Parallels, TechTool Pro, Civilization IV, more

MacUpdate has kicked off its Spring 2011 software bundle offer, featuring a number of apps (or their current versions) that are making debut appearances in a bundle of any kind, and totalling 10 applications (11 for the first 10,000 buyers) for $50, an 87 percent discount off the normal combined retail price of $381. Highlights of the bundle include Parallels Desktop 6, TechTool Pro 5, 1Password 3 and for the first time, MacUpdate's own MacUpdate Desktop v5.

Also included in the bundle is MacDVDRipper Pro 2 (normally $10) along with DVDRemaster Pro 7 (normally $50), which between them allow users to copy DVDs onto the Mac in digital format and recompress them or export them for maximum savings to mobile devices, AppleTV or other mediums; a two-way firewall and security application called Hands Off! ($25); the reniceing utility App Tamer ($15), which manages processes and pauses apps in the background to devote more CPU to foreground apps, also saving battery life when on the road; A Better Finder Rename 8 ($20) for bulk-renaming of files; Sid Meier's Civilization IV ($20), a former Game of the Year winning turn-based strategy game, and the first 10,000 buyers will also receive the powerful workspace manager Divvy ($14).

All but two of the applications offered are the complete versions as sold directly by the developers -- the MacUpdate Desktop subscription is for six months rather than the full year (normally $20), while TechTool Pro 6 has just begun shipping (it is not yet clear what upgrade path Micromat will offer buyers of TechTool 5, which is offered in this bundle). Additionally, the developers of 1Password are offering buyers the choice of taking the Windows version if they would like to use the program with Parallels (or already own the Mac version). Parallels v6 is a very recent update which found the Windows virtualization environment besting its longtime rivals in speed tests overall for the first time.

The bundle deal runs until the end of the month, and MacUpdate is offering a double-DVD "hard copy" of the bundle (fully registered) for an additional $10. The double-DVD set includes a bootable TechTool Pro DVD (the normal bundle includes a bootable TTP image file that users can burn to their own DVD).

by MacNN Staff