To me, the redeeming quality of MacHeist is that it gets people paying for indie software.
Between commercial MegaSoftware (Microsoft Office, Adobe CS) and the open source wilderness, there’s a divide where software is either free (as in beer, ha ha) or very expensive. There’s a lot of commercial software — usually indie — that is reasonably priced, but since it’s not $1000 a lot of folks seem to think it should be free.
Transmit is a good example. Everyone is always asking me for a Transmit serial. No. Pay for it, it’s worth every penny.
Even though MacHeist apps aren’t bought at full price, they establish a precedent for the user: “I’ve paid for independent software. I use software that isn’t open source, and didn’t cost me a thousand dollars.”
I sure hope those Tweetblasts were a one-time deal, though. As Wil Shipley tweeted, “Some things are only ‘clever’ once. After that, annoying.”
And no, by the way, I didn’t buy the package. Even though I’d like a copy of World of Goo. The last thing I need is fourteen more apps to evaluate and decide if I want to incorporate into my daily life. I get new tools when I have a purpose for them.
