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iPhone dev tap tap tap releases sales figures
John Casasanta from iPhone app shop tap tap tap has released the company's sales data for the week of 7/28/08 to 8/3/08. John is one of the guys behind MacHeist, and as such has a history of being open about sales figures; still, releasing this information is a bold move.Although the only available data was for the last week of sales (though the tap tap tap blog says it will be updated if they get access to past figures), it is still really interesting to to gauge the figures and evaluate, at least to a small degree, how one publisher is doing at the App Store.For tap tap tap's two applications, this is the breakdown:Where to Go (App Store link) sold 3193 copies at $2.99 a copy in seven days.Tipulator (App Store link) sold 353 copies at $.99 a copy in seven days.After Apple's cut, tap tap tap's revenue was nearly $7000 for the week. Not too shabby. Even on this micro scale, this is further evidence of the long-term market viability for iPhone applications. This isn't surprising, but it is nice to have some solid sales data to backup the download tallies. Furthermore, John discusses the relative marketing costs associated with iPhone apps as compared to traditional software. So far anyway, it appears that lower upfront promotional costs are needed to ensure a good return. Of course, we're still in the first month of iPhone app sales, as more and more apps come to the store and the "newness" factor starts to wane, marketing costs will likely have to increase.The future of the App Store is exciting and this kind of news is encouraging, especially in light of some of the snake-oil applications that threaten to turn the App Store into Palm Store 2.0.
Mac Mix Promo gives you deals on Mac apps, starts today
While MacHeist is on their summer break, Mac Mix is hoping to shake things up in the Mac app bundle community. Their website went live early this morning and allows you to mix applications to make your own bundle. You might say, "What's so special about that"? Well, Mac Mix gives you a tiered discount based on how many applications you purchase. There are currently 28 applications to choose from including: Parallels iBank Yep! Photon TextExpander and more ... The pricing is similar to the way the Give Food to your Mac promo worked. The pricing tiers are: 10% off of any one app 30% off any 3 40% off any 5 50% off any 7 60% off any 9 75% off any 12 These deals will be available for 2 more weeks, so if you want to get a great deal on some great software, why not give Mac Mix promo a try. In addition, the 500th buyer will receive a "Super Bundle" that includes all 28 peices of software.Thanks, Vivek!
MacMix Promo to bring super deals for your Mac app fix
Applications on the Mac give you this warm, fuzzy feeling when you download and unpack their .dmg (or .zip) files. "Make Your Own Mac Mix" hopes to make this feeling even better by offering deals in the form of discount tiers for buying Mac applications. You will be able to choose between 27 "high quality" Mac applications (similar to those being offered by MacHeist). Prices will be based on the following tier system: 10% off of any one app 30% off any 3 40% off any 5 50% off any 7 60% off any 9 70% off any 12 Just as there are no details on specific applications, there is also no set date; but the creators are claiming this will be an amazing deal on Mac applications. This deal is set to go live this month. This deal and details will soon be made available on the MacMix Promo website.
Last day to buy MacHeist Bundle
Today is the last day to buy the much coveted MacHeist application bundle. MacHeist has decided to sweeten the deal by unlocking SoundStudio early and offering $5 off any Insanely Great Tee. If you are a registered member of the MacHeist site you can also get early access to Headline (an RSS reader).The MacHeist Bundle currently includes the following Mac apps: VectorDesigner DEVONthink XSlimmer CoverSutra Awaken iClip Overflow Cha-Ching WriteRoom Enigmo Bugdom 2 Nanosaur 2 TextExpander SoundStudio The MacHeist Bundle costs $49 and 25% of your purchase will be donated to your choice of charity. Currently, MacHeist has sold over 4,000 bundles and raised over $50,000 for charity. You can purchase a bundle at the MacHeist website.
MacHeist bundle extended with VectorDesigner, more
In a co-promote with MacRumors Live's coverage of today's little event out San Francisco way, the MacHeist team has spiced up its 12-application retail bundle with a few new additions: VectorDesigner, SoundStudio (yet to be unlocked) and TextExpander. Add those to the original suite and you've still got a great deal at $49, especially for switchers or those new to the shareware universe. As always, a significant portion of your purchase price on the MacHeist bundle goes to support worthy charities (and another portion goes to support thirsty developers).As a side bonus for those who are ordering the bundle before 10 am Pacific time tomorrow (24 hours after the start of the keynote), there's a lucky 15th app: VoodooPad. If you're up for it, check out the bundle tomorrow morning and you might find something extra in your Mac stocking.
Free alternatives to the Macheist bundle + more
Many people love the Macheist bundles because of the software. Others like the price. However, we're betting everyone will like some free alternatives to their latest collection -- despite the low price, there's always another, cheaper way. In a list of freebies compiled by Lifehacker, matching the Macheist options, there are a few standouts: For money management online without the cash layout, try replacing Cha-Ching with the free Mint website. Getting your clipboard multiplier under control can be done at a cost by iClip or freely by Jumpcut. WriteRoom, the distraction-free word processor, is replaced by the web-based DarkCopy among several other options (including Freeverse's free attention-focus tool Think). See Adam Pash's excellent article for the full rundown. Of course, the price of $49US for the Macheist bundle is pretty sweet, but many people already own or don't need several of the included applications. Following the example of LH's list, here are a couple of alternative options for the current MacUpdate promo bundle: For SoundStudio, check out the free & open source Audacity (of course, GarageBand may already be on your Mac) DVDRemaster Pro's conversion and archiving chops can be met or matched by the lovely and talented (and free) HandBrake Leap is quite cool and somewhat hard to replicate, but SpotInside is a free Spotlight enhancer that does a nice job too For the Parallels headliner, you can find cheaper or free Windows emulation/virtualization tools at VirtualBox, iEmulator, and Q Got other free suggestions for some of the bundled paid apps? Let us know.Thanks Adam P.
MacHeist retail bundle now available
Today MacHeist revealed their newest bundle of software for sale. This new software bundle is being billed as "12 Top Mac Apps" and includes the following pieces of software: Awaken Cha-Ching CoverSutra DEVONthink Personal iClip Overflow Wallet WriteRoom XSlimmer Enigmo Bugdom 2 Nanosaur 2 The bundle remains the same $49 (US) price and is now on sale through the end of the month online. Macheist also has plans to release the bundle as a boxed version in stores later this year. [via MacHeist Forums]Thanks, Chris and Alex![Update:] Please do not post MacHeist referral codes in the comments. All comments with referral codes will be deleted.
New Macheist bundle on the way
Eagle-eyed browsers of the MacHeist site may have noticed a preview video posted this afternoon that indicates a new retail bundle is just around the corner. You can't quite make out all the listed applications from the bundle, but a couple of those icons look familiar...You can get the accumulated history of MacHeist here, if you've got some time on your hands. Likely pricing for the bundle will be $49 when it comes out.
MacHeist II and Speed Download 5 resolution
We've commented on the MacHeist / Speed Download 5 saga before, and the entire episode clearly led to some heated passions. As a recap: Speed Download 4 was included in the MacHeist II bundle, and shortly thereafter Speed Download 5 was released. However, Yazsoft required MacHeist customers to pay an upgrade fee even though MacHeist II ran during a period where purchases of SD4 direct from Yazsoft were eligible for a free upgrade. Anyway, after much controversy back and forth it appears that the matter is headed towards an equitable resolution. MacHeist's John Casasanta has posted in the Macheist forums that Yazsoft is now willing to offer free SD5 upgrades to MacHeist II customers until March 27. You need only enter your MacHeist details at this webpage. Alternately, for $15 you can get two SD5 licenses plus a free upgrade to SD6. Finally, if you're already paid the $15 you can request a refund, or just keep your two SD5 licenses plus free upgrade to SD6. See Yazsoft for full details.In any case, it's good to see this matter resolved. Just remember that if you're a MacHeist II customer you have to act by March 27 to claim the free upgrade.Thanks Phill!
The Speed Download - Macheist saga
A while back we posted on the release of Speed Download 5, and that set off a firestorm in the comments. You see, Speed Download 4 was included in the recent Macheist bundle, but the developer Yazsoft was not offering free upgrades for the Macheist purchasers. This despite the fact that anyone who purchased SD 4 directly from Yazsoft between Jan 01, 2008 and Feb 12, 2008 (during which time Macheist ran) was eligible for the free upgrade. Further, Macheist purchasers were led to believe that they were getting full versions of the software included in the bundle. Yazsoft offered Macheist purchasers the same $15 upgrade price that users of SD4 who purchased before Jan 1 are eligible for.In the aftermath, Yazsoft has twice offered a rationale for their actions, basically arguing that the Macheist deal was only for SD4 which they continue to support. Yazsoft insists that they only promised free updates (within a version number), not free upgrades (to a new version number). When this didn't work they originally tried to placate the Macheist customers with a 2 for 1 deal offering them two licenses of SD5 for the same $15 upgrade price. The brouhaha also brought a response from MacHeist Director John Casasanta accusing Yazsoft of "malicious intent." Perhaps most surprising of all is that there apparently was no contract between Yazsoft and Macheist, the entire thing being settled in informal emails.Now I purchased the Macheist bundle with my own money and when SD5 was released I did not feel in any way cheated. I figured that I got a good deal on the bundle; I liked SD4 and did not really see the need to upgrade. However, there are aspects of the entire mess that call for some sort of rectification.
Macheist bundle completely unlocked
We've covered this year's Macheist a couple of times already, but they hit a milestone today and all the software, including heavy hitters CSSedit, Snapz Pro, and Pixelmator, is now unlocked. Whatever else you might think of the concept, it's a mighty good deal for all this software. I just purchased it myself and received the serial numbers immediately (excepting Cha-Ching which will shortly release a new version with new serials). In addition, Speed Download has been re-added to the bundle after appearing and disappearing earlier. Finally, they're offering a copy of LaunchBar if you can convince a friend else to buy it too.The full bundle (11 apps) remains $49 and is on sale for another 9 days.Thanks to everyone who sent this in!Update: Please do not post invite links in the comments; they will be deleted.
MacHeist bundle now on sale, includes CoverSutra
If you've got $50 burning a hole in your Paypal account, maybe some software purchasing is just the thing to quench that flame. As of midnight Tuesday, the Macheist 2 bundle is available for purchase. Although there may be some additional announcements along the way (as there were with the MacUpdate bundle), the apps bundled at the start of sales include: ChaChing (site) 1Password (site) Awaken 4.5 (site) iStopMotion (site) CoverSutra (site) TaskPaper (site) AppZapper (site) CSSedit (site), if target sales are reached Snapz Pro (site), if targets reached Pixelmator (site), as we noted earlier, if targets reached The Awaken and CoverSutra packages are exclusive versions for Macheist, so we're told. Whatever the relative merits and drawbacks of the app-bundle approach for the ISVs involved, the value of this bundle to the consumer (even if you already own one or two of the apps) is not really debatable. Note that at least a couple of the apps are 10.5 only, and the list on Macheist is definitive (so if you saw something here or in the comments that's not on the Macheist site -- go with what they're listing).Thanks to everyone who sent this in.
MacHeist 2 bundle will include Pixelmator
As the MacHeist 2 software scavenger hunt winds down this weekend, the release of the MH software bundle for full-fare paying customers is just around the corner. TUAW has learned that the contents of the bundle will be announced next week on January 9th, and pricing will be the same as last year ($49). As usual, MacHeist donates 25% of the purchase prices of the bundles to charity.What exactly is going to be in that package of code-y goodness? Well, the precise mix of apps is still under wraps; what we know right now is that there will be 10 or more products represented, with "some major names" among them. One thing that we are told will definitely be in the bundle is Pixelmator, so you'll be looking at a bargain on the basis of one $59 app by itself.
Macheist 2
Blah blah Macheist 2, blah blah bundle blah blah January. Malcor, hoax, disappointment. Charity 25%, bargain Shareware, controversy, variously upset and happy developers, blah blah blah. $200,000 raised for "important causes": United Way Int'l, Direct Relief Int'l, AIDS Research Alliance, PreventCancer.org, The Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, Global Hunger Project, and Save the Children. Your mileage may vary.
Graphic Converter 6 released
Graphic Converter from Lemkesoft is an arguably under-appreciated photo editor and basic organizer for Mac OS X. Provided free on some (maybe all?) Macs that Apple ships, it is a quietly powerful app for performing a good number of photo editing and basic retouching, and it even includes a basic photo organizer á la iPhoto, Lightroom or Aperture. For even more features, Lemkesoft just released a new v6 of Graphic Converter, bringing a long list of new and updated features, including: a save for web option basic layer support 'go to photo position' in Google Earth rulers for measuring various aspects of images support for Microsoft's new free-to-use HD Photo image format that rivals JPG compatibility with the Leopard beta and a ton more My download is still working its way to 100%, so check out the new features for yourself or download a demo. If you were a customer of this month's MacHeist / MacUpdate promo in which you scored a license for Graphic Converter 5.x, you'll be happy to know you should be receiving an email (if you haven't already) with your new license for v6. Otherwise, Graphic Converter costs just 29.95 Euros / 34.95 USD.
MacHeist giving away Linkinus
Last week I wrote about something brewing over on the MacHeist pages, and this week it looks like the project has come to fruition-- it's called Skunk Works, and in addition to the giveaways they're doing with the MacUpdate promo, they're now giving away software.Yes, signing up on that page is supposed to give you a free copy of Linkinus (up to an including 1.1, not including 1.2, so read the fine print), the IRC client we mentioned earlier this year. The app is also now included in the MacHeist version of the MacUpdate bundle (so if you already bought that, save the free copies for someone else), and MacHeist recommends that even if you get it for free, you go ahead and purchase it anyway (to support the developers). Plus, a purchase will clear you until the next major version, not just 1.1.Like some of you guys, I'm getting a little tired of all the hype around these Mac software bundles, so I've been trying to cut back on this kind of news. Still, free software is hard to pass up. If you've been looking for a substitute for Colloquy, this might be just what you need at a price you can't pass up.
MacHeist 2 hype begins with email and forum leaks
Like Mac software? Like stunts designed to promote and sell it? Then guess what, buddy-- you're in luck. It seems MacHeist 2 is just around the corner. Last year's ARG / bargain / Mac software love fest is coming around again, it seems, and while details are slim at the moment, odds are there'll be more very soon.The main site still says nothing, but over on the forums, things are starting to get interesting. First, head honcho Phill Ryu hints at something that might be a "Web 2.0" "Game thingy where you win stuff," and then shared a bunch of little pictoral hints about something called "groupthinkheist."Then, a tipster, who we'll keep anonymous, sent us word that an email had been sent announcing MacHeist 2 and sending everyone to... um... something. I couldn't get it to do anything now (you probably had to type in a code), but previously there was action going on there. That action was accompanied by more forums board talk, but apparently that talk was silenced. And all we're really left with is hype for something we knew was coming anyway.So are you all excited for MacHeist to come around again this year? I only watched from the sidelines last year, and it's really just a way to sell software (and not a very profitable way for devs, either). But it is a creative way, and I have to admit it sounds fun. What do you think?Update: Phill himself tells us this "event" is completely unrelated to MacHeist (so it definitely hasn't started yet), but that MacHeist 2 is coming later this year.Update2: If you're interested, lots more information about what's happening is showing up on this wiki.
iClip 4 beta released to MacHeist customers
Customers of the MacHeist bundle should be receiving an email offering a download link for the new iClip 4 beta that was promised. This is a new version that John Casasanta is apparently just about ready to release next week at the Macworld expo, and users are encouraged to help track down bugs and submit them to a bug reporting link provided in the MacHeist email. I can't help but wonder if Kevin Finisterre and "LMH" are getting their hands on a copy so they can sensationalize any bugs they find.
Three stories I hope will go away in 2007
Soon 2006 will be but a memory in our collective. There were many highlights, and we'll be focusing on them soon enough, however I would like to take some time to point out a few stories that I hope I will no longer have to read about in 2007: The iPod phone, nee iPhone: This product hasn't been released, and there is a chance it will never be released, and I'm already sick of it. Will it have buttons, will it just be an iPod with wireless, will it run a light version of OS X? I'm sick of the speculation, and this will be the last I have to say about it until Apple announces it (or Macworld 2007 comes to a close, whichever happens first). Gimmicky Marketing: My Dream App, Mac App A Day, MacZot, and MacHeist all captured plenty of headlines this year. Some developers loved them, some developers hated them, and most Mac users were just happy to get cheap (or free) software. Let's just move on people, these sites are simple marketing tactics. There is nothing nefarious about them, nor is there anything particularly inventive about them. If you enjoy participating in them, continue to do them. If you dislike them with the red hot passion of a thousand suns, that's cool. Can everyone just please agree to stop chattering about them? Zune/Vista bashing: Microsoft bashing is something of a staple on the Mac web, but I tire of it. I have been using Vista as one of my primary OSes since Vista Enterprise became available, and you know what? I like it. Do I like it as much as OS X? No, but it is the best version of Windows I have ever used (a title previously held by Windows 2003). As for the Zune, I have yet to see one in person but I hope that it succeeds. Apple could use a strong rival in the MP3 player space, because competition fosters innovation. Let's face it, the iPod of today is pretty much the iPod of 2 years ago with a color screen and more storage. Let's see how Apple can crush the Zune with innovation.
Developers unleash exclusive offers for MacHeist participants
One of the appeals of MacHeist that a few participating developers cited for their participation is residual sales. Things like upgrade licenses, extra plugins and add-ons can all be big boosts to a 3rd party developer's revenue, and some of MacHeist's participating devs have certainly hit the ground running. Yesterday I received my confirmation emails and licenses from RealMac Software (RapidWeaver) and Dave Watanabe (NewsFire), both with exclusive offers for MacHeist customers. First, RealMac Software is offering a 10% discount on theme packs, and Dave is offering a 'lifetime upgrade' add-on for NewsFire for a mere $11. We've also known from early on that John Casasanta has had a version 4.0 upgrade just around the corner for iClip, and MacroMates had an offer on the table since day 1 of at least 60% off an upgrade license to an upcoming version 2 release of TextMate.It will be interesting to see how all this plays out for these 3rd party developers in the coming months. I know I'm already falling in love with TextMate, and even though I use WordPress, ecto and Dreamweaver for most of my website needs, RapidWeaver is tempting me with its sexy ease of use and purty themes. The 3rd party devs, it seems, have already made a revenue statistic out of me.
