6 ms·

MacHeist is giving away my Mac app ShoveBox and $154 of other apps

93 points by dangrover 17y ago

chaosmachine 17y ago
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.
9turningmirrors 17y ago
i think it's fixed now. I couldn't signup it yesterday, but no probs earlier today
crux 17y ago
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.
- dangrover 17y ago
  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.
  - Shooter 17y ago
    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?
    - dangrover 17y ago
      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.
  - jamesbressi 17y ago
    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.
  - ynniv 17y ago
    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.
kacy 17y ago
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!
melito 17y ago
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
- dangrover 17y ago
  I played Hordes of Orcs while waiting for Slicehost to resize my slice due to the brutal pounding from MacHeist users. :)
  - JMiao 17y ago
    just installed. registration code doesn't work. also, there's no way to close the registration window once you run the app. any ideas?
    - dangrover 17y ago
      Make sure you didn't move the app while you were running it.
      - JMiao 17y ago
        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.
        dangrover 17y ago
        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.
marknutter 17y ago
Not sure about the apps, but that is one beautifully designed site.
ComputerGuru 17y ago
I love the stupid simplicity of ShoveBox (that's a complement, btw). If I wasn't already hooked on Yojimbo, I'd probably switch. Sometimes Yojimbo feels just a tad too complicated for my needs and I find myself just saving a link as a (temporary) bookmark in Safari instead of creating a Yojimbo note, but by and large, Yojimbo does the trick for me. 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 :)
- alabut 17y ago
  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?
BearOfNH 17y ago
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...
- jamesbressi 17y ago
  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?
  - oscardelben 17y ago
    No it's the first (and probably last) time they are giving away for free.
  - _pius 17y ago
    I don't think this is the main bundle.
  - kellishaver 17y ago
    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.
jamesbressi 17y ago
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, $25 and so on for the bundle? Just an observation. For me, I really need to give this ShoveBox a try. Wish I knew it was out there a long time ago. I've constantly complained about my Safari bookmark management and that there has to be a better way. Is ShoveBox it?
- Tichy 17y ago
  That is what I don't like (see my other comment). It is just the same marketing trick every other vendor in the world uses. You know when you shop for clothes and you peel off the "reduced price: 50$" 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.
JohnsBeharry 17y ago
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 ;)
jamesbressi 17y ago
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
- JohnsBeharry 17y ago
  I haven't gotten mine as yet though :( I'm pretty sure they'll come in at some point
  - jamesbressi 17y ago
    Ha, I'm going on almost a half hour now, you?
    - JohnsBeharry 17y ago
      I think I'm about the same lol, race ya?
      - jamesbressi 17y ago
        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.
        JohnsBeharry 17y ago
        Just got mine no candy :P
        jamesbressi 17y ago
        you beat me :(
- oscardelben 17y ago
  It took 2 hours for me. You need to wait a bit, don't worry.
Tichy 17y ago
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.
- unalone 17y ago
  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.
  - Tichy 17y ago
    "There is nothing inherently wrong with marketing whatsoever." So can I sell your email address to all the spammers?
    - unalone 17y ago
      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.
st3fan 17y ago
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.
- jamesbressi 17y ago
  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?
  - oscardelben 17y ago
    Also, writeroom is a very popular app among bloggers
MikeCapone 17y ago
Thank you for posting this. I think I'll use Shovebox and maybe Writeroom.

93 points by dangrover 17y ago

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.

9turningmirrors 17y ago

i think it's fixed now. I couldn't signup it yesterday, but no probs earlier today

crux 17y ago

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.

dangrover 17y ago
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.
- Shooter 17y ago
  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?
  - dangrover 17y ago
    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.
- jamesbressi 17y ago
  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.
- ynniv 17y ago
  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.

kacy 17y ago

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!

melito 17y ago

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

dangrover 17y ago
I played Hordes of Orcs while waiting for Slicehost to resize my slice due to the brutal pounding from MacHeist users. :)
- JMiao 17y ago
  just installed. registration code doesn't work. also, there's no way to close the registration window once you run the app. any ideas?
  - dangrover 17y ago
    Make sure you didn't move the app while you were running it.
    - JMiao 17y ago
      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.
      - dangrover 17y ago
        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.

marknutter 17y ago

Not sure about the apps, but that is one beautifully designed site.

ComputerGuru 17y ago

I love the stupid simplicity of ShoveBox (that's a complement, btw). If I wasn't already hooked on Yojimbo, I'd probably switch. Sometimes Yojimbo feels just a tad too complicated for my needs and I find myself just saving a link as a (temporary) bookmark in Safari instead of creating a Yojimbo note, but by and large, Yojimbo does the trick for me. 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 :)

alabut 17y ago
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?

BearOfNH 17y ago

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...

jamesbressi 17y ago
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?
- oscardelben 17y ago
  No it's the first (and probably last) time they are giving away for free.
- _pius 17y ago
  I don't think this is the main bundle.
- kellishaver 17y ago
  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.

jamesbressi 17y ago

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?

Tichy 17y ago
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.

JohnsBeharry 17y ago

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 ;)

jamesbressi 17y ago

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

JohnsBeharry 17y ago
I haven't gotten mine as yet though :( I'm pretty sure they'll come in at some point
- jamesbressi 17y ago
  Ha, I'm going on almost a half hour now, you?
  - JohnsBeharry 17y ago
    I think I'm about the same lol, race ya?
    - jamesbressi 17y ago
      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.
      - JohnsBeharry 17y ago
        Just got mine no candy :P
        jamesbressi 17y ago
        you beat me :(
oscardelben 17y ago
It took 2 hours for me. You need to wait a bit, don't worry.

Tichy 17y ago

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.

unalone 17y ago
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.
- Tichy 17y ago
  "There is nothing inherently wrong with marketing whatsoever." So can I sell your email address to all the spammers?
  - unalone 17y ago
    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.

st3fan 17y ago

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.

jamesbressi 17y ago
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?
- oscardelben 17y ago
  Also, writeroom is a very popular app among bloggers

MikeCapone 17y ago

Thank you for posting this. I think I'll use Shovebox and maybe Writeroom.