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Tuple: Pair Programming Tool for macOS

276 points by gk1 5y ago

etothepii 5y ago
Why would I use this over VSCode liveshare? Genuinely asking, why would I want to run video streaming if I can just send small amount of text deltas.
- dijit 5y ago
  Or “Code with me” built in to jetbrains. Which works across platforms too.. which is nice. It’s the only thing I’ve tried and it works pretty nicely.
- oneplane 5y ago
  So far it seems that this is intended as a type of remote KVM instead of a per-application collaboration. I've looked around on the site but haven't really seen any obvious screenshots. Maybe I've seen to much marketing pages and completely miss the 'click here to see how it works' link... Edit: and as I suspected, on second pass on the homepage it's right there in the middle in the purple bar. And it does seem like it's "TeamViewer but for developers". I suppose in the spirit of 'pair programming' that makes sense, but I'm not sure how streaming an entire desktop is better than streaming only application state if you just want to work together on the same thing.
  - skeletal88 5y ago
    It is useful to stream the whole desktop because you don't only look at code while pair programming. We look at the stories in Pivotal, read slack, google stuff, read documents and so on, all of that needs to be shared also.
- girvo 5y ago
  For more complicated things that require multiple applications working in concert maybe?
- r00k 5y ago
  Live Share is great if your pairing session is extremely code-focused. But if you're jumping between the browser, terminal, IDE, docs, Xcode simulator, etc., you begin to want to see your pair's entire desktop.
- macintux 5y ago
  Haven't seen either Tuple or your solution, but I assume at the very least Tuple wins out if the two programmers aren't using the same editor. And if all you're sharing is deltas, how do you discuss existing code interactively? Can you also share text selections and/or mouse movements?
  - phaedryx 5y ago
    Live Share lets you see which files your pair is looking at and what they have selected. You can also share a terminal session if you'd like. At work we mostly do Live Share + a Slack Huddle for audio. I think it works pretty well.
  - nextaccountic 5y ago
    With Live Share you see their text selections, but not mouse movements. (except inside the Draw.io integration [0], then you see a remote mouse that is drawn by the extension itself). It's a bit like Google Docs or Etherpad, but for code. Also: other editors could implement the same protocol perhaps, it would be cool. [0] https://szymonkrajewski.pl/drawio-real-time-collaboration-in-vscode/ https://szymonkrajewski.pl/drawio-real-time-collaboration-in... here it says it doesn't show the cursor, but a new update does
daviddoran 5y ago
Tuple’s audio quality really is good enough to feel noticeably different to Zoom or other VC. Much more like your pairing partner is in the room talking into your ear.
gwambold 5y ago
Tuple is fantastic, glad to see it getting some HN love
Svetlitski 5y ago
I have nothing but the highest praise for Tuple, it blows all the other tools in this space out of the water. Used it for several months while working on a compilers project back in college, and over many many hours of usage it was rock solid. The latency is so low you practically feel like you’re in the same room as the person you’re communicating with. And the UI/UX is very thoughtful and intuitive, making it easy to point things out to your pair, take control when necessary, etc. I’d highly recommend checking it out.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- loehnsberg 5y ago
  I can only agree. Used it for a couple of weeks when live co-coding was indispensible. You cannot even compare this to similar features in Teams, Slack, and the like. The tool works seamlessly and has a super-smooth usability. I did not notice latency either. You can share screen and keyboard and work on the same codebase as if looking at the same screen and having a keyboard one for each. Audio worked extremely well. Did not use video for long because the fans spun on (2017 MBP). Without it, resource consumption was reasonable. Made us super-productive back then. Can definitely recommend it.
ggoo 5y ago
This seems super interesting and I could totally see using it. At the same time, it's kind of funny that they couldn't get someone to pair with on the demo.
- r00k 5y ago
  Hah, agreed! That demo is 3 years old at this point. I'm trying to find someone to help us redo it.
andrewstuart 5y ago
Kinda weird to get your product featured on front page of Hacker News mid afternoon a couple of days before Christmas - not sure developers are fully focused right now.
- gk1 5y ago
  Blame me. I just came across it for the first time and thought others might appreciate it. And if I didn't submit it right then and there then I'd forget to do it later.
- jordanrobinson 5y ago
  Would it be cheeky to take this opportunity to ask how the Linux version is going? I'm still looking forward to it and it's the main thing holding our team back from adopting it last I checked.
  - r00k 5y ago
    It's going well! We're inviting a new cohort in early Jan. We've got the app going in Flatpak and that lets us target a lot more distros. Hoping to ramp up invites pretty quickly if things go well.
stephenpassero 5y ago
Also see Pop (pop.com). I’ve used it extensively in the past, and have loved it. It’s currently free, works very well, and has a very responsive team.
- jshier 5y ago
  Yes, it works well, but the only reason we used it instead of Tuple was that it's free right now. Tuple's pricing is rather absurd ($25/user/mo.) unless your org pairs so often you can justify it on the basis of 40 hour/week use. Pop's free tier lets us pop on actual controlled sharing when simple screen sharing isn't enough.
  - bantmen 5y ago
    I have used Tuple at work, and its pricing was what kept me from using it for personal project and sharing with others outside of work.
  - r00k 5y ago
    I hear you. We're pricey. Just curious – what would a workable price/model been for you?
    - house9-2 5y ago
      $10 for 15-20 hours of usage a month? Automatically bumps to the $25 price if you go over.
    - darrenwestall 5y ago
      On the flip side, I don’t think it’s pricey, $25 per user, per month for something that will make developers more efficient is well worth it. Sent to my Tech Lead to see if he wants to sign up.
      - r00k 5y ago
        My man!
    - 5y ago
r00k 5y ago
Hi folks! I'm one of Tuple's cofounders. Happy to hear any feedback or answer questions :)
- PascLeRasc 5y ago
  This is the best demo video I've ever seen. It seems like a really fantastic product. Good luck!
- r00k 5y ago
  Oh, also: we're looking for an experienced Linux app developer to help us bring the app to, well, you know. https://tuple.app/jobs/senior-linux-app-developer https://tuple.app/jobs/senior-linux-app-developer
- grandmczeb 5y ago
  The toolbar looks cut off in the demo video - this is what I see when the presenter says "you can see the icon has gone red" (cursor is from the video): https://imgur.com/UzpbGxS https://imgur.com/UzpbGxS
  - r00k 5y ago
    Fixed! Thanks :)
- mattjaynes 5y ago
  Looks very cool - first time I've heard of this one. Minor feedback note: in your demo video, the top menu bar is mostly cut off (viewing on Chrome on Mac M1 Monterey), so when you are explaining the menu bar, I can only see the bottom sliver of it. I can use my imagination to figure it out, but ideally the video would be showing the whole menu bar. Other than that, looks great!
  - r00k 5y ago
    Doh. Thanks for reporting!
- weakwarm 5y ago
beebmam 5y ago
This looks cool, but I don't use proprietary operating systems for my work environments. Is there any planned support for X11 or Wayland based desktop environments?
- r00k 5y ago
  Yes! https://tuple.app/linux https://tuple.app/linux
  - psadauskas 5y ago
    > 2021 Only a few days left! I'm so excited :D
    - r00k 5y ago
      We'll miss that deadline, but are hoping to be close-ish :)
      - alvarlagerlof 5y ago
        Please look into supporting DMA-BUF.
      - skeletal88 5y ago
        Some update to the Linux page would be good since it has been the same since at least march and it looks like there has been no progress. At work our project uses macs and most devs have also macs, but some have Linux personal computers and we can't pair from home with them using tuple
- berkes 5y ago
  I worked on a team (of nine) which tupled a lot. Using Linux, I, and one other, was therefore not able to participate in a lot of work. Coworkers would pair with others because of familiarity, and because between macos and linux, there was more friction. This caused a severe schisma in an already disfunctional team. Management then disallowed tuple, because it was making things worse. But the practice continued. I quit. Not because of Tuple, but the entire distinction, of which Tuple was an ingredient. The choice to not support an important part of the developer community is understandable from technical perspective. But socially, in times of isolation, home offices etc, it is doing harm out there.
pxeger1 5y ago
- jdminhbg 5y ago
  > it's really not like it's hard to build cross-platform apps nowadays An app that shares screens and mouse pointers with simultaneous audio/video transmission is not the same kind of cross-platform undertaking as a to-do app.
- have_faith 5y ago
  There’s a whole thriving ecosystem of paid apps for MacOS, most of which are native and have a look and feel that can’t be done cross platform without compromises.
- williamdclt 5y ago
  The entire point of this app is to share control of someone's computer, as well as drawing on their screens, having another cursor and this sort of stuff. It's a textbook example of an app that _would_ be very hard to build cross-platform.
- DenseComet 5y ago
  Build a native app and you get complaints about cross platform. Build an electron (or other cross platform toolkit) app and you get complaints about resource usage and non native ui. Seems to me that they know their target market (large tech shops with lots of devs on macos) and preferred to optimize for resource usage and user experience by going native. For another company, this could very well be the wrong choice, but they should look at the numbers and decide what makes sense for them.
  - klabb3 5y ago
    > Build a native app and you get complaints about cross platform. Build an electron (or other cross platform toolkit) app and you get complaints about resource usage and non native ui. This. I am currently making a productivity app and I had to actively unbias myself from the hackernews/prosumer mentality that I must write independent apps for at least 3 operating systems/GUI systems, and 2 more if I want to go mobile. It's a shame that interoperability has been an anti-priority from the OS providers (mainly MS, Apple and Google - if there was any standard Linux would follow). Even more sad is that the popular opinion is blaming developers for the situation.
glenjamin 5y ago
I really like using tuple, but there’s a couple of things I’d really like to see: - an idea of how much bandwidth it’s currently using or needs. I often find if I’m on a patchy connection it’s unclear how changing the settings will have an effect - make the video face stuff more prominent, especially for multiple monitors. I work 100% remote so when pairing I like to put my Co-workers full size on my second screen while I work on the primary screen, which helps us feel more connected.
- r00k 5y ago
  Message received!
- univerio 5y ago
  +1 on making video better. The janky video feature feels like such an afterthought compared to the impeccable screensharing/pairing feature. I've had to resort to using Tuple with Zoom just for the video sometimes because the webcam freezes for no reason. I'll also offer one related piece of feedback: the "calling" metaphor for initiating a session is quite awkward. Compared to Zoom, where you share a link/code once and then you're free to join/leave the room, in Tuple you have to ask the other person to call you every time you drop; this in particular does not play well with the forced version upgrades -- you ask the other person to call you out-of-band, and you answer, except oops, you need to upgrade Tuple, so you upgrade and restart Tuple, and now Tuple has forgotten about the last call so now you have to ask the other person to call you out-of-band again! This is a UX wart that I'd love to see fixed!
  - r00k 5y ago
    I agree with all of this! Thanks for writing it up. Improving webcams (a lot), URL-based rooms, and never having a call interrupted by a required update are all on my list for next year.
rememberlenny 5y ago
Tuple is hands down the best pairing software. We use it because the latency is the best compared to other pairing tools, and it has the best UX for remote pairing. We even use it for pairing when we have people in the same room, and we need two people on their own machines.
ryukoposting 5y ago
I've worked at companies with 20 employees, and companies with 100,000 employees, and not once have I ever been asked to participate in pair programming. It would have been immensely useful in college, but VS Code already has a built-in tool that would do the job... and VS Code works on operating systems that I actually use. Who is using this? What do you use it for? I don't mean to be facetious, I have just never been exposed to pair programming in a professional space.
- chana_masala 5y ago
  That's strangely the opposite of my experience. I think you have to work at a company that values engineering culture. Also, you could suggest it.
  - ryukoposting 5y ago
    Pair programming isn't inherent to good engineering culture. I would say that my employers have had phenomenal engineering culture, and the first couple had the best mentorship experiences I could have ever asked for.
    - chana_masala 5y ago
      Have you practiced it extensively though? You said you haven't professionally, so that leaves just personal experience. I would say it's not entirely critical, but I'd be very skeptical about a company's engineering if they didn't pair program. It would make me look closely at their other practices or lack of
      - aparsons 5y ago
        I very much get a cargo-cult vibe from this statement. In a 30-year career, I’ve pair-programmed under 100 times. Usually to get someone up to speed on a confusing part of the code base. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that if pair programming is a recurrent need, you need one or more of better engineers, better documentation, or better code reviews.
netr0ute 5y ago
I'd use this if there were a Linux version.
specific_nutmeg 5y ago
I've been using Tuple professionally for a year and change and it's miles ahead of trying to share with Zoom or Slack. I love that it's not tied to a specific IDE, too! Being able to flip between terminals, IDEs, browsers, being able to paste directly into my pair's buffers, and take mouse control really make pairing remotely as great as possible. Almost as good as pairing with a shared workstation!
easterncalculus 5y ago
Wow, what a really great idea. I love the code snippet sharing box, that's perfect.
- lordleft 5y ago
  Right? A little but very useful thing
tangoalpha 5y ago
Nice one. One suggestion. While you open the shared URL on the pair's browser automatically, there are still a bunch of steps involved in copying the url, pasting it in the app, and then hitting open, before the URL opens in the pair's browser. Instead, build a chrome/firefox extension that allows 'pushing' a tab into the pair's browser session. I find something good, I right click on the tab and click " Send to Pair" or similar.
- r00k 5y ago
  Love this! Thanks for the suggestion.
chadlavi 5y ago
Not a single screenshot on the homepage? The number zeroth thing I want to see is a picture of the thing. Maybe even a gif or a silent autoplay video. I saw there's a video but it's a guy who's gonna talk. I just want to see the product.
- mavelikara 5y ago
  Please watch the video and then tell us what would have been a good screenshot.
  - JohnCurran 5y ago
    I believe 0:19 would make for a better thumbnail than the current. Shows the video is actually a product demo and not fluff from a talking head As far as a screenshot for product? Not sure, it really stays out of the way which I like but that makes it difficult to convey visually. Which you seem to have realized :)
    - aeonflux 5y ago
      Funny thing is, this is a pairing app. It's actually better if it gets out of the way. But I agree, that thumbnail with both screen and speaker would be better. I think something with more on content on screen than just a dropdown from the contact list would look better. Either code or that fancy network monitor (plus the speaker).
  - brailsafe 5y ago
    I didn't even realize there was a video, but I certainly wouldn't have watched it, that's just not super thoughtful design, and the thumbnail kind of looks like a chatbot sort of thing, which in 2021 is something I ignore like banner ads. I realize that watching a video is maybe how a lot of product companies wish potential customers made decisions, but much like an elevator pitch, if I can't scroll the website and have a glance at what the product looks like, I ain't gunna watch a vidya bud.
- bspammer 5y ago
armadsen 5y ago
I've been using Tuple for the past year and a half or so, IIRC. It's just a really well done Mac app. One of those tools that "just works", is thoughtfully designed, and mostly just stays out of the way and does its job without doing anything annoying. We don't pair program as a regular thing, but we have junior engineers on our team, and often when they need help, or we're working through some bit of architecture, etc. I'll pair with them. Tuple is the best tool I've found for doing that (remotely). I'm not teaching full time any more, but if I were, I'd absolutely be using Tuple to do remote 1:1 sessions for that as well. Finally, I've interacted with Ben, the CEO of Tuple, and came away with a great impression of him and what he's trying to do.
- r00k 5y ago
  You're too kind! <3
invictus_78 5y ago
As a junior engineer who started career in 2019, I pretty much owe all my knowledge to Tuple, which I've been using to pair program with senior engineers since pandemic started in early 2020!
- r00k 5y ago
  Pretty incredible to read this. Thanks for sharing!
- winterplace 5y ago
  Where did you find senior engineers to pair with?
  - invictus_78 5y ago
    At my company, we have a pairing buddy system for junior engineers. Each week a senior eng was my official "buddy" to help me in whatever I needed, then we would pair via Tuple. This was really great in order for me to grow.
belfalas 5y ago
I will put in a shout out for Tuple - it's a great app that works well. And they are a nice team, I wish them the best!
nicksont 5y ago
I've used Tuple before and I think it's great but it's unfortunate that it doesn't allow for mobbing (4-5 people)
- r00k 5y ago
  Agreed. Coming next year.
  - nicksont 5y ago
    Awesome, that's great to hear.
igeligel_dev 5y ago
Using it at my current company and it’s great. Especially the little things like the ship it reaction! Super hilarious when I saw it for the first time. Thanks for that. Some constructive feedback: could not get my webcam (canon eos utility) working. But tbh nothing big because we never use Webcams.
DonHopkins 5y ago
When working alone remotely from home, I simulate pair programming with a methodology I call "The Stranger". I sit on one of my hands until it becomes numb and tingly, and then it feels like somebody else is typing and moving the mouse!
- justsid 5y ago
  I do the same just not for programming.
  - leobg 5y ago
    You cracked me up.
  - leokennis 5y ago
    Stroke of genius right there.
aeonflux 5y ago
Ben, one of Tuple co-founders cohosts the https://artofproductpodcast.com https://artofproductpodcast.com There is a lot of information about building and running this business, including the rationale for a lot of product/business decisions. I really enjoy it.
yodsanklai 5y ago
I wonder how many programmers don't like pair programming. I love programming because it's me and the computer, working at my pace. When collaborating, asynchronous work better I feel.
vr46 5y ago
Every time I have demonstrated Tuple to a colleague they have been left gobsmacked and short-changed by all other audio call and screen-sharing utilities. Clear sound is so critical and pairing with everything else feels like you're in a Christopher Nolan film with no idea what's going on.
otterpro 5y ago
I used to watch many of Ben Orenstein (CEO of tuple)'s Vim tutorial videos. His enthusiasm was much appreciated and helped me improve my vimming skill. [Improving Vim Speed - Ben Orenstein - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnUiHLYZgaA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnUiHLYZgaA)
d3mcfadden 5y ago
Well, after reading all the high marks about Tuple in the comments I installed it and paired with a co-worker this morning. We got up and running in a matter of minutes. It just... worked. Such a more pleasant experience than a google meet. As an added bonus were able to understand and solve a bug that's been plaguing us for weeks now in our first session :-) I really like how it just stays out of the way. I threw out the link to the rest of my team to see if others will try it out as I want our team to get more comfortable with pairing. Well done and congrats on building a focused sustainable product!
Terretta 5y ago
Another one for the SSO Wall of Shame: https://sso.tax/ https://sso.tax/ With Microsoft M365 and Google Workspace available for startups, it’s a serious shame sites want to make you store additional credentials with them instead of getting started on security right leveraging SSO. - https://support.google.com/a/answer/60224?hl=en https://support.google.com/a/answer/60224?hl=en Kudos to SaaS offerings like Pipedrive CRM for including SSO from the basic plans, and to Azure for recognizing that: - https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/saas-apps/pipedrive-tutorial https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/saas... Managing AAA isn’t only for Enterprises at $10K a month. It’s for 3 devs in a garage too.

276 points by gk1 5y ago

Why would I use this over VSCode liveshare? Genuinely asking, why would I want to run video streaming if I can just send small amount of text deltas.

dijit 5y ago
Or “Code with me” built in to jetbrains. Which works across platforms too.. which is nice. It’s the only thing I’ve tried and it works pretty nicely.
oneplane 5y ago
So far it seems that this is intended as a type of remote KVM instead of a per-application collaboration. I've looked around on the site but haven't really seen any obvious screenshots. Maybe I've seen to much marketing pages and completely miss the 'click here to see how it works' link... Edit: and as I suspected, on second pass on the homepage it's right there in the middle in the purple bar. And it does seem like it's "TeamViewer but for developers". I suppose in the spirit of 'pair programming' that makes sense, but I'm not sure how streaming an entire desktop is better than streaming only application state if you just want to work together on the same thing.
- skeletal88 5y ago
  It is useful to stream the whole desktop because you don't only look at code while pair programming. We look at the stories in Pivotal, read slack, google stuff, read documents and so on, all of that needs to be shared also.
girvo 5y ago
For more complicated things that require multiple applications working in concert maybe?
r00k 5y ago
Live Share is great if your pairing session is extremely code-focused. But if you're jumping between the browser, terminal, IDE, docs, Xcode simulator, etc., you begin to want to see your pair's entire desktop.
macintux 5y ago
Haven't seen either Tuple or your solution, but I assume at the very least Tuple wins out if the two programmers aren't using the same editor. And if all you're sharing is deltas, how do you discuss existing code interactively? Can you also share text selections and/or mouse movements?
- phaedryx 5y ago
  Live Share lets you see which files your pair is looking at and what they have selected. You can also share a terminal session if you'd like. At work we mostly do Live Share + a Slack Huddle for audio. I think it works pretty well.
- nextaccountic 5y ago
  With Live Share you see their text selections, but not mouse movements. (except inside the Draw.io integration [0], then you see a remote mouse that is drawn by the extension itself). It's a bit like Google Docs or Etherpad, but for code. Also: other editors could implement the same protocol perhaps, it would be cool. [0] https://szymonkrajewski.pl/drawio-real-time-collaboration-in-vscode/ https://szymonkrajewski.pl/drawio-real-time-collaboration-in... here it says it doesn't show the cursor, but a new update does

daviddoran 5y ago

Tuple’s audio quality really is good enough to feel noticeably different to Zoom or other VC. Much more like your pairing partner is in the room talking into your ear.

gwambold 5y ago

Tuple is fantastic, glad to see it getting some HN love

Svetlitski 5y ago

I have nothing but the highest praise for Tuple, it blows all the other tools in this space out of the water. Used it for several months while working on a compilers project back in college, and over many many hours of usage it was rock solid. The latency is so low you practically feel like you’re in the same room as the person you’re communicating with. And the UI/UX is very thoughtful and intuitive, making it easy to point things out to your pair, take control when necessary, etc. I’d highly recommend checking it out.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
loehnsberg 5y ago
I can only agree. Used it for a couple of weeks when live co-coding was indispensible. You cannot even compare this to similar features in Teams, Slack, and the like. The tool works seamlessly and has a super-smooth usability. I did not notice latency either. You can share screen and keyboard and work on the same codebase as if looking at the same screen and having a keyboard one for each. Audio worked extremely well. Did not use video for long because the fans spun on (2017 MBP). Without it, resource consumption was reasonable. Made us super-productive back then. Can definitely recommend it.

ggoo 5y ago

This seems super interesting and I could totally see using it. At the same time, it's kind of funny that they couldn't get someone to pair with on the demo.

r00k 5y ago
Hah, agreed! That demo is 3 years old at this point. I'm trying to find someone to help us redo it.

andrewstuart 5y ago

Kinda weird to get your product featured on front page of Hacker News mid afternoon a couple of days before Christmas - not sure developers are fully focused right now.

gk1 5y ago
Blame me. I just came across it for the first time and thought others might appreciate it. And if I didn't submit it right then and there then I'd forget to do it later.
jordanrobinson 5y ago
Would it be cheeky to take this opportunity to ask how the Linux version is going? I'm still looking forward to it and it's the main thing holding our team back from adopting it last I checked.
- r00k 5y ago
  It's going well! We're inviting a new cohort in early Jan. We've got the app going in Flatpak and that lets us target a lot more distros. Hoping to ramp up invites pretty quickly if things go well.

stephenpassero 5y ago

Also see Pop (pop.com). I’ve used it extensively in the past, and have loved it. It’s currently free, works very well, and has a very responsive team.

jshier 5y ago
Yes, it works well, but the only reason we used it instead of Tuple was that it's free right now. Tuple's pricing is rather absurd ($25/user/mo.) unless your org pairs so often you can justify it on the basis of 40 hour/week use. Pop's free tier lets us pop on actual controlled sharing when simple screen sharing isn't enough.
- bantmen 5y ago
  I have used Tuple at work, and its pricing was what kept me from using it for personal project and sharing with others outside of work.
- r00k 5y ago
  I hear you. We're pricey. Just curious – what would a workable price/model been for you?
  - house9-2 5y ago
    $10 for 15-20 hours of usage a month? Automatically bumps to the $25 price if you go over.
  - darrenwestall 5y ago
    On the flip side, I don’t think it’s pricey, $25 per user, per month for something that will make developers more efficient is well worth it. Sent to my Tech Lead to see if he wants to sign up.
    - r00k 5y ago
      My man!
  - 5y ago

r00k 5y ago

Hi folks! I'm one of Tuple's cofounders. Happy to hear any feedback or answer questions :)

PascLeRasc 5y ago
This is the best demo video I've ever seen. It seems like a really fantastic product. Good luck!
r00k 5y ago
Oh, also: we're looking for an experienced Linux app developer to help us bring the app to, well, you know. https://tuple.app/jobs/senior-linux-app-developer https://tuple.app/jobs/senior-linux-app-developer
grandmczeb 5y ago
The toolbar looks cut off in the demo video - this is what I see when the presenter says "you can see the icon has gone red" (cursor is from the video): https://imgur.com/UzpbGxS https://imgur.com/UzpbGxS
- r00k 5y ago
  Fixed! Thanks :)
mattjaynes 5y ago
Looks very cool - first time I've heard of this one. Minor feedback note: in your demo video, the top menu bar is mostly cut off (viewing on Chrome on Mac M1 Monterey), so when you are explaining the menu bar, I can only see the bottom sliver of it. I can use my imagination to figure it out, but ideally the video would be showing the whole menu bar. Other than that, looks great!
- r00k 5y ago
  Doh. Thanks for reporting!
weakwarm 5y ago

beebmam 5y ago

This looks cool, but I don't use proprietary operating systems for my work environments. Is there any planned support for X11 or Wayland based desktop environments?

r00k 5y ago
Yes! https://tuple.app/linux https://tuple.app/linux
- psadauskas 5y ago
  > 2021 Only a few days left! I'm so excited :D
  - r00k 5y ago
    We'll miss that deadline, but are hoping to be close-ish :)
    - alvarlagerlof 5y ago
      Please look into supporting DMA-BUF.
    - skeletal88 5y ago
      Some update to the Linux page would be good since it has been the same since at least march and it looks like there has been no progress. At work our project uses macs and most devs have also macs, but some have Linux personal computers and we can't pair from home with them using tuple
berkes 5y ago
I worked on a team (of nine) which tupled a lot. Using Linux, I, and one other, was therefore not able to participate in a lot of work. Coworkers would pair with others because of familiarity, and because between macos and linux, there was more friction. This caused a severe schisma in an already disfunctional team. Management then disallowed tuple, because it was making things worse. But the practice continued. I quit. Not because of Tuple, but the entire distinction, of which Tuple was an ingredient. The choice to not support an important part of the developer community is understandable from technical perspective. But socially, in times of isolation, home offices etc, it is doing harm out there.

pxeger1 5y ago

jdminhbg 5y ago
> it's really not like it's hard to build cross-platform apps nowadays An app that shares screens and mouse pointers with simultaneous audio/video transmission is not the same kind of cross-platform undertaking as a to-do app.
have_faith 5y ago
There’s a whole thriving ecosystem of paid apps for MacOS, most of which are native and have a look and feel that can’t be done cross platform without compromises.
williamdclt 5y ago
The entire point of this app is to share control of someone's computer, as well as drawing on their screens, having another cursor and this sort of stuff. It's a textbook example of an app that _would_ be very hard to build cross-platform.
DenseComet 5y ago
Build a native app and you get complaints about cross platform. Build an electron (or other cross platform toolkit) app and you get complaints about resource usage and non native ui. Seems to me that they know their target market (large tech shops with lots of devs on macos) and preferred to optimize for resource usage and user experience by going native. For another company, this could very well be the wrong choice, but they should look at the numbers and decide what makes sense for them.
- klabb3 5y ago
  > Build a native app and you get complaints about cross platform. Build an electron (or other cross platform toolkit) app and you get complaints about resource usage and non native ui. This. I am currently making a productivity app and I had to actively unbias myself from the hackernews/prosumer mentality that I must write independent apps for at least 3 operating systems/GUI systems, and 2 more if I want to go mobile. It's a shame that interoperability has been an anti-priority from the OS providers (mainly MS, Apple and Google - if there was any standard Linux would follow). Even more sad is that the popular opinion is blaming developers for the situation.

glenjamin 5y ago

I really like using tuple, but there’s a couple of things I’d really like to see: - an idea of how much bandwidth it’s currently using or needs. I often find if I’m on a patchy connection it’s unclear how changing the settings will have an effect - make the video face stuff more prominent, especially for multiple monitors. I work 100% remote so when pairing I like to put my Co-workers full size on my second screen while I work on the primary screen, which helps us feel more connected.

r00k 5y ago
Message received!
univerio 5y ago
+1 on making video better. The janky video feature feels like such an afterthought compared to the impeccable screensharing/pairing feature. I've had to resort to using Tuple with Zoom just for the video sometimes because the webcam freezes for no reason. I'll also offer one related piece of feedback: the "calling" metaphor for initiating a session is quite awkward. Compared to Zoom, where you share a link/code once and then you're free to join/leave the room, in Tuple you have to ask the other person to call you every time you drop; this in particular does not play well with the forced version upgrades -- you ask the other person to call you out-of-band, and you answer, except oops, you need to upgrade Tuple, so you upgrade and restart Tuple, and now Tuple has forgotten about the last call so now you have to ask the other person to call you out-of-band again! This is a UX wart that I'd love to see fixed!
- r00k 5y ago
  I agree with all of this! Thanks for writing it up. Improving webcams (a lot), URL-based rooms, and never having a call interrupted by a required update are all on my list for next year.

rememberlenny 5y ago

Tuple is hands down the best pairing software. We use it because the latency is the best compared to other pairing tools, and it has the best UX for remote pairing. We even use it for pairing when we have people in the same room, and we need two people on their own machines.

ryukoposting 5y ago

I've worked at companies with 20 employees, and companies with 100,000 employees, and not once have I ever been asked to participate in pair programming. It would have been immensely useful in college, but VS Code already has a built-in tool that would do the job... and VS Code works on operating systems that I actually use. Who is using this? What do you use it for? I don't mean to be facetious, I have just never been exposed to pair programming in a professional space.

chana_masala 5y ago
That's strangely the opposite of my experience. I think you have to work at a company that values engineering culture. Also, you could suggest it.
- ryukoposting 5y ago
  Pair programming isn't inherent to good engineering culture. I would say that my employers have had phenomenal engineering culture, and the first couple had the best mentorship experiences I could have ever asked for.
  - chana_masala 5y ago
    Have you practiced it extensively though? You said you haven't professionally, so that leaves just personal experience. I would say it's not entirely critical, but I'd be very skeptical about a company's engineering if they didn't pair program. It would make me look closely at their other practices or lack of
    - aparsons 5y ago
      I very much get a cargo-cult vibe from this statement. In a 30-year career, I’ve pair-programmed under 100 times. Usually to get someone up to speed on a confusing part of the code base. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that if pair programming is a recurrent need, you need one or more of better engineers, better documentation, or better code reviews.

netr0ute 5y ago

I'd use this if there were a Linux version.

specific_nutmeg 5y ago

I've been using Tuple professionally for a year and change and it's miles ahead of trying to share with Zoom or Slack. I love that it's not tied to a specific IDE, too! Being able to flip between terminals, IDEs, browsers, being able to paste directly into my pair's buffers, and take mouse control really make pairing remotely as great as possible. Almost as good as pairing with a shared workstation!

easterncalculus 5y ago

Wow, what a really great idea. I love the code snippet sharing box, that's perfect.

lordleft 5y ago
Right? A little but very useful thing

tangoalpha 5y ago

Nice one. One suggestion. While you open the shared URL on the pair's browser automatically, there are still a bunch of steps involved in copying the url, pasting it in the app, and then hitting open, before the URL opens in the pair's browser. Instead, build a chrome/firefox extension that allows 'pushing' a tab into the pair's browser session. I find something good, I right click on the tab and click " Send to Pair" or similar.

r00k 5y ago
Love this! Thanks for the suggestion.

chadlavi 5y ago

Not a single screenshot on the homepage? The number zeroth thing I want to see is a picture of the thing. Maybe even a gif or a silent autoplay video. I saw there's a video but it's a guy who's gonna talk. I just want to see the product.

mavelikara 5y ago
Please watch the video and then tell us what would have been a good screenshot.
- JohnCurran 5y ago
  I believe 0:19 would make for a better thumbnail than the current. Shows the video is actually a product demo and not fluff from a talking head As far as a screenshot for product? Not sure, it really stays out of the way which I like but that makes it difficult to convey visually. Which you seem to have realized :)
  - aeonflux 5y ago
    Funny thing is, this is a pairing app. It's actually better if it gets out of the way. But I agree, that thumbnail with both screen and speaker would be better. I think something with more on content on screen than just a dropdown from the contact list would look better. Either code or that fancy network monitor (plus the speaker).
- brailsafe 5y ago
  I didn't even realize there was a video, but I certainly wouldn't have watched it, that's just not super thoughtful design, and the thumbnail kind of looks like a chatbot sort of thing, which in 2021 is something I ignore like banner ads. I realize that watching a video is maybe how a lot of product companies wish potential customers made decisions, but much like an elevator pitch, if I can't scroll the website and have a glance at what the product looks like, I ain't gunna watch a vidya bud.
bspammer 5y ago

armadsen 5y ago

I've been using Tuple for the past year and a half or so, IIRC. It's just a really well done Mac app. One of those tools that "just works", is thoughtfully designed, and mostly just stays out of the way and does its job without doing anything annoying. We don't pair program as a regular thing, but we have junior engineers on our team, and often when they need help, or we're working through some bit of architecture, etc. I'll pair with them. Tuple is the best tool I've found for doing that (remotely). I'm not teaching full time any more, but if I were, I'd absolutely be using Tuple to do remote 1:1 sessions for that as well. Finally, I've interacted with Ben, the CEO of Tuple, and came away with a great impression of him and what he's trying to do.

r00k 5y ago
You're too kind! <3

invictus_78 5y ago

As a junior engineer who started career in 2019, I pretty much owe all my knowledge to Tuple, which I've been using to pair program with senior engineers since pandemic started in early 2020!

r00k 5y ago
Pretty incredible to read this. Thanks for sharing!
winterplace 5y ago
Where did you find senior engineers to pair with?
- invictus_78 5y ago
  At my company, we have a pairing buddy system for junior engineers. Each week a senior eng was my official "buddy" to help me in whatever I needed, then we would pair via Tuple. This was really great in order for me to grow.

belfalas 5y ago

I will put in a shout out for Tuple - it's a great app that works well. And they are a nice team, I wish them the best!

nicksont 5y ago

I've used Tuple before and I think it's great but it's unfortunate that it doesn't allow for mobbing (4-5 people)

r00k 5y ago
Agreed. Coming next year.
- nicksont 5y ago
  Awesome, that's great to hear.

igeligel_dev 5y ago

Using it at my current company and it’s great. Especially the little things like the ship it reaction! Super hilarious when I saw it for the first time. Thanks for that. Some constructive feedback: could not get my webcam (canon eos utility) working. But tbh nothing big because we never use Webcams.

DonHopkins 5y ago

When working alone remotely from home, I simulate pair programming with a methodology I call "The Stranger". I sit on one of my hands until it becomes numb and tingly, and then it feels like somebody else is typing and moving the mouse!

justsid 5y ago
I do the same just not for programming.
- leobg 5y ago
  You cracked me up.
- leokennis 5y ago
  Stroke of genius right there.

aeonflux 5y ago

Ben, one of Tuple co-founders cohosts the https://artofproductpodcast.com https://artofproductpodcast.com There is a lot of information about building and running this business, including the rationale for a lot of product/business decisions. I really enjoy it.

yodsanklai 5y ago

I wonder how many programmers don't like pair programming. I love programming because it's me and the computer, working at my pace. When collaborating, asynchronous work better I feel.

vr46 5y ago

Every time I have demonstrated Tuple to a colleague they have been left gobsmacked and short-changed by all other audio call and screen-sharing utilities. Clear sound is so critical and pairing with everything else feels like you're in a Christopher Nolan film with no idea what's going on.

otterpro 5y ago

I used to watch many of Ben Orenstein (CEO of tuple)'s Vim tutorial videos. His enthusiasm was much appreciated and helped me improve my vimming skill. [Improving Vim Speed - Ben Orenstein - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnUiHLYZgaA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnUiHLYZgaA)

d3mcfadden 5y ago

Well, after reading all the high marks about Tuple in the comments I installed it and paired with a co-worker this morning. We got up and running in a matter of minutes. It just... worked. Such a more pleasant experience than a google meet. As an added bonus were able to understand and solve a bug that's been plaguing us for weeks now in our first session :-) I really like how it just stays out of the way. I threw out the link to the rest of my team to see if others will try it out as I want our team to get more comfortable with pairing. Well done and congrats on building a focused sustainable product!

Terretta 5y ago

Another one for the SSO Wall of Shame: https://sso.tax/ https://sso.tax/ With Microsoft M365 and Google Workspace available for startups, it’s a serious shame sites want to make you store additional credentials with them instead of getting started on security right leveraging SSO. - https://support.google.com/a/answer/60224?hl=en https://support.google.com/a/answer/60224?hl=en Kudos to SaaS offerings like Pipedrive CRM for including SSO from the basic plans, and to Azure for recognizing that: - https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/saas-apps/pipedrive-tutorial https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/saas... Managing AAA isn’t only for Enterprises at $10K a month. It’s for 3 devs in a garage too.