MITCHISMO  Although many of you probably read reviews from most recent to least recent, I'm going to start out by saying that I'd made a negative comment (not review) regarding the company releasing a new, but paid upgrade to MacHeist purchasers shortly after the MacHeist campaign through which I purchased this program. I mention this, because they deserve kudos for making it up to users by offering them a free upgrade to 5 (with a paid upgrade to 6), or a paid upgrade to 5 (with a free upgrade to 6). Correcting course is impressive in our age of conviction beyond reason.

But now for the review:

I only review software I like and software that I've been using for while--and this one has become truly valuable to me. Like 1Password is a great application to manage passwords across browsers, this does the same for downloads--and it does it very well and very reliably, but also quickly, without bother, and ultimately faster for most downloads than a browser alone can offer.

It handles most download types, and can offer complete post-processing of downloads or no post-processing of downloads, or anything imaginable in-between. I use it only for the simple stuff, to accelerate my downloads to a maximum speed with a connection history so I can see where and when things go wrong (or simply slow down).

While I preferred v4's floating window to the design of v5, the interface is still clean, customizable, and easy to user an understand.

If you download anything (and who doesn't), this should certainly improve your experience. And while I still won't go bonkers over the price (I'll save that for MacHeist/MacUpdate bundles), I can tell you that the software is useful, stable, and kept up-to-date, and the company is willing to admit when it's made a mistake, and you can't possibly ask for something more valuable than that--so the main rating is higher than the sum of it's parts. And it's become pretty indispensable to me as well, despite the fact that it has a few shortcomings in the interface arena--but they don't bother me, and may not bother you either. You owe yourself to try it, if it sounds like something useful to you.  
(Version 5.0.3)

MITCHISMO  I'll give you that you mentioned the upgrade is a paid one, but when a user expects their license to be operational within a month of their purchase, it's easy to overlook.

This is about setting expectations among users appropriately, and that's where you failed. When people don't expect to see that their license to the current version has expired so quickly, they don't see it. It's not that we're stupid users, it's that you are backing into a legal interpretation of your language to get out of the expectations you set, however mistakenly, in the bundle.

In case you haven't gotten the idea, your customers are as angry as you are that there was confusion over what constitutes and 'update' and what constitutes an 'upgrade'. But customers don't fail when business get angry. Businesses fail when customers are angry. And whether you feel it justified or not, it seems there are more people surprised by your strategy than accepting of it.

This is a marketing blunder plain and simple--and insisting that you are justified in correcting our naive misimpression is only making the rift between you and your customers deeper.

If you haven't yet recognized what's happening, you're on the verge of creating a boycott among some of the most enthusiastic and vocal users of Mac-software in the world--and continuing to assert your position is going to cost you far more than you earned participating in Mac Heist.

I don't speak for Mac Heist, but I'm comfortable that most of it's participants will agree that you would have been better off never offering your software in the bundle in the first place if you knew an upgrade was coming. Fortunately your app wasn't a key one for me; if it were, I'd be doing more with my frustration than making posts to forums.  
(Version 5.0)

MITCHISMO  Conceded--but when a user expects their license to be operational within a month of their purchase, it's easy to overlook.

I'll give you that you mentioned the upgrade is a paid one, but I will not give you any new registrations.

This is about setting expectations among users appropriately, and that's where you failed. When people don't expect to see that their license to the current version has expired so quickly, they don't see it. It's not that we're stupid users, it's that you are backing into legalese to get out of the expectations you set in the bundle.

In case you haven't gotten the idea, we're as angry as you are that there was confusion over what constitutes and update and what constitutes an upgrade. But customers don't fail when business get angry. Businesses fail when customers are angry. And whether you feel it justified or not, it seems there are more people surprised by your strategy than accepting of it.

This is a marketing blunder of large proportions--and insisting that you are justified in correcting our naive misimpression is only making the rift between you and your customers deeper.  
(Version 5.0)

MITCHISMO  "Thank you for understanding."

Don't you flatter yourself. Understand this: you have been uninstalled from my computer as well as my friends and customers who purchased the MacHeist Bundle. You could have avoided this simply by waiting another few weeks--but this is a terrible, terrible practice and one that will not be rewarded with any new licenses from my corner.

It's terrible when great engineering is slaughtered by bone-headed marketing, but it's refreshing to know this isn't just a problem with large corporations, but one that can be shared by little guys like you, who will likely remain little.  
(Version 5.0)

MITCHISMO  You really ought to have warned MacHeist buyers--or all users for that matter--that by pressing "upgrade" they weren't getting something they were licensed to use.

I can't imagine this slipped by you--but whatever publicity you got offering this package in the first place is very quickly being replaced by negative feeling and you should remedy that.  
(Version 5.0)

MITCHISMO  A modern remake of one of Intellivision's most addictive titles, Shark Shark!!! The simple purpose, eat fish smaller than you while avoiding those larger than you, is extended into a multi-stage adventure. The graphics are excellent for the very friendly resolution and requirements. A must try for any arcade style fan, retro gaming fan, or casual gamer.  
(Version 1.0.1)

MITCHISMO  A modern remake of one of Intellivision's most addictive titles, Shark Shark!!! The simple purpose, eat fish smaller than you while avoiding those larger than you, is extended into a multi-stage adventure. The graphics are excellent for the very friendly resolution and requirements. A must try for any arcade style fan, retro gaming fan, or casual gamer.  
(Version 1.0.1)

MITCHISMO  But, to be clear, if you purchased the MU bundle already, there is nothing one can do to get the MH bundle extras without buying another bundle, yes?  
(Version )

MITCHISMO  This was such a head start, I went ahead to take this opportunity to register all of my unpaid-for shareware. :) That's the kind of good will such great offers make.  
(Version )

MITCHISMO  I do love this deal, but I would have liked Write Room had I waited and purchased through MH rather than MU.

The way I justify that is that I got a membership for promoting the deal as I would have promoted anyway (thanks MH!).

And I wasn't expecting Intaglio.  
(Version )

MITCHISMO  This promotion was a fascinating one and one from which we all, promoters and purchasers alike, will have opinions. In fact, it's more like two promotions, one by Mac Heist and one by Mac Update, each of which are related but are not the same. This, for me, was the most curious aspect, and even though I'm not sure I chose the best of the two, I'm still very pleased with my result.

None-the-less, I hope Mac Heist and Mac Update either develop either a better relationship, so the benefits one's strategy for a last minute spike can be shared by all buyers, or a more competitive one where each will try to out-bundle the other, but there won't be the unpleasant if not unnecessary conundrum of whose promotion to get; for while I'm very happy with my MU membership, I admit I would have been swayed by MH's inclusion of Write-Room.  
(Version )

MITCHISMO  Kudos again to Mac Update for offering this promotion, improving the description, and extending the benefits as they relate to membership.

$49 for the first 7 apps was a great deal, for the first 8 even better, for the first 8 and a membership--that's already an unexpected bonus. If we reach Intaglio (and I think we may)--wow. I'll be ecstatic.

Thanks Mac Heist and Mac Update. I don't know how many people I speak for, but I have never been happier with a software bundle or a purchase process.

Not only is this the most helpful collection of applications I've seen available in a package since iLife/iWork, but it's been the most exciting, most fun, and overall-best Shareware purchasing experience I've ever had.

Do this again for an equally excellent set of applications (although it's almost difficult to imagine what more I need!), you'll have me again on day 1.  
(Version )

MITCHISMO  Okay--I took part in the fray, now let me say a word about the promo.

Graphic Converter is unbelievably great as a converter. Batch conversions are easy to create and execute--easier even than the high profile glossy photo editors. It's also a damn fine viewer for those files for which keeping a history isn't necessary and saving space is a premium.

I have a ReplayTV that is very picky about the kinds of jpegs it allows (no progressive scan's allowed). Graphic Converter is an excellent, simple, fast, and high-quality way to do that.

Amadeus Pro: I'm surprised more of you haven't used this. It is the best audio editor out there--better than Sound. If you want to modify, fade, join, or in any other way adjust an mp3, it's the tool to use. In fact, it's also, like Graphic Converter, one of the finest Shareware apps I've used in any category.

Garageband is a great music program, but for editing and modifying audio files, there's none better than Amadeus. It's beautiful, mac-like, fast, easy, and functional. For me, it was the deal-maker.

Little Snitch: It does what it says and says what it does. It requires some knowledge of basic networking, but for anyone curious about the

comings and goings of network traffic, it's the tool to have.

iWow: It's a great iTunes plug-in. I used to have a similar program by a different manufacturer, but basically it's a way of increasing the headroom of audio, making it sound more open, like it's in a larger space with wider dynamics than standard speakers. It does the job great. If you've been playing with the EQ just to improve the sound, this will do what you've been hoping for. I'm going to keep using it even though I wasn't seeking it out. For me, it's the surprise gem of the bunch.

As for Fetch and Cocktail, I prefer Transmit and Onyx. That said, Fetch is the old reliable of mac FTP apps. My wife swears by it and has always used it. It's, in a word, venerable. Cocktail is prettier and simpler than Onyx, but they are largely similar. It's largely a matter of preference.

Profcast: I haven't used it, but I'm excited at the prospect of making podcasts from Keynote presentations. It almost seems like an oversight Apple didn't do this already. Filling in a gap like this is ingenious.

GarageSale: Creating an Ebay ad isn't difficult, but making it look professional can be. I'm impressed with the iApp like interface, but I don't use Ebay much. That said, I have a million things to sell and fully intend to use it when I do, considering I have a license for it and all. Another little gift--which reminds me of the brilliance of this plan:

There are Apps here that cover all the major Mac bases: Graphics, Audio Production, Web Production, Etc... If you pay a little more (or, in some cases, a little less) you get all of these other apps--all of which are highly regarded, useful, and actively maintained by their developers. Even if they didn't draw you in, like iApps, you'll begin doing these things by virtue of the fact that you can. And that's mighty Mac-like too.

As far as Intaglio and TTP--I'd like a simpler and (more affordable) free-style graphics editor (for generating rather than modifying images), but I haven't looked around for one. So I certainly hope this benchmark is reached. It would make my mind up for me. TTP would be a great bonus as well, but I'm going to also avoid using it as incentive to buy because, as far as I'm concerned, for $49 you really don't need one. And, honestly, while Tech Tool Pro can repair some volume structure problems disk repair cannot, it's mostly just going to offer you diagnostics--useful only in telling you whether something is broken. Running volume tests on a broken drive not only won't rescue the data, but it may make the remaining data more difficult to recover. That said, it does have volume recover features, but they are only truly effective if you use them proactively.  
(Version )

MITCHISMO  Just for the record, when I used the term "bitching" to describe those complaining that for $49 they should get the bundle and a membership, its usage did not indicate a sexual or gender-related bias. Perhaps it has a canine bias, but I actually find dogs to be easier to please than most people. That's not a complaint--it's just a fact.

In the end, for those early purchasers who feel that they were promised a membership, they should take that up with MacUpdate directly. Driving people away from this software package by discussing it here does a disservice not only to Mac Update, but to the developers of these applications, potential users of these applications, and to you, yourself, as a purchaser--not to mention the rest of us who may have arrived later but were not misled at all about what they were getting themselves into.

I'd like to see us get to 10,000 users. If a few hundred early purchasers are willing to sabotage the potential of getting Intaglio and TTP over $20 rather than patiently contacting Mac Update more directly, that bothers me. It also bothers me when a few parties who were dissatisfied try to gloss over how great a deal this was, is, and hopefully will be if a few squeaky wheels keep mucking it up.

Lastly, because "bitching" was complained about by someone strewing about the word "Pirate"--I'd like to remind them that in common parlance, a Pirate is a thief.

And to suggest that women can't equally handle "street language" is sexist in itself.  
(Version )

MITCHISMO  I love this package. It was worth $49 for 7 apps, and even more worth it for 8. I can't believe how much bitching there is about this.

This is an awesome deal and a chance for me to register a bunch of the shareware I've already been using for one low price. It's fantastic. AS IS.

If you don't like it, submit comments to improve the next bundle. But don't sabotage this deal for customers or MU. Just stop bitching and start using some of this good stuff!  
(Version )

MITCHISMO  This is a fabulous game--elegant, customizable, multi-player, testable, and visually beautiful. A take on classic ballistic games of the scorched earth variety, this makes it 3d. The simple array of weapons cover all of the bases, and the game is all about maximum damage with minimal effort. Barrels cause splash damage, as do grenades--and splash damage is the key--getting as many buildings at once.

I purchased the game months ago, the developer is friendly and helpful, and the game just keeps getting better and better. Buy a license, try the multi-player. Complete with integrated chat and statistics, this game includes everything it should without burdening the user with a complicated interface or a steep learning curve.

I play it all the time.  
(Version 1.5.5)