Gruber wrote on this a bit when it first came out- http://daringfireball.net/2006/12/macheist_lousy_tshirt http://daringfireball.net/2006/12/macheist_lousy_tshi

Gruber wrote on this a bit when it first came out- http://daringfireball.net/2006/12/macheist_lousy_tshirt http://daringfireball.net/2006/12/macheist_lousy_tshirt and http://daringfireball.net/2006/12/iniquities_of_the_selfish http://daringfireball.net/2006/12/iniquities_of_the_selfish I'll admit that I bought the package for the same reason that you did- It was a way to acquire Pixelmator and Snapz Pro, for less than I could pay for either on their own. Personally, I think that MacHeist is a good deal for a lot of small developers- It publicizes the names of programs such as Cha-Ching, which otherwise don't have nearly as many opportunities to gain the eye of a developer. On the counterside, if you program has enough publicity on it's own, It may simply detract from revenue you have otherwise made. Ironically, it seems superficially similar to the YCombinator program- It's a way for a small group of programs to gain publicity together, when they might not be able to get substantial publicity on their own. Some stars might come out of each group, but others would fade to obscurity. The similarity between the two programs is only shared in the one aspect, however; While YC does offer greatly increased blog coverage the real strength of the program is the networking between developers and participation by other YC teams and leaders in helping to suggest and guide during the development process. Given that we do see several developers repeating the process from one MacHeist to the next, they must find that the additional publicity is worthwhile to them.