When a Bug Saved the Company

Summary

Posted By Paul Kafasis on August 21st, 2025 In the realm of computers, bugs are generally a bad thing. Every year, our team ships dozens of free updates to eliminate bugs that are an inescapable byproduct of the countless variables in software development. Rarely, though, a bug can be beneficial. Back in 2002, a software bug saved Rogue Amoeba. It started when we shipped the very first version of Audio Hijack. We wanted to give potential customers the ability to fully test the app prior to purchase, but we weren’t sure how best to limit that free trial. Our initial download provided 15 full days of completely unlimited usage. From pinstripes to a goofy tagline, there’s a lot going on in this dialog.1 The app’s functionality only became constrained after that 15 day trial period had elapsed. Our documentation at the time explained what would happen: After 15 days, Audio Hijack will nag you to register at launch and will quit after 15 minutes. Additionally, the recording feature will be disabled. We hope that before your 15 days are up, you’ll want to register Audio Hijack, so you won’t have to worry about this. Unfortunately for our business, what we hoped for seldom came to pass. Sales were middling. Though we knew we had a useful tool, it seemed unlikely Rogue Amoeba could ever be more than a side project. Still, we continued developing the software and shipping new versions, eventually releasing Audio Hijack 1.6. It was a relatively minor update, without any eye-catching new features. Given that, we were shocked when we saw sales jump to a new (and viable!) level. Then, they stayed there. As days of sustainable sales turned into weeks, we were thrilled but confused. Initially, we couldn’t figure out what had happened. Eventually, though, we tracked down the change. It was a bug! In version 1.6, we accidentally broke the intended 15 days of unrestricted usage. Instead, from day one, the app was limited to 15 minutes of recording. After that, all trial users were co...