uBar 4

[allan.nyholm]

Two other things:

1. I did defaults write ca.brawer.uBar showWindowCount -bool YES, but the count does not show up after restart.

2. The manual reordering of app icons from the "Apps" tab in Preferences doesn't work.

Would appreciate any help. FYI, I'm on Big Sur mac mini M1.

1. Turn off Display window previews in the General portion of uBar Preferences. Then a little number shows on the left hand side when hovering over open applications in uBar.

2. Choose the "Include favorited apps" checkbox in the Apps section on uBar Preferences. At least that is what's working for me.

 

[JakesS]

yep, I wish the author, whom I've actually been e-mailing too, to just go -- silent. No reply in sight for the bug report I sent him(or how many they might be)
If the author wants to push the uBar forum on the user than I would love to have gotten an e-mail notice claiming so, perhaps even with a login already set up for me.

The reason I mention a forum is because I spotted a section on BrawerSoftware that said to participate in the uBar forum. It's a support page powered by Jira.
No? Just answer e-mails with bug reports.

I'm sure there's more stuff to come for uBar, it's just "not nice" to have paid $$ for an app - now to just left hanging.

Perhaps covid-19 really did a larger toll on this developer that I am aware of. And that his watch making business is the one keeping the lights on (I'm sure it is - just me writing nonsense)

So an upgrade to uBar 5 is $39? Okay, let's disappear and not reply to anything anymore.. because we are too busy

edit.. I'm really being an awful person - I was all over this application when I got notice of it.. Now I would probably still use uBar and all my writing is looking to as a personal attack on the developer of uBar.. It's really not.. I just don't express myself well enough to get the right words out. This is the frustrated user writing.

I'm with you, I registered just to get some relief from the frustration of having paid for a product but receiving no support. The developer is still out there, the M1 native version was released along with another bug fix release. The impression I get from that is "Pay for my software but then you're on your own". If you can't support your product then just call it a day.

I really like Ubar 4 but there are some irritating bugs that remain even on the latest version. I'll check out Activedock, a supportive developer is where it's at.

Edit - Activedock is still not native, anybody know when it will go native?

 

[allan.nyholm]

I'm with you, I registered just to get some relief from the frustration of having paid for a product but receiving no support. The developer is still out there, the M1 native version was released along with another bug fix release. The impression I get from that is "Pay for my software but then you're on your own". If you can't support your product then just call it a day.

I really like Ubar 4 but there are some irritating bugs that remain even on the latest version. I'll check out Activedock, a supportive developer is where it's at.

Edit - Activedock is still not native, anybody know when it will go native?

Version 2.98 of ActiveDock is now native to Apple Silicon as the MacUpdate listing indicates.

Version 2.98:
ActiveDock Now running native on Apple Silicon and Intel

The developer's page for ActiveDock doesn't list this and only says [as of monday at 7.44]
ActiveDock is now Notarized and ready for macOS Big Sur. (Build for Apple Silicon will be coming soon) <- it's already out.

 

[iHorseHead]

I would avoid this app like the plague if I were you guys...

View attachment 726520

Thanks. I won't even visit the website.

 

[timehawk]

Having arrived from the world of Windows taskbar I was surprised how the Mac dock does not provide a text description of each window - just a dot to show that an app is active. I have adopted a two-prong approach, using uBar to provide more feedback on apps that are running, and the Dock on pop-up for times when the Dock is better. I also set the uBar to be double height, so there is more room for textual information, and to reduce the Dock popping up when I don't want it. uBar is not perfect, but version 4.2 does the meat and potatoes taskbar well enough for me.

 

[tyler---]

I'm doing the free trial of uBar now (props for providing this!) and realizing that it's close to perfect but doesn't currently support Spaces very well. My experience is that you can "Exclude apps with zero windows" and it will show the apps in the first space but it does not update when you switch spaces (actually not sure this would make sense for any users — maybe it's a bug?). Alternately you can unselect this option (showing all apps, even those with no windows) but the usefulness is a lot less (shows all 20 apps, even though only 3 are active in this space).

Is there any recommendation for using uBar with multiple spaces?

 

[steve62388]

Phew. Glad I searched for a uBar thread before making a purchase. $30 is quite pricey for an app that just replaces the dock, and I definitely won't be spending my money with such a flakey dev.

 

[allan.nyholm]

Phew. Glad I searched for a uBar thread before making a purchase. $30 is quite pricey for an app that just replaces the dock, and I definitely won't be spending my money with such a flakey dev.

It doesn't even replace it as such.. I think that phrase is a marketing gimmick. The Dock and also Finder processes are heavily controlled by Apple and no amount of apps can directly replace the Dock.

I would personally use words such as "a great addition to the Dock" or even "a great supplement to the Dock"

Even Path Finder can't replace the Finder fully. Yet it's meant to replace the Finder. However, the developers might have changed their wording over time.

Just my 2cents worth.

 

[prometheus12]

It doesn't even replace it as such.. I think that phrase is a marketing gimmick. The Dock and also Finder processes are heavily controlled by Apple and no amount of apps can directly replace the Dock.

I would personally use words such as "a great addition to the Dock" or even "a great supplement to the Dock"

Even Path Finder can't replace the Finder fully. Yet it's meant to replace the Finder. However, the developers might have changed their wording over time.

Just my 2cents worth.

I loathe Path Finder. Used to be a user but some basic stuff didn't work. Switched to Fork Lift and now QSpace Pro. What Finder feature do you use that some of these Finder "replacements" don't offer?

 

[allan.nyholm]

I loathe Path Finder. Used to be a user but some basic stuff didn't work. Switched to Fork Lift and now QSpace Pro. What Finder feature do you use that some of these Finder "replacements" don't offer?

Not that many - I use Finder as a file browser and an organizer. it's just the quickest to get around - If I screw up with the Finder because of tinkering too much, then I have ForkLift or QSpace Pro.

There isn't one Finder feature that I would say I use that's missing in the before-mentioned applications.