How does getting $458 worth of software for only $49 sound?
That’s what MacBundleBox 5 is offering again: twelve applications with a combined worth of $458 for only $49. To top it off, this time around 10% of the revenue from this sale will go to Charity: Water, a non-profit effort to bring clean, safe drinking water to developing countries around the world.
Back in March, MacBundleBox 4 donated 5% of the total revenue to Charity: Water; $7,000 was raised by the end of the promo. Think of what 10% can do.
I’ve participated in promos like these before, namely MacHeist and MacUpdate, and in all cases I was glad I got the bundle. How do I decide whether a bundle promo is worth it or not? If there are two or three apps that I like that is part of a bundle, and when bought separately will have a total cost equal or more than the cost of the bundle, I’m sold.
However, this time around MacBundleBox 5 is not for me:
- Freeway Express, Simon, : a DTP-based application and a site monitoring tool. I wouldn’t know what to do with these.
- Jumsoft Keynote Themes 8: Includes 25 high-quality themes. Too bad I’m not doing presentations anymore.
- DEVONthink: I already got this as part of either MacHeist or MacUpdate. I tried using it but I don’t have the discipline to put everything into one place. I prefer having them all scattered around. Counter-productive, I know.
- myNotes: I got Circus Ponies‘ Notebook and I like it. It worked for me a bit but I stopped using it. It’s a great product but I just need to re-train myself. There’s also Evernote. It’s free and you can upload your notes online so you can access them anywhere as long as you have a computer and internet.
- iCash, Chronicle: Finance-related apps. iCash is used to keep track of incomes, expenses, credits, debits, and bank transactions. Chronicle is for keeping track of your bills. I use Cha-Ching as my personal finance tool (got it from MacHeist) and I think it can also be used to keep track of bills and tell you when one is due.
- DaisyDisk: looks for ‘big, useless files’ so you can trash them. I got GrandPerspective (free) and OmniDiskSweeper (free) for that.
- Web2Delight: for searching images or videos from the web. Maybe it’s cumbersome but Google works well enough for me.
- xHub: a Front Row alternative. I don’t use Front Row at all. I have iTunes and VLC for all my multimedia needs.
- Stomp: a video re-compressor. I don’t work with videos at all, so this is not a big thing for me. I do have Handbrake and iSquint on my Applications Folder, but they’re not available anymore as they’ve been discontinued by the developer.
- Exces: just one click to protect your sensitive files or documents. I don’t have a use for it right now. I already know of an alternative using Finder. It’s clumsy but it works. At least I hope it does.
I am not discouraging anyone from purchasing this bundle. I’ve purchased three bundles in the past and they were all worth it. It’s just that right now, MacBundleBox 5 isn’t compelling enough for me to plunk down $49.
This is a very good way to encourage Mac users to purchase legitimate software and stop pirating. When I started using a Mac, I made a conscious decision that I would stop pirating software. Now, all applications in my iMac are all legit save for one: I haven’t used that one app for a long time and I’m ready to delete it.
If you see two or three applications on the list that you think are going to be useful, I suggest you purchase the bundle. Remember, this is $458 worth of apps which you can for only $49. Also, 10% of the total revenue will go to Charity: Water.
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