Many Tricks
The first product to be updated on our new site is a personal favorite of mine, Name Mangler. Now at version 2.1, there are only three substantive changes in this version—one bug fix, one most-welcomed new feature, and one change in status.
First, the boring bug fix: Name Mangler no longer chokes on colons or slashes in pre-existing file names. But as Peter points out in the release notes, “you still shouldn’t use those.”
Much more interesting to me, and hopefully to all of you, is that Name Mangler is the first Many Tricks product to support automatic updates via Sparkle. No more multi-step upgrade process, just a smooth, slick in-app upgrade, all thanks to Sparkle. We’ll be doing this with all of our apps as we release new versions, but Name Mangler is first out of the gate.
Finally, as noted by its prominent position on our main page, Name Mangler is now an official Many Tricks product, selling for $10. In the past, Name Mangler was a piece of donationware. In the evolution of Many Tricks, we’ve decided that such terms are harmful to both consumers and developers, so we now have only two types of programs: regular and free.
Our regular programs, now including Name Mangler, all give you liberal free trial policies, followed by reduced functionality and/or nagging after the trial limits have been reached. As much as we’d like to build a business around optional donations, donation rates that run under .5% of those who download really aren’t sustainable.
Our free programs—which we’re calling Baubleries—are just that, free. No nags, no reminders, no limits, no request for donations.
It is our intent to continue developing both regular and free programs in the future. As always, our objective will be to deliver a best-in-class experience, regardless of whether you’re using a free or paid-for Many Tricks application.