Apple Mac HQ

It’s been over two months since Office 2008 was released at Macworld. Shipped on January 15th, 2008, Office 2008 became one of the last applications to become a universal binary. In addition to being universal, Office 2008 is a major upgrade to the flagship Microsoft product. While you can buy Office 2008 online, at retail stores, and via education discounts, there was one place you couldn’t buy it; via the Home Use Program. The wait is finally over for those wishing to purchase Office 2008 from the Microsoft Home Use Program. Microsoft added Office 2008 to the availability list today.

The Home Use Program (HUP) allows employees of companies with Volume Licensing agreements to purchase certain Microsoft Products at steep discounts for use in their homes. For instance, my company is part of the HUP and I’m able to purchase Project, Visio, and Office for less than $20 USD ($19.95).

For those waiting to get Office 2008 via the HUP, go forth and purchase!

Popularity: 50% [?]

As the time for purchasing the MacHeist software bundle nears an end, the bundle keeps getting better. The fourteenth and final application will be unlocked if the charitable donation hits $300,000. To reach the goal, there needs to be around 27,000 bundles sold.

The final application added to the bundle is VectorDesigner. VectorDesigner is a new application which recently won the Macworld Expo Best of Show award. VectorDesigner has everything you need to create fancy vector graphics such as posters, brochures, stickers, logos, web design, t-shirt and more. It features a wide range of tools: smart shapes such as rectangles, ovals, rounded rectangles, polygons, stars, bezier creation and editing and even conversion from raster to bezier. VectorDesigner is a Cocoa application that has iSight integration, iPhoto integration, and a Flickr browser. If you’re looking for an affordable alternative to Adobe Illustrator, VectorDesigner might be the ticket.

If you haven’t bought the software bundle, you have about two and a half days left. If you want to help me get a free bonus application, use this link when purchasing the MacHeist bundle.

Popularity: 13% [?]

The MacHeist software bundle keeps getting better and better. The bundle started with 10 applications and has now grown to 13. Speed Download was added to the bundle a few days after the bundle was released. Sometime yesterday two more applications were added to the bundle to bring the total number of applications to 13.

The two new applications added to the bundle are actually games. The first is Wingnuts 2. Wingnuts 2 is a arcade style plane/blimps/tanks/ships/etc shooter game. It looks a little like the arcade game 1943. Wingnuts 2 was an Apple Design Award runner-up in 2006.

The other game added to the software bundle is Tiki Magic Mini Golf. As the name would suggest, it’s a mini golf game.

Both the games look like fun so I’m excited to play them when I get a chance. If you haven’t bought the software bundle, you have just under one week left. If you want to help me get a free bonus application, use this link when purchasing the MacHeist bundle.

Popularity: 31% [?]

According to TUAW, the Core Image based graphic editor Pixelmator will be part of the upcoming MacHeist software bundle. This is pretty significant since the price of Pixelmator alone is $59. On January 9th, the remainder of the applications included in the bundle will be revealed. The bundle price will be the same as last year ($49).

If you’re unfamiliar with Pixelmator, it’s a graphic editor based on the Core Image technology built into OS X. Pixelmator is a layer based image editor that includes over 100 filters, graphics tablet support, and more. If you can’t afford Photoshop or don’t want to take the time to learn it, Pixelmator might be the alternative you are looking for.

MacHeist is a little more difficult to explain. MacHeist is like a multi-day internet scavenger hunt. Every week or so for the past month, MacHeist has posted various “missions” for you to solve. The missions often involve some real world sleuthing (Chicago was one city involved) in addition to some clever puzzles that need solving in order to complete the mission. At the end of the mission you receive a code to unlock the “loot”. The loot is in the form of a discount on the software bundle and some nice shareware applications. Among the free shareware applications so far included in the loot, Podcast Maker, Wallet, Mousepose, Runic, and more.

I’ve gone through some of the MacHeist missions and they are pretty creative. If you want to solve them by yourself, you’re going to have to set aside some time. I have gone through some of the steps, but usually get help from the forum to solve the mission. If the recent announcement that Pixelmator will be included in the bundle is true, I’ll be lining up to buy the bundle when it’s released. I hope MacHeist 2 is a success for both the developers and the MacHeist folks.

Popularity: 19% [?]

If you’re a Gmail user you might have heard of the Gmail client Mailplane. Mailplane, in beta, is a Gmail specific email client that packs integration with OS X. Using Webkit, the same browser engine that powers Safari, Mailplane gives you an identical view of Gmail as your browser but allows system integration like Mail.app.

Using Mailplane you can easily access your iPhoto/Aperture/iTunes libraries to attach media to your emails. Mailplane also has Address Book integration allowing you to use your Address Book contacts inside a Gmail message. In addition you can easily switch between Gmail accounts with the built in account manager. These are just a few of the features Mailplane offers.

I’ve been playing around with Mailplane recently and think it’s a good application. The menu bar access and Growl support are very nice touches. If I was a heavy Gmail user I would consider buying it. I only check my Gmail account once every week or two so I’ll probably just stick to using my web browser.

If you’re a Gmail junkie, you might want to checkout Mailplane. On January 1st, 2008 the free Beta ends and the price becomes $24.95. In 2008 Mailplane becomes a 30 day demo instead of the free beta software it has been for 2007. If you purchase in 2007 though, you can save $5.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Since this is my first Christmas with a Mac, I’ve been amazed at the number of software deals offered this holiday season. From Give Good Food To Your Mac, MacUpdate Bundle, Mac Santa, and Mac Heist, there has been no shortage of software deals. Today I ran across a new deal, 20MacApps.

20MacApps works a little differently than the other deals. First of all, you don’t know what you’re getting. The applications are unknown, though you do know the application category (video, games, audio, etc) of the bundled applications. Something else unique is that every application in the bundle is brand new. When each new application is released, the application will cost $20.

If you buy now however, you can get all 20 applications for $60. The price of the bundle increases every day, so the sooner you buy the cheaper the price. I believe the bundle started at $20 but I can’t confirm that. I know earlier today the price was $40.

Of all the software deals, I think this is perhaps the least attractive. Why? Simply because you don’t know ANY of the applications that you are receiving. I’ve been watching all the software deals this season and there are plenty of applications offered that I just don’t want/need. I would have spent $20 on a bundle like this, but at the current price of $60 I’m just not willing to spend that kind of cash on an unknown. If you bought the bundle, post in the comments below about your experience.

Popularity: 13% [?]

December is known as the season for giving. It seems that Mac developers are also in the giving mood this holiday season. First there was Give Good Food To Your Mac, next up was MacUpdate, now it’s MacSanta.

MacSanta works a little differently than the other two previously mentioned promotions. While the other two promotions are based on the idea that you buy multiple applications and get a good price, MacSanta is a little simpler. Each day MacSanta features a set of applications and you get a set 20% off those applications when you purchase them that day. You purchase the applications directly from the developers website and use the coupon code MACSANTA07. After the applications are no longer featured, you can still get 10% off the applications during the extended deals period by using the coupon code MACSANTA07TEN.

Check the MacSanta website each day or subscribe to the RSS feed to see which applications are featured. Today’s featured applications include heavy hitters MarsEdit, BBEdit, Yojimbo, and more. The extended deals include software from Rogue Amoeba, C-Command Software (Spam Sieve), and more. Stay tuned to Apple Mac HQ in the coming days for yet ANOTHER Mac applications deal.

Popularity: 12% [?]