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> Maybe big corporations with deep pockets and huge recurring revenue streams have warped our views a bit with the amount of software they can give away for fre

> Maybe big corporations with deep pockets and huge recurring revenue streams have warped our views a bit with the amount of software they can give away for free. Quite the opposite. We've paid with our attention, patience, freedom and time for far too long to get fooled into the "paid software" shtick again. You can't sell me a window manager with a guarantee that Apple won't brick it in a future update or even with a promise it will get improved. I can't upgrade or extend it myself if the app does get depreciated, and I can't complain to Apple since normally they're the ones choosing what to depreciate. Best case scenario I get 2-4 years out of my purchase before it's depreciated, assuming I don't get bored with it or find a better solution. Sometimes I wonder how much software on MacOS would be free if notarization didn't cost money. Apple has really damned their software ecosystem by forcing every developer to recoup their annual fee whether they're a multi-billion dollar corporation, an indie in Ghana with a used Macbook, or a Free Software advocate simply trying to get Mac users their packages.

rpmisms 2y ago
I wonder how successful an independent non-profit broker could be. Submit your apps, if they meet these basic quality and usefulness standards we will pay for notarization. Donate to us to help build the world of free Mac software.
tpmoney 2y ago
>I can't upgrade or extend it myself if the app does get depreciated, and I can't complain to Apple since normally they're the ones choosing what to depreciate. Best case scenario I get 2-4 years out of my purchase before it's depreciated, assuming I don't get bored with it or find a better solution. I still don't understand the problem. Lets assume you got exactly 1 year out of this app before it irreparably broke and the author didn't update it. $30 / 365 days works out to a whopping 8¢ per day. If you need or want this functionality, is it worth 8¢ per day to you to not have to code it yourself even if only for a year? > Sometimes I wonder how much software on MacOS would be free if notarization didn't cost money. MacOS has always had a very strong small developer scene that lived on small apps selling at small prices, long before notarization was a thing. One of the most famous small mac developers Ambrosia Software went for decades on shareware models for most of their software, including little utilities like this. Rogue Amoeba continues that trend. NetNewswire was a shareware RSS app before it went free. Likewise the Omni Group was charging for MacOS software long before this as well. And again, why is this a problem? Why do you want to treat software like the work that went into that software has no value? Why shouldn't people who do work you find useful get paid for their work?

rpmisms 2y ago

I wonder how successful an independent non-profit broker could be. Submit your apps, if they meet these basic quality and usefulness standards we will pay for notarization. Donate to us to help build the world of free Mac software.

tpmoney 2y ago

>I can't upgrade or extend it myself if the app does get depreciated, and I can't complain to Apple since normally they're the ones choosing what to depreciate. Best case scenario I get 2-4 years out of my purchase before it's depreciated, assuming I don't get bored with it or find a better solution. I still don't understand the problem. Lets assume you got exactly 1 year out of this app before it irreparably broke and the author didn't update it. $30 / 365 days works out to a whopping 8¢ per day. If you need or want this functionality, is it worth 8¢ per day to you to not have to code it yourself even if only for a year? > Sometimes I wonder how much software on MacOS would be free if notarization didn't cost money. MacOS has always had a very strong small developer scene that lived on small apps selling at small prices, long before notarization was a thing. One of the most famous small mac developers Ambrosia Software went for decades on shareware models for most of their software, including little utilities like this. Rogue Amoeba continues that trend. NetNewswire was a shareware RSS app before it went free. Likewise the Omni Group was charging for MacOS software long before this as well. And again, why is this a problem? Why do you want to treat software like the work that went into that software has no value? Why shouldn't people who do work you find useful get paid for their work?