
 Why I’m giving away WriteRoom for 6 days - boundlessdreamz
http://blog.hogbaysoftware.com/post/235074676/why-im-giving-away-writeroom-for-6-days
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dangrover
That's one of the reasons why I allowed them to put ShoveBox in the bundle,
despite my initial trepidation.

MacHeist users generally hate anything that requires them to pay money. The
standard line about free not being cheap enough for some people applies here.
So paid upgrades are a no-go with those users, but some of them will pay for
the iPhone app if it's cheap.

I'm modifying the app and my site today to get more of them to convert.

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quizbiz
I purchased your app for the iPodTouch today after getting the app with the
bundle. I have not been able to get them to sync through the campus wifi but I
would be shocked if you told us you were not getting a big increase in app
purchases.

~~~
dangrover
Yeah, wifi syncing requires that you have access to a wifi network that
doesn't block/break things.

~~~
quizbiz
perhaps bluetooth syncing then?

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rudd
I'm currently using the 30-day trial of WriteRoom to write my NaNoWriMo novel.
I had been thinking about buying the program, but wasn't sure if it was worth
$25. I recently decided it was, so was going to buy it when my free trial was
up. Then this comes up...

I like the software enough that I might decide to buy it even though I can get
it for free now. I know I'm not going to buy any of the other software from
Hog Bay, so that seems like it might be the right thing to do.

~~~
apowell
I was also in the midst of a 30-day trial of Writeroom (inspired by
<http://www.balsamiq.com/blog/2009/10/30/tools/>) and I was planning to
purchase it. When I saw the Macheist bundle, I downloaded it instead. I don't
hesitate to purchase useful software, but I'm too practical to pay more than
necessary.

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dsplittgerber
It's just an emotional thing I guess, but still: I bought WriteRoom months ago
- I very rarely buy software, because I neither need much nor feel there is
enough original value in most of the stuff that gets published. But I liked
the minimalistic idea. Now there's a kind of sour aftertaste: I don't have a
lot of money as a grad student, so I'm not going to spend it on another
software which may be given away for free some time soon. Don't get me wrong:
I love your product; but I specifically wanted to support you with the
payment. Also, it might make strategic sense for you to give it away etc.
There's still some kind of aftertaste though for users who recently bought it.

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petercooper
_Don't get me wrong: I love your product; but I specifically wanted to support
you with the payment._

And you did. Your purchase had a lot more direct benefit than even 100 people
downloading it for free. I'm sure the author appreciates you. They just
figured out anyone who would buy it already had so there's little loss in
building up an audience to make even more money down the road.

But, still, if the software were worth buying a few months ago, then whatever
the price changes to in the future makes no difference to the value you see in
it.

~~~
dsplittgerber
Yes, that is obviously his strategy and of course there is value in the
product. My point was that it still doesn't change a fundamental human flaw:
We see value emotionally. Ultimately, it's still a great software. Even though
I recognize that I also recognize that I am upset. I'm just trying to provide
an illumination of the downside of that strategy.

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MikeCapone
I've installed both Shovebox and Writeroom.

I'd probably never have heard of Shovebox otherwise, so it seems like a win
for the author.

Writeroom I heard about a while ago, but had forgotten about it.

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ibsulon
I signed up for MacHeist because I saw this - mostly, because I'm curious as
to the difference between this and Vim's full screen mode (that I use for NaNo
right now.)

