Why was ObjectBar discontinued?

from Stardock Forums

I was feeling nostalgic, so I thought I'd make a thread and finally get an answer.

I know its long since dead but I've wondered for years why it was discontinued given beyond some minor hiccups periodically it mostly runs just fine in the right compatibility modes. I can't... Really think of anything that comes close in terms of basic functionality that could replace it: Rainmeter is a badly behaved headache that demands you script in it and doesn't like users making regular changes or expanding upon its themes.

For context, OB was the program that specifically made me get an ObjectDesktop licence back in the day.

Was it steeped in too much technical debt?

Was there a dispute about the math functions which were supplied by someone else, as the about page mentioned?

Was it unworkable without a complete re-write that would make most of the skins and bar-designs useless?

Was it just not very popular?

I'm dying to know and I'd like to hear any of your thoughts on the program that essentially gave you complete control of your shell, what about it you liked or disliked, what made you start or stop using it, and how you moved on or what you substituted it with whenever you get around to seeing this.

 

I hope I get some replies.

Take care

objectbar discontinued old software other stardock software
17,205 views 12 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top

Hello,
I have forwarded your problem/question to Stardock Support Team for their assistance. Please keep an eye on this thread for any updates. We appreciate your feedback and patience.

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top

Thank-you very much, and thank-you to the StardockTeam for their work over the years in making Windows a much nicer environment to work in.

Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top

hmm you must not have much pull with the stardock team, i still dont see an answer.

Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top

Agreed, its honestly quite sad.

 

I'd just like to know why my favourite product in their lineup (due to its sheer customizability) was removed.

Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting basj, reply 1

Hello,
I have forwarded your problem/question to Stardock Support Team for their assistance. Please keep an eye on this thread for any updates. We appreciate your feedback and patience.

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

I am curious about this as well, would you mind poking the Support Team again and maybe this time there might be a reply ?? :blush:  :digichet:  

Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top

Yeah, its a program I basically used every day and had a licence for.

 

My usecase was keeping track of various scripts and files with a custom tree structure to assist my existing taskbar as a floating utility, something that ObjectDock doesn't really offer -- and since ObjectDock's font rendering is kinda broken when you want filenames, its not a suitable replacement at all.

I would have just kept running ObjectBar but it became buggy, and eventually over the years I lost my licence.

I'd buy it again in a heartbeat to keep using it in the form it was in provided the crashes were fixed or if there were some clever trick I could use. There's really nothing like it, and I think there likely never will be again.

Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top

Hello,
I have forward your problem/question again to Stardock Support Team for their assistance. Please keep an eye on this thread for any updates. We appreciate your feedback and patience.

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top

And, I was informed to convey the message that, ObjectBar has long since been discontinued.

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

Reply #9 from Stardock Forums Top

Hell what kind of reply was that?  We know it was discontinued long ago, the question is WHY?  As long time customers who liked the program we are trying to understand why it was discontinued?  That's none of our business?  

Reply #10 from Stardock Forums Top

I am sorry, I was not informed of why it was discontinued, must be higher up decision. I asked my "higher up" and that is the answer I got, so that was what I conveyed to the OP. Sorry that I can not tell you more.

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

Reply #11 from Stardock Forums Top

Something must have gotten lost in translation here because nothing was answered at all. The OP already clearly stated that ObjectBar has long since been discontinued. The very question was why

 

 

Reply #12 from Stardock Forums Top

I have been at Stardock for almost 12 years and ObjectBar had been discontinued LONG before I arrived. While I am sure the decision-makers at the time had more explicit reasons to not continue to develop ObjectBar, the following assumptions are fair:

  • Other products and their feature set moved into its space
  • Continued development time did not match up with the product's popularity
  • Trends in the industry, or the evolution of Windows itself, did not make continued development practical. 

If these look familiar, it's because they tend to be the reasons why any application sees an EOL. 

Sean Drohan
Stardock Product Lifecycle Manager

 

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