Ah, the controversy. To update or not to update?

To update or not to update? That is the question.

Just how quickly do we as end users, really need to see updates to our software? Especially shareware or donation-ware? There's a lot of hype and hullabaloo about the "Delicious Generation" apps, MacHeist & Yazsoft, etc. But seriously, are we aiming for functional software or have we fallen victim to application bloat across the board? (thanks MS!)

I started with a noble goal last year — or at least a self-serving goal that I thought others might find useful — of doing application comparisons for Mac apps, since there seem to be quite a few similar apps in a variety of categories. It was a good thought but, with the myriad updates and upgrades that come out at breakneck speed for many of them, I'd need a staff to keep up with pinning down the comparisons. I see why there isn't much of anyone out there trying to compare features for people to attempt to make an informed decision about which one is the best for their use.

I'd love to actually keep doing side-by-side comparisons but seriously, with a full-time job, a family and — gasp — interests beyond my computer, it's becoming less practical. Maybe I'll try to continue with a huge disclaimer that there is no way one lone person can possibly keep up with all the updates let alone some of the major upgrades so I can't guarantee them to be fully up-to-date. (-:

I have the dashboard widget App Update. It's a great tool. One that I find more immediate and useful than MacUpdate or Versiontracker for my needs. But man, it growls me nearly daily that I've got 45... or 51... or 62 updates. I'm constantly installing updates. Then a major upgrade rolls around and I haven't even had time to look over 1/2 the "features" of the current version but... they've added more! Do I spend the $10 - $15 - $19.95? Do I really need the upgrade because of OS compatibility or just for something new and shiny or a feature I may never use?

The controversy comes in when you have a situation like the Yazsoft auto-update, which pushed the .v5 paid upgrade if you had the auto-update toggle selected. I've found that another app used the update path to upgrade my app as well — GarageSale. )-:

To be fair, iwascoding did state in the update screen that 4.x was a paid upgrade. Eventually Yazsoft put the warning in their update engine too, but the damage was done. If you selected auto-update you were suddenly a "trial user" of .v5.

Silly me, I thought I had GarageSale 4.0 and I was just updating not upgrading my app. Turns out I didn't. Part of my confusion on this was my receipt for a bundle from MacUpdate via their mupromo. Apparently the receipt page constantely updates the version to the current version of each app rather than staying static with the version you bought in the bundle. [sigh]

If the app is working it's magic for you, do you really need to see updates every few weeks? Bug fixes, perhaps, if enough people are really having issues. I can understand the possibility of developer burnout given the speed of update expectations that seem to be out there in a certain segment of the marketplace. Is there a happy medium that could be reached to keep devs in business (and working on something) while not quite the constant bombardment of updates? I just don't know. )-:

Nearing $300K for charity, a little over $20K to go...

If you are seriously considering a purchase and haven't yet participated in MacHeist check out the Forums before you buy. There are loads of folks looking for buyers to use their referral links so they can earn an additional free app or two. Acts of kindness are appreciated and will help you gather positive karma. (-:

The bundle stands at 14 applications with a retail value of $498.60 if you were to buy direct from the developers. At $49 - that's a tad over 90% off. You won't often find a deal that sweet!

You currently have 2 days and a few hours to make up your mind. Download some of the apps and give 'em a test run. No-one is asking you to buy sight unseen. You might find that there is something that was just the app you needed, with the rest as a nice bonus to make use of or gift to folks (yup, that's an option too).

MacHeist Adds The Best Of Show App, VectorDesigner!

VectorDesigner, usually $69, won Best of Show at Macworld expo and has been garnering huge praise from the Mac community. This will push the MacHeist bundle value to just under $500. Crazy!


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VectorDesigner added to MacHeist bundle

VectorDesigner was just added to the MacHeist bundle, to be unlocked for all customers when $300,000 is raised for charity.

[Since a friend kindly bought a bundle by directly asking for my referral code and a couple others convinced me I should really put the link back into my blog... if you click on over to MacHeist via this LINK I'll get credit for the referral. When just ONE person does that I'll revert this link to go to the main page.]

A big thank you to the anonymous person who clicked and bought! As promised, the link goes straight to the main page now. Keep those purchases coming though... (-:

Not only are you getting a bevy of really great Mac apps (Switchers, this is a dream bundle at $49 to get you up and running on your shiny new Mac system) but what a fantastic amount to be distributing to charity! Let's hit $300,000!!

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MacHeist II bundle passes $200,000 for charity!!

The folks behind MacHeist must be mighty pleased with this year's event. The bundle sales are over 19K and they've handily broken the $200K barrier for charity. How about pushing to 23K+ and $250K for charity?

If you were still on the fence about buying a bundle and haven't looked at it while you were blinded by all the other cool stuff coming out of MacWorld this week, you might want to give it another look.

There are a couple of Freeverse games in there now — WingNuts 2 and Tiki Magic Mini Golf — and if you manage to get a couple referrals under your belt you can make it 15 apps by grabbing Launchbar and NoteBook.

Live Coverage Of Macworld 2008 Keynote

The Mac Observer offering live coverage of today's keynote address.

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MacHeist - Pixelmator is unlocked

The whole bundle is now unlocked! Enjoy 10 + 1 apps and wait for the second surprise announcement.

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It just keeps getting better - MacHeist II - Take a look

Head over to MacHeist and check out the deal!

There's lot to offer and potentially more to come.

[edit] so I did have my referral link up here for the "refer a friend" promo to get the additional apps. Too much controversy for me at the moment so I've removed it. If you click on MacHeist, that's what you get, the main page for MacHeist.

I like getting inexpensive or even free apps as much as the next Mac addict but, I've now been shamelessly spammed with invite links from a few sources they shouldn't have come from and I'm not going to push my personal referral anymore.

I still totally enjoy the community and can highly recommend buying a bundle if you find the apps, any one of them, useful. It's a great deal!

CSSEdit unlocked and added to the Macheist II Bundle

5000 bundles sold, CSSEdit is unlocked and is now in the MacHeist bundle. The next target is to reach $100,000 for charity to unlock Snapz Pro X!


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Speed Download added to the MacHeist bundle! CSSEdit soon...

The hugely popular download accelerator for OS X, Speed Download ($29.95) has been added as a surprise bonus app to the MacHeist bundle! And with CSSEdit about to unlock, this is on track to be the best bundle yet. BOOM!

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Macheist II Bundle Details Released!!

What a buy!

If there are just 1-2 apps that appeal to you in this bundle it might be worth looking into - especially the pricier ones you might have been looking at but didn't have the cash to buy. The tie in to charity is a nice bonus that is being repeated from MacHeist I as well. (-:

You have 14 days to try out the software, decide if it's for you and then take advantage of the great offer. Give it a look - MacHeist.


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Macheist Bundle 2 Out Now!

Cool mac apps at a great price.

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This is it! One more day for the current Drobo discount

Folks, seriously, if you haven't purchased your Drobo yet and you weren't lucky enough to get one for a cool holiday gift, you should go to the Drobostore and take advantage of the $25 discount available with the code REFJENL!

The current discount ends December 31, 2007 — just in time to get your order in, to enjoy the New Year with your New Drobo!

Grab Ambrosia's WireTap Pro for free!

The venerable Mac software developer, Ambrosia, is distributing WireTap Pro for free today to all. The software records audio from your Mac, and is normally $19.Click on the link and sign up to join us on the latest heists put together by the MacHeist Crew.

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Still time to grab a Drobo to for holiday gift giving. (-:

Don't forget that there is still an instant $25 rebate discount available on the Drobo. Just use the code REFJENL when you are checking out at the Drobostore and get that cool present for the person in your life who is constantly running out of hard drive space!

Gotta Love it... the ease of using an iPhone for taking and viewing photos

This ease of use demonstration was given to us by my 6 year old son.

It was time to upgrade — read: swap out for another not as easy to use as we might hope — phone for my parents. There were two phones we could get for "free" after rebate — not so free after accessories — or a couple that would cost ~$25 plus accessories. While we're all aware that none of the major cell carriers have offered the consumer real value overall, I have been with AT&T/Cingular/AT&T for quite a while now. We've done okay with our family plan and we aren't the type of family that needs the latest phones with all the bells and whistles. We wouldn't make use of most of the "features", nor are we eager to generate the bill that accompanies them on 4 lines.

While we were sorting out the choice of phone for my parents, my son gravitated to the display with the lone 8 GB iPhone near the door. My husband noticed that he was playing with the iPhone and thought he was just attempting to take photos of the display area. Lo-and-behold my son located the camera function, set up his Star Wars Lego minifigs — nearly always in tow where ever we go — and was taking pictures of them!

Then, in the process of telling me that we needed to buy that very phone (the display phone) so he could take his pictures home, he navigated to the photo gallery to show me the photos he had taken. He even corrected his Dad with regard to locating the photo gallery when my husband attempted to help him get to the photos to show me. (-;

Sheesh. You hear these stories — I've been a Mac user since 1985— and you think, "hmmm, nice marketing but it can't really be that easy to use!" Though I can't vouch for any other features, because I don't anticipate getting my own until after MacWorld 2008, I can certainly say that it's darned easy to navigate the use of camera and photo gallery at least... my 6 year old is proof of that. (-:

The bummer was, though we managed to surf the web on it, no email was set up. We couldn't send the photos to ourselves... and they were pretty good pics too. )-:

Drobo discount pricing for current owners... watch your email!

One of the reasons I register my hardware is to get notifications from the companies for exactly something like this! Data Robotics sent out an email to current Drobo owners... come and get a second one at a nifty discount. It's a great deal too. So, if you haven't checked your email or you overlooked that little tidbit from Data Robotics, go back and look at the offer. It might just be worth it to you to get an additional unit.

If you haven't gotten off the fence yet and purchased a Drobo, you can still get a discount. The $25 evangelist discount is good through December 31st. Just use the REFJENL code for the instant discount.

If you have questions you need answered before making the purchase decision, check out the Drobo Community and get the skinny on how folks are making use of their units.

It's baaack, just when you thought you couldn't get a deal on a Drobo!

So, Data Robotics decided the program was so successful with us Evangelists that they are giving us a chance to once again pass a $25 savings on to you though December 31! That's right, you can take a $25.00 discount by going to the Drobo Store and using the code REFJENL to take $25 off a really cool storage device. And, since it's good through December that means you can pick one up as a holiday gift for that person who has everything — except enough storage for all their videos, music and photos.

Why not head over to the Apple Store and toss an iTunes Gift Card into the box as well! What Mac addicted computer user wouldn't love that combination?

I'm throwing tons of video at mine and loving the access over my Airport Extreme.

Take a look at the YouTube video to give an idea about the Drobo if you haven't seen or heard about it yet.



And, here's another review of the Drobo from I4U News.

Check out a really cool piece of data storage equipment and grab a disount too!

Wouldn't a reverse lawsuit feel wonderful about now? (-;

It would be oh so tempting to put together a class action lawsuit aimed at people like this:

Woman Sues Apple Over iPhone Price Cut

As some prominent reporters and bloggers have noted, no good deed goes unpunished.

$1M in damages! Get real. Let's see, and you think that will do exactly what to future pricing? Some people really are whiny, greedy idiots at times.

For a couple more views on this:

Pogue's column at the NYT

MacRumors forum discussion

Taking a moment to breathe

Wow, what a busy August and hectic beginning of September I've had. Taking a moment to breathe I've enjoyed catching up on some current happenings.

What a delightful blog entry Chris Breen wrote on his blog Sept. 11.

Indeed, the iPod Wow is still there. I haven't become quite as Jaded as Mr. Breen, though I've lived through from the first release to the current amazing offerings as well. (-;

I face the quandry of a few other writers... which one do I set aside the money for. iPhone? iPod Touch? 160 GB Classic. Decisions, decisions.