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I don't think that freeware is really a part of the Apple Developer ecosystem. Most of the MacOS exclusive software I use on a daily basis costs $20-$30, a pric

I don't think that freeware is really a part of the Apple Developer ecosystem. Most of the MacOS exclusive software I use on a daily basis costs $20-$30, a price I'm more than willing to pay for software like Pixelmator, DaisyDisk and Alfred that is significantly more polished (and Mac-ish) then the average piece of open-source software just due to the resources available to them.

rjzzleep 8y ago
It used to be though. I think the freeware culture slowly moved away at 10.5 or so. Maybe that was accelerated by the app store release in 10.6. Quicksilver, while at the time a terrible mess in terms of the code is basically the forefather of all these launchers. Apple also removed a lot of the MacOS APIs that allowed you to mod system components (e.g. input managers) around the same time.
- dewey 8y ago
  I think that's just because the software landscape matured in general. More people use apps, more developer make a real business out of it instead of tinkering in their free time. A few years ago people around me would look at me weirdly for paying for apps for a phone. Now it's normal that you pay for some apps and subscriptions on a monthly basis.
  - kkarakk 8y ago
    most of the things i use for development on windows/linux are open source by comparison whereas buying a macbook led me to spend 200 bucks on utilities. definitely feels like an apple tax
    - moreira 8y ago
      It’s a user experience tax, I think. Most utilities on a Mac are a pure joy to use, well-maintained, and integrate terrifically with the OS. If you didn’t care about user experience (or didn’t think it was better) and just wanted to save money, why would you ever get a Mac anyway?
      - AsyncAwait 8y ago
        I disagree with this strongly. While it is the case in some instances, on macOS you often have to pay for the most basic of utilities, quality of life improvements, stuff like better window snapping and unarchivers etc. Things that are no worse on Linux. You even have to pay for a decent file manager on macOS and it usually still doesn't come close to Dolphin, which is a pure joy to use on Linux, while still being free software. I think it's more to do with the (lack of) ideology when it comes to macOS developers, as in, they don't feel strongly about advancing free software etc. even if they grew up on it, they see software development as a job like any other, to make money from and nothing more. Am not saying it's an illegitimate view, but dressing it otherwise is I think not accurate.
        inapis 8y ago
        This is exaggeration. You're overselling linux but underselling macOS. It's not terrific in every aspect (window snapping being one) but you don't have to pay for every basic utilities on mac. Finder is reasonable. Preview supports a lot of file formats and even allows PDF stitching (few platforms support this out of the box). Keka is a free unarchiver for macOS. Karabiner is a free tool for remapping keyboard keys. Homebrew. iTerm. IINA. Compared to Windows, macOS support a lot more out of the box. > You even have to pay for a decent file manager on macOS and it usually still doesn't come close to Dolphin, which is a pure joy to use on Linux, You're conflating expectations. A vast majority of people are using the file manager for basic stuff. Not everyone needs a feature packed one for day to day operations. If they need one, Commander One is free. > (lack of) ideology when it comes to macOS developers, as in, they don't feel strongly about advancing free software etc. This is cynical. I see plenty of developers on mac or developing for mac using it to contribute to open source projects. Just because it's not translating into free and open source consumer-facing projects on macOS does not imply that devs do not care about open source. In fact most of the important projects put instructions for developing on and for macOS first. From what I've seen, people on macOS are mostly paying for software like BetterTouchTool, Alfred, Keyboard Maestro, Hazel, Carbon Copy Cloner, Ulysses. Software which extends the core OS in a set of ways fitting a myriad set of needs - not for basic stuff. Few of these have convenient or easy to use alternatives on other platforms. People are paying for options, convenience and polish.
- leejoramo 8y ago
  LauchBar created in 1996 for NeXT pre-dates both QuickSliver and Mac OS X. LaunchBar was one of the first utilities I installed on the OS X beta and originated the use of cmd-space as the launcher shortcut
- wnscooke 8y ago
  I still use qs!

rjzzleep 8y ago

It used to be though. I think the freeware culture slowly moved away at 10.5 or so. Maybe that was accelerated by the app store release in 10.6. Quicksilver, while at the time a terrible mess in terms of the code is basically the forefather of all these launchers. Apple also removed a lot of the MacOS APIs that allowed you to mod system components (e.g. input managers) around the same time.

dewey 8y ago
I think that's just because the software landscape matured in general. More people use apps, more developer make a real business out of it instead of tinkering in their free time. A few years ago people around me would look at me weirdly for paying for apps for a phone. Now it's normal that you pay for some apps and subscriptions on a monthly basis.
- kkarakk 8y ago
  most of the things i use for development on windows/linux are open source by comparison whereas buying a macbook led me to spend 200 bucks on utilities. definitely feels like an apple tax
  - moreira 8y ago
    It’s a user experience tax, I think. Most utilities on a Mac are a pure joy to use, well-maintained, and integrate terrifically with the OS. If you didn’t care about user experience (or didn’t think it was better) and just wanted to save money, why would you ever get a Mac anyway?
    - AsyncAwait 8y ago
      I disagree with this strongly. While it is the case in some instances, on macOS you often have to pay for the most basic of utilities, quality of life improvements, stuff like better window snapping and unarchivers etc. Things that are no worse on Linux. You even have to pay for a decent file manager on macOS and it usually still doesn't come close to Dolphin, which is a pure joy to use on Linux, while still being free software. I think it's more to do with the (lack of) ideology when it comes to macOS developers, as in, they don't feel strongly about advancing free software etc. even if they grew up on it, they see software development as a job like any other, to make money from and nothing more. Am not saying it's an illegitimate view, but dressing it otherwise is I think not accurate.
      - inapis 8y ago
        This is exaggeration. You're overselling linux but underselling macOS. It's not terrific in every aspect (window snapping being one) but you don't have to pay for every basic utilities on mac. Finder is reasonable. Preview supports a lot of file formats and even allows PDF stitching (few platforms support this out of the box). Keka is a free unarchiver for macOS. Karabiner is a free tool for remapping keyboard keys. Homebrew. iTerm. IINA. Compared to Windows, macOS support a lot more out of the box. > You even have to pay for a decent file manager on macOS and it usually still doesn't come close to Dolphin, which is a pure joy to use on Linux, You're conflating expectations. A vast majority of people are using the file manager for basic stuff. Not everyone needs a feature packed one for day to day operations. If they need one, Commander One is free. > (lack of) ideology when it comes to macOS developers, as in, they don't feel strongly about advancing free software etc. This is cynical. I see plenty of developers on mac or developing for mac using it to contribute to open source projects. Just because it's not translating into free and open source consumer-facing projects on macOS does not imply that devs do not care about open source. In fact most of the important projects put instructions for developing on and for macOS first. From what I've seen, people on macOS are mostly paying for software like BetterTouchTool, Alfred, Keyboard Maestro, Hazel, Carbon Copy Cloner, Ulysses. Software which extends the core OS in a set of ways fitting a myriad set of needs - not for basic stuff. Few of these have convenient or easy to use alternatives on other platforms. People are paying for options, convenience and polish.
leejoramo 8y ago
LauchBar created in 1996 for NeXT pre-dates both QuickSliver and Mac OS X. LaunchBar was one of the first utilities I installed on the OS X beta and originated the use of cmd-space as the launcher shortcut
wnscooke 8y ago
I still use qs!