Not another bundle...!?
Dec. 10th, 2009 04:25 pmFound out about MacFriendly today, which includes 12 (maybe 13, depending on sales) apps for $50. But how many apps that are unique or different from what I already have to justify buying something like this?
Invoice 3 - useful if I ran a small business. But being that I presently have no need for an invoice application, this is useless. As for managing my finances, I have Mint.com and even Quicken. Miss.
Flash Decompiler Trillix - Do what with the what now? Something about messing with SWFs, which might be nice to know in the future if I ever start seriously playing with Flash, but for right now, this is a miss.
TimeNet - Basically something to work in conjunction with a business manager like Invoice 3...except I have TimeTable, which I like a lot, have gotten used to, and see no reason to replace. Keeps track of your time for billing purposes. Miss.
Icon Commander - Turn any image into icons for Windows Vista, XP, or Mac. Believe it or not, I'd actually find this useful. I'm always wanting to jazz up my apps and folders, and "if you want something done, you've got to do it for yourself." So I might just start making icons! Hit!
Amnesia - Uninstall apps properly. I already have AppZapper. Miss.
WaterThumber - Easily batch process images with watermarks, resize them, create web-ready thumbnails, and so forth. Sounds like a good replacement for the finer things that IrfanView for Windows does, and what powerful image editors like Photoshop don't do. I have a number of photo editors and managers, and this does things that they don't (as far as I know, though I don't have to do this often). Potential hit.
MacPilot - Finds all the hidden tricks in OSX without having to rely on Terminal. Supposedly does what TinkerTool and Onyx can't! Plus, I like Koingo Software. Hit!
Singlemizer - Get rid of duplicate files. This is a double-edged sword. Not all files that appear to be duplicates are, and some that are need to be kept for special reasons, like back-up or backwards-compatibility purposes. Plus, the most common producer of duplicates (for me, anyway) is iTunes, and I have Dupin for that. Potential hit.
Squish - A URL shortener. For the truly lazy who can't just go to bit.ly, fb.me, or any of those other URL shorteners. I use Twitter apps that shorten the URLs automatically, so this is a total miss for me.
Marketplace - Craigslist without the Ugly. I hardly use Craigslist at all, but I just might if it comes down to job hunting...and the incentive is greater if an app prettifies it. Potential hit.
Emailchemy - Takes closed-source email formats and makes them open-source. Can converted emails to Google Apps accounts (of which I have two: CSUN and Gaming Dead). Other than that...uh, I don't really think the features are all that useful for me. Overall, a miss.
ForeverSave - Time Machine on steroids. Lets you back up the documents created by specific programs, on a regular basis, to avoid all those program or computer crash losses. Sounds awesome. Hit!
iTasksX (LOCKED) - Project Management "for professionals." It sounds awesome, but it looks totally complicated and like it has a steep learning curve. Plus, how is it any different from what Bento, Things, or similar programs do? It may be more robust, but those programs LOOK easier to use, even if I have to use multiple programs to achieve the same result. Miss.
Overall? Six (Seven) Misses, Three Hits, and Three Potential Hits. It's basically dead-even if you don't take iTaskX into account, and usually I'd expect more out of a bundle, even for such a good deal as 12 (13) apps for $50. I'd be willing to split the cost with someone if they wanted the licenses for the apps I don't think I want, but where am I going to find someone like that?
I wish I could mix and match bundles, but that defeats the whole thing that makes bundles so cheap--the fact that people get dupes of apps they may already have, if they're Mac-savvy, that they discover new apps from cool, favorite, or possibly new developers, and that ALL TOGETHER, enough sales rewards all the developers involved. If I could buy only six of the apps, I'd probably pay at least $50 for them. Can someone invent the Mix Bundle, or a mini-Bundle better than the MacHeist nanoBundle?
Pleeeeease?
Invoice 3 - useful if I ran a small business. But being that I presently have no need for an invoice application, this is useless. As for managing my finances, I have Mint.com and even Quicken. Miss.
Flash Decompiler Trillix - Do what with the what now? Something about messing with SWFs, which might be nice to know in the future if I ever start seriously playing with Flash, but for right now, this is a miss.
TimeNet - Basically something to work in conjunction with a business manager like Invoice 3...except I have TimeTable, which I like a lot, have gotten used to, and see no reason to replace. Keeps track of your time for billing purposes. Miss.
Icon Commander - Turn any image into icons for Windows Vista, XP, or Mac. Believe it or not, I'd actually find this useful. I'm always wanting to jazz up my apps and folders, and "if you want something done, you've got to do it for yourself." So I might just start making icons! Hit!
Amnesia - Uninstall apps properly. I already have AppZapper. Miss.
WaterThumber - Easily batch process images with watermarks, resize them, create web-ready thumbnails, and so forth. Sounds like a good replacement for the finer things that IrfanView for Windows does, and what powerful image editors like Photoshop don't do. I have a number of photo editors and managers, and this does things that they don't (as far as I know, though I don't have to do this often). Potential hit.
MacPilot - Finds all the hidden tricks in OSX without having to rely on Terminal. Supposedly does what TinkerTool and Onyx can't! Plus, I like Koingo Software. Hit!
Singlemizer - Get rid of duplicate files. This is a double-edged sword. Not all files that appear to be duplicates are, and some that are need to be kept for special reasons, like back-up or backwards-compatibility purposes. Plus, the most common producer of duplicates (for me, anyway) is iTunes, and I have Dupin for that. Potential hit.
Squish - A URL shortener. For the truly lazy who can't just go to bit.ly, fb.me, or any of those other URL shorteners. I use Twitter apps that shorten the URLs automatically, so this is a total miss for me.
Marketplace - Craigslist without the Ugly. I hardly use Craigslist at all, but I just might if it comes down to job hunting...and the incentive is greater if an app prettifies it. Potential hit.
Emailchemy - Takes closed-source email formats and makes them open-source. Can converted emails to Google Apps accounts (of which I have two: CSUN and Gaming Dead). Other than that...uh, I don't really think the features are all that useful for me. Overall, a miss.
ForeverSave - Time Machine on steroids. Lets you back up the documents created by specific programs, on a regular basis, to avoid all those program or computer crash losses. Sounds awesome. Hit!
iTasksX (LOCKED) - Project Management "for professionals." It sounds awesome, but it looks totally complicated and like it has a steep learning curve. Plus, how is it any different from what Bento, Things, or similar programs do? It may be more robust, but those programs LOOK easier to use, even if I have to use multiple programs to achieve the same result. Miss.
Overall? Six (Seven) Misses, Three Hits, and Three Potential Hits. It's basically dead-even if you don't take iTaskX into account, and usually I'd expect more out of a bundle, even for such a good deal as 12 (13) apps for $50. I'd be willing to split the cost with someone if they wanted the licenses for the apps I don't think I want, but where am I going to find someone like that?
I wish I could mix and match bundles, but that defeats the whole thing that makes bundles so cheap--the fact that people get dupes of apps they may already have, if they're Mac-savvy, that they discover new apps from cool, favorite, or possibly new developers, and that ALL TOGETHER, enough sales rewards all the developers involved. If I could buy only six of the apps, I'd probably pay at least $50 for them. Can someone invent the Mix Bundle, or a mini-Bundle better than the MacHeist nanoBundle?
Pleeeeease?