Of course, with the Give Good Food to your Mac promo, the build-your-own-bundle idea is nothing new. The selection of apps for the Mac Mix Promo though, makes it worth looking at. A list of the participating applications and details after the jump.

The idea of the Mac Mix Promo is the same as Give Good Food to your Mac. The more applications you add to your “mix.” the greater the discount you will receive. If you add 1 app, you get 10%, 3 – 30%, 5 – 40%, 7 – 50%, 9 – 60%, and finally 12 apps gets you a 75% discount. Many people have found so far that it is more cost effective to add 12 apps (including some of the cheaper ones), which nets you the greatest discount. A portion of the money you spend will also go to help the trees.

The line up for this promotion is as follows:

Parallels – $79.99
iBank – $59.99
iBiz – $49.99
Process – $39.00
Yep – $34.00
MacGourmet – $24.95
Linkinus – $20.00
Leech – $15.36
Xylescope – $19.95
Kavatunes – $35.00
Flux – $69.00
Forklift – $29.95
Picturesque – $34.95
DrawIt – $42.00
Photon – $69.00
YourView – $29.99
HoudahGeo – $42.66
AlterEgo – $30.00
Witch – $15.36
HoudahSpot – $25.60
Steel – $9.00
ShoveBox – $24.95
TextExpander – $29.95
AppShelf – $6.90
Wacky Mini Golf – $27.00
Islands Mini Golf – $21.00
Comic Book Lover – $24.95
iConquer – $25.00

There are 28 applications in total, spanning 5 categories. There should be a few apps in there for everyone. If you just bought a Mac and are looking to fill it up with some software, or you have been holding out on purchasing one of these titles, then now is probably as good a time as ever to buy. According to the Mac Mix website, one lucky person within the first 500 buyers will win a free super bundle (all 28 apps) and there is also an award winning “mystery app” being given out to the first 500 buyers.

Mac Mix Promo

Note: Mac Mix Promo is advertising its bundle in our sidebar, though this post was written before I even knew it was there.

If you missed last years promotion, there is a tab toward the bottom of the “ingredient” list that lets you choose some of the applications featured last year. These applications aren’t eligible for the current discounts, but rather have fixed discounts.

The list of this year’s participants in the main promotion are as follows:

• BannerZest Pro, from Aquafadas
• BitRock InstallBuilder from BitRock SL
• Changes from Skorpiostech Inc.
• Code Collector Pro from Mcubed Software
• DeltaWalker ‘08 Oro commercial or personal from Deltopia Inc.
• DMG Architect from SourceBits
• Domainer from Rage Software
• DropDMG from C-Command Software
• ForgEdit from Programlogik
• iLocalize from Arizona Software
• iShell from Tribalmedia LLC.
• MaxBulk Mailer from Max Programming, LLC.
• Maza Digital from Email Backup Pro
• Navicat MySQL GUI from Premium Soft
• PHP Function IndeX from ARTIS Software
• Razor SQL from Richardson Software LLC.
• REALBasic Personal Edition from REAL Software
• REALBasic Professional Edition from REAL Software
• Revolution Studio from Runtime Revolution
• SiteMap Automator from Rage Software
• Source Guarding PHP Encoder from Inovica LTD.
• SQLGrinder from Advenio
• SubEthaEdit from Coding Monkeys
• SuperCard Developer or Standard Edition from Solutions Etcetera
• Transaction from Max Programming, LLC.
• Typinator from Ergonis Software
• Unity from Unity3D

Check out the list of participants from last year that you can get a discount on this year on the website.

Depending on the applications that you choose, you could walk away with quite a discount on software. And if developing isn’t your forte, you can still buy some applications from their last promotion at a discounted price.

Give Good Food 2 Your Mac

Unlike a lot of Apple’s bundled open source server tools, the wiki is a homegrown solution. Apple’s engineers have done extraordinary work, which is saying quite a lot considering we are talking about a wiki.

Wikis have been around for a while, and Wikipedia is a household name. After all, my mom reads Wikipedia. Creating an entry, however, is one thing my mom cannot do. But, if she was set up with a shiny new account on an Apple Leopard Server, she could wiki away to her heart’s content.

What sets Apple’s wiki apart from almost all others I’ve looked at is its truly intuitive editing interface. Unlike other wikis, Apple doesn’t have any kind of text-based markup language. The entire site is editable with a Microsoft Office-like formatting toolbar. Granted, this may limit more advanced users, but all the core necessities are there. Font styles, alignment, media file embedding and even a visual table editor are all included in the server. The pages are taggable, auto-generate RSS feeds and come with a variety of editable Apple designed templates. There are a lot of organizations out there that could benefit from the collaborative power of a wiki without the usual complexity.

Finally, a wiki my mom could use. If you haven’t already, check out MacEnterprise’s participant information page to get signed in for the live webcast happening today at 10:00 am PST (1:00 pm EST).

MacHeist aims to bring the best shareware from the brightest independent Mac software developers to the masses. We’ve already highlighted the contents of the bundle, but since then all of the original apps have been unlocked – Speed Download has been included, and two games from FreeVerse have been added as well. So now VectorDesign has been included as well.

As it now stands, the bundle has a value of nearly $500 worth of quality Mac shareware for under $50. not to mention that $300,000 has been raised for charity!

MacHeist’s John Casanta has confirmed that no additional apps will be added to the bundle. If you’ve been holding out on buying until the final bundle contents were announced, wait no longer. The bundle goes the way of the dodo this Thursday.

Head over to MacHeist II now to claim your bundle!

VectorDesign requires Leopard and normally sells for $69.95. If you miss thee MacHeist II bundle you can try before you buy and download the trial version directly from the TweakerSoft website.

Video
Looking for video coverage of Macworld is not going to be easy. Very few sites can handle the bandwidth and the load of streaming video from the keynote. However, this year, Cunning.tv, a new Internet tech channel that I helped create, will be getting video of Steve Jobs live out of the keynote. Be sure to arrive to the website early on though, because the video requires a lot of bandwidth, and may be only accessible to a limited number of people. If you are not going to be at your computer during the keynote, you can have live updates of all the cool products Steve launches sent directly to your phone via SMS. Subscribe to Cunning.tv’s twitter feed for live SMS updates of all of the new Apple goodness.

Pictures
If you want to feel the joy of clicking refresh multiple times, while looking at high-quality images of his Steveness and the new Apple swag, Engadget’s Macworld 2008 page is the place to go. They have, undoubtedly, the best photos each year. Here, you will find a series of bloggers who are committed to writing up articles as fast as the products are being released. If you only go one place to check what’s happened at Macworld, Engadget is the place with the most coverage.

Text
If you are the old-fashioned type, and just want plain old text, Macrumors Live is the place to go. They are always updating the facts as soon as they are announced, and even have an auto-refresh system in place, so you don’t have to constantly site there hitting F5 or Cmd-R. Macrumors also has a twitter feed to subscribe to for announcements if you are on a cell phone. While you won’t be getting an images on Macrumors, they update much faster, and get the facts to you faster.

This year’s Macworld is sure to be packed with new Apple products, and Cunning.tv, Engadget, and Macrumors Live are the best, and fastest way to get that information. After the keynote is over, you can, of course, watch Apple’s recording over at their dedicated Apple Events page. Happy Macworld to everyone!

Update: The recently released image editing app Pixelmator has also just been added to the bundle, making it an extremely attractive offering at only $49. Also a portion of the money collected is going to several worthy charities.

Below is a list of what is included for those who don’t know. Check out Marvin’s MacHeist II software round-up for more details on each program.

1password – A really useful password manager.
CoverSurta – The popular iTunes controller app.
Cha-Ching – A great money and finances manager.
iStopMotion – Stop motion photography application.
Awaken – A really nice alarm clock app.
Speed Download – A Mac download manager.
AppZapper – The Mac’s missing application uninstaller .
TaskPaper – A to do list manager.
CSSEdit – The best CCS editor for Mac.
Snapz Pro X – A screenshot and video capture utility.
Pixelmator – image editor (just added!)

Check out the MacHeist site to get your bundle before the deadline is reached (9 days away currently).

The blogosphere has been super busy the last few weeks with rumors, red herrings, and buzz on what to expect at this years Macworld. Here is a list of my favorites.

• AppleInsider is one of the first to post a series of photos of San Francisco’s Moscone Center as it gets jazzed up for Macworld. The tagline ‘There’s something in the air’ has pretty much confirmed rumors of a lighter than air new subnotebook. With WiMax support? Or is it something to do with wireless purchases or iTunes? Or neither!



• You aren’t a Macworld rumor monger without a 2008 Keynote Bingo card from Arstechnica.



• TUAW posted a killer nostalgic list of Macworld’s past with a link to the corresponding YouTube video for each item. Very cool. Also if you missed it check out the staff at TUAW’s list of predictions which is really very complete.
• Gizmodo posted arguably the most detailed and thorough article detailing what to expect at this years Macworld.
• Party animals should scan the Hess Macworld 2008 events list for every possible party and meetup you could ever want to attend. Tequila!
• GeekCulture has a cool celebrity checklist for those lucky enough to attend the event.



• In case you didn’t know, Steve Job’s keynote address will occur on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2008 at 9:00 AM PST in Moscone West at San Francisco’s Moscone Convention Center. I have heard a couple claims of people attempting to stream this live, but I think it’s safe to write this off as BS (no link for you!) Expect the keynote to be available on here Apple’s site shortly after it occurs – immediately after which it should appear everywhere else including torrent sites.
• AppleGazette has a list of sites providing live blogging of the event and keynote.
• You might also want to keep an eye on Flickr, as photos are already beginning to surface there.

That’s about it. Also be sure to subscribe to MacApper’s podcast as I am certain some of the writers here are cooking up a roundtable style podcast within the next 48 hours or so. In the mean time what do you guys expect to happen at this years Macworld? Subenotebook? iTunes movie rentals? iPhone v2? None of the above? Let us know in the comments.

Over the past month or so, MacHeist members were involved in several missions (or heists), where each heist would unlock a small set of Mac apps. At the end of it all the bundle would be unlocked for all to be purchased.

Even before the unveiling, there was a general feeling that the bundle would be amazing; I mean, just look at their Macworld ad:

Anyway, enough pondering, wondering or guessing. Here are the 10 apps for just $49, and the little things you ought to know.

1. 1Password
Why, it’s our old friend 1Password! We’ve reviewed this app, interviewed the developer and even organized a giveaway for 5 lucky readers. Being such a unique and intuitive app, it has been the receiver of an accolade of awards from Macworld magazine, MacLife magazine, and Leo Laporte & Merlin Mann’s Pick of the Week on MacBreak Weekly.

2. CoverSutra
Ah, the daddy of all iTunes controllers. We think that this is the most elegant, and user-friendly iTunes controller out there. With all the UI tweaks and modifications since we last reviewed it, we’re sure it’s going to be a blast. The good news is, all MacHeist customers will get exclusive early access to CoverSutra 2. Expect a brand new music search, an updated UI, and more features.

3. Cha Ching
Store your money in a piggy. Specifically, the Cha Ching piggy. Reviewed earlier last year by our very own Greg Healy, we found it to be a very elegant, intuitive and sleek accounting/financial app. What’s more, MacHeist customers who purchase the bundle will be eligible to the exclusive beta for Cha Ching 2.0. So, what are you waiting for?

4. iStopMotion
A great tool for those wishing to make a stop motion film. Stop motion is simply a type of filming that displays a series of snapshots of inanimate objects; the creator simply tweaks the positions after each frame, giving the illusion of movement. Just buy a camera, make some props and think of a great idea.

5. Awaken
This one’s a familiar one because I reviewed it sometime last year. Awaken is an iTunes alarm clock that does a whole lot more. MacHeist users will be able to get the exclusive Awaken 4.0, which according to developer Jerry Brace was totally rewritten, and features a new, animated UI, better iTunes support, additional full screen modes, and lots more. Check out the new screenshots from Jerry’s Flickr account.

6. TaskPaper
This is another GTD application that I personally reviewed. Simply consisting of a flat text file, TaskPaper makes it very simple to keep your life sorted. In fact, you can use the entire application without even touching a mouse. Written by Jesse Grosjean of Hog Bay Software.

7. AppZapper
This is an app that I presume most Mac users would have, since it’s touted as the uninstaller that Apple forgot. However, Austin Sarner did mention that version 2.0 would be arriving shortly with “less buttons than appzapper 1″ and that they’re rather “proud of that”. Fortunately, he did provide a couple of screenshots, showcasing the new application.

8. CSSEdit
Web development just got easier thanks to this innovative tool from MacRabbit. Did you know that the MacHeist website, like a lot of other beautifully designed sites were built using this tool? Certainly worth it. This application will only be unlocked if more than 5,000 bundles are purchased.

9. Snapz Pro X
Snapz Pro X, from Ambroisa Software is an app for capturing screenshots or movies on your Mac. Some of the biggest names like Apple, Adobe and even the creators of South Park have Snapz Pro in their arsenal of tools. All Macworld goers should remember to stop by their booth (W-4216) for some good giveaways to celebrate their 15th anniversary.

10. Pixelmator
Last but not least is Pixelmator. There were rumors before the announcement that PixelMator would show up, so I guess we can finally confirm it. While it may not be the most feature-laden image manipulation app out there, it’s certainly the prettiest of the lot. It’s also incredibly fast because it utilizes some of Mac OS X’s native frameworks. Certainly worth a look.

Buying individually, the 10 apps would set you back $343.75. But purchase directly through MacHeist and it will be just $49! What’s more, you can choose to donate 25% of your purchase to a charity of your choice. So what are you waiting for? Let us know whether you’ll be purchasing the bundle or not.

While the contents of the Bundle can be likened to the secrecy of an Apple keynote, some slips have been (intentionally?) let out, and some of the included software seems to have been revealed. Read along to see what’s bound to show up.

Michael Rose over at TUAW seems to have it on good terms that the excellent Shareware Photoshop replacement app, Pixelmator will be included in the final bundle. This makes the app an incredible deal in-and-of-itself, as that single app alone costs $59. Not to mention the fact that their is bound to be a healthy selection of other apps included in the bundle.

Also, if you’ve been doing the heists all along, you can save even more, by applying the $2 coupons that were part of the “loot” at the end of the heists, making this deal even harder to pass up.

The MacHeist II bundle is set to be revealed tonight at 7PM EST (according to their e-mail), and will cost $49 (without any discounts factored in).

Well, this really just isn’t your run-of-the-mill beanbag, it’s at the top of it’s class. The first thing I noticed when it showed up on my doorstep was the pure size of it, however, that’s in now way a bad thing. Once I unpacked it all, there really was no other option than to let it catch your fall.

The size and material of the Omni also allow you to easily just crash on it, and with no effort it’ll morph positions to support even the most demanding reading and gaming sessions. Also, it’s rugged nylon exterior is almost impossible to tear, and it’s quite spill proof, too.

The Omni’s properties also make it one of the most unique beanbags out there, and in many cases it’s less of a beanbag and more of just a giant lounging pillow. Personally, I currently have the Omni setup in my room, and just crash onto it with the MacBook on my lap, in fact, I’m sitting on it right now writing this review. Something else I’d like to point out is that the Omni’s incredibly comfortable for long periods of time. I’ve already sat through a few long writing and movie watching sessions sitting in this preferred position, and now consider it an invaluable part of my setup.

Nonetheless, as with anything, there are a few minor downsides to the Omni as well. Sometimes I’ve found that finding the optimal position for those long sessions can take a few minutes to set up, but luckily, it’s always comfortable anyway. I’d also probably recommend leaning it on a wall or something similar, as that eases the time spent trying to find those optimal positions, and will keep the bag in shape longer just in case you want to get up for a few minutes.

In addition to the moulding issue I’ve also found that the Nylon exterior isn’t so well suited for breathability, and on more than one occasion my back’s become pretty hot and sweaty after prolonged use.

Now, even with all that said, I still wholeheartedly recommend the Omni. Sumo’s done a great job implementing a great degree of comfort in to many of my daily tasks. Price-wise, many of you may think it’s $129 price-tag is “too-much” for a “beanbag”, but I think you can already tell from how much I love the Omni, that it isn’t. The sheer multitude of applications for it surely justifies the price. It’s less than most decent office-chairs, and you can even sleep on it. Some might even consider it’s “space-age” design to incorporate into a chic living space.

Overall, if you’re getting tired of the sofa, looking for a beanbag, or just a plain multi-purpose design-piece, look no further than Sumo’s Omni. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it as much as I have.

MacintoshGUI is a site that showcases one Mac goodie everyday, either an icon, desktop, theme or any other GUI enhancers you would like to submit which you can use to customize your Mac. With ratings, user submissions, and a linear archive system, it’s really easy to share your favourite Mac-design related GUI goodies.

As the co-creator of the site, I created it because I felt there wasn’t a site which you could dedicate a whole day to your Macmod fantasies. There are some very skilled designers creating icons, screensavers and mods for the Mac, and I wanted to give them a chance to shine.

Unlike most design related sites and blogs in general, it has a very minimal and elegant design. Since it showcases one goodie per day, the content isn’t overwhelming. Without unnesessary settings, and bad content, I’m hoping some of you guys find it useful.

This list is by no means definitive but here is a list of my 7 must-know software download repositories for the best in Mac software, and more. Let me know if I missed any!

Apple Downloads
Includes: Categories, Editor Picks, Popular Download list, RSS feed.
Pros: Slick interface. Elegant design in the Apple way.
Cons: Lack of community. Apple applications hold prominent positions.

Download.com
Includes: Categories, Download Cart, Editor Picks, Editor Reviews, Popular Download list, RSS feed, User Generated Ratings, User Comments.
Pros: Reliable (owned by CNet), nice looking design, quick search and interface.
Cons: Lack of community, as there aren’t a lot of user comments or reviews, and the most popular downloads are surprising. The main URL is complicated, which makes it hard to quickly get to the Mac download page.

iUseThis
Includes: Facebook Application, Popular Download List, RSS feed, Tags, User Comments, User Voting System (like Digg).
Pros: Simple interface. The voting system makes the popular application list feel more relevant. Quick and reliable.
Cons: Application list pages (New, Search, etc) includes full description and info, rather than just titles for finding an application quickly.

MacUpdate
Includes: Blog, Categories, Downloadable Client, Editor Picks, Popular Download list, RSS feed, User Generated Ratings, User Comments.
Pros: Mac-centric. Simple layout. Good for finding an application at a glance, as search reveals a list of application names.
Cons: Search is often slow.

Pure Mac
Includes: Categories, Editor Picks, File Extension Database, RSS feed.
Pros: Very simple interface. Clean. Surprisingly informational for being so simple.
Cons: Lots of Google Ads. Lacks professional polish.

Softpedia
Includes: Categories, Download Cart, Editor Picks, Editor Reviews, Popular Download list, User Generated Ratings, User Comments.
Pros: Includes a lot of applications, even obscure stuff. Quick Search.
Cons: Cluttered interface. Latest Additions is at the bottom of the page, below news and reviews. Rollover ads.

VersionTracker
Includes: Categories, Downloadable Client, Download Cart, Editor Picks, Editor Reviews, Popular Download list, RSS feed, User Generated Ratings, User Comments.
Pros: Reliable and quick.
Cons: Requires free registration for some basic functions. Interface seems a bit cluttered.

Steve: Josh, thank you so much for joining me. Can you tell me a little more about your company? You guys seem to do a lot of things.
Josh: Thanks Steve. You’re right, we do have a lot of different projects going on. Many of your readers may know us for our Insanely Great Tees and Monkey Business Labs brands, though we also develop a lot of other projects. We have a company called Magnetism Studios which focuses on developing these different products and putting them out there. Basically, we develop products that we would like to use ourselves, put them out there, and see what comes from it. It’s a lot of fun.

Steve: What is it like working for Monkey Business Labs/Insanely Great Tees?
Josh: There are three of us right now, Josh and Dave and Paul. We’ve designed our working environment to suit our personalities. We all work from home, which gives us a lot of flexibility in terms of hours. Sometimes we’ll have really busy weeks when we’re trying to get a project out the door, sometimes we’ll have more experimental weeks when we’re just tinkering with things that we think would be fun. Those experimental weeks oftentimes lead to some of our most interesting stuff. A perfect example is our Filemark Maker tool, that lets users save desktop files onto their iPhone or iPod touch so they can view them anytime, even when they don’t have network coverage. It was a problem that was frustrating us, we sat down, played with some different options, and came up with the tool in a few hours while working with a friend. It was easy, and now thousands of people have used the tool.

Steve: Right now the focus of Monkey Business Labs seems to be on Dashboard Widgets, which of your widgets is the most popular?
Josh: You’re right, and we’ll probably be reserving the Monkey Business brand specifically for just widgets and Mac software. Our widgets have been really suprisingly popular, I think they were the thing that really got us started doing product development on the web. We started out doing a lot of widgets that were more utilitarian, like TV Tracker, to tell you what’s on TV, and To Do Tracker, to keep track of lists. TV Tracker has been immensely popular, though Checkmarker, the new version of To Do Tracker, has plenty of loyalists. Checkmarker is great because it’s so simple, I use it every day.

Steve: Do you have plans to write stand alone native apps for OS X?
Josh: We have a number of ideas for native Mac apps, though right now it’s just a matter of finding the time for them. Lately we’ve been focusing more on entertainment properties, like our Idea Generator widget, rather than serious utilities (really, who could trust a spreadsheet from a company called Monkey Business?)

Steve: What made you make all your widgets donation-ware except for Picture Framer Deluxe?
Josh: We’ve encountered a lot of resistance from people paying for software. A lot of customers believe that because widgets are so tiny and cute that they should be free. It’s a nice idea, though to continue to develop software it’s really key to have a healthy income. We offer our widgets using the “freemium” model where there’s a free version and a deluxe version, you can choose which you pay for. That said, the t-shirt sales help subsidize our widget development time.

Steve: How did you come up with all the designs for your t-shirts on Insanely Great Tees?
Josh: We’ve done all the design for our projects in house. I’ve always loved designing shirts and I’m quite pleased with a lot of the shirts we have for sale. My usual point of reference is “would I wear it?” I love wearing the shirts with just icons on them, really simple ones, though some of the more fanatic shirts like “Steve Jobs for President” and “I’m a Mac” are quite popular as well. We like to carry both kinds, appeal to all sorts.

Steve: What’s your current hardware setup?
Josh: We do all our development on MacBooks, which we plug into our nice big monitors when we’re working at our desks. I just picked up one of the wireless razor thin keyboards, which I adore.

Steve: What is in your dock?
Josh: All the Adobe apps, of course. Also, I have this little thing which I think would be quite handy for your readers — it’s an icon you can press which opens a new message in Mail.app. It’s really simple, I made it a million years ago, though it still runs perfectly and uses basically no resources (it’s not like an applescript or something, which would be slow). You can download it from here, stick it in your dock and when you click it, presto, a new mail message. I must use it 50x a day.

Steve: Nice thanks! Do you guys have anything new and exciting for widgets, applications, or t-shirts coming?
Josh: Let’s see — we just launched two new tees, one for the inventor (see above) and one for the Apple History nut. Aside from that, we’ve got a brand new brand coming from Magnetism which we’re calling Bureau of Communication. It’s a formalized way of communicating with your friends. Let’s say your friend is always late to your meetings — you could go to our site, fill out a very serious looking but pretty funny “Airing of Grievance” form, send it along via email. Then your friend gets that, decides to respond with a “Formal Apology” message. And then you can follow that up with a “Statement of Gratitude” form to thank them. We like to think of it as fill in the blanks + tax forms + email. It’s a lot of fun, and we’ll have it out in time for the holidays.

Steve: Thank you very much for your time! It was a pleasure interviewing you.
Josh: Thank you, Steve!

The industry is changing. People now find pirating music, movies, and software the norm. Many can’t imagine paying a cent for a piece of software. How is a developer to make money in an industry like this? An industry where torrenting and P2P are so normal that it almost feels right. They can’t go on selling software the same as they have before. There has to be a different way. Sure, buying software in a box works well for Final Cut Studio, Adobe CS3, and iLife. But what about smaller applications like Rapidweaver and TextMate and Delicious Library and Disco? How are they to attract new customers?

Look around you this Christmas season. Look at all the Mac bundles and discounts. They are everywhere you look. On blogs. On websites. In ads. The bundles attract you with a low price (around the $50 range), and give you a bunch of applications. Some that you want, and others you’ve never heard of. But the bundles give the developers exposure, and next time the app gets updated, the customer may pay for an upgrade. It seems to works well for everybody – the consumer and the developer. The consumer gets a bundle of new Mac apps and saves a ton of money, while the developers get their apps into the hands of their customers.

The key to this system is in the way these apps are marketed. Let’s take a look at some of the bundles and discounts that are around this holiday season.

The MacUpdate bundle is new this year, and is comprised of seven applications valuing over $230. You can have all of these apps for $49 – almost an 80% savings. And as more people buy this bundle, even more apps will be unlocked, and included in the bundle for free. The apps aren’t all small apps. The MacUpdate bundle includes ForkLift, RapidWeaver, Xslimmer, PulpMotion, and even XMIND 2008 Pro which retails for $300! However, there are also some apps that you may have never never heard of. After you download them and try them out, you may love them and swear by them, or never use them again. Nonetheless, it give these developers the opportunity to get their apps into your hands, and then let the apps speak for themselves. Better hurry though, the bundle ends December 11th.

MacSanta is not new to the discounted apps scene. They started last year, and were very successful in capturing the Mac community’s attention. The idea behind MacSanta, was to get a bunch of developers together, and give consumers 10%-20% savings on their apps. This way, all the money goes directly to the developers. Each day, they feature different apps that you can buy with a coupon code and save 20% on. They offer a wide variety of apps from many different developers. The deals are only featured for one day however, but if you miss the day, you can still get the apps with a 10% discount until December 24th. Already, I have discovered many new applications that hadn’t heard of by visiting their site every day.

Givegoodfood2yourmac is a very interesting new idea put together by a bunch of European Mac developers at WWDC07. The idea behind it, is that you should ”feed” good apps to your Mac. The website allows you to make a “custom menu” of apps that you want to buy from a list of developers. This is actually one of the only bundles that lets you choose what apps you wish to buy. The more apps you put on your “menu”, the more money you save, as the discount increases. You can save anywhere from 30% to a whopping 70% off your meal, and you get to choose the apps you want. But again, like the other bundles, this will only last for a few more days.

Macheist is really the idea that started this whole movement of offering apps for a discounted price, or even for free, in order to attract mac users to shareware apps. Although it has received a lot of criticism, its success speaks for itself. Last year, they sold over 16 000 bundles generating them over $800 000 in revenue. They were able to pay the developers, donate $200 000 to charity, and still pay themselves. The consumers got a great deal on software, and got a lot of entertainment out of it. To this day, I still buy software from developers that I had first heard of from Macheist. The idea behind Macheist is to have heists and puzzles that the members must accomplish by scavenging the internet. It is challenging and mind-bending, but as a reward for completing the heists, the members get free applications from developers. Why would developers give away free apps? Because they know that their apps are good enough, that the users will love them and come back time and time again to pay for upgrades. As Erica over at TUAW notes, Macheist II has just launched, and will be going on throughout this Christmas season, leading up to the final bundle that will be sold starting January 9th, 2008.

I think the entire Mac development market is changing. It is no longer good enough to make a good app. Developers (except for maybe Panic) must learn to let go a little, and market their apps. Participate in bundles, giveaways, and heists. Plug their apps on websites and blogs. Get their apps into the hands of consumers. I think this year is the beginning of a revolution in the Mac market – both for consumers and developers. Developers are realizing that there is more they can do to promote their apps, and get them into the hands of consumers, while consumers are finally getting used to paying for good quality Mac shareware.

What do you think? Do these bundles and discounts encourage you to buy apps and support developers? Or does it have the opposite effect?

The deal works by buying the 7 program bundle at $49.99 within the 9 day cut-off point (started just now). So right off the bat you get $234 worth of software for $49. That’s quite a savings.

In my opinion the bundle is well worth $49 for licenses of Forklift, Rapidweaver, and Yep alone, but that’s just my me, and the bundles apps might not appeal to everyone.

The cool part is that when 1,000, 2,400, and 5,000 bundles are sold, a free application is added to your bundle at each threshold. Check out the list pictured here from the MacUpdate Promo page to illustrate.

I think this bundle will be a real success with some great unlocks. Mind mapping tool XMIND Pro 2008 at a retail price of $299 will be a sweet bonus at 1,000 bundles sold. iStabilize is also a really great video stabilization tool and retails for $67 at the 2,400th sale. And finally at 5,000 bundles PulpMotion ,the slideshow creator ($45), gets added to the mix. Regardless of whether these thresholds are met you really can’t go wrong with the software included at $49.

Good luck to the guys over at MacUpdate on some great software savings for the community.

The “Give Good Food to Your Mac” promotion is a promotion of 28 applications that are developed by Europe’s top Mac developers. The basic idea is that the more applications you add to your “recipe” (purchase) the more of a discount you get. Buy 3 apps, you get 30% off, buy 5 apps, get 40% off, all the way up to 10 apps and 70% off. Depending on who you are, the list of apps available can be impressive.

The list of “ingredients” (applications) that you can choose to add you your “recipe” are as follows:

• Remote Buddy – $25.00
• Personal Trader -$30.00
• CoverScout – $19.95
• Magnet – $40.00
• Morphage – $100.00
• iDive – $69.95
• Expert Wine Cellar – $39.00
• iStopMotion Home – $49.00
• Cheetah3D – $129.00
• BannerZest – $45.00
• VideoPier – $45.00
• PulpMotion – $45.00
• CSSEdit – $29.95
• Contactizer Pro – $119.00
• Contactizer Express – $59.90
• Geophoto – $19.95
• Merlin – $205.00
• RapidWeaver – $49.00
• Freeway 4 Express – $89.00
• FreeWay 4 Pro – $249.00
• Money – $39.00
• Art Text – $39.95
• FotoMagico Express – $49.00
• Feeder – $29.95
• Together – $39.00
• PixelMator – $59.00
• Tables – $56.00
• Unity Indie – $199.00

Now even though the idea of a software bundle has been done to death in the past few months, this promotion sort of gives it a new twist. The whole idea for “Give Good Food to Your Mac” came to fruition at WWDC 2007. A group of developers decided to prepare a “great Mac feast” with Mac apps developed by the top European developers. Here is what their site has to say about the promotion:

No junk food, just healthy, tasty and innovative products. And because we are speaking ‘haute cuisine’ everybody gets to create their own combination of titles matching their own unique taste.

The site goes live in about 4 hours from now, and the promotion will be available for 12 days (December 8th). Information on all of these applications will be available on the site once it goes live. Now that you know the list, you can now prepare what applications you will group to get the best value for the applications that you want. Because no one likes a hungry Mac right?

Without further ado, here is the Leopard launch, from six different locations. Special thanks to the Flickr users for providing these great images.

Ginza Store, Tokyo

Flickr user Shingo Okamoto attended the launch at the Ginza store in Tokyo, Japan. Remember, this is one of the most glamarous Apple retail store in Japan, so it was bound to be crowded.

Legacy Village Store, Ohio

Flickr user imagine1 was at the Legacy Village store when Leopard was launched. He also managed to capture candid shots of some of the staff.

UTC Store, San Diego

Flickr user donabelandewen (isn’t that two users?) was (were?) waiting in line at the UTC store. Looks like another long queue as well.

Natick Apple Store, Massachusetts

Flickr user TalkingTree was also waiting in line at the Natick Apple Store in Massachusetts. What to do while waiting? Snap some images!

San Francisco Apple Store, California

Flickr user Gadget has quite a few covert photos taken from the Apple Store in San Francisco. Looks like quite a busy place complete with coffee and water cart for those in line. Nice!

UK Apple Stores, Birmingham & London

And finally flickr users ash matadeen and Christiano Betta bring us images from Apple stores in Birmingham and London. Looks like another huge turnout in the UK as well.

Big thanks to all Flickr users showcased here. We’ll be publishing another round of photos later today, so if you went to a launch party yesterday, give us a link in the comments.

*Editor: That’s all the photos I have. Hope you guys liked them!

The new addition to the Insanely Great Tees line, aptly titled “iShirt” features a pixel art iPod that calls back to the good old days of 256-shade grayscale and the user interface of the original iPod. The new iShirt design is available for US$17 + Shipping and, as always, is printed on super high-quality American Apparel cotton.

If you feel like wearing your love and pride for the iPod and Apple on your chest – check out the new iShirt and all of Insanely Great Tees’ other awesome threads. Oh, and if you bought some, why not post a pic or two in the forums?

I want to see them blend a blender in their blender.

(via Daring Fireball)

Normally $29.95, macZOT! has it for a bargain price of $19.95!

If you do much FTPing or use the amazingly cheap and useful Amazon S3 (Forklift is BY FAR the best S3 browser I’ve found) , I cannot recommend Forklift more highly, plus the guys at BinaryNights are just great.

Go grab it now!

As you can see, many apps are returned. Some more popular apps already have lots of votes like Awaken or Aurora, but even less known ones like Alarm Clock Pro and iRooster show up as well. I love finding new apps so this site has been a lot of fun for me. Even better, if you use Inquisitor, you can search iusethis by adding “http://osx.iusethis.com/search?q=%@” as a custom search engine.

Check it out at iusethis.com

If you’ve got a skill you think might apply, go ahead and contact them. Working on a project like Growl, even just helping with smaller jobs, can do a lot of good for your resume. Especially if you are interested in software development as a career this kind of volunteer work can open a lot of doors for you. The added bonus is that you not only get to help with an awesome Mac app but also get to work and make friends with some very bright and friendly people in the Mac community.

Please contact the Growl team at discuss_AT_growl.info or Chris Forsythe directly to volunteer your skills and time.

Read more about the contest here.