MacUpdate Promo
The initial bundle costs $64.99 (USD) and includes the following:
- Hazel - folder organization, trash emptying, app cleaning,
- Leap - Spotlight replacement that supports tagging
- ArtText - create pretty, artistic text (for headings, banners, etc.) from predefined or custom styles
- DVDRemaster Pro - compress DVD's to DVD5 (4.7GB) and convert DVD's to iPod formats
- Typinator - repetitive text and image replacement
- StoryMill - organization app for novel writing
- MenuCalendarClock - iCal access via the menubar
If the bundle is sold 5000 times, Sound Studio (digital audio recording/editing) will be "unlocked" for those who initially purchased the bundle, and for those who purchase it before time runs out on April 29. The second unlock milestone will release BannerZest (Flash banner creator), and the third unlock milestone will release Parallels (virtualization software for running Linux or Windows alongside Mac OS X).
The unlock milestones are not guaranteed to be met (though MacUpdate is confident they will be reached), but even so, the initial bundle yields a $200 savings. If all programs are unlocked, you will save $400+ over buying the programs individually.
MacHeist Bundle
For $49, the MacHeist Bundle gives you the following:
- Cha-Ching - money manager
- Nanosaur2- updated/expanded version of Nanosaur, everyone's favorite bundled Dinosaur game
- Awaken - alarm clock with iTunes integration
- CoverSutra - iTunes controller
- DEVONthink Personal - document/note/snippet manager
- iClip - clipboard utility
- Overflow - dock icon reducer with Stacks-like functionality
- Wallet - information store for things like account numbers, passwords, etc.
- WriteRoom - distraction-free word processing
- Enigmo - 3D puzzle game
- XSlimmer - removes code from apps to save disk space and improve performance
- Bugdom 2 - 3D adventure game
There are no unlock milestones for the MacHeist Bundle, and 25% of your order is donated to one of 10 charities (or split between the 10).
Verdict: The MacHeist Bundle is surely the better bang for your buck, but it comes down to what applications you want/need and whether or not Parallels gets unlocked in the MacUpdate promo. We liked the warm fuzzies we got knowing a portion of our (already low) MacHeist bill was going to charity. Either way, you can't go wrong with these bundles.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-19-2008 @ 6:27PM
Manny said...
Completely disagree. Macheist is not the better bang for buck especially in light of the Lifehack article showing a free replacement that does the same if not better for each of the weak apps in Macheist.
MU bundle is far better and given its history of unlocks, it is likely that they will sell at least 10,000 which would be well worth the bundle price.
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4-22-2008 @ 2:52AM
Joe B said...
I don't get this whole "Mac bundle" phenomenon. I would call myself a fairly typical Mac user, and I have managed without any of these programs. I've even tried a few of them, and for the most part I feel like they're too glizty and "OSX-like" to be useful.
When Mac developers stop making niche products that are more pretty than functional, and start selling them for a reasonable price (does every mildly useful Mac app need to cost $25-30 for a simple function?) then I might consider buying. Until then, I'll stick to free or inexpensive web apps that do what I need for a fraction of the cost.
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