just a voucher.
Fair enough. I thought you referred to marketing in general and not in the context of Hacker News.
I was fine with the submission, because it let me get six applications for free. That's a good alert to send out.
As for anonymity: I consider everybody I don't have a personal relationship with to be anonymous. Knowing who you are doesn't make you any less of an Internet Person to me.
I was fine with the submission, because it let me get six applications for free. That's a good alert to send out.
As for anonymity: I consider everybody I don't have a personal relationship with to be anonymous. Knowing who you are doesn't make you any less of an Internet Person to me.
Tichy, I don't believe that was the context in which they meant it.
Furthermore, take a look at the top 30 currently on HN, approximately 1/3 of them are in some way promotional (either of some product or self-promotion, delivered as news or a testimonial or story).
Like these headlines: 1. Thank You Rails 2. The article about Mark Pincus at a startup at Berkley Mixer 3. HP working on distributed sensory mechanisms 4. The physics of bras 5. How to write a great novel 6. The interview with Y-Combinator that wasn't 7. Japanese teenage boy improves rails 8. Being open and honest about the startup process
In some way, these articles promote a company, a technology, the author of the posts value, and so on.
This post about MacHeist is just feels more blatant.
But I am happy to have people like you in the community that open up debate.
Furthermore, take a look at the top 30 currently on HN, approximately 1/3 of them are in some way promotional (either of some product or self-promotion, delivered as news or a testimonial or story).
Like these headlines: 1. Thank You Rails 2. The article about Mark Pincus at a startup at Berkley Mixer 3. HP working on distributed sensory mechanisms 4. The physics of bras 5. How to write a great novel 6. The interview with Y-Combinator that wasn't 7. Japanese teenage boy improves rails 8. Being open and honest about the startup process
In some way, these articles promote a company, a technology, the author of the posts value, and so on.
This post about MacHeist is just feels more blatant.
But I am happy to have people like you in the community that open up debate.
I have nothing against marketing in itself, if it is win-win. That is for example if people realize they have to create insightful articles to attract hackers as readers, it is a win-win.
I am sorry, I just don't see the MacHeist thing in the same category as those other articles you mention. There is no information or news in the MacHeist thing. Obviously a lot of readers here disagree, so whatever...
I am sorry, I just don't see the MacHeist thing in the same category as those other articles you mention. There is no information or news in the MacHeist thing. Obviously a lot of readers here disagree, so whatever...
I'm inclined to agree. I'm happy I heard about this bundle, but I don't think it falls under the purview of HN. HN has started seeming more promotional in general in recent times, with far more linkbait articles than I remember there being a year ago.
I think some links are intended for the conversation they start here rather than the actual content itself, e.g. people have mentioned the OP has an app in the bundle that seems useful, MacHeist as a "marketing hack," etc. It might not be the best submission ever but I think it still falls within the boundaries of Hacker News.
Meanwhile I can see it in a different light: since MacHeist is so famous, being included is a cool thing for an indie app. Saying "whoa, my app is in MacHeist" seems OK, as would be "37signals reviewd my app" and so on.
Yeah, that's exactly why I posted it -- I figured people would find the hack interesting, whether you like MacHeist or not. Not to promote my app or something. More users right now just means more people with free licenses using up support resources :).
I would say it was the only "clever way to make Apple fans buy stuff" that is a huge benefit to software developers, end-users and the community -- it gets developers (who many are on here) exposure, saves end-users a good deal of money (and in this case costs no money at all), which in turn becomes a great benefit to the community (for those involved, as well as the added benefit of these apps, especially in the past, being time savers for productivity and utility.)
It should be promoted on Hacker News because it does relate and benefit many in this community.
But I think your concern is appreciated and it is always great to have those watching out for the community's best interest.
It should be promoted on Hacker News because it does relate and benefit many in this community.
But I think your concern is appreciated and it is always great to have those watching out for the community's best interest.
Thank you for posting this. I think I'll use Shovebox and maybe Writeroom.
i think it's fixed now. I couldn't signup it yesterday, but no probs earlier today
Just reading the headline I couldn't tell if the poster was proud of having been included, or annoyed at piracy of his app. The name MacHeist actually suggests the latter, and their website only says they supply licenses -- not saying what they are doing is legal.
Now that the comments indicate everything is above board, I wonder if MacHeist plans on having an "Android Annex", or will leave that to another company...
Now that the comments indicate everything is above board, I wonder if MacHeist plans on having an "Android Annex", or will leave that to another company...
It's not piracy, lol. MacHeist has been around for quite a few years now and developers opt-in to the program. Although, I don't remember a year that they offered the bundle free, or am I forgetting?
No it's the first (and probably last) time they are giving away for free.
This isn't the main bundle, and they've been known to give away small collections of apps before, e.g. the Giving Tree at Christmas time. They also give away a ton of free apps for participating in missions during the actual Macheist events, so free software from Macheist is certainly nothing new. They had a small event a week ago on Halloween as well, so I'd say they're just gearing up for some new big event (MH4?) or some holiday special and are using these apps to draw attention, stir up press, and get people coming back around to the site.
I don't think this is the main bundle.
As the only things I write are technical papers, I don't have much use for either Mariner or WriteRoom (this is where LaTeX and Microsoft Word with its automated bibliography and table of contents shine).. But 'Hordes of Orcs' seems pretty cool. I previously trialed Twitterific but didn't like it much - TweetDeck is so much better.
I don't know whether or not TinyGrab will come in handy; I think it's one of those apps you've got to live to truly appreciate it.
At any rate, nice bundle. Thanks :)