Witch, $9.99 pricing, and the future

January 28th, 2011 by Rob Griffiths and Peter Maurer

As we’ve now reached the point where the Witch $9.99 sale is scheduled to end, we thought we’d take some time to talk about how the two-day sale has gone, and what that means regarding Witch’s future price.

Before the sale began, Witch was doing a decent volume in the App Store, and fluctuating between the 20s and 60s on the Top Paid and Top Grossing charts for the Utilities category. So what impact did the sale have?

Unit volume increased twenty-fold, and Witch moved to (as of this writing) number two in Top Paid and number three in Top Grossing in the Utilities category—and it’s hovering around the top 20 in those charts for All Categories as well. Simply put, we’ve been floored…and obviously, the volume numbers got us thinking about pricing over the last two days.

It’s clear from these results that many people felt Witch was a utility they wanted, but one that was simply too expensive at $16.99 (the App Store’s no-preview-images price) and $19 (for the fully-featured version on our site). So we’ve decided to do two things:

  • The current $9.99 sale has been extended through the weekend; it will now end at 11:59pm (PST) on Sunday, January 30th.
  • The new standard price of Witch will be $14 ($13.99 App Store), a reduction of over 25% from the previous level. After talking with some users, and seeing what other utilities are priced at, we feel this is a fair and affordable price for an excellent window-switching tool.

It’s our objective to get our programs into as many users’ hands as possible, and yet do so at a level that will allow us to sustain the company and add support and development resources in the future.

We think Witch’s new pricing strikes the perfect balance between those two objectives—it’s more affordable for everyone now, and yet not so inexpensive that we’re mortgaging the company’s future to achieve unit growth today. After all, what good is the best window switching utility out there if there’s nobody around to support it any more?

Posted in Company News, Products, Witch | 7 Comments »

Witch + window previews + App Store = Save!

January 26th, 2011 by Rob Griffiths and Peter Maurer

Pardon the mathematically-influenced headline, but Witch 3.6 is now available in the App Store. The big news here is that it now includes the pop-up window previews that are present in the standalone version of Witch. This puts the App Store version of Witch at feature parity (excluding software updates) with the independent version.

To be honest, we weren’t sure the image previews would be approved…and now that they have been, we feel like celebrating.

So for the next 48 hours (until 7:00am Pacific Time on Friday, January 28th), Witch is on sale for only $9.99…regardless of whether you buy it from the App Store or from our site.

If you’ve been considering Witch, now’s the time to act. Once the sale ends, both versions of Witch will return to their standard ($19 direct, $18.99 App Store) prices.

Posted in Products, Witch | 6 Comments »

Two new versions of Desktop Curtain now available

January 24th, 2011 by Rob Griffiths and Peter Maurer

Today we shipped not one but two versions of Desktop Curtain, our ‘cover-your-mess’ utility. Desktop Curtain is ideal for those who dislike their clutter, or who need to take ‘clean background’ screenshots. The two new versions are:

  • Desktop Curtain Classic (version 1.5), free: This is an updated version of our free Desktop Curtain baublery, featuring a much-cleaner interface with the same basic feature set as it’s always had. As before, it’s free, and available directly from our site.
  • Desktop Curtain 2.0, $1.99 App Store only: This version features the ability to pick background images using the standard Open dialog, choose from up to 10 previously-used images, and it runs as a normal application, menu bar application, or faceless background application.

The Desktop Curtain web page has an easy-to-understand chart that shows all the differences between the free and App Store-only versions, so you can pick the one that you prefer. You’ll also find a link to download the free version, and a link that takes you to Dektop Curtain’s page in the App Store.

As for those of you curious about why there’s an App Store-only version of Desktop Curtain, given our prior writing on the subject, keep reading.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Name Mangler gains Title Case powers

January 20th, 2011 by Rob Griffiths and Peter Maurer

Name Mangler 2.4.1 is now available, which is quite a vault from its prior 2.3.3 version number. As such, you may be wondering where 2.4 went, as it wasn’t ever announced here.

The short answer to that question is that the App Store ate version 2.4. That is, we had been holding 2.4 here, waiting for approval of the same version in the App Store. When it became apparent that it was going to be a while before 2.4 was approved, we went ahead and committed a few fixes we’d been working on, which led us to 2.4.1.

We’ve submitted that version to the App Store (but it’s not yet approved; we’ll post when it is), and we’re releasing it here now so all you direct customers and prospects can get your hands on it.

So what’s new? The main new feature is a Title Case option in the Change Case renaming mode. Title Case works like the existing Capitalize option, except that it allows you to specify a minimum word length before applying capitalization. So you can now easily choose between Titles With All Caps (Capitalize) and Titles not With all Caps (Title Case, with words over three characters in length).

There are also a couple new features in Advanced mode, and a renaming of the Filter label to Show, which more accurately reflects what those checkboxes do. You can read the release notes page for the full scoop.

As always, update via the in-app udpater, or by downloading a new version of the app from our site.

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Time Sink and Usher tied at 1.1.2!

January 20th, 2011 by Rob Griffiths and Peter Maurer

Well, it’s not really a race, but minor updates to both Time Sink and Usher today have them both sitting at version 1.1.2.

Time Sink’s update resolves an issue where certain apps with non-standard (internal, not public) naming conventions weren’t picked up by Time Sink (release notes). Usher’s update solves two issues, one with lost Notes fields when working with multiple movies at once, and the other with when changes to the Tags field are saved (release notes).

As usual, you can get updates from the in-app updater, or by downloading new copies of the app from our web site. (App Store customers, these updates have been submitted for approval, but have not yet been approved. We’ll post a message when they’re available.)

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Witch now available in the Mac App Store

January 11th, 2011 by Rob Griffiths and Peter Maurer

After waiting and wondering for over two weeks, we were quite happily surprised when the App Store version of Witch was approved this evening and made available for sale at $16.99

If you’re good at math, you’ll quickly realize that’s “over $2 less!” than Witch costs when purchased directly from our site. So why is it cheaper on the Mac App Store than directly from us? One simple reason: the App Store version of Witch lacks the pop-up window previews available in the version for sale on our site. Why not? As of now, we’re not certain that the method we use to show those previews will pass muster with the App Store reviewers, so we chose to leave them out of this initial release.

Everything else, though—including the ability to assign Command-Tab as the Witch trigger—is there. (OK, one other thing you won’t find is in-app updates, as the App Store app itself handles those updates for you.)

None of our other App Store apps are missing a key feature, so this was new ground for us. After talking it over, we decided that the lack of previews was worth a couple dollar reduction in sales price, at least until we know for sure if we can get them in or not.

So that’s why Witch is cheaper on the App Store than here on our site. If you like the image previews, and want them now, then you should buy Witch on our site. If you don’t think you’ll need image previews, you can save yourself a couple bucks by purchasing the App Store version instead.

We’re thrilled to have our fourth app (joining Name Mangler, Time Sink, and Usher on the App Store. And here’s a little secret…we’ve submitted a fifth app, and it’s now in the review queue for approval. Which app? Well, that piece of information will have to remain undisclosed for just a bit longer…stay tuned! (Note to Butler fans: no, it’s not Butler 5, sorry!)

Posted in Company News, Name Mangler, Time Sink, Usher, Witch | 4 Comments »

Another installment of Touch-up Tuesdays

January 11th, 2011 by Rob Griffiths

After getting through the end-of-year holiday rush, which was combined with the Mac App Store launch (thanks for that timing, Apple!), we’ve finally had a chance to catch up on some minor updates for Name Mangler, Usher, and Witch.

You can get the updates via in-app updating (this can be enabled on the Updates tab of Name Mangler and Usher’s Preferences, and on the About tab in Witch’s System Preferences panel), or by downloading the full versions from our web site.

So what’s new? As always, the release notes page for each app (Name Mangler • Usher • Witch) provide all the details, but here are some highlights:

Name Mangler 2.3.3

  • The help files have been completely rewritten in the new Many Tricks’ style. For you users of Advanced mode, there’s even a handy function reference that lets you navigate directly to each available function.
  • In expired-trial mode (after 25 launches), Name Mangler now limits features (five files renamed at once, no droplet use) instead of presenting annoying dialogs with countdown timers.
  • Name Mangler no longer accepts files dragged and dropped directly from iPhoto or Aperture. Because these programs use an internal database, all renaming should be done either before the photos are added to the programs, or within the programs themselves.

Usher 1.1.1

  • Usher can now manage Elgato TV recordings (playback will be handled by the Elgato EyeTV player).
  • A new Save As contextual menu lets you save a selection of movies, in their native format, to a folder of your choosing. This is basically ‘export without conversion.’
  • Usher should now use less memory usage during some operations.

Witch 3.5.8

  • Using a hidden pref (detailed on the release notes page), windowless apps can be forced to the bottom of the switcher panel when used in application-specific sort modes.
  • Updated help files, and numerous other small fixes and improvements.

Note that both Name Mangler and Witch skipped a minor version number. We did this to keep the version numbers in sync between these releases and those on the Mac App Store (Name Mangler is there already, Witch is still in review).

Posted in Name Mangler, Products, Usher, Witch | Comments Off on Another installment of Touch-up Tuesdays

How-to: Set playback start/stop points in Usher

January 10th, 2011 by Rob Griffiths

A few users have asked how to set the start and stop points for playing back a particular video—for instance, to skip a portion at the start or end of a video clip that you’d rather not see. (This is the equivalent to setting a Start Time and Stop Time on the Options tab of iTunes’ Get Info window.)

While it’s not quite that simple to mark a video’s start and stop points in Usher, it’s really not much harder. Read on for the quick how-to, in both text and video forms.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Many Tricks enters the Mac App Store

January 6th, 2011 by Rob Griffiths and Peter Maurer

Unless you’ve been vacationing in Bora Bora for the last three months, you were probably aware that Apple’s new Mac App Store launched today. We were thrilled to have three of our products front and center on launch day: Name Mangler, Time Sink, and Usher were all available when the store opened this morning. (We actually have one more in process right now; a special non-preference-pane version of Witch has been sitting in the review queue for two weeks now.)

So far, it’s been an interesting day, just watching the sales charts trying to figure out what they mean (we don’t get real-time data, so we don’t really know what’s happening with total sales). We did a fair bit of of work to get our apps ready for the store, though, so it’s very gratifying to finally see them there on launch day.

For those who prefer “traditional” software distribution, don’t worry—we’re not going away from that, just taking advantage of a new sales channel. We have apps (Butler and Leech, at least) that can’t be sold on the app store, and we have others (Witch) that have slightly different functionality. So our direct sales model isn’t going away because of the Mac App Store.

Also, we’ll always keep our apps “in sync” to the extent that the App Store rules allow us to do so. That is, if we update Time Sink on our web site, the App Store version will get that same update, and vice-versa1. Due to Apple’s review process, it may occasionally take a bit more time for the changes to reach the App Store, but rest assured, they’ll get there (assuming Apple’s approval, of course).

Our objective with both our App Store apps and our “traditional” apps is simple: to deliver compelling Mac programs that are a delight to use, and to do what it takes to keep our customers satisfied. So whether you want to purchase through the Mac App Store, or via the web, or via our in-app purchasing module, we’ll be there for you.

(1) The two sales channels are distinct, and require different builds of our software. So you can’t update your Mac App Store version of Name Mangler with a download from our site, and vice-versa. If you purchase from our web site, your app has a built-in updater that reminds you when it needs an update. If you purchase from the Mac App Store, the Mac App Store itself will tell you when there are updates to install, and you’ll do the updating via the Mac App Store app.

Posted in Company News, Name Mangler, Products, Time Sink, Usher | 12 Comments »

Usher in the new year with Usher 1.1

December 30th, 2010 by Rob Griffiths and Peter Maurer

Today we released a new version of Usher, with a number of bug fixes, performance improvements, and one very nice new feature.

The big news in Usher 1.1 is the new Notes field. Many users had been creating a Notes Property, but there were problems with this: it was only one line, and you couldn’t use a comma, as Usher would then split your text into separate values. In Usher 1.1, Notes is now our third information type, to go with Tags and Properties. To better reflect all three of these information types, we’ve changed Tags and Properties to Metadata throughout the program.

Notes are written in an auto-expanding free-form text field on the Metadata panel. (If you had previously created a Notes property, its text will show in the new Notes field.) As you enter text, the field will resize as necessary, and eventually, scroll bars will appear. So for all of you who felt trapped by the limitations of your one-line Notes Property, free your fingers to go crazy with the Note field’s new capabilities.

What’s really nice is that Notes is still technically a Property field, which means that text is searchable, and the expanded Notes field is usable in Smart Playlists—we’re not sure why you might want to do this (as opposed to putting such values in Tags or Properties), but you can if you want to.

The other changes in Usher 1.1 (including reduced memory usage during movie ‘crawling’) can be read about on the Usher release notes page. As always, you can download the full version from Usher’s product page, or (much easier) use the in-app update, which you can enable in Usher’s preferences.

Posted in Products, Usher | 2 Comments »

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