Hi Everyone,
It's always nice to see the exposure and support MacRumors gives our bundles. I can only speak for our bundle, but to answer some of the questions:
1. Most of the titles in our bundle have never been in another bundle (or, if they have, the versions we're selling represent a paid upgrade from the previous version that might have been in a bundle, meaning they still deliver additional value), this includes:
- Parallels Desktop 8
- DEVONthink Pro 2 (the Pro version has never been in a bundle, period)
- Prizmo 2 (no version has ever been in a bundle)
- 1000 OpenType Fonts
- iStat Menus 4
- Mac Internet Security 2013
2. Regarding paid upgrades, we ensure that no developer has a new version that you would have to pay for on the horizon for at least 3 months after our bundle, and to the best of my understanding I don't expect any paid upgrades for any of the titles in our bundle to emerge for at least 6 months.
Even with paid upgrades, you'll generally end up ahead with our bundles (and of course the version you buy as part of the bundle will continue to work as it does now, it's not as if apps stop working when a new version is released).
For instance, the upgrade price from DEVONthink Pro 1 to DEVONthink Pro 2 is $30. Assuming the same pricing is in place when version 3 emerges one day, you will be able to go from our bundle ($49.99) to DEVONthink Pro 3 (+$30) for the same price as DEVONthink Pro 3 would cost by itself ($79.99). But you get to use DEVONthink Pro 2 in the mean time, and you get 9 other apps!
Even in the case where the upgrade math isn't quite as favorable, the value is still apparent. Parallels Desktop gets upgraded on an annual basis (usually in Q4) and upgrades costs $49.99. The cost of acquiring Parallels Desktop 8 now as part of our bundle ($49.99) plus the upgrade to version 9 (+$49.99) totals only $20 more than what version 9 would cost you to buy when it's released. Yet for that extra $20 you've been able to use version 8 for many months and got 9 other apps.
3. In terms of Parallels vs. Fusion, MacTech did an exhaustive comparison and once again found Parallels delivers better performance and battery life (in some cases substantial differences; 40% better battery life and 50% better performance in some tests). VirtualBox isn't really a competitor, it's a much more basic solution with none of the OS X integration or graphics support that Parallels and Fusion both offer. It's free, which is nice, but any regular virtual machine users will see a big improvement going to Parallels Desktop.
http://www.mactech.com/2013-01/virtualization-benchmarks
4. Regarding Apple's App Store and MacUpdate Desktop, the App Store will only update the apps you buy/download from the App Store. Obviously none of the apps in our bundles are App Store apps, and there are thousands of other titles that aren't on the App Store. MacUpdate Desktop also doesn't just manage apps, but also many plug-ins and preference panes, which the AppStore does not support.
5. Regarding DEVONthink Pro and scanners (eldaria's comment), the Pro Office version offers improved native support for scanners (scanning directly to the app), but nothing prevents you from scanning the document as you normally would and then dragging the PDF to DEVONthink Pro. This is how I personally use DEVONthink Pro and my ScanSnap S510M. Upgrades from the Pro version ($79.99) to the Pro Office version ($149.99) can be purchased for $70 from
http://www.devontechnologies.com/discounts/upgrade-assistant.html
Of course, thanks to our bundle being only $49.99 it means you can get the Pro Office for a net cost of just $119.99... a $30 savings, plus you get 9 other apps.
We'll be keeping an eye on this thread in case any other questions or concerns come up. Thanks for your support!
Misha
macupdate.com