Former Apple Engineer's Mimestream Gmail Client for Mac Gets Official Launch, Free Beta Access to End Tomorrow

[noonas_the_mac_head]

I am crying and laughing about the price and the idea that anyone (even business) would *pay* for this??
I think that email clients that add additional services *beyond* what the built in do can charge a small fee (not close to $50/y) but plain (albeit nice) UI for the same features and just because it uses a native API rather than IMAP/SMTP protocol to access under the hood?? they must be beyond High for this.

Offer a free or a one time fee for the app - sure , I might even bite
then add value add as a sub and see how the consumers vote for them with their wallets.

 

[vkd]

Why so much free publicity for this guy's myopic money-making venture?

 

[corywright]

I've been using the mimestream beta for a couple years, and really like it. I've been expecting to pay for a license when v1.0 was released, but with only subscription options I'll pass. I'd happily pay $30-$40 for a standalone perpetual license, but I'm not adding any more subscriptions, the situation is already out of hand.

Please charge $30-$40 for a license, and I'll pay again for major version upgrades every few years.

 

[lkrupp]

Sadly, I agree. I certainly don’t begrudge anyone charging for their product and making money, however, the cost is a tough one for me considering the free options available. Not sure what my price point would be, but subscriptions are still tedious to me.

The day is rapidly approaching where ALL software will be subscription based. One time sales and the user expecting lifetime updates and support has turned out to be a losing business model. You see it all the time in the Apple Discussion Forums. An update breaks some software and the user finds out the developer is long gone and the software will remain broken forever. Of course there exceptions like VueScan for example. I paid for the lifetime pro version ten years ago and it’s still going strong. But exceptions are just that, exceptions.

Now we’re seeing this in streaming services too. Basic Business 101 tells you that you need a constant, reliable source of income to exist. Selling your fantastic app doesn’t provide the income source after everybody has purchased it. So either charge for updates or offer a subscription, both of which enrage a certain segment of tech nerd crowd.

 

[iPay]

What's the point?

it's a 2-step plan:
1) make Apple users pay (easy part) and build a customer base
2) port the app on Android and make them pay too!

 

[_bm]

Yeah, who the hell does this guy think he is trying to make a living off of software he builds that I was happy using for free!! My right to get the software he built for free should be more important than his right to make an income off of his work!

Yes, this is sarcasm. I've been using Mimestream for a while and just subscribed to the discounted annual option. Good for him for making a good sustainable income from his work as an indie dev allowing him to keep improving the product.

 

[brandoman]

If this allowed me to use my various accounts, other than just Gmail, I might be inclined to give it a go.

 

[canadianreader]

Wow! With prices like that, the app is headed for failure. It's hard to imagine who would pay that much.

The dev's family and friends 🤣

 

[Xand&Roby]

I don't know for others, but on my planet we are at the dawn of 2024: can we pay $50 for a sw, maybe the best sw in the world, which does only one thing, namely the email client of a provider, Google, free, whose cost is your data?
Do you pay $50 a year for a service that is maintained using your data?
And take note, ONLY ONE PROVIDER.
In 2024 there are still those who write code for a mail client (when does the first date, late 60s ~ early 70s?) For ONLY ONE PROVIDER, also FREE (you pay with profiling), and want a subscription at 50$ per year?
On my planet we are strange, maybe that's why we don't understand.

 

[falkon-engine]

So I have to pay a subscription to access my free email ? 🤣 thanks but no thanks

 

[kevroc]

Subscription app for a free service.

Imagine what bad examples are being set for the future.

Subscription to breath clean air.

Subscription for free speech.

Subscription walking on the pavement.

Subscription to touch grass.

That's funny that you don't think those are already subscriptions...

 

[ruddyman]

The best mail app I've used. I actually left Spark to try this and it plays much better with multiple email addresses and aliases. Because I've already purchased Spark, I'll have to go back and see if they've improved on that front. Not sure I'd pay for a subscription model email client, *edit*, or one quite this high.

 

[__dontpanic__]

I can't understate how much Mimestream has simplified my workflow over the past couple years of the beta. It just keeps getting better and better and I'm happy to finally have an opportunity to financially support their work. $50/yr is a drop in the bucket when compared to the value I've gotten and continue to get out of it. YMMV, of course.

Agree. All my email goes through Gmail (even my work addresses), so to have a native client that perfectly syncs with the web client and ties in with almost all the web functionality is something I do value. Being able to quickly and easily jump between (or merge) personal and work inboxes in the one app is great too (all the Electron based alternatives could do was offer tabs). It's fast, stable and receives regular updates - and I've been using it for free for 3 years. It's an app that I actually enjoy using and would miss if it weren't around, so I guess I have to decide if that warrants a $50 fee going forward. At the very least it'll be a tax deduction.

 

[roland.g]

Someone let me know when there is an email client for iCloud or any other mail service with the search functions of Apple Mail AND a useful working REAL junk mail filter. 5-10% of my junk mail per Apple's filtering is real mail and 10-15% of my inbox is junk mail. Shouldn't a real junk mail filter figure out the REAL junk and auto-delete the stuff based on the repetition, history, and OBVIOUS clues that it is junk.

 

[Steve121178]

I can't understate how much Mimestream has simplified my workflow over the past couple years of the beta. It just keeps getting better and better and I'm happy to finally have an opportunity to financially support their work. $50/yr is a drop in the bucket when compared to the value I've gotten and continue to get out of it. YMMV, of course.

How has it simplified your workflow?

 

[swm]

A subscription service for an email client!? 🤣😂🤣😂🤣🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣

yeah. paid service so you can use a free service. makes sense to someone.

 

[zilchfox]

I don't mind paying for software. I *DO* mind paying a subscription. Pass.

 

[fredn]

Same here, it's actually quite good and I was a happy beta user. I was totally ready to buy a full license whenever 1.0 came out, but was flabbergasted to see a subscription-only model. Passing.

 

[bostonMAC]

Another piece of subscription software = a hard pass.

Obligatory shoutout to Serif for not moving to Subscription for version 2 of the Affinity suite.

 

[BlairMALL]

The day is rapidly approaching where ALL software will be subscription based. One time sales and the user expecting lifetime updates and support has turned out to be a losing business model. You see it all the time in the Apple Discussion Forums. An update breaks some software and the user finds out the developer is long gone and the software will remain broken forever. Of course there exceptions like VueScan for example. I paid for the lifetime pro version ten years ago and it’s still going strong. But exceptions are just that, exceptions.

Now we’re seeing this in streaming services too. Basic Business 101 tells you that you need a constant, reliable source of income to exist. Selling your fantastic app doesn’t provide the income source after everybody has purchased it. So either charge for updates or offer a subscription, both of which enrage a certain segment of tech nerd crowd.

I don't believe that users expect a lifetime of support and updates when they make a one time purchase. For many years, users would buy software with a reasonable expectation that when a significant update was released new users would purchase at full price, and the legacy users could upgrade at a discount.

And as for updates breaking software, this can still happen under subscription models and is a separate issue. In other words, it is neither a function of or solved by subscription models.

I am no business major, student, or whatever, so I am on super sketchy ground here, but I don't think business 101 tells you that you need a constant, reliable source of income to exists. Even so, software businesses existed long before current software subscription models existed. The real shift is moving your user base from buying a product to paying for a service. I believe that the subscription model is leveraging perceived immediate need based on current user behavior for gain that is may be equally unsustainable.

Streaming services are a different beast altogether. And they are dealing with a reckoning of sorts themselves due to incredible spending, piracy, strikes by artists, etc.

At some point in this response, I believe I may have lost some focus and credibility of my claims, but it still feels kind of right, so I am posting. Please feel free to rip me to shreds... probably deserve it.

 

[ericg301]

If this allowed me to use my various accounts, other than just Gmail, I might be inclined to give it a go.

The whole point of this app is to do one thing and do it well. And that's to be the best desktop GMAIL app.

 

[cylack]

Subscription means its DOA for me. I’d pay $25 onetime for this though.

 

[ericg301]

Same here, it's actually quite good and I was a happy beta user. I was totally ready to buy a full license whenever 1.0 came out, but was flabbergasted to see a subscription-only model. Passing.

I'll pay for one year at the discounted price to see its continued development. But Gmail and the rest of the Google Suite is about to get a layer of AI across the Bard....(see what I did there). it's highly unlikely that will be part of the Gmail API..so this app and others will be left out.

 

[I WAS the one]

It was my primary email client. I was ready to pay any amount to keep it with me. I just can't afford any more subs. Sad that there are no one-time payment options. Oh, well... back to my discontinued Mailplane app for now...

 

[AlixSPQR]

🤦‍♀️ ​

You guys just don’t get it…… do you……​

​

Running a server to run an app like this is expensive, in addition to getting access to gmail server. One time payment won’t be enough. Subscription make sense for this app.

Also, Apple really is discouraging developers from uploading new version of app as separate and charge users. They are actively encouraging developers to continue updating existing app and switch to subscription model.

Note that rumor is Final Cut Pro for Mac might soon switch to this model also.

It's a tall order for any company to persuade customers to pay what they don't want to pay. Maybe that's unfair, somehow, but there we are. The free market works in its own ways. Perhaps Apple can change that, IDK.