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Controversy! Drama! Cheap Apps! (O NOES!)
Mar. 11th, 2010 08:14 pmSo @hotdogsladies (Merlin Mann) had a bit of an anti-MacHeist diatribe on this week's MacBreak Weekly (http://twit.tv/mbw) and the folks at @MacHeist tweeted about it with a pretty angry attitude: MacBreak Weekly discussed the nanoBundle. @hotdogsladies needs to check his facts and get over himself.
I've listened to the MBW show and actually found myself agreeing with parts of Mann's statement, although not all of it. Fellow MacHeisters posted about it in the forums, and apt213 made a very good point about it all: it's Mann's opinion, it was funny, and MacHeist didn't have to tweet with a 'tude. Also, most, if not all of us MacHeisters don't buy the bundles (nano or not) because a portion goes to charity. We buy because it's apps for cheap. It's nice that a portion goes to charity, but it's not my motivation at all.
In this past MacHeist nanoBundle 2, I got 12 apps for $19.95. They are: Squeeze, Airburst Extreme, Tracks, Burning Monkey Solitaire, MacJournal, RipIt, Clips, CoverScout, Flow, Tales of Monkey Island, RapidWeaver, and Tweetie. Many Mac users will recognize these as being pretty well-rated apps made by household-name companies. Others will have no idea what half of them do and might just be tempted by the descriptions enough to try them for cheap. I was straddling both categories when I decided to buy it.
No one holds a gun to the heads of the developers who can and do participate in MH. I personally think those that do are cool, but I don't disparage those that don't (if I even had a way of knowing who they are; who approaches MH Directorate, or do they approach developers? It's not like they announce who refused to participate in MH).
Here's the thing: every time I've bought a bundle, I've discovered a new app that I suddenly cannot live without. And I support the developers with continued purchases of new versions and/or upgrades. Sometimes these are for apps that I've heard a lot about but just can't afford and forget to get trials for. Other times I've never heard of them and it ends up being a life saver. I think this must be true for other users too, though not all of them. It's a risk, as all marketing ploys are, and MacHeist is a marketing ploy for developers. When it's an actual heist, it's also fun for the end users, because we have to EARN our discount on the software.
The lifesaver apps I've discovered via MacHeist that come to mind: Agile Software's 1Password, and Ambrosia Software's SnapzXPro. I'm experimenting with RapidWeaver now, was disappointed in MacJournal, and am so far enjoying Tracks. Wincent Software's Synergy (my iTunes controller) gets used so much that it's practically abused, and that I discovered through MacHeist, too!
Of the ones from the current bundle, I thought about buying MacJournal, but it was through getting and using it from MacHeist that I realized it's not what I was looking for. Clips is a fabulous replacement for the gone ClipIt (I think that was the name), and Tracks works splendidly alongside Synergy. Tweetie is interesting, but I have to keep using it in order to make a well-rounded comparison to my other Twitter clients, Twitterific, TweetDeck, and Echofon in Firefox. Squeeze seems useful and the games look fun (I suck at Solitaire of all kinds, apparently), but I'm still experimenting with the others.
MacHeist ≠ Walmart, though, even if Walmart has good points. People's personal opinions of Walmart or MacHeist or how developing apps should be done are going to color their opinions of MacHeist's strategy and execution, and that just can't be helped. You can't please everyone.
I've listened to the MBW show and actually found myself agreeing with parts of Mann's statement, although not all of it. Fellow MacHeisters posted about it in the forums, and apt213 made a very good point about it all: it's Mann's opinion, it was funny, and MacHeist didn't have to tweet with a 'tude. Also, most, if not all of us MacHeisters don't buy the bundles (nano or not) because a portion goes to charity. We buy because it's apps for cheap. It's nice that a portion goes to charity, but it's not my motivation at all.
In this past MacHeist nanoBundle 2, I got 12 apps for $19.95. They are: Squeeze, Airburst Extreme, Tracks, Burning Monkey Solitaire, MacJournal, RipIt, Clips, CoverScout, Flow, Tales of Monkey Island, RapidWeaver, and Tweetie. Many Mac users will recognize these as being pretty well-rated apps made by household-name companies. Others will have no idea what half of them do and might just be tempted by the descriptions enough to try them for cheap. I was straddling both categories when I decided to buy it.
No one holds a gun to the heads of the developers who can and do participate in MH. I personally think those that do are cool, but I don't disparage those that don't (if I even had a way of knowing who they are; who approaches MH Directorate, or do they approach developers? It's not like they announce who refused to participate in MH).
Here's the thing: every time I've bought a bundle, I've discovered a new app that I suddenly cannot live without. And I support the developers with continued purchases of new versions and/or upgrades. Sometimes these are for apps that I've heard a lot about but just can't afford and forget to get trials for. Other times I've never heard of them and it ends up being a life saver. I think this must be true for other users too, though not all of them. It's a risk, as all marketing ploys are, and MacHeist is a marketing ploy for developers. When it's an actual heist, it's also fun for the end users, because we have to EARN our discount on the software.
The lifesaver apps I've discovered via MacHeist that come to mind: Agile Software's 1Password, and Ambrosia Software's SnapzXPro. I'm experimenting with RapidWeaver now, was disappointed in MacJournal, and am so far enjoying Tracks. Wincent Software's Synergy (my iTunes controller) gets used so much that it's practically abused, and that I discovered through MacHeist, too!
Of the ones from the current bundle, I thought about buying MacJournal, but it was through getting and using it from MacHeist that I realized it's not what I was looking for. Clips is a fabulous replacement for the gone ClipIt (I think that was the name), and Tracks works splendidly alongside Synergy. Tweetie is interesting, but I have to keep using it in order to make a well-rounded comparison to my other Twitter clients, Twitterific, TweetDeck, and Echofon in Firefox. Squeeze seems useful and the games look fun (I suck at Solitaire of all kinds, apparently), but I'm still experimenting with the others.
MacHeist ≠ Walmart, though, even if Walmart has good points. People's personal opinions of Walmart or MacHeist or how developing apps should be done are going to color their opinions of MacHeist's strategy and execution, and that just can't be helped. You can't please everyone.
