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The AppsGoneMad bundle offers 6 solid Mac apps for under 10 dollars
I usually avoid app bundles because there is often one thing I really want, but the rest of the bundle is forgettable. This latest bundle from AppsGoneMad, which can be purchased between now and November 24, actually has several apps for Mac OS X that I think will have wide appeal. At retail, the apps would total US$220, but the whole bundle is only $9.99. Here's what is available: FX Photo Studio Pro -- ($29.99) A solid image processor with a lot of excellent pre-sets and image editing tools Tembo -- (15.00) An excellent replacement for Spotlight which is just as fast but is, in my view, easier to use MacCleanse -- ($29.99) A file utility that, like others of its type, deletes unneeded logs and caches to recover significant space on your hard drive 1000 OpenType fonts -- ($99.00) A nice collection to add sparkle to your text ColorStrokes - ($4.99) An image editor that allows you to selectively add or remove color from an image TubeConverter ($ 29.99) - Give it a YouTube or other online video URL and it downloads the video to a file format of your choice I thought TubeConverter was the most useful and unique. It works with YouTube, Break, DailyMotion, Blip, Veoh, Metacafe, Bing, Vimeo and more. Provide a URL and the video is quickly downloaded. You can convert the video to MP4 (H.264, MPEG-4), MPEG-2, VOB, Super VideoCD MPEG2 PS(MPG), MPEG-1, QuickTime Video(MOV), iTunes Video(M4V), ASF, AVI, DivX, Xvid, WMV, FLV, SWF, RM, Matroska Video(MKV), 3GP, 3G2, DV, WebM, TS or HD formats like HD MP4( H.264, MPEG-4), HD MOV, HD MKV, HD MPEG2, HD ASF, HD AVI, HD WMV, HD FLV, and HD TS. Audio formats include AAC, M4A, AC3, MP3, WMA, WAV, OGG, AIFF, FLAC, AMR, MKA, MP2, and AU. There are presets for all Apple iOS devices to get the best fit. I didn't try every permutation, but it worked great for grabbing some YouTube content and watching it later without an internet connection. I really liked Tembo and actually preferred it to Spotlight. It's easier to use, and I like the way files are grouped. In a side by side test, it didn't miss anything, and like Spotlight, it offered previews of media files and documents. It only tripped up once, and that was with an old 1996 Word Perfect document that Spotlight was able to search. FX PhotoStudio Pro is also first rate. It's not Photoshop, of course, but it contains hundreds of filters, masking and framing tools. MacCleanse has a lot of competition on the market, but it does the many of the same things. It cleans up unneeded caches and logs, out of date software, and broken preferences and plug-ins. It worked rapidly, and found about a gigabyte on garbage on my Mac that didn't need to be there. ColorStrokes does some things you can do in other apps too, and it excels at removing or adding color from parts of an image. It has capable zoom tools and undo features that you'll probably use a lot as you perfect your image. The 1000 fonts are, well... 1000 fonts. Some you will like, most you won't. It's still a worthy collection. Although I thought the TubeConverter app was well worth the $10.00 collection asking price or more, I also was pleased with Tembo, ColorStrokes and MacCleanse. I already had FX PhotoStudio Pro so that was a wash. This is a nice bundle. As with any bundle, do the math and see if it pays off for you.
Mac versions of Sparrow and FX Studio discounted today to $4.99
Mac owners on the hunt for app deals may want to check out Sparrow for the Mac and MacPhun's FX Studio. Both apps have been discounted 50 percent today and are now available for US$4.99. Sparrow for Mac is the email client that kicked off the Sparrow craze a few years almost two years ago when the beta version made its public debut. It's been updated and improved since it first launched and is an excellent, lightweight app that'll meet almost all your emailing needs. FX Studio is for photo enthusiasts who like to quickly and easily add effects to their photos. The app includes 40 photo frames and over 170 effects and filters. It works with popular photo editors and organizers like Aperture and Photoshop. You can download Sparrow for Mac and FX Studio from the Mac App Store at their discounted prices today. Editors note: "A few years" was changed to "almost two years" to more accurately reflect the beta launch date of 10/2010.
