Foreman
Productivity
app switcher
SHOW HN2012
How HN took it
8 positive, 22 neutral or asking, 7 mixed, 12 critical, out of 49 comments about the project. Thread score -0.03.
Docs: 6 for, 4 againstExecution: 0 for, 6 againstDesign: 0 for, 2 againstIdea: 2 for, 0 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Clear concept and useful for switching work setups
From 3 comments
This is great. I'm excited for the CL version so I can integrate it with Alfred. By the way, I knew exactly what this app did 2 seconds after page load. Cheers.
coley on HNI really like this app. My current way of doing this is keeping everything inside Launchpad folders and opening them individually. Foreman seems to solve this daily issue. My…
sfaruque on HNWow, great idea! I haven't tried the app yet, but if it immediately shuts off other applications when switching to a group, I think that needs to change, or at least provide a…
beshrkayali on HN
Copy is fun and tongue-in-cheek
From 3 comments
I could tell you were being tongue-in-cheek so it didn't put me off. The Steve Jobs part actually got a chuckle out of me.
sant0sk1 on HNI liked the text – I agree, it's a simple idea and there isn't that much too say. On the other hand, I read the whole page – a first I think for a linked app on here.
richbradshaw on HNI agree. The copy comes off as authentic and in a way is refreshing to see. It's just a dude who made an app and is having some fun with it. Good on him.
awolf on HN
Objections
Closes other apps aggressively, including unsaved or system apps
From 3 comments
EDIT: Just to be clear, because I missed it, the app doesn't HIDE other applications it aggressively CLOSES other apps. Including some background processes, system preferences…
Ensorceled on HNThe terminal close didn't work this way, normally it won't quit if there are processes in the windows. With Foreman it just closed up. I was kind of surprised at the behaviour,…
Ensorceled on HNLove the idea. Congrats on launching. I've tried a number of apps to manage OSX's clunky alt+tab, but none have worked out long term. The only thing that keeps me from trying…
silentific on HN
Crashed for some testers and closed apps unexpectedly
From 3 comments
EDIT: Just to be clear, because I missed it, the app doesn't HIDE other applications it aggressively CLOSES other apps. Including some background processes, system preferences…
Ensorceled on HNit crashed Outlook. Also, it would be nice if it stayed open in the menu bar up top.
dalacv on HNi guess i'm doing it wrong, but dragging any app from dock or /applications does not work. icons just zip back to where i dragged them from. snow leopard 10.6.8. :/
mgkimsal on HN
Marketing copy with superlatives feels off-putting
From 3 comments
I like the idea and congratulations on your first app. My only criticism about the landing page are some of the superlatives put me off slightly (e.g. Foreman Switches Your Apps…
kenkam on HNMight want to work on your website's copy. "What a pain in the ass!" and "Holy smokes!!!!!" doesn't instill much confidence, to be frank.
king_magic on HNOne big mistake, you show a screenshot without any real information. Wow! Awesome!.... What the fuck is it good for?
tzaman on HN
Requests
Option to hide apps instead of closing them
From 3 comments
Wow, great idea! I haven't tried the app yet, but if it immediately shuts off other applications when switching to a group, I think that needs to change, or at least provide a…
beshrkayali on HNI'd be nice if you could just _hide_ apps not in the group, not kill them... But I guess that would mean they still show up in command-tab. It sounds like you're forcefully…
Johngibb on HNLove the idea. Congrats on launching. I've tried a number of apps to manage OSX's clunky alt+tab, but none have worked out long term. The only thing that keeps me from trying…
silentific on HN
Never-close or ignore list for apps
From 3 comments
If you read the website it does say it closes the apps. An easy solution to your problem would be to add a "whitelist" where you can specify apps that Foreman will NEVER close.
hammock on HNFor the record, I totally got what is supposed to happen. I wonder if you should have a list of apps that can be configured to be ignored. For instance, I always have emacs open…
SoftwareMaven on HNVery nice app. I would add the possibility to drag from the dock and a group for never closing apps (such as mail or browser). Many thanks for sharing on github. BTW, would you…
tigroferoce on HN
Alfred integration and command line version
From 3 comments
Looks like fun, and I'll have a play in a while. A couple of things from the top of my head; Alfred integration would be cool, currently I keep nothing in my dock (other than…
jentulman on HNThis is great. I'm excited for the CL version so I can integrate it with Alfred. By the way, I knew exactly what this app did 2 seconds after page load. Cheers.
coley on HNEventually I'm going to release a command line utility that does the same thing. You'll do something like define a .foreman file with design "Photoshop CS5" "Google Chrome" and…
nonrecursive on HN
Code signing and App Store release
From 2 comments
Can you please sign the app with a developer certificate?
peterhajas on HNThanks! I wish I could add it to the AppStore but unfortunately I can't sandbox it, so it would never get accepted. One nice thing about Mountain Lion (not sure if it's true for…
nonrecursive on HN
Questions
Why does it close apps not in any group, such as Terminal
From 2 comments
In the interest of fairness I've tried a couple of times. On Lion, this is crashing consistently and automatically closing all the apps added to Foreman and some random apps…
Ensorceled on HNI'm sorry that happened to you, Ensorceled, and I hope you didn't lose any work. The way it's supposed to work is, if you click on a horizontal row then it opens all the apps in…
nonrecursive on HN
How does it handle tray apps like Dropbox
From 2 comments
Looks like fun, and I'll have a play in a while. A couple of things from the top of my head; Alfred integration would be cool, currently I keep nothing in my dock (other than…
jentulman on HNIt will close any open app not listed in the app group that you just clicked on. So, for example, if I don't have Excel in any of my app groups and I click on an app group that…
nonrecursive on HN
Alternatives named
Witch app for task list filtering
From 1 comment
Thank you :) As far as I know, any app that's active on the dock will show up in the task list. You might want to try out Witch - I'm not 100% sure that it does what you want,…
nonrecursive on HN
Workspaces with command+number shortcuts
From 1 comment
Another way to save app-switching sanity: Get 9 or 10 work spaces. Set up command+number keyboard shortcuts to switch to that number. Use a single app on every workspace. Scales…
ehsanu1 on HN
Alfred launcher
From 1 comment
Looks like fun, and I'll have a play in a while. A couple of things from the top of my head; Alfred integration would be cool, currently I keep nothing in my dock (other than…
jentulman on HN