Another software bundle for Mac users

April 16, 2008

Every so often in the Mac community there are these bundles.  10 or so applications, usually from independent developers, sold together for the price that one or two would usually cost.  Right now http://www.mupromo.com is offering one.  Is it worth it?  If you have an Intel based Mac, then it certainly is (provided you don’t have a virtulization software package like Parallels or VMWare already).  If you are still on a PPC (aka G3, G4, or G5) system, well it may be worth it.

Here is some information from the website:

Your Deal: When you purchase bundles now, you’ll be the immediate owner of Hazel, Art Text, MenuCalendarClock, Leap, StoryMill, Typinator and DVDRemaster Pro. Then when the Mac community spreads the word and reaches 5,000 bundles sold, Sound Studio will be unlocked into the bundle for free. People that purchase the bundle before each unlock milestone will have the unlocked products automatically added to their accounts for free. Because of the superb success of the Mac community in the last 2 bundles, we fully expect to reach all 3 unlock milestones during the 2-week span of this event.

My take on these apps.

Hazel: 
• Anyone can find a use for this one.  It helps you keep from collecting lots of files that are duplicates, uninstall applications and their associated files, and more.
• Art Text:  I can do this in Photoshop.  If you have a need for it, you probably can too.  Its basically a program for generating fancy text and buttons.  I don’t see me using this.

• MenuCalendarClock:  I tried the demo of this, and its very useful.  I can view my calendar events right from the menu bar as well as to do items.  It also allows you to edit and create items.  One of those that makes you think why Apple didn’t do this.
• Leap:  Have a lot of documents?  Want to keep track of them?  Leap is the answer.  You can ‘tag’ documents with keywords.  Tag your finance documents with ‘finance’, photos of family with ‘family’ and on and on.  Then when you need to find something you can look for it that way.  THink of it like a magic closet.  You walk in and say, ‘red shirt’ and all your red shirts show up vs looking through all the space you have.  Leap essentially takes you from a folder based organization system to keywording.  Done right its a HUGE help.  Yes that does mean you need to add these keywords.  But it is well worth it.
• Sotry Mill:  Good for writers.  Its a novel writing application.  Not me!
• Typinator:  If you type common phrases over and over, this can be a huge help.
• DVD Remaster Pro:  Convert DVDs to files that play on your Mac, in iTunes, and even on your iPod/iPhone.  This looks pretty good, I have not tried it, but have heard good things.  I’ve used the free Handbrake and its pretty good.  I’ll have to compare the two.  I would not buy this on its own, but it does make a nice addition to the bundle for movie viewers.  *just remember, it is illegal to use this software on movies you do not own!!
• Sound Studio:  Good for people who make home movies and need to do more with the sound.  I have Final Cut Studio 2 so no need for this.
• Banner Zest:  This looks like a really nice application for anyone who has a website and wants to spice it up.  Easy flash based animations.  Will I use it?  Maybe…I put it in the nice app, but not something I really need department (I also have the full version of Flash).
• Parallels:  The real prize.  This usually costs more than the entire bundle.  If you have a INtel based mac, may need to run windows, you will benefit from this one.  It allows you to run Windows alongside OSX and hardly any speed penalty.  It is NOTHING like Virtual PC.  Chance are you won’t even notice any difference between using programs running in Windows and those in OSX.  If you are a PC user and that important bit of Windows software has been holding you back…this is your answer.

All in all…a good bundle.  Without Parallels its just so-so.  For Intel Mac users who do not have Parallels or VMWare its a ‘buy’.  For those who are on a PPC or who have Parallels/VMWare its not so simple.  If you use your computer a lot and are into multimedia, give it a look.  For all others…you probably don’t need these.

Link: MacUpdate Bundle