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OmniWeb, OmniDazzle, OmniDiskSweeper, and OmniObjectMeter now freeware

Posted by Linda Sharps on 02.24.09 @ 8:22 PM File Under: News, OmniDazzle, OmniDiskSweeper, OmniObjectMeter, OmniWeb

If you missed our announcement earlier today or this Macworld article, here's the latest from Omni HQ: OmniWeb, OmniDazzle, OmniDiskSweeper, and OmniObjectMeter are now available as freeware. That's right: they're free. You can go download them right now if you want. FOR FREE.

Go ahead, we'll wait.

In anticipation of some curiosity as to why we made this decision:

So . . . uh, why?

We've been thinking about this for a while, especially with regards to OmniWeb. Because we're a small company and we don't have unlimited engineering resources, by necessity certain projects are going to take up more of our attention. Instead of continuing to charge for these four applications, which aren't getting updated as frequently as our other titles, we felt it would better serve the community to make them available at no cost.

Wait! Does this mean you're discontinuing these products?

No. We aren't ruling out future updates at all, and we're keeping our options open. We have lots of ideas for what we'd like to add to these products, and it's possible that at some point we'll have more resources to allocate to them.

Is Omni . . . going out of business? OMG!

Absolutely not. We just had our best year ever, and we're continuing to grow. In fact, we're hiring right now! Tell your talented developer friends!

You SAY free, but I bet I have to fill out a form or send in personal information or otherwise be subjected to some sort of annoying marketing activity to get these apps, RIGHT?

Nope. Just click that fancy “download” button, and you're good to go.

If you have any actual questions that I didn't just make up, please, feel free to leave them in the comments—we'll try to address everything we can.

 

Comments

  1. [...] intensive auf alle entwickelte Applikationen konzentrieren, darum gibt sie jetzt vier Werkzeuge zum kostenlosen Herunterladen frei, ohne Registrierung oder sonstige Späße, einfach nur zum Herunterladen und nutzen. Es [...]

  2. James Weiner

    02.24.09 9:59 PM

    This is great news. Omniweb, alongside Safari, has got to be my favourite browser. Especially for developing in.

  3. Browsers

    02.24.09 10:15 PM

    Congratulations :) Keep it up

  4. [...] nice software for free     The Omni Mouth » OmniWeb, OmniDazzle, OmniDiskSweeper, and OmniObjectMeter now freeware Not used any of these yet but omnidazzle does look very nice for presentations [...]

  5. Darian Shimy

    02.24.09 10:25 PM

    Thank you so much!  I love your products.  Any chance of open sourcing them?

  6. [...] The OmniGroup has a small FAQ about the decision on their blog: [...]

  7. Daniel Siriste

    02.24.09 11:01 PM

    This is a good news about the omniweb, too bad that there is no option to open the browser to community developers, I'm pretty sure that people will develop new features, modules etc.

  8. Alastair Scott

    02.24.09 11:23 PM

    An excellent decision, and ramping down the price before OmniWeb became freeware should dampen the cries of pain. I paid $30 (as I recall) when OW was at v4, got multiples of $30-worth of use out of it, and still use it. Especially when Safari v4 has all sorts of unnecessary glitz and flapdoodle built in ...

  9. Matt

    02.24.09 11:38 PM

    While free things are always awesome- it does make me concerned about future updates to OmniWeb. It is by far and away the best browser out there. I really hope it doesn't go away, and future WebKit changes are integrated.


    Of course, I would love to see it open source- so that at least somebody could update it.

  10. Aaron Harpole

    02.25.09 12:01 AM

    I totally second that motion to make OmniWeb open source.  If other browsers' successes are any indication, letting it loose for the community at large to develop could provide immense benefits, and maybe OmniWeb could finally get some of the features that other browsers are starting to have (like Google Gears support).

  11. [...] A selection of Omni Group applications are now free, including OmniWeb, OmniDazzle, OmniDiskSweeper and OmniObjectMeter. More information is available from the Omni Group blog. [...]

  12. goerge

    02.25.09 2:37 AM

    i use OmniWeb over 5 Years now as main Browser and hope it won't get lost in the Future because you Guys will not earn Money for Development. Omniweb was always a little bit late versus Safari, but the usability ever was and is the best.

  13. mindflayer

    02.25.09 2:42 AM

    If you are having problems downloading the apps, please try the alternate site or wait until later. The sheer numbers of downloads (and rude people using bad download accelerators) is crushing my server.

  14. Grant Shearer

    02.25.09 3:10 AM

    Great move for the company, sucky timing considering I just bought OmniWeb about 2 weeks ago…

  15. mindflayer

    02.25.09 4:05 AM

    Things are better now. We were getting some wacky download requests from IPs in China and France. Once those were stopped, the server went back to running smoothly.

  16. Andrew Bairnsfather

    02.25.09 4:08 AM

    You are awesome!  I'll spread the news! 


    And I'll tell people about the free software too. :-)

  17. [...] moved OmniWeb, OmniDazzle, OmniDiskSweeper, and OmniObjectMeter to freeware [...]

  18. [...] has announced that they have decided to release several of their previously shareware applications as freeware. [...]

  19. Tam

    02.25.09 5:18 AM

    Good news, in that it will get more people using OminWeb, which is still, in terms of features, the best browser on the mac. However please keep up development on it. As others have suggested, open source might be the best way to go for this, if Omni doesn't have the resources to keep up development.

  20. Robin

    02.25.09 7:21 AM

    Hmmm… It's a long time ago… OmniWeb was also free and from one to another day the users must pay for it… Interesting ;-)

  21. Great!

    02.25.09 8:02 AM

    For the quiet yet dutiful application: Omni Disk Sweeper is one of my favorite utilities.  Still, after several years. I bought it ages ago and use it every couple of weeks.  Really a simple UI.  I know there are similar disk utilities, but ODS is cleaner and works. Kudos to the developer(s) that gave it the recent love and fixed a couple of crashers.

  22. Ralph Haygood

    02.25.09 8:03 AM

    I've been using OmniWeb for many years, and it's still my favorite browser.  (I use several others more or less daily, because I develop web applications that need to work in them.)  I've never regretted in the least the modest fee I paid you for a license.  So although I follow your reasons for discontinuing the fee, I'm just writing to let you know I think OmniWeb was well worth the price, and I hope you do find the time to keep it up to date even though it isn't generating income (at least from licenses) anymore.

  23. DaveD

    02.25.09 9:30 AM

    Fantastic news!!!


    I've been using OmniWeb & OmniDiskSweeper starting with Mac OS X 10.1. It was pretty lonely back in late 2001 with few OS X apps, but the Omni Group was there with OmniWeb.


    I am still using both Omni products in Tiger. OmniWeb is the best at “Print to PDF” beating Safari. Firefox does the worst printing.


    Thanks for making it freeware.

  24. [...] faccio prima a cambiare browser. Tra l’altro è da ieri che OmniWeb e altre tre applicazioni di The Omni Group sono diventati [...]

  25. SSteve

    02.25.09 12:13 PM

    If you have any actual questions that I didn’t just make up, please, feel free to leave them in the comments — we’ll try to address everything we can.

    I think you should explain why open-sourcing OmniWeb isn't in the cards.


    I tried Safari 4 for a few minutes but had to come back to OW. It may not have as much of teh snappy, but it's still more advanced. Plus it works with my podunk bank's online bill-pay system and Safari doesn't.

     

  26. [...] The Omni Group release 4 applications (read: the one nobody ever paid for) as freeware. - Link [...]

  27. [...] has announced that they have decided to release several of their previously shareware applications as freeware. [...]

  28. [...] The Omni Mouth » OmniWeb, OmniDazzle, OmniDiskSweeper, and OmniObjectMeter now freeware Omnigroup offre plusieurs de ses applications anciennes gratuitement : OmniWeb, OmniDazzle, OmniDiskSweeper et OmniObjectMeter (tags: software freeware) [...]

  29. Thomas

    02.25.09 7:48 PM

    I think that's a very noble thing do to! (Altough I just bought a license a few days ago :) ).


    Of course as most enthusiastic OmniWeb users I'd rather see a little refreshment to my browser-of-joy© but your arguments are obvious.

  30. oomu

    02.25.09 9:56 PM

    I will miss omniweb


    I hoped an omniweb 6 with newer safari engine, little details in interface, a “side bar list” instead of the shelf for thumbnails sites, and so on.


    the bookmarks are easier to manage in omniweb than in safari 4.


    And I prefer a LOT the side bar thumbnails than some tiny “tabs”.


    and of course, I loved the integrated ads blocker.


    and so on.


    -

    I have some bugs in the mobile sync of omniweb bookmarks and I would have prefered to pay to have updates than a forgotten free app.

  31. [...] has announced that they have decided to release several of their previously shareware applications as freeware. [...]

  32. Mecky

    02.25.09 10:29 PM

    Hello everyone,

    Good news?  History will tell.

    As I paid for iCab, I will give a “free” donation for OmniWeb if I use it enough.

    I hate the Market's God.  As everyone, I never vote for these laws.  But I admit that “money” became “the rules”.  And therefore you certainly made the right decision for now.

    (I do apologise for my poor english.)

  33. [...] deÄŸer bir iÅŸ çıkarıyordu. Fakat umarım bu ücretsiz yazılım adımı, geliÅŸtiriciler aksini söylese de, OmniWeb’in geliÅŸtirilmesinin durdurulması anlamına gelmiyordur. Bu arada, OmniWeb ile [...]

  34. [...] deÄŸer bir iÅŸ çıkarıyordu. Fakat umarım bu ücretsiz yazılım adımı, geliÅŸtiriciler aksini söylese de, OmniWeb’in geliÅŸtirilmesinin durdurulması anlamına gelmiyordur. Bu arada, OmniWeb ile [...]

  35. e. scott

    02.26.09 2:04 AM

    I have always believed that Safari and OmniWeb are the 'best' browsers for the Macintosh. (Others will disagree, of course.) I am disappointed that OmniWeb will not be actively updated, but I really do understand Omni Software's position. You are in business to make a living. I will keep OmniWeb on my iBook and I will continue to use it daily.


    I have always been suspicious of 'free' software; as, like most free things, I have found it to be too expensive in one way or another. (Like 'free' government healthcare.) So I have not downloaded Firefox, Opera, etc.


    I own several Omni products and will continue to be a customer, and I look forward to a next update of OmniWeb.


    Best to You All,


    Edward

  36. Tommy Weir

    02.26.09 3:59 AM

    OmniWeb is by far my favourite browser.


    - per site preferences from font size to how it presents itself (mimicking FF, Safari, IE), to ad blocking to security…

    - workspaces, I can't stick with any other browser compared to how this is implemented.

    - side tabs, much prettier.

    - additional search shortcuts in the toolbar, i've about twenty sites in my search box, I can put the same search to Amazon, Wikipedia, Yahoo, Tuaw, or indeed any site with a search box.

    - nicknames as mentioned above, as well as just typing anything that might be included in the page title of bookmarked sites.  Type in 'Irish Film” and OmniWeb finds http://www.irishfilmboard.ie in my bookmarks.  Safari pops up a Google search box.

    - g for google as mentioned above.

    - It's the same webkit as Safari, no speed difference that I notice and stable for me, stable a long time.

    - Expandable text entry boxes.  You can drag text entry boxes out to whatever size you want.  Easier seen than explained.

    My gumption is that Omni do see a future in OmniWeb but have released it as freeware in the hope that it's market share rises and their Google earnings will rise.


    In which case I hope they keep developing it.

  37. [...] Omniweb, Omnidazzle, Omnidisksweeper, and OmniObjectmeter are now free. I haven’t used any of them yet, but the company has a good reputation. [...]

  38. [...] their blog, Omni Mouth, the company explains their reason for making these four apps available for free (concentrate engineering resources to [...]

  39. Ken Case

    02.26.09 7:00 AM

    We've already started posting OmniWeb 5.9.1 sneaky peeks.  Enjoy!

  40. [...] Original Article [...]

  41. Chucky

    02.26.09 8:29 AM

    Very sad news, IMHO.


    I heart OmniWeb and wanted regular updates.

  42. [...] our post on the news about Safari 4 beta being released, there has also been a blog post from the Omni Group stating that 4 of their app which were originally paid softwares: OmniWeb, [...]

  43. erwin15155

    02.26.09 12:39 PM

    thaks yo..

  44. odysseus

    02.27.09 7:15 AM

    You just confirmed what has been obvious for years: OmniWeb is no longer being actively developed. I have therefore removed it from my hard disk.

  45. Seun

    02.27.09 7:16 AM

    All these stuffs ... I hope we get a windows version soon.

    Keep the work.

  46. Summer Seale

    02.28.09 2:01 AM

    I love OmniWeb. I bought it years ago and it was worth every penny. I did notice the major slowdown in updates, but I understand. I just hope that you guys either continue developing it or make it opensource if you no longer can.


    The workspaces is awesome - best feature on a browser ever. I don't understand why other browsers haven't implemented that yet, but it totally rocks and is beautifully done. I use it all the time. =)

  47. [...] OmniWeb, OmniDazzle, OmniDiskSweeper, and OmniObjectMeter now freeware [...]

  48. David Sanchez

    02.28.09 8:09 AM

    I used OmniWeb a lot, especially when Mac OS X came out. OmniWeb was the best browser, and it was the first written in Cocoa.


    However, I would prefer to see it open sourced rather than dead. I know, it is very difficult to keep up the pace against Apple, Firefox, Opera and many other developers, especially with limited resources. Omniweb had made, nevertheless,  an excellent job.


    It is kind of frightening to see it as a second class citizen among Omni products, when once was the king.


    However, I would like to know what Omni is up to. I hope it is not part of a lay off policy.


    I would really like to see more effort put into other apps, like OmniPlan, which I dislike a lot. Or Omnigraffle, which I use a lot, and really like.

  49. Ward

    02.28.09 8:32 AM

    I've been using OmniWeb is my only (actually 99.8%) browser since moving to OS X in the Fall of 2001. The small fees I've paid for a personal and then family license have been the best $$$ I've invested in any 3rd party software. (I also love my other Omni software, just not as much as OmniWeb).


    Like others, I'm concerned that the lack of OmniWeb revenue will close the door further on development.  I don't seek new features, just the latest WebKit, bug fixes, and a graceful transition to 10.6.

  50. Errol C.

    02.28.09 8:47 AM

    My feelings are the same as Ward's. Actually, I would happily pay more for this incredible browser. If OmniWeb becomes incompatible with future versions of OS X, then I may stop upgrading my operating system in order to continue using OmniWeb. It's that important.

  51. [...] Omni Group turned a bunch of their smaller apps, which were not free, into freeware apps. So get downloadin'. OmniDiskSweeper is pretty good.  MacTalk is on Twitter. Follow us for good times on the S.S Fail Whale. Buy stuff via the Apple Store online using this link so I can buy more Krispy Kreme. HEY INTERNET! -My Internet scrapbook. [...]

  52. Ashay

    03.01.09 8:18 PM

    When I tried the 5.8 version, I instantly fell for it! When one uses OmniWeb, one can clearly make out its sophistication and elegance. But, I was unhappy with the price quote then, $14.95 (that's almost $15), was just beyond my capacity to fork out for a web browser, that too when there were competitive ones available in the market for free. After your announcement to make it free, it seems as if God has granted me my wish! Thank You Omni Group! May God Bless You and make you a GIANT in your field! My heartfelt regards!

  53. Ashay

    03.01.09 8:21 PM

    And yes! If you can no longer afford to update the browser, do consider making it open-sourced! I wouldn't like me favourite web browser to be outdated! Thanks! Cheers for Open-Source!

  54. [...] from Omni Group — OmniWeb, OmniDazzle, OmniDiskSweeper, and OmniObjectMeter — are now freeware. These used to be about $25 apiece. I tried OmniWeb once and thought it was really good, and [...]

  55. Arvi

    03.02.09 11:04 PM

    I'd like to applaud everyone at Omnigroup for this decision.  I'm sure it wasnt easy, but this is clearly the right next step forward given the general trends in the browser space.

  56. [...] OmniWeb Web browser is, for the most part, no more. Though the announcement last week highlighted the fact that it was now available for free, the buried lead is that they are stopping active [...]

  57. Jonathan Cooper

    03.04.09 10:09 PM

    I have happily paid for the first three of these products and would do so again.

  58. Chuck B

    03.05.09 1:28 AM

    Freakin' great. THANK YOU. And all the best in keeping up development on your other projects.

  59. Chuck B

    03.05.09 1:47 AM

    Having just finished downloading, I have to ask that you remove the Pet Testimonials—because here at the office, I'm gonna get in trouble for laughing so hard during work hours. ;-)

  60. Erin

    03.05.09 11:10 AM

    I'm actually sorry to learn this, as OmniWeb is the ONLY web browser I like, let alone love. I would rather send you some more money and have you keep working on it, because every time I try to get used to Safari or Firefox, I come whimpering back to OmniWeb. Font control, ad-blocking, pop-up blocking, ugliness blocking… I can't live without it!

  61. [...] OmniWeb, OmniDazzle, OmniDiskSweeper, and OmniObjectMeter now freeware [The Omni Mouth - Feb 25, 200… - OmniWeb, OmniDazzle, OmniDiskSweeper, and OmniObjectMeter are now available as freeware. That’’s right: they’re free. You can go download them right now if you want. FOR FREE. [...]

  62. [...] In case you missed the news last week, OmniWeb is now free!


    But that doesn’t mean that we’ve stopped developing OmniWeb: we’ve been posting new sneaky peek builds of the upcoming OmniWeb 5.9.1 release nearly every day since that announcement. [...]

  63. [...] Flock, and if your want to go all out there’s ELinks, Lynx, and Lynxlet for your CLI folks) OmniGroup has announced that they are making four of their previously commercial apps free, including the fantastic OmniWeb browser. OmniWeb and iCab were the last real commercial web [...]

  64. [...] they made it free. I suck for only finding out now, three weeks after they made it free, but at least it means I can [...]

  65. Danielle

    03.14.09 5:56 PM

    Thank you, Omnigroup.  I look forward to using OmniWeb, as Safari is such a miserable, bloated, memory-leaking, beach-ball spinning abomination.  Safari reminds me of the pre-OS X AOL browser (4?,5?) for Mac, but AOL had more features.  The other browsers I've tried for OS X are better, but newer releases have cost functionality.  I have been meaning to download every browser I could find until I find one that enhances my internet experience, at least won't slow me to a crawl.  Today is my lucky day, I've downloaded OmniWeb for FREE!  I will let you know my opinion in the near future.  Thanks again.

  66. Dalis VanderYacht

    03.17.09 4:30 AM

    when I launched OmniWeb 5.1.3 today, which it was said was freeware when i downloaded it, it said I only had thirty days before the demo expired. So, tell me how to fix this, please…

  67. [...] our post on the news about Safari 4 beta being released, there has also been a blog post from the Omni Group stating that 4 of their app which were originally paid softwares: OmniWeb, [...]

  68. David

    03.22.09 7:16 AM

    I've been using OmniWeb since NextStep 3.x (1994?).  And it just keeps getting better.

  69. Lucy

    03.31.09 12:13 PM

    I can't believe it. I just found this site on Grateware, and I was not looking for it, but I almost purchased a software just like this. Thank you for the wonderful software.

  70. Chris Orbz

    03.31.09 6:31 PM

    I just discovered you folks and I must say that you seem to be possibly the greatest software company I've ever encountered.  You make Google look like Yahoo, Apple look like Microsoft and all the Linux crews look like children.  Have my e-babies.

  71. [...] made sense only in the context of how rotten browsing on OS X had once been. Now it’s free, but OmniGroup keeps on working on [...]

  72. [...] produced its own browser, it seemed like the Omni Group read the writing on the wall and eventually announced that OmniWeb was free. But they are still working on improving the product.An early innovator on [...]

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