phill
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TUAW Exclusive: MacHeist details
From the people who brought you My Dream App comes the next big thing in Mac software. You might have seen other sites talking about MacHeist, but unlike everyone else in our little corner of the internet, we actually know what MacHeist is all about. Here's what we know: The eventual product of the site will be a deeply discounted software bundle only made available to users. I've had a look at the contents of the bundle as they stand so far, and they are, as those crazy kids say "killer dude" Dozens of Mac developers have signed up to participate in MacHeist Throughout the event, users can participate in mysterious "heists" to gain an even deeper discount on the bundle as well as special freebies. The event will be invitation only, at least for the first couple of weeks, with users selected out of those who signed up on the MacHeist or My Dream App sites. This encrypted message has appeared on the MacHeist RSS feed: 3><(||_|$1\/1+`/ \X/@|\|+ +|-|3 1|\|$1[)3 $(00|* @|\|[) @ |-|3@[) $+@|2+? 1|\|q|_|1|23 +|-||20|_|6|-| +|-|3 @|*|*|20|*|21@+3 (|-|@|\||\|3|$. Even with what little info we do have, it sounds like MacHeist will be just as much fun as My Dream App, if not more so, and full of great deals to boot!
7 apps that Leopard kills
Phill Ryu, a man who must have some sort of direct neural interface with the Mac shareware community, has posted a list of applications which could very likely be killed off by features of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard which were announced yesterday. Seasoned OS X users will have immediately seen parallels between many of the new Leopard features and software that has been available for some time. Most obviously, Spaces are just fancy names for virtual desktops; something that can be easily achieved by VirtueDesktops, DesktopManager, and VirtualDesktop Pro. The new application launching features of Spotlight take aim at popular applications such as LaunchBar, Butler, and my personal favorite of OS X applications, Quicksilver. With iChat, tabs kill off Chax, live presentations kill off ShowMacster, and backgrounds kill of ChatFX.Be sure to click through to the original post for all the other apps now lining up at the unemployment window, and to see what the shareware developers themselves have to say about the announcements.Update: Buddy'o'mine and BarCamp mastermind Chris Messina has a similar post.
Phill Ryu announces Fake Leopard Screenshot Contest
Its been a big week for Phill Ryu. The shareware developer who only began blogging at the beginning of the month has already been featured on these very pages, as well as Digg and Slashdot. To celebrate his success and stimulate the creativity of the Mac blogosphere, Phill has announced The Fake Leopard Screenshot Contest. The idea is as simple as it sounds; design and present a concept of what you think Leopard will (or should), look like. Three winners will be selected by a panel consisting of some of the top OS X shareware developers along with the staff of MacThemes. The three lucky winners will receive a software library that would otherwise cost over $900 bucks to amass. Each winner will also receive a trophy designed and engraved by Adam Betts of MacThemes, creator of the Adium duck we know and love. Entries are due at noon EST on the 22nd, and the winners will be announced 2 days later.This looks like a lot of fun, and will surely bring some fabulous ideas and designs out of the woodwork. It's great to see the shareware community working together like this on something that is fun for everyone, even those who don't enter.
