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Mariner Software celebrates 21st anniversary, gives you 50% off desktop products
Minneapolis-based Mariner Software is celebrating its 21st anniversary in the software business, and is offering customers 50% off on all desktop software products for a limited time as an anniversary "present." Mariner has been a fixture in the Mac OS software world, particularly with creative writing apps like StoryMill, Contour (a script development app), and Montage (for writing screenplays). They also branched into the productivity market with the Mariner Calc spreadsheet app and Mariner Write word processor, and also have gained success with Paperless (digital document management) and MacGourmet Deluxe (recipe management). One of the first Mariner apps I used was MacJournal, which is a wonderful piece of software for keeping a personal life journal. Although they won't be part of the anniversary discount, Mariner has some mobile offspring these days, including versions of MacJournal and Mariner Calc for iPhone and iPad. The anniversary celebration goes on through midnight (CDT) July 6th, and is only for non-upgrade versions of the desktop applications purchased through the Mariner eStore -- those Mariner apps that are in the Mac App Store are not eligible for the disount. To get the 50% discount, just use the promo code HB21 when checking out. From all of us here at TUAW to the folks at Mariner Software, a very happy anniversary!
Mac Sale and MacBasket offer up Mac app bundles
The Mac App Store is set to change the way you download and use a lot of software on your Mac, but one thing I hope it doesn't change is the tradition of the Mac software bundle sale. Bundling up indie software and selling it for a relatively huge discount is something that, in my experience, tends to be Mac-specific. Despite the obvious benefits of a nice discount (as long as the software's developers are fairly compensated for their sales), it's also an excellent way to find new software that you might not have purchased separately. I know of a few apps that I would have never bought on my own, but now use every day after picking them up in a bundle sale. There are two bundles going on right now. First, the Mac Sale is up and running right now, offering 10 different Mac apps worth $400 separately for just 50 bucks. There are a few good creative tools in there like Mariner Write and iCollage, and the iPad video converter helps you prepare videos for viewing on your iPad. RuckSack is a useful Mac utility for dealing with archive files like .zips and .rars. The Mac Universe has a discount code for an extra 5% off your purchase, so that's a great deal if you're interested in even just a few of those apps. The MacBasket sale is also underway right now with 10 titles on sale for $49. Great apps like Pear Note, SpeedDownload, and Dropzone are included in the offer. An app like Delta Walker, which compares and syncs files and folders for you, might not sound too useful by itself, but once you have the functionality you'll find it very helpful indeed. I like these bundles a lot -- there's always the question of whether the software's creators are making the money that they deserve, but as long as everyone's in on the agreement, it's a win-win for all.
The loot from the recent MacHeist
As Kevin pointed out on Wednesday, MacHeist has a new bundle for us at the moment -- but this one is what they consider a "nanoBundle" and it's free. I can't speak for everyone here at TUAW, but when I see the word "free" next to software, I horde it. They've decided to just give away this bundle of apps in what appears to be a move to encourage their users to come back for more. 6 great mac apps for zero dollars. That's my kind of deal. There are only 6 more days to download this bundle, so go grab it after checking out the loot: Shove Box -- An awesome reminder, organization, gotta-get-it-done application that sits in your menu bar. You can then drag things like text, URLs, images... possibly anything to the menu bar app and it'll save it for later. When you get some free time, you can go back through and see what you have. There's an iPhone companion app as well. WriteRoom -- A simple writing application that removes all of the typical distractions from your writing sessions. It makes the text window full screen, completely cutting off the rest of the world from your mind -- if you so choose. It still has simple tools like word count, background/text color adjustments... but definitely keeps you focused. We've covered it quite a bit. Twitterrific -- One of my favorite apps on my iPhone as of late. The desktop version is similarly simple. Set up your Twitter account and tweet away with the easiest solution imaginable. TinyGrab -- Is a screen capture maniac's dream. It allows you to use the standard command-shift-4 and select part of your screen or hit spacebar to capture a specific window. The kicker: it uploads it directly to your own FTP server and puts the URL in your clipboard so you can paste it in Facebook, Twitter, email, IM... whatever your pleasure. Hordes of Orcs -- I'll admit, this is the real reason I'm downloading the bundle. I've heard nothing but great reviews about this game even from our own Mike Schramm. It's one of the most innovative desktop tower defense games I've seen. Everything is in 3D, there are 6 different game variations and let's not forget tower defense. Mariner Write -- This is a word processor with features you need but none of the "bloat" found in other applications *cough* Microsoft *cough.* Of course, it will open and save Word documents, as well as other formats. While I was writing this, the download total went up 5,000 downloads but it'll take 500,000 for all of us to get the full benefit. MacHeist says that Mariner Write is the unlockable application, so I'm hoping to get a serial and really try it out. Head over to Macheist, and download your nanoBundle. For the first time, I'll be using all of the apps in it -- and it's free!
Mariner Software's Five Pack Friday
Mariner Software is running a Five Pack Friday sale from today through Friday, Sept 2, 2005. Aimed at small businesses (or large families), the sale slashes the price of all Five Packs of any of their product lines by 50%. Basically a buy two and a half, get two and a half for free. A real bargain for some great titles, like Mariner Calc, Mariner Write, MacJournal and Desktop Poet. The cool thing about Mariner, aside from their software, is that their policies are unique for a commercial/retail/boxed software company. For instance, they offer a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you don't like the software you return it for a full refund. I don't think Microsoft will take that copy of Office back once you've opened the box, installed it and then discovered that you hate it.Mariner also offer customers a Lifetime Upgrade Plan... "The Lifetime Upgrade Plan (LUP) is a Mariner-exclusive offer to help tackle the rising costs of upgrading software. For a one-time fee of $49.95, per product, Mariner customers will receive EVERY MAJOR UPGRADE FOR THE LIFETIME OF THE PRODUCT(S). No additional annual charges, no keeping track of the latest version, and no hassle with using out dated versions, we take care of everything and deliver the product right to your Inbox." There's another thing you'll never see Microsoft or Adobe do. Today might be a good idea to go directly to your boss and insist that he take advantage Five Pack Friday instead of Six Pack Friday, for a change. Let us know how that works out for you.
