Show HN: Lacona – Search and natural language commands for Mac
lacona.app
lacona.app
I'm so deep into Alfred Powerpack I'm hesitant to just jump in--which also kept me from trying the v1 Setapp version--but this does look like a really interesting direction towards a more natural interface.
I just don't really do Mac App Store anymore, especially for something like a system launcher where any sandbox seems actively detrimental. Any other system app I have with MAS distribution (Alfred, Forklift and Commander One all come immediately to mind) also has a direct-sale non-sandbox version that can hit every directory and service on my machine.I buy those instead.
MAS is only useful when it's cross-Apple-platform and I get that value for the money across desktop, set-top, and phone--and usually not even then. I actively avoid it, unless I have to buy for mobile.
And not to whine, but I'm afraid I don't do separate subscriptions either when Setapp aggregates most of the rentware I care about. JetBrains is about it, and I make a lot of money using that one. Avoiding subs is doubly true when you're talking a utility I might get addicted to as part of core workflow. Buying a Powerpack upgrade once a version is about as far as I would personally go.
I'll be keeping an eye out for alternative distribution channels though. This really does look neat, and I have Soulver, Things, all the various things you're aggregating in your examples. I'd love that ease of use. The payment model just doesn't match how I pay for software anymore, and the sub lock-in would make me too paranoid about discontinuing to actually invest any time in customization. That's a deal-breaker for a launcher.
Thus far, the Sandbox hasn't been a limitation for what I want to do - it's pretty clear that that's the way that Apple is moving, and I don't want to invest too much into something that Apple could eventually put behind some very scary dialogs, or worse.
I haven't taken a look at the boundaries of your functionality. If you allow custom keywords, scripting, etc., though, I'd probably run up against the sandbox extending it, even if you didn't with core functionality.
At any rate, I will check it out from Setapp, and I'm glad to hear you're still supporting that since I'd use it from there. I don't mean to be a jerk in my response, and I do wish you the best.
Lacona just happen to resemble exactly the kind of app to which I apply these sorts of criteria and I think the rest of the Keyboard Maestro/Alfred/Hazel/personal automation crowd on Mac is similar. It's a niche crowd, and I think one aspect of the niche is less sandbox is better. Another is that we want to know your tool will outlast your business if necessary, before we build our tools on top of it, so we purchase anything useful outright if possible.
Then again, maybe you end up being the mainstream Spotlight replacement, especially when the switch to ARM throws everyone else's privileges up in the air. Good luck!
That's a dealbreaker, and always will be. I really don't intend to be rude, and I don't doubt this is worth more than what most of us have become used to paying for apps. But I can't, in good conscience, support subware (or afford to, for that matter). I believe in buying apps once, not every month.
The MAS version of Commander One is better in that regard, of course, but it's sandboxed.
Edit: looks like they're to a -one device- limit for Pro Pack for Commander One. I can't recommend it. That's absurd in the current software culture of pay per head, not per seat. That shift is the one. good. thing. App Store gardens brought us, and I won't support a per seat model anymore. Setapp's seat lock is a compromise I tolerate only because there's no better alternative yet.
That being said, I'd love to have a smarter spotlight. Something like Siri with the keyboard. Is Lacona filling that hole? Back in the days, I used Quicksilver which was nice, but after Spotlight was introduced I had less use for it.
This feels like alfred without namespaces and a more cluttered UI. I don't like that there are "plugins"; alfred's workflows are way more customizable and accessible. some plugins are "pro" (paid). it feels way more "closed garden"y than alfred.
maybe because of my engineering mindedness, but I personally prefer namespaces like alfred supports. this "natural language" take was a bit confusing, specially since anything could be interpreted in multiple ways (no namespace identifiers) and multiple plugins could handle it. this requires far more mental effort to use and filter the responses than alfred, and also feels significantly laggier probably due to it doing so much simultaneously (loading icon flashes often and I'm on a mbp).
I think it could work for people that don't know that alfred exists yet want a similar tool. It certainly is pretty, and besides the laggy UX, the UI seems pretty well polished.
It does support fuzzy matching, so you could always type "rmt" in place of "remind me to" and so forth.
You can use it like Spotlight (type to search), but then you have options beyond just opening - you can move files, or complete reminders, or create events. Or you can use it closer to Siri (but with a keyboard), and type in a natural-language command.