Bartender Sold →

Ben Surtees, the original developer behind the excellent macOS utility Bartender, concerning the recent sale of the app:

After the release of Bartender 5, I came to the realization that supporting all the users and maintaining the app at the high standard I expect and you deserve was too much for one person. It required a dedicated team that could provide continuous support, innovate, and keep up with the fast-evolving macOS landscape. This realization led me to make a difficult decision.

Three months ago, I sold Bartender to Applause, a company with the resources and expertise to take the app to new heights. Applause shares my vision for Bartender and is committed to maintaining its core values while bringing in new features and improvements. I truly believe they are the right team to continue the journey and ensure Bartender remains a valuable tool for all of you.

I understand that the transition hasn’t been entirely smooth. Recently, there was a change in the signing certificate for the app, and unfortunately, this change wasn’t communicated properly to you, our loyal users. I apologize for any confusion or concern this may have caused. Please rest assured that Bartender is signed by a valid Apple ID developer and notarized by Apple, which verifies the app to ensure it is free from malware.

(I take slight exception with his explanation of Notarization. You can read more about how the process works over at The Eclectic Light Company.)

While this does clear up much of the panic that has surrounded this app for the last day or so, so much of this mess could have been avoided if Applause had communicated with its new users.

That said, I fully understand why users of Bartender feel uneasy about its future, despite what Surtees wrote about its new owner.¹ Hidden Bar, Vanilla, and Ice all seem like nice alternatives. I’m currently playing with Ice myself and I suspect David and I will talk about this on a future episode of Mac Power Users once we’ve had more time to explore.