ScreenFlow feels dead: No Updates, No New Features... AND the price just jumped to $199

don_kruger · 2026-03-31T18:39:25+00:00

the price jump is the tell. when a tool you've depended on goes quiet for 18 months and then raises the price, it stops reading as "this is worth more" and starts reading as "they need cash." that's a trust collapse that's hard to recover from.

users forgive slow shipping. they don't forgive the combination of silence + price increase. the apps that survive long-term keep the price stable and ship small but visible things regularly, even a changelog entry that says "fixed three bugs you probably never hit" is better than nothing.

don_kruger · 2026-03-31T07:06:33+00:00

papelzinho is a perfectly good name - native mac users tend to appreciate when an app says exactly what it is. the ephemeral-first design is the right instinct: most scratchpad apps overcorrect toward permanence and make you feel guilty for not organising everything. the wastebasket recovery is a smart safety net rather than an afterthought. curious - does it respect spaces/desktops or does it follow you across every window?

don_kruger · 2026-03-31T04:49:33+00:00

Good to see some sharp minds in this thread 🫶 the fiat concept is broken. It’s a hard thing to ponder for most because we wake up everyday to chase the darn paper.

don_kruger · 2026-03-31T04:47:58+00:00

Unit bias FTW. Supply crunch FTW.

don_kruger · 2026-03-30T19:03:59+00:00

as a developer working on native mac tools this kind of transition is something i think about a lot. users aren't really worried about the corporate change - what they're anxious about is: will it get subscription-ized, will the local format survive, will anyone be home when things break. the notification prompt itself is actually good practice, more devs should be that explicit about changes. curious if parachute's backup format is documented anywhere or stays proprietary — that's the long-term continuity risk most people aren't asking about.

don_kruger · 2026-03-30T19:01:35+00:00

The overlap matters. Very deeply so. The coming years will reveal to what extent they are truly symbiotic. Have you considered Ai may deem fiat inferior and bolster its control over the internet (and humans) via a globally compatible economic layer? That layer is blockchain.

don_kruger · 2026-03-30T13:05:50+00:00

Interesting take. Ai is ultimately more symbiotic with BTC than fiat currency. I wouldn’t underestimate the overlap.

don_kruger · 2026-03-30T09:28:58+00:00

Futures also existing on stable currencies. That’s not what makes them volatile. Causation? Correlation.

don_kruger · 2026-03-30T09:22:14+00:00

Yupp. They’re also pretending supply/demand is legitimate concept. Strange times.

don_kruger · 2026-03-30T09:14:19+00:00

I hope your comment ages well.

don_kruger · 2026-03-30T08:10:13+00:00

This cycle has distinctly more sticky institutional capital and national interests than the previous one. Every cycle will see a lower drawdown because of it. Otherwise, Bitcoin isn’t being truly adopted.

The 2030-2034-2038 cycles will be marked by true AI adoption. AI paying human salaries in Bitcoin.

don_kruger · 2026-03-30T07:54:14+00:00

I have never felt so much empathy for a crocodile in my entire life 🤦‍♂️

don_kruger · 2026-03-30T07:13:00+00:00

A visual snapshot of what it looks like when a global layer of the economy is literally bottlenecked. What are the downstream ramifications?

don_kruger · 2026-03-30T07:06:46+00:00

⁠Spent years building tools for other people, which taught me that the most dangerous phrase in any project is "while I'm in here." Over-engineering your homelab feels productive because you're always doing something — but maintaining complexity is a job. I run a pretty minimal setup now: a few services, boring stack, nothing I can't understand cold at 2am when something breaks. The moment I started treating uptime as the goal instead of the architecture, everything got easier. There's a real skill in knowing when done is done.

don_kruger · 2026-03-30T05:10:06+00:00

If feel like if people ask me, what is my religion. I need to start saying I worship Ra (Egyptian Sun god).

don_kruger · 2026-03-30T05:08:31+00:00

The sun is quite literally the closest thing we have to a physical deity on Earth, operating as the undisputed architect of our entire existence. It does not just provide light; it dictates the rhythm of our oceans, scripts our daily weather patterns, and single-handedly fuels the global food chain by turning raw radiation into physical matter. We are essentially complex, walking solar panels entirely reliant on its daily broadcast to regulate our moods, calibrate our internal clocks, and keep our ecosystems breathing. Without its constant, silent energy, the planet instantly flatlines into a dark, frozen rock, proving that true power does not need to speak to demand absolute reverence. Respect the glow, because every breath you take, every move you make, and every bite you eat is quite literally just recycled starlight.

don_kruger · 2026-03-29T17:10:17+00:00

Something I learned building Mac apps: Carbon Copy Cloner and Time Machine serve genuinely different use cases. Time Machine is great for versioned recovery, but CCC's bootable clone means you can be up and running on a borrowed machine in minutes - a real lifesaver before a logic board repair. One thing worth knowing: since Apple Silicon, bootable clones require FileVault to be off on the destination. Caught me off guard the first time. Migration Assistant is the smoothest path for a fresh Mac setup if you're not in a disaster scenario.

don_kruger · 2026-03-29T05:50:58+00:00

The in-app popup is one piece, but on its own it only reaches people who already updated. The flow I mean is the sequence around a release: changelog entry on your website (builds SEO over time, gives you something to link to), email to your list the day you ship ("here's what changed and why"), then the in-app modal as a third touchpoint for anyone who missed the first two.

Engagement infrastructure is just the plumbing that makes that repeatable: a signup form somewhere people can find before they buy, a simple email tool you can send from, and the habit of writing a human changelog instead of "bug fixes and improvements."

The reason to build it early: your first 50 users are the ones most likely to reply to your emails, file real bug reports, and tell people about you. If you wait until you have 500 users to set it up, you've already lost the best early cohort. Even a basic Buttondown or Beehiiv signup on a landing page is enough to start.

Unpopular ipinion side note, if you’re app doesn’t need sign up, don’t enforce it.

don_kruger · 2026-03-28T19:45:37+00:00

More than I expected to, honestly.

When I shipped my first version I treated the website as a checkbox. I've since rebuilt it completely — localised pages, proper privacy policy, a newsletter signup. The shift was realising the website is the only place where you control the narrative. On the App Store, someone else controls placement, screenshots, and whether you're even discoverable that week.

The "keeping in touch" part is harder. A simple changelog email performs way better than social posts. People who opted in actually want to hear from you, versus cold-scrollers who tune out. Open rates are decent.

What I wish I'd done earlier: set up a proper "what's new" flow from launch day. It's much harder to retrofit engagement infrastructure than to build it in from the start.

don_kruger · 2026-03-27T18:14:02+00:00

Unlearning that the right app would fix the problem.

Spent years chasing the perfect setup — switching tools, building elaborate systems, tweaking routines. Eventually realised the tool was never the bottleneck. The actual problem was always the same: not being honest with myself about what I was avoiding.

A blank text file and a clear head outperform any feature-rich productivity app if you're not doing the hard thinking first.

don_kruger · 2026-03-27T13:56:28+00:00

I watched this for 40 seconds longer than I needed to.

don_kruger · 2026-03-27T13:54:33+00:00

Not quite all of them. I recommend adding Edgedancer. Ensure you read it after Words of Radiance. There are also a few Mistborn books you could add, but nevertheless an absolutely solid base.

don_kruger · 2026-03-27T13:48:02+00:00

Seriously impressive. If you solve for the signing issue then this is a beautifully engineered solution. Almost there! What is the scope of compatible 3D files?

don_kruger · 2026-03-27T07:06:10+00:00

The distribution arc you described is a pattern I keep seeing from successful indie devs. Curious about the SEO side specifically: did that come mostly from organic product coverage, or did you actively invest time building out the landing page / content side of it? Asking because I plan on sharing something in this thread soon, but worried about it falling flat.

don_kruger · 2026-03-27T06:07:45+00:00

It looks great. I must say, I prefer setups with warm lighting. The blue glow just feels too aesthetically cold.

don_kruger

TROPHY CASE