During my time here at OWC, I have cultivated my love of the Mactintosh independent software community. In the past, I have shared some software gems with you, be it here on the OWC Blog, in various QuickTips and in full-blown reviews. What I’ve always liked about independent software companies is that they often put out software that’s just as good as (and sometimes, better than) the larger software companies at a fraction of the price, so I’m generally glad to toss a few bucks their way and/or give them a featured write-up.
It’s a part of that support for independent developers that I feel the need to draw attention to a great deal going on over at MacHeist. These guys somehow manage to get together high-quality pieces of software from independent developers and bundle them together for additional savings over the already affordable prices of most independent software. For a limited time, though, they’ve got an even better price on their bundle than they usually do – FREE!
Yep. that’s right. For the next six days or so, you can register and download the MacHeist nanoBundle at absolutely no cost.
So what’s in this free bundle? Let’s take a look.
- ShoveBox by Wonder Warp Software – Catch all the little scraps of information that you can’t immediately act on, but don’t want to forget. ShoveBox sits up in your menu bar, waiting for you to drag in text, images, URLs, and more. I’ve tried this one out and I think once I get used to it, I’ll have another “indispensable” tool in my menu bar (which currently covers HALF of the bar on my 1920px wide screen).
- WriteRoom by Hog Bay Software – WriteRoom is a simple, but powerful app that provides you with a distraction-free writing environment. WriteRoom does one main thing and does it incredibly well: It’s all about writing. I often have a number of things vying for my attention, so I could see this as potentially being useful the next time I’m under deadline. It’s text on a screen, and that’s about it – no desktop, no other apps bouncing for my attention. The only thing visible is what I’m working on.
- Twitterrific by Iconfactory – Twitterrific is an exquisite app that enables you to make the most out of your Twitter experience. It has a clean user interface that’s designed to take up little of your precious desktop space. I have yet to get into the whole “Twitter” thing – I don’t think my life (or, for that matter, anybody I know) is interesting enough to merit a running commentary. But I do know that Iconfactory puts out some high-quality work, whether you’re talking about the desktop icons they’re known for or the various pieces of software they have authored.
- TinyGrab – TinyGrab is a simple, powerful app that enables you to quickly share screenshots of everything on your Mac. It seems to take whatever you’ve captured on your screen via Command-Shift-4, uploads it to a server and creates a shortened URL for you. This is another one of those things that seem like it would be great if you’re into Twitter.
- Hordes of Orcs by Freeverse – Hordes of Orcs is a Tower Defense strategy game where you build walls and towers to defend your village from orcs gone rogue. I’m not ashamed to say that this is the piece that originally caught my eye. I’ve played this game and, like just about every game of theirs, it’s loads of fun.
- Mariner Write by Mariner Software – Mariner Write is a fast, streamlined word processor that’s useful for everyone. It has a simple, elegant user interface so that you can create beautiful documents the very first time you start using it. When I was looking for an “alternative” word processor a few years ago, Mariner Write’s balanced feature set and Word compatibility landed a spot in my short, short list. While not currently a part of this promotion, if the nanoBundle gets 500,000 downloads, they’ll provide a registration code for all participants.
So that’s five (possibly six) quality Mac applications that go for between $100-$150 being offered up for free. Even if only one earns a place on your Mac, it’s well worth the price. The deal is only good for the next six days, though, so I recommend getting it right away.
Of course, if you find any or all of those particular apps to be useful and/or enjoyable, I also recommend kicking a few bucks over to the developers (through purchasing another app or even by making donations), so that development of high-quality, affordable software for Mac OS X can continue.
OWC has no affiliation with this software and receives no benefit related to this support (other than a benefit we all share in the continued support of these applications). If you appreciate the function or functionality this software offers, we encourage you to support the authors.
