Apple Mac HQ

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: 24% [?]

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: 11% [?]

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: 17% [?]

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: 15% [?]

Hot on the heals of another application promotion, MacUpdate Promo has released a bundle of applications for less than $50. The deal is that you get seven applications for $49.99. The applications are full licenses with normal upgrade paths, except for Swift Publisher which will be a paid upgrade. As the number of people buy the application bundle increases, you receive additional applications when a certain number of bundles are sold. The applications in the bundle are:

• ForkLift
• RapidWeaver
• Swift Publisher
• Marine Aquarium
• Xslimmer
• MemoryMiner
• Yep
• XMIND 2008 Pro (unlocked at 1,000 bundles sold)
• iStabilize (unlocked at 2,400 bundles sold)
• PulpMotion (unlocked at 5,000 bundles sold)

I’ve used both ForkLift and RapidWeaver, but haven’t heard of the others. If any of the applications listed are applications that you are intested in buying, you might want to get in on this deal. RapidWeaver ($49) alone is nearly the cost of the bundle itself. Don’t forget, RapidWeaver is also part of the Give Good Food To Your Mac promotion.  You have until December 12th to take advantage of the MacUpdate promotion.

Popularity: 11% [?]

If your holiday shopping involves a Mac user, you might want to check out the Give Good Food To Your Mac promotion put on by a group of European Mac developers. While at WWDC this year, a group of developers came together and hatched the idea of a “great Mac feast with Mac apps made by the top European developers”. Give Good Food To Your Mac is the result of the idea seeded at WWDC this year.

The idea of Give Good Food To Your Mac is fairly simple. Choose any combination of the 28 applications available and receive a discount when you purchase three or more. As you add more applications to your shopping cart, the discount grows. Purchase three applications and you’ll trigger the 30% discount. Purchase 10 applications and you’ll receive a 70% discount. Discounts range from 30-70 percent.

The following applications are part of the promotion:

-Unity Indie
-Tables
-Pixelmator
-Together
-Feeder
-FotoMagico Express
-Art Text
-Money
-FreeWay 4 Express
-FreeWay 4 Pro
-RapidWeaver
-Merlin
-Geophoto
-Contactizer Express
-Contactizer Pro
-CSSEdit
-PulpMotion
-VideoPier
-BannerZest
-Cheetah3D
-iStopMotion Home
-Expert Wine Cellar
-iDive
-Morphage
-Magnet
-CoverScout
-Personal Trader
-Remote Buddy

I don’t own any of the applications in the promotion, but I’ve been testing CSSEdit for a while now and I’m likely to buy it. With this promotion offer, I’m going to give RapidWeaver and Pixelmator a try too.

Popularity: 24% [?]

If you want to watch TV on your Mac, Amazon has an amazing deal going on right now. It looks like it’s one of the Black Friday special deals so take advantage of it while you can. For just $75 USD (after $30 rebate), you can pick up the Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-950 from Amazon. The regular price is nearly $150 so you’re saving close to 50%.

The Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-950 looks amazingly similar to the Elgato EyeTV Hybrid which I own and love (a review is coming soon). In fact, the WinTV-HVR-950 even comes with the EyeTV Lite software package. Included is software that will work with PC’s too. The Hauppaugge will receive HD ATSC (over the air) and analog cable TV signals. The WinTV-HVR-950 even comes with a portable TV antenna capable of receiving HD signals, the Elgato EyeTV Hybrid does not include a antenna. You’ll need a fairly recent Mac to use the WinTV-HVR-950, but if you want to watch TV cheaply on your Mac this is one of the best deals I’ve seen.

Popularity: 49% [?]