Macgasm

[Download] [03.4 MB] [0:07:20]
Hosted by: Josh Schnell & Grant Brunner

In this episode, Josh talks a little bit about the third Macheist bundle.

Apparently Hell has frozen over! Well maybe not, though it feels that way in the midwest. Finally, there is an Official Skype app for the iPhone in the app store! Yes, Apple has actually approved this and the app is available right now for free in the app store. Phone features only work on WiFi, but chat will work on WiFi, edge and 3G. If you don’t have a Skype account already, sign up for free at http://skype.com and download the official app in the iTunes app store.

itunes link

[Download] [02.4 MB] [0:05:00]
Hosted by: Josh Schnell & Grant Brunner

In this episode, Josh brings up the graphics issues that some Mac laptops with NVidia cards are experiencing.

The last time I wrote about a Microsoft marketing campaign I took a great deal of flack, and was called  a FanBoi, but I’m about to do it again, and this time I’m probably going to be a little more harsh.  I pride myself on calling it how it is, but, feel free to let me know how much you disagree with me in the comments.

AppleInsider is talking about an upcoming Microsoft ad that is highlighting price differentials between owning a PC versus owning a Mac.  PCs are cheaper in their perspective, and pretty much do the same job as an Apple based product.  I don’t “disagree” with them, but I still don’t see how Microsoft has any business talking about price differences between computer producers.  When was the last time you bought a Microsoft laptop…how about a desktop?  Exactly.  They don’t make computers, they make Mp3 players, video game devices, and software.  Unless they’re planning on releasing their own machine any time in the immediate future I really don’t see how it’s their fight.

You want a genius Microsoft commercial?  Here’s one…

You have an entire room of Apple Computers, filled to the max and all the way to the horizon.  The camera starts off facing the back of the Apple machines with all that glowing Apple goodness that’s present on the laptops.  The camera steadily passes over them and then does a 180 coming to a complete stop on the screen.  The Mac boots into Windows, the windows start-up jingle plays.  Text fills the screen.  ”We make software that matters!”  End of commercial.

See, they could address their key market and lay a huge smackdown on Apple’s marketing team.  They’d have a successful ad campaign.  Instead they’re fighting a “PC” fight when really they should be fighting the “Operating System” fight.  You pick fights you can win, not fights where you could “possibly, perhaps, maybe come out victorious”.  They need to hire a marketing team who understands that.

Price Differentials… really?

So now that we’ve pointed out quite articulately that Microsoft makes software and they’re fighting Apple’s hardware division, lets take a closer look at the “cheaper” Windows software versus Apple’s OS X.

The cost of the cheapest Vista alternative? $98.99, and it’s not even the fully featured version.  It’s the stripped down “basic” version.  The ultimate Vista experience?  $179.00ish.  The full featured OS X Leopard runs you  $129.00.  So it might be cheaper for the crap version no body pays for, but you can bet the retirement on the fact that a Best Buy or staples employee will be making you feel pathetic for buying the “basic” version.  You’ll leave the store with Ultimate.

While a “PC” might be cheaper, the Microsoft operating system certainly is not.  Don’t get me started on the additional software that comes on a Mac that is not present on a Windows machine. I’ll leave that argument for another day, because frankly, I don’t think I need to introduce the topic to prove my point any further.

Microsoft isn’t cheaper than Apple.  Dell might be. Actually, that Dell laptop would be even cheaper if you told them you wanted your “Microsoft” tax back because you’ll use Ubuntu instead.

Checkmate.

You can watch the ad below.  Let me know what you think… I’m curious.

[Download] [02.4 MB] [0:05:00]
Hosted by: Josh Schnell & Grant Brunner

In this episode, Josh gives us this useful Terminal tip: Use “open .” in the terminal to open up your current directory in the finder.

iD software released a port of the classic FPS ‘Escape from Castle Wolfenstein, the first of B.J Blazkowicz’s many adventures.

Just about everyone has played this classic game at some point or another and if you haven’t you should definitely check it out. I think this is my favourite port Wolfenstein; it definitely plays a lot smoother than the Xbox port included at the end of ‘Return to Castle Wolfenstein, which by the by, is another title you should look into playing.

The control format is a good implementation if the pseudo-joystick we’ve seen on other games and they have optional tilt controls as well. They’ve also added a feature that makes the game a lot easier. A Map!

The odd part about this release is that it’s been released both on the App Store and Cydia. Not the Cydia Store though, just the free Cydia. This means that on the App Store the game costs $4.99, but if you have a jailbroken iPhone you can get it for free. Gloriously free.

Both versions include all six original episodes and all 60 levels.

Well, now that I’ve knocked this out early in the day, I’m going to imflame my wrists by playing for the next 6 hours.

[Download] [01.2 MB] [0:02:20]
Hosted by: Josh Schnell & Grant Brunner

In this episode, Grant and Josh get the word out about the Macgasm Forum.

The MacHeist guys are at it again. They have unleashed MacHeist 3 on the world. This time it includes quite a suite of applications.  They also did a bit more this time, in terms of promotion.  MacHeist had a big reveal with Chris Pirillo, Veronica Belmont and Lisa Bettany.  You can see that recording here.

MacHeist, for those who don’t know, is a bundle of applications that are only available for a limited time. They are full versions of the programs, not hobbled versions. 25% of net sales goes towards the following charities:

Action Against Hunger.
Aids Research Alliance
Alliance for Climate Protection
Direct Relief International
Human Society International
The Nature conservancy
Save The Children
Save Dafur
Prevent Cancer Foundation
World Wildlife Fund.

Now, you can choose to have your portion go directly to one charity over another when you purchase the bundle. Within the Bundle you get the following applications:

iSale Retails for $39.95
Picturesque Retails for $34.95
SousChef Retails for $30.00
World of Goo Retails for $20.00
PhoneView Retails for $19.95
Little Snapper Retails for $39.00
Acorn Retails for $49.95
Kinemac Retails for $299.00
WireTap Studio Retails for $69.00
Big Bang Board Games Retails for $24.95 (available to the first 25,000 only).
Boinx TV Retails for $199.00
The Hit List Retails for $49.95.
Espresso Retails for $80.00

The whole bundle costs $39.00. Boinx TV, The Hit List, and Espresso are still locked, as of right now. They will be unlocked if the minimums are met. WireTap studio was the same way, but that was unlocked at $100,000 in donation totals.

If you see an application that you could use, it wouldn’t hurt to buy the bundle. It helps the developers, along with a portion going to charity.  Also, it’s only available until April 7th, so go out and get the bundle now, before it’s gone.