It seems like a good idea. Get a bunch of indie Mac developers, package their stuff together for $50 and 25% of sales go to charity. Better yet, the more bundles sold, the more apps in the deal as additional apps are unlocked as the total goes up.

Last year I didn’t buy the package because I was still spending too much time on the PC side of my computer. This year, I’m 98% a Mac user, so I thought I’d want to participate. Unfortunately, I think I’d rather donate $50 to charity and skip the deal. I can’t justify it based on the apps exposed so far:

1Password (password database) – Love it. Bought and paid for months ago. It was one of the first applications I bought and installed when I switched my primary browser to the Mac side, as a matter of fact.

CoverSutra (iTunes player) – This one almost got me, looks sweet. But I don’t listen to music that much on my Mac. Most of the time, I’m listening to podcasts, and this app doesn’t appear to do much for that.

Cha-Ching (personal finance manager) – Interesting. I’m so entrenched with Quicken to automatically keep my desktop check register in sync with the bank and pay my bills that I can’t see this giving me a reason to switch.

iStopMotion (stop motion animation builder) – I’m just not a photography gal, I’m even less of a video-making gal. Next.

Awaken (alarm utility) – Computer is not in the bedroom. I rarely use alarms. Can’t remember the last time. Next.

Speed Download (download utility) – Looks interesting and well done, but in my case it’s a solution looking for a problem I don’t have.

AppZapper (uninstaller) – Great app for getting rid of all those stray .plist and cache files after you trash another application. Already own it.

TaskPaper (task & list manager) – I use and prefer OmniFocus now. Next.

CSSEdit (web development editor) – Really nice application. However, I now find that Firebug suits all my CSS needs (which aren’t much these days).

SnapzProX (screen shots & movies) – I have a license for the $29 version and last used it quite some time ago. With Jing and Skitch, I can’t see a need or use.

Plus if I refer folks, I can get LaunchBar which I already own and use.

So, part of the problem (purely from an end-user perspective) with MacHeist is that it’s not designed for someone like me who tends to have a weakness for buying small apps. Everything I like in the list, I’ve already bought. What’s left isn’t worth $50 to me.

I would love to see something fun…like towns that have “Taste of…” nights. Pay the $50 and get points that you can spend at the websites of a bunch of participating developers. Then you visit the sites and go shopping, picking the specially-marked applications that best suit your needs. An app that retails for $70 might be worth 15 points, while a $12 app might only cost you 5. Or whatever. The point is to be more about the true value to the end user in providing applications they actually care about and will use (and will upgrade, hint hint) rather than $368.75 worth of software for $50 that will sit unused in the Applications folder.

Just a thought.