The folks behind MacHeist, the spy themed software bundle, are getting ready to kick off another event. Details are sparse right now, except the fact that the software bundle sale begins on March 2nd, 2010. The updated website does provides a few clues about what applications might be included with the bundle. The boxes moving across the screen contain application icons for RipIt, Flow, and several other icons for applications I’m not familiar with.

If you visit the MacHeist website right now, you’ll be able to grab a free copy of the Snow Leopard only application Squeeze. From the Squeeze website: “Squeeze is a background file compressor, which uses the new HFS-compression technology in Snow Leopard to transparently compress the folders you configure it to process. Mac OS will read those files normally, they will just take less disk space.”

If you aren’t familiar with MacHeist, you can see our previous coverage of it HERE.

It must be nearing the holiday season because the software bundles are coming. This time however, the bundle is totally free. The folks at MacHeist are giving away a “nanoBundle” for absolutely nothing. So what are they giving away?

• ShoveBox
• WriteRoom
• Twitterrific
• TinyGrab
• Hordes of Orcs
• Mariner Write

The first 5 applications are available free of charge right now. Mariner Write will be unlocked when 500,000 nanoBundles are downloaded. If share a quick status update on Facebook, you can also get VirusBarrier X5 for free.

The free nanoBundle ends in just 1 day, so get your free applications quickly. Visit MacHeist for more information.

If you’re familiar with MacHeist, you probably know that the whole point of the event is to sell lots and lots of software bundles for an insanely low price. Each bundle as a few killer applications that for most people, make the decision to purchase the bundle a no brainier. Oh wait, you don’t know what MacHeist is? Visit the MacHeist website for details.

Without further waiting, here are the contents of the MacHeist 3 bundle:

• iSale
• Picturesque
• SousChef
• World of Goo
• PhoneView
• LittleSnapper
• Acorn
• Kinemac
• WireTap Studio – Unlocked after $100,000 is raised for charity
• BoinxTV – Unlocked after $100,000 is raised for charity
• The Hit List – Unlocked after an unspecified goal is hit
• Espresso – Unlocked after an unspecified goal is hit
• Big Bang Board Games – For the first 25,000 buyers only

The bundle is cheaper this year, only $39 USD. The entire bundle retails for over $550 so if you find one or two applications you want, the bundle is probably worth it. Me? I’m not sure yet. I have many applications that are similar to those offered in the bundle. For the time being I’m going to wait and see if anything is added to sweeten the deal.

The crew behind MacHeist are at it again. This time, the Mac Giving Tree is giving away free Mac applications. Just visit the Mac Giving Tree and sign in if you’re an existing MacHeist user, or register if you’re not. Once you sign in, you’ll get Enigmo 2 and Synergy for free. Come back on Christmas Day and you’ll get some more free goodies.

If you stay on the Mac Giving Tree website, you may notice that iPhone App icons are growing out of the tree. When they start to wiggle, just click the wiggling icon for a chance to win the application. This giveaway uses App Store promo codes, so the free iPhone Apps are US only. I’ve clicked on about 10 iPhone App icons and I haven’t won yet. Good luck to all and thanks to MacHeist for the free goodies.

It seems like every other week when a large Mac software bundle/deal comes along. I’ve participated in one of those deals, and wouldn’t hesitate to again if the right software was involved. I recently found out about yet another Mac software deal.

Mac Mix is a tiered discount promo. The website is very clean and has some nice JavaScript touches. Browsing the website is easy. Buying between one and twelve applications will net you a discount of between 10% – 75% off. The more you buy the more you save.

Here is a sampling of applications included in this promo:

• Parallels
• MacGourmet
• Yep
• iBank
• ForkliftTextExpander
• And more

Checkout the Mac Mix website for more details about the applications available and the discount amounts. I’ve been thinking about buying at least one or two of these applications so I might stop by the website and do some shopping.

[Via TUAW]

If you’ve been reading the blog for more than a few months, no doubt you heard me talk about MacHeist before. The folks behind MacHeist released a boxless “retail bundle” recently. Basically it’s like the other MacHeist software bundles but without the hoopla involved; missions, locked applications, etc.

The bundle includes 12 applications and will set you back $49 USD. The bundle will be on sale for a “limited time”, but no word on exactly how long it will last. Here’s a list of the applications included:

Awaken
Cha-Ching
CoverSutra
DEVONthink Personal
iClip
Overflow
Wallet
WriteRoom
XSlimmer
Enigmo
Bugdom 2
Nanosaur 2

I purchased the last MacHeist bundle but I’m going to skip this one. While there is no denying the value of the bundle, there just doesn’t seem to be that “must have” or killer app to take it over the top. Both the previous MacHeist bundle contained that one applications that pretty much sealed the deal to purchase it. While that killer application will vary from user to user, an application like TextMate or Pixelmator can really bring in the buyers.

The bundle is on sale now and you can buy it HERE.

For the last half of 2007, I used a product called iBank. As I came to rely on iBank more and more, I also began to notice its strengths and weaknesses. I relied on iBank so much, that I named it one of the applications I couldn’t live without in 2007. iBank was missing one feature that would make it complete (more on that later), and because of that I decided to look at another application.

Included in the MacHeist bundle was an application that initially I didn’t think much about, Cha-Ching. Cha-Ching is billed as a “fun and easy to use money manager with a slick interface”. Since I was using iBank, I didn’t really have a need for Cha-Ching. As I began to make a budget for 2008 however, I decided to give Cha-Ching a try.

Application Information
In this comparison I’m using Cha-Ching 1.2.2 and iBank 2.3.12. Pricing for Cha-Ching is $40, while iBank will set you back $50. You can download a transaction limited demo of each application from the developers websites. In addition to the current release, each developer is working on a beta version of the next version of their software.

Supported Accounts
Both Cha-Ching and iBank support checking, savings, credit card accounts. In addition to those, iBank also supports an investment account and even liability and asset accounts. Each program uses a simple add account dialog box to setup a new account. Edge: iBank

UI
The user interface is a very important part of any application. iBank and Cha-Ching take different approaches to their user interface. Cha-Ching uses a very familiar iTunes like interface. On the left you have your accounts, budgets, and other information. On the right you have the transactions and actions. The Cha-Ching UI is very pleasing and down right gorgeous. It really feels like something Apple could have made.

iBank uses a more Mail.app like interface with 3 panes. The left pane shows your accounts, budgets, charts, etc. The upper right shows you transactions while the lower right is the editing pane.

Though both applications have a simple and pleasing UI, I do prefer one over the other. Edge: Cha-Ching

Organization
The ability to organize your transactions is a necessity for any money management software. Cha-Ching and iBank take different approaches to this problem. Cha-Ching uses the Web 2.0 standard of tags to organize transactions. iBank uses the more familiar category. One advantage Cha-Ching has over iBank, is that in iBank you have to add a category in the categories folder prior to being able to assign that category to a transaction. In Cha-Ching, you can just add that tag as you go along and now Cha-Ching will auto complete the tag as you type it again. You can also drag a tag from the tag editor (see picture on right) and drop it on a transaction to assign it that tag. If you’re assigning multiple transactions a tag, it’s much easier to do so in Cha-Ching than to add categories to multiple transactions in iBank. A very nice feature in iBank is the ability to remember categories. If you’re adding a transaction with the same payee, it will remember the category and pre-populate it for you. Edge: Push

Importing/Exporting
Cha-Ching and iBank support the importing of your typical money file types; OFX, QFX and QIF. iBank also supports the importing of CSV files. When importing into both programs, you can select to import all transactions from that file or individual transactions. iBank includes one feature Cha-Ching is missing, the capabilities to setup import rules. This is very useful when importing transactions because you can assign categories based on the payee (see above picture). When I import my credit card statements in iBank, I have import rules for the majority of payees and those transactions are assigned a category on import. Unfortunately I have to assign tags manually when importing the same statement into Cha-Ching. If you want to change money software, both programs have export capabilities. iBank will export in the QIF format while Cha-Ching will export in CSV. I find it odd that Cha-Ching will export CSV but not import. When I tried to import a CSV file from Cha-Ching to iBank, it wasn’t nearly as easy as importing a QIF from iBank to Cha-Ching. Edge: iBank

Adding Transacions
While you can easily import transactions, the ability to manually enter transactions is also needed. I actually enter in my checking account transactions manually while I import my credit cards transactions. This is useful when you pay bills online and you want to know your balance after you’ve paid a bill but before the check/transfer has cleared. After clicking the add transaction button about 1/3 way down the lower right corner of the application, you’ll see the transaction information screen change to the add transaction screen (see right). Here you can add a payee, set an amount and date, add a to or from via your address book, tag your transaction, and set a few other options. One thing I don’t like about the Cha-Ching is the inability to expand the note field. If you type a long note in the transaction you have to scroll down inside the box to read it. You can also add an image for the transaction or attach files to it. This would be a great place to save your digital receipts.

Near the identical spot in the application as Cha-Ching, you’ll find the add transaction button in iBank. As you would expect, clicking it will bring up a new blank transaction. Here you can set the payee, category, amount and date, add a image, add a memo, and a few other items. iBank includes the ability to add a payment type (check, deposit, online, transfer, etc) and include a check number. For anyone who writes a large number of checks, the ability to add a check number will be beneficial. You cannot attach files to a transaction like you can in Cha-Ching. You can however split a transaction in iBank. As you enter transactions, iBank will remember the categories that are associated with various payees. For instance, if I enter in Publix as a payee, iBank will automatically populate the category with “Groceries”. This feature cuts down on the time it takes to enter transactions. Edge: iBank

Scheduled Transactions
Both iBank and Cha-Ching have a way to enter recurring transactions. This is very helpful if you have a transaction that takes place on a scheduled basis and is the same amount. Transactions such as Mortgages, cable bills, student loans, etc work well with this function. With nearly identical options, each should fit your need for scheduled transactions. Edge: Push

Budgets
The ability to create a budget is critical to managing your money. Thankfully both iBank and Cha-Ching feature easy to use budgets. Up until I was writing this review, I thought iBank was missing one critical budgeting feature. As it turns out it was right in front of me the whole time.

Setting up your budget in Cha-Ching is easy. Just create a budget and then click edit. As you enter in your budget items, Cha-Ching will autocomplete your tag if you’ve previously used it with one of your transactions. Once you have entered your incoming and outgoing budget items, if you have entered transactions with those tags you’ll see a realtime calculation of “Budgeted vs. Actual”. The “Actual” calculation will include any other account you have setup. So if you have tagged a transaction in your Credit Card account and included that tag as an item in your budget, it will be counted. I really like the simplicity of the budget screen. On improvement though would be the ability to exclude/include which accounts are tracked in a particular budget. Sure, you could just use a different tag but that’s more of a work around than a solution.

I used iBank for months before I figured out how to perform an “Actual vs. Budget” comparison. I even posted on the iBank forums and the support folks didn’t tell me what I needed to know. All along it was right in front of me. To begin creating a budget, add some categories. Once you have categories, you can add those categories to your budget and assign them amounts and frequencies. This process is nearly identical to Cha-Ching. To get your “Actual vs Budget”, just click the Budget Monitor button and choose the budget and time period. You’ll notice that iBank and Cha-Ching use a very similar format for their Actual vs. Budget chart. Like Cha-Ching, iBank doesn’t allow you to exclude/include which accounts are tracked in a particular budget. I currently don’t have a need for this feature but I’m sure someone out there does. Edge: Cha-Ching by a hair

Other
While iBank and Cha-Ching support various currencies, iBank will support multiple currencies within the program. For instance you can have one account in Euros and another in USD. Cha-Ching has a built in browser so you can access your bank account website if you entered it in your account profile. Each program has .Mac backup capabilities too. iBank includes the ability to create various charts, but to be honest they weren’t very useful to me. Edge: Push

Conclusion
Prior to writing this review, I had my mind made up. As I was writing it however, I finally figured out something about iBank that had been bugging me for some time. The winner of the iBank vs. Cha-Ching Mac money showdown is…..iBank. Even though I feel iBank is the winner, I’m not sure I’m going to go back to using it. For my personal use, the only feature holding back Cha-Ching is import rules. The UI for Cha-Ching is much more intuitive and easier to to use than iBank. While they are both solid programs and you can’t go wrong with either in my opinion, I find myself wanting to open Cha-Ching more than iBank. It’s almost as if Cha-Ching makes managing my money fun.

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.

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.

Details about the MacHeist 2 application bundle were released tonight. The application bundle will be on sale for the next 15 days. 25% of the bundle purchase price will be donated to 10 different charties. The applications included in the $49 software bundle are:

• 1password
• CoverSutra
• Cha-Ching
• iStopMotion
• Awaken
• TaskPaper
• AppZapper
• CSSEdit (Unlocked after 5,000 bundles sold)
• Snapz Pro X (Unlocked after a currently unannounced bundles sold)
• Pixelmator is believed to be the 10th application but it has yet to be announced.

Right now I’ll likely skip the application bundle. Of the applications currently announced, only CSSEdit is truly appealing to me. The other applications might be nice to have, but I certainly wouldn’t buy them on their own. If Pixelmator is in fact the 10th application though, my credit card will be out. In fact, if the 10th application is only slightly of interest I’ll buy the bundle anyways. With my $10 bundle discount, the price will only be $39. $39 for the above applications is certainly a deal!

Update: Pixelmator has been confirmed as the 10th application.  I’m buyin’.

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.