BetterDummy Pro - freemium transition

[waydabber]

Hi Everybody,

I am transitioning BetterDummy into a freemium model as of v1.1.x.

UPDATE: This post was updated with the latest info as of 04/10/2022

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Here are the reasons

• I’d like to give something extra to those who support development.
• I am facing a higher than expected demand for the app. This is great - but on the other hand, supporting the app needs a lot of attention and focus. Time is money. :)
• I have a lot of ideas on how to develop the app - this also needs focus. Time is…

This is how it works

• All features in the app that were free up to version v1.0.x will remain completely free for non-business users.
• Some advanced features (like picture-in-picture, full screen streaming, some other convenience features etc) will be available only with a Pro licence.
• Business users will need to buy a Pro licence if they want to use the app in any capacity. This will be a licence requirement for businesses who want to comply properly - but it won’t be enforced by the app. Business users can of course continue to use the Open Source version of the app (see below) for free.
• The app will not be crippled without a Pro licence - if you are not a business user, do not want to support the developer by paying for a Pro licence and you don’t need any of the Pro functions, you can still continue to use newer versions of BD just fine and receive updates.
• The app will not show any nag screens to purchase Pro. :)

Can I use the Pro features without buying the app?

• There is a 14 days trial period built in the app. During this trial period you can access all functions of the app for free. I advise you to utilize this period to decide whether BetterDummy is for you. This way all purchases can remain final.
• After the trial period you can either buy the Pro license for accessing Pro features or you can continue to use the app for completely free but without the Pro features.
• You can also opt for using the open source version of the app which is free.

Purchasing Pro

• You can purchase Pro by going to Preferences... in the app menu, select the Pro tab and click on Buy BetterDummy Pro. You'll have to enter your email address, select your location (this is for taxing reasons so the correct VAT/sales tax amount can be paid) and payment details. You can either pay via a card or PayPal.

• Once the purchase is complete a window appears with your license code (it will be emailed to you as well) - don't forget to click Activate!
• If the license is activated, you'll see this:

What happens if I don't purchase Pro?

• During the trial you can use the app without limitation. Under the Pro tab you'll see an orange checkmark and the number of days remaining from the trial. You'll also see this info in the main app menu:

• Once the trial is over, Pro features will become inaccessible, you'll have a 'Get BetterDummy Pro' menu item in your menu and a yellow exclamation mark under the Pro tab:

• Non-Pro features will continue to be accessible even when the trial is over

• Dummies (even custom ones) created during the trial version will be available after the trial is over as well.

Which major features require Pro?

As of v1.1.12 the following major features require Pro:

• Keyboard shortcuts
• Rename dummies
• Create dummies with custom aspect ratios or resolutions
• Auto-configure dummy, mirroring and streaming suited for a display
• Resize dummies
• Automate the process of mirror creation for a display
• Full screen streaming
• Picture in Picture
• Various display management tools
• Change dummy orientation
• Portrait Sidecar with streaming

What happens to the Open Source version?

• The v1.0.x code in the BetterDummy repo will remain Open Source, MIT Licenced and available for free. It will be referred to as "BetterDummy OpenSource Edition".
• I’ll accept Pull Requests to the repo (only after proper review as a responsible maintainer) and if you guys ask me, I’ll post signed OpenSource Edition builds as well.
• Please note, that the core technology and idea behind BD is already in the repo. The non-open-source version contains lot of additional code that was a chore to create + contains some other required technologies, but these can be found implemented elsewhere in the Open Source space on GitHub. The novelty is putting things together, but the OpenSource community won’t miss out much if this code is not open.
• I also plan to contribute to the OpenSource code from time-to-time, as I might move some new features to open source (while keeping the edge of the non-open-source version). I will also implement relevant community improvements into the proprietary version of BetterDummy.

Pricing and licensing

• a Pro licnese costs $15 (update: original idea was €8.99 but this was increased somewhat due to VAT, sales tax, payment processor processor fee etc)
• If you are not a business user, you can use the app in all of your Macs in your household.
• If your workplace does not buy BetterDummy for you but allows you to install it for yourself or you are on BYOD or you are a private entrepreneur, you are free to classify yourself as a non-business user - it’s up to your conscience to decide.
• If you are a business user, you need to have a per user or per machine licence (choose the one that makes more sense) - in both approaches the licences are transferrable.
• Licences are valid for the current major version of the app. I don’t plan to change major version anytime soon, but if I do, I might (depending on the magnitude of the improvements) charge for it while providing upgrade licences. I will try to be as fair as possible with this.

What about those who supported the Open Source app via OpenCollective before releasing Pro?

• I'd like to thank you for backing the open source project in the past by providing you with a coupon code so you can get a Pro license for no additional cost.
• OpenCollective does not allow me to contact you directly so if you'd like to receive a code, please contact me at Discord by opening a separate discussion and posting a screenshot of the confirmation you received from Open Collective. I'll respond with a code (some patience might be needed). Thank you!
• Those who contributed via OpenCollective in the past with $20 or more are getting lifetime upgrades for free as promised - if you want your extra license for a major version update, you'll have to connect me at Discord again at that time.
• Please note that OpenCollective contributions were and are for the Open Source Edition which will remain available in the future - providing a Pro licence for those who contributed is my way of saying thank you for your generosity.

Will there be subscription?

• I am not a great fan of subscription based solutions and I think the licence price is rather cheap anyway. But if this is a real need, I’ll think about it.

[GoanSausage]

It's great that you're being upfront about this. Alin is perhaps not the best person for mentoring about a transition to a Freemium app though.

My freeware copy of Lunar got auto-updated to the freemium version, which locked previously available features behind a Pro version. This was done without any warning or communication.

This made me regret contributing money to the project twice in the past and stop using it.

[alin23]

@GoanSausage that was a bug in the updater framework I'm afraid. I'm sorry for the bad experience.

I configured updates to Lunar 4 to only happen with the user approval but it didn't happen that way and I had no control over that.

<sparkle:minimumAutoupdateVersion>4.0.0</sparkle:minimumAutoupdateVersion>

which locked previously available features behind a Pro version

I left Lunar 3 for download since day one of launching Lunar 4 and it's right there on the front page, not in some obscure releases page. I never wanted to push users into Lunar 4 if they didn't have a need for it.

[waydabber]

Hey @GoanSausage I understand that a transition like this is always difficult. @alin23 does things with best of intentions as far as I was able to know him and he always struggles to be as fair as possible even when is sometimes it is not in his best interests. Also, he is trying to make a living solely out of developing Mac apps which is not an easy task. :)

---

The BetterDummy freemium transition is undergoing some setbacks as of now - so for the foreseeable future I'll probably just post beta Pro versions for free with some expiration date. I am still evaluating whether it makes sense to make the whole thing paid or not. The app won't be allowed into the app store which would make things easy, outside of that making licencing and payment work seems to be a rather complicated endeavour which leaves me somewhat discouraged especially as I have to focus on other things as well right now. But stay tuned and meanwhile enjoy the free Pro builds that might pop up under Releases. You can support the project as well via the usual means. :)

[GoanSausage]

As a supporter of FOSS, I want every developer to be able to make a good living.

I also want them to be clear and upfront with users and not pull what appears to be a bait-and-switch, later blaming it on a framework.

The two are by no means mutually exclusive.

I just installed BD this morning and will contribute to it today. Thank you for creating and working on this.

[alin23]

I also want them to be clear and upfront with users and not pull what appears to be a bait-and-switch, later blaming it on a framework.

Assuming bad intent from the start is what really motivates developers to put up with buggy OS APIs and earn pennies after years of work. Keep doing that!

[GoanSausage]

Assuming bad intent from the start is what really motivates developers to put up with buggy OS APIs and earn pennies after years of work. Keep doing that!

Which is why I contributed money to the project twice, long before any of this happened.

[alin23]

I've sent a free Lunar 4 Pro license to everyone who contributed before Lunar 4 was launched. Is it possible that you did not get that?

A lot of users got it in spam because @lunar.fyi wasn't considered trustworthy by Google's filters in the first few weeks. If you didn't get it, here's a 100% OFF coupon for Lunar Pro if you still have a need for it: 0343F89E

[coolaj86]

How many computers are included with the license? At roughly $10 it's no problem to pay for each computer.

If there is a lifetime option, it would be nice if it were a 2+ seat license for simplicity (laptop + desktop / work + home / etc).

Edit: Oops, didn't see this in there already when I was scanning through:

per user or per machine license

Great. So as one person I can use it on any computer I work on - at home or at work.

[waydabber]

Well, my thought was that for individuals you can use the same licence in a household (up to 5 machines). For businesses it is either one license person or per machine, whichever makes more sense. But these may change as these are preliminary ideas. The freemium transition and the development in general is somewhat stuck now due to personal reasons (nothing bad is happening, just some normal life things) so you can use the betas without limitation for now (but please mind the baked in expiration date). If the current one expires and there is no permanent solution, I'll release a newer beta with an updated expiration date as a stop-gap measure. :)

[bconway]

Since there doesn't appear to be a "Thank you" thread, I'll add it here. Thank you for this great project. I recently upgraded to a MacBook Air M1 and a 1440p high-refresh monitor, and little did I know how poor the native 1440p experience would be on macOS (arguably I should have researched more, but I also wasn't looking to spend $1K on a similar spec 4K monitor). I just put in a contribution equal to the different between the retail and sale price on my new monitor (and to get my name on the list), and I look forward to a future Pro license.

[waydabber]

Hey @bconway - thank you for your generousity, it is much appreciated! :)

[gbil]

@waydabber based on the latest info from 1.1.11 release notes, the process to get a code is to contact you in discord but I'm not going to register for discord. I'd appreciate therefore a different contact path for this topic

[waydabber]

[message removed to prevent spam]

[gbil]

many thanks, did so

[waydabber]

Hi, just sent you the code. Let me know if you have any issues with it! Thanks!

[amohanse]

Hei @waydabber, for some reason I couldn't finish up buying the license, both the payment methods have failed. Not sure which end have the problem, thinking of contacting my bank. Any ideas?

[waydabber]

Hi @amohanse - sorry to hear that! I don't know what could be the issue as all this is handled by Paddle which is an third party managing all payments, invoicing and licenses. As an alternative you can donate a comparable amount to OpenCollective and contact me on Discord so I can give you a coupon code to activate the app. If all fails, contact me anyway so we can figure something out. :)

[jhogendorn]

Hi, can we get the purchase link outside of the app? I want to do the purchase on a machine other than has betterdummy installed.

[waydabber]

Yes, I am planning to do that but first I'd need to create a proper website for the app. :) I know it's long overdue.

[Hasoo]

I bought pro, I hope it help with development.

[waydabber]

Thank you! :)

[0x-dudu]

Purchased Pro, a great help to those of us in need of using it, but one question, how long is this license promised to be renewed? Thanks again for all your hard work on this powerful tool!

[waydabber]

Hi there, the license is permanent for this version. I might release some substantial update or new version later in the future that will require a license or upgrade but that should not render your existing version inoperable artificially. I do not plan releasing such a paid upgrade anytime soon, instead I want to keep improving the functionality for existing and new users.

[0x-dudu]

It's great to give back and will always support your results！

[maximebories]

[waydabber]

Hi @maximebories,

thanks for sharing your perspective! I don't fully understand all your points, so excuse me if I misunderstand. The app is still available for free and the source code is under the opensource branch. The current versions have all the functionality of the original open source version, for free. There is no nag screen of any kind and I also provided a way to hide menu items in case somebody (who does not want to use the open source version) is bothered by the presence of Pro feature menus after the trial. I believe paying the price of a lunch is not a big ask for the extra features, but I understand that it might be bothering to some.

In principle I am all for doing stuff for free and I'd gladly do it if I was in that position financially. But I live in a money based society and I have constraints + a family to support - so things would simply not work out well if I do stuff for free while others are asking me to pay for everything. :) Despite this I created and posted the source code of BD as FOSS - anybody can take a look at the core technology (no big secret there) and work with it to make something better or different. I also worked a lot on MonitorControl which is FOSS and would basically not exist by now (at least on Apple Silicon with the current feature set) if I did not spend a few months of my spare time for this to happen (I did it with joy, it was/is an adventure).

Creating free stuff for the community should be a fun and voluntary thing - if you can't do something for money as well when you choose to, but forced to work for free (or otherwise be branded a bad person), that is simply not right and kills all the joy in giving.

Let me lay out my secret end game here: my plan is to combine BetterDummy (with all the original features) and MonitorControl (at least most of its features as there are plenty of obscure stuff in it I did work on but probably nobody uses) into one neat package, add a bunch of value added stuff and improvements for those who are willing to spend a single lunch money on it and hope that this will make this hobby of mine working on these things somewhat sustainable on the longer term and a bit more rewarding. I don't feel that this is a particularly immoral thing to do.

Thanks and I hope you understand my perspective here even if you don't agree. :)

[einsweniger]

Thank you for documenting your decision! I think the only problem I have with this, that I did not see, that the trial period started. I'm not sure if there was a warning or something that did not register with me, but now I have three days left and I haven't even tried the features that are locked for me, soon. I don't have the time this week to check them out and find out if I even want them :/

I'm a little bummed out about that, but I can see that other, less silent, options would have been much more annoying. I guess I'll see what goes away and then decide. Might as well throw some money into your hat, because this software usually works and saves me a lot of screen-space. Thank you 😊

[waydabber]

Yes, I should probably add an initial orientation or onboarding splash screen where there should be a notification about the trial.

I tried to make the whole thing not too intrusive as I want non-Pro users to be still happy with the app but it might be that many just don't notice at all that a trial is going on or that they could get a Pro version. Now if somebody sets up a dummy during the trial and leaves the whole thing as is without looking back for more features should not have any issues by not purchasing the app - this is by design, I don't want to force users to buy the app who don't really need any of the extra features or don't have the willingness to support the development by a purchase.

[9M6]

Why is mirroring locked behind Pro?

[waydabber]

Hi there, it is not locked, you can mirror the dummy just fine under System Preferences/Displays. Only the simpler menu based mirror configuration is locked, but that is a convenience feature only! :)

[hericius]

Hello,

Using a 49" screen, BetterDummy Pro saved me with a 1920x1080 PIP screen for Teams presentation.

I don't know if this suggested feature is already on your roadmap but, I'm interested in the option to have the PIP start automatically when I connect to a dummy screen.

Regards,
André for Hericius,

[waydabber]

That can be added. You should open an issue for it, I'll tag it as an enhancement and will add in an upcoming version. Thank you!

[jacksongoode]

Just to comment on the price - I want to add that given the state of development I would almost recommend pricing it at $/€10. I feel that the current price might be a hill (>10) for some users to support (ie. you might get more purchases by keeping it at 10).

[waydabber]

Valid point - it might be. But on the other hand can hardly get a decent meal for $15 (which is about $10 after taxes and fees). At this time my main goal is not to increase sales (and support burden) but to continue development while have some form of basic funding and motivation to do so. I am doing zero marketing (the app still does not even have a proper webpage, hopefully this will change). At a later time, when I feel things are mature enough, I'll focus more on this stuff and when doing so I might review the pricing (maybe I should increase it? lol) but this is not expected on the short run.

I am continuously adding a host of new features to the app which I think makes purchasing the app an increasingly good deal (especially to similarly priced apps with an inferior feature set) and I plan to add these features for existing Pro users for no additional costs for a long while.

In my mind purchasing the app is also a form of supporting the developer which is basically optional. The app contains a lot of really useful features for free, if somebody is not willing to spend this money on the app or support the development will still find a lot of value in the app by using it for free - it is all right with me, I don't want to squeeze money out of the unwilling. :)

[anijatsu]

Hi,
I wondered if there's a way to reset the Pro trial, since it's expired a long time ago, way before the Apple Silicon-related optimizations (which I've been waiting for) introduced in the latest version. Even just a single day would do.
Would be grateful for your reply!

[waydabber]

Hi @anijatsu - I understand the reason for your request and I think it is a valid one - however this is not passible at this time due to technical reasons. Trial status is managed by the third party licensing provider Paddle and is tied to the specific Mac. I have no way of resetting this as the system is created in a way that individual computers participating in a trial cannot be identified by me in any way (this is for your privacy).

If you'd like to try whether native smooth resolution scaling works, you can try manually adding custom resolutions (this is a free feature) matching your display's aspect ratio - if that works, smooth scaling should work as well. Other features like brightness management is free to use.

If you purchase pro and realize within a reasonable amount of time that what you wanted does not work on your config and you explain that you did not have a chance to testdrive the feature because of the expired trial, I'll of course issue a refund! :)

[cesarvarela]

Hi, Awesome job!

Regarding the payment gateway, it felt "uncomfortable" placing my PayPal credentials on a random web view pop-up. I think opening a browser window with the Paypal link would be better.

[waydabber]

Sure. A proper webpage for the app is going to happen (eventually) with a web based purchase option to give an alternative to the in-app purchase. I have no direct control over how the in-app Paddle checkout works so I cannot really change this, but I understand the concern!

[phu54321]

I found that this app starts a trial period right after the first installation. Probably I'd like to try the pro options when I need them (like when I get a copy of the iPad as a sidecar), but I don't need the "pro" features right now. I think it'd be better to give users an option to opt-in trial when they needs it.

Also, on the feature list free featues and pro features are mixed up, so it's hard to recognize what features I could get on a free version at a glance. Preferrably a 3-column table describing pro vs free features, or the list should sort out free features to the top or to the bottom, not mixing them with pro features.

Thanks.

[waydabber]

Yes, you are right - when I get to it, I'll create a proper app website with a feature list (and maybe comparison to some other apps) clearly indicating free and pro features!

[Geegig]

Big project, however, has some things wrong with it I use mac mini m1 and I have a 2k monitor When I use betterdisplay and use any resolution the original monitor gives me double the resolution For example if I set the monitor to 1920px in system preferences, the actual screen resolution is 3840 px Is there a solution to this? My English is not good I hope I have been able to make my problem understood.

[waydabber]

Hi there - toggle the following setting to change to Low Resolution mode:

Or in System Preferences enable Show All Resolutions and select the 1920x1080 (Low Resolution) option.

[ScoobyMacs]

Firstly, thank you for this software! It looks like a great solution for yet another Apple feature put on the consumer by them to monopolise the purchase of Mac only branded equipment!!

I've got a mac studio, base model, on order and originally wanted to purchase a 4K 27inch external monitor for it. But I recently discovered the 1:1 UI OS scaling only available via 110/220ppi monitors. Unfortunately my budget doesn't reach the LG/Apple 5K Monitors. I came about your app through reading about this as alternative solution to buying a 2K 27inch monitor.

I'm not a software designer so please excuse my ignorance. I am a video and graphics editor and plan to use it with CPU/GPU intensive apps (Final Cut Pro X, Premier Pro, Divinci Resolve, After Effects, Photoshop etc). I assume this software works similar to 'Apple's' scaling and uses GPU load when downsampling?

Has there been any tests done on load/CPU/GPU throttling with this kind of software whilst BetterDisplay is running?

[waydabber]

Hi @ScoobyMacs - 1:1 pixel mapped scaling IS available on 4K displays by default (you can use the display in 3840x2160 LoDPI or 1920x1080 HiDPI, both have 1:1 pixel mapping). Generally, 1:1 mapping is available for all displays, the only question is the UI size (on a 4K display with 1:1 mapping the GUI elements might be a bit oversized this way as these displays look best in terms of UI size at 2560x1440 which requires fractional scaling - which still looks fine). If you can't afford or you don't want an Apple branded 5K panel, I'd certainly go with a 4K and not a 2K (QHD) 27" display as the latter has a low PPI and will look best at QHD, but because of the lack of subpixel rendering for fonts in recent macOS versions, some find the end result less refined.

What BetterDisplay can help in this regard is that it can unlock flexible resolution options and HiDPI rendering even when it is not available by default. BetterDisplay utilizes the same hardware accelerated scaling mechanism that macOS provides (with all methods - native smooth scaling, custom resolution overrides or dummy mirroring). Scaling has a minimal overhead on modern GPUs. Apple Silicon+macOS is specifically super optimized by Apple to do these sort of things (since scaling is a basic building block of how macOS desktop rendering works).

A comples 3D scene - for which a modern GPU is optimized for - contains huge amount of polygons all having some sort of scaled texture on it (not in 2D but 3D with all sorts of extra effects!). Doing a simple 2D scaling of the framebuffer basically at any framerate is a marginal effort for a GPU (I know there's info or even some YouTube videos saying otherwise, but those are imho misunderstandings of the situation). You can double check this by calculating the amount of operations needed to scale for example a 5K desktop to 4K at 60 (or 120 or 144...) frames per seconds and then compare the result to the number of operations your GPU is rated to perform and you'll be amazed (in a good way :)).

[ScoobyMacs]

Thank you very much for detailed info @waydabber! Much appreciated. I think I'll get the Pro version once I get all the equipment and hope for the best. Many thanks and good luck with the App.

[iigresv]

Hi!
I bought a Pro version, but I didn't receive a license key.
When I tried to restore my key I've got a message:

"You have no order history for Kodeon Software Kft..
Thanks,
Kodeon Software Kft."

Could you please help me with that ?

[waydabber]

Hi there,

there is/was a Paddle (the payment/licencing provider) outage/delayed transaction processing event today. They say things are getting back to normal. If you don't receive your key within a hour or so, please let me know (you can also DM me on the app's Discord channel), I can check it for you in the Transaction history and help you with the key.

The current status of the service can be tracked here: https://paddle.status.io

Thanks for the patience!

[iigresv]

thank you for an immediate answer :D
Yes, I found a letter with some delay and activated my pro license.
Wish you good luck with your program.

[tristan-k]

Are there any discounts on black friday available?

[waydabber]

Hi @tristan-k - Thanks for asking! Honestly I did not plan on doing a black friday sale, I am not sure it makes sense with an app like this. But from time-to-time I give discount to folks who ask me on the app's Discord channel explaining why they really can't afford paying the full price even though they really wanted to have a license - so if you need the app but can't afford it due to some hardships, feel free to contact me there in a DM! :)