![]() You have to download an uninstaller for the old version 1.2.2 before buying and installing version 1.3.x through the App Store. Second, the migration from free version to App Store version is unpleasant for Growl. Evidently my expectations have been colored by all those years of paying for more expensive PC software. That's funny, because it's exactly the same price as a $2 smartphone app, which seems pretty ordinary to me. But the prospect provoked three reactions:įirst, $2 seems pretty cheap for a personal computer utility. Personally, I'm happy to shell out two bucks. But those who use a Mist-enabled program only get close control over the notifications if they buy the Growl app. Programmers can embed a basic version of Growl notifications called Mist into their software for free, so that those using the software don't have to install it separately. The Growl project also launched an upsell effort. Often, though, open-source software is offered for free because it's part of a company's broader agenda-to make its hardware worth paying for, or to undermine a competitor's strength, for example. There are several mechanisms: a free foundation with proprietary add-ons, support subscriptions, customization services, and more. The move is the latest example of the struggle to profit, or at least benefit financially, from open-source software. But I'm not in the griping group in this case.įor starters, $2 isn't that much for a genuinely useful utility, and full-time developers need to eat.Īlso, there's no requirement that prebuilt, installable versions of open-source software must be free the Growl source code remains available for anyone who cares to build the software. Why are you guys charging for open source?"Īny price increase will trigger a certain amount of discontentment, of course. And Jeremy Randall tweeted, "Hmm is free, under BSD license, but costs $1.99 from the App Store. "Hey guys what happened? you embraced the AppStore's dark side? O.o #notGonnaUpdateAnyMore," complained Twitter user unlucio. Money earned through purchases in the App Store go directly to benefiting Growl.Without changing to this paid Growl model, Growl would have died off and would no longer be around to use at all. We now have people working on Growl full time. Growl as a paid application allows for good changes. Growl developer Chris Forsythe described the changes this way yesterday: Starting with version 1.3, Growl became a $1.99 purchase. Growl, a widely used open-source notification tool that lets Mac OS X applications tell users about events such as incoming instant messages, is no longer free.
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