As many of you are undoubtedly aware - given the recent glut of advertising - that the final Friday in November, like every Friday-after-Thanksgiving for the last 40 years, is known as Black Friday [1] (followed shortly by its sister sales event Cyber Monday [2]). Regarded as the inauguration of the traditional holiday shopping season, Black Friday and Cyber Monday boast a smorgasbord of sales. We at TidBITS have been awash in Black Friday and Cyber Monday announcements and deals, and we wanted to share the best of them with you.
- VMware Cyber Monday Sale [3]: For 01-Dec-08 only, VMware Software is offering 50 percent off VMware Fusion 2.0 (normally $79), the popular virtualization software that enables users to run Windows on a Mac. To access the discount use the coupon code "CyberMondayDeal" on the confirmation page. Additionally, this Monday-only promotion can be combined with VMware's $30 competitive rebate [4] for Parallels and Virtual PC for Mac users (though it is only valid in the United States and Canada).
- Free Shipping at Small Dog Electronics [5]: Small Dog is offering free shipping on any purchase through 01-Dec-08. There's no minimum purchase required to receive free shipping (within the contiguous 48 states) and Small Dog doesn't charge sales tax on any order shipping outside Vermont.
- Chronos 7 Day Black Friday Sale [6]: Between 24-Nov-08 and 01-Dec-08, Chronos customers will receive 50 percent off any purchase, including SOHO Organizer, SOHO Notes, SOHO Print Essentials, and more. Use the coupon code "black2008" to access the discount.
- Softpress Systems Black Friday Freeway Promotion [7]: Through 07-Dec-08, any customer purchasing a full-priced copy of Freeway Pro ($249) or Freeway Express ($79) directly from the Softpress Store will receive a fully transferable iTunes gift certificate via email. Freeway Pro buyers will receive a $50 certificate and Freeway Express buyers will receive a $20 certificate.
Expired Offers -- The following deals have expired - we're leaving them here purely for reference purposes.
- Gracion Enclose [8]: Through 30-Nov-08, Gracion Software is offering their file-sending application Gracion Enclose for only $9.99 (normally $34). Gracion Enclose makes it easy to transfer files that are too large to attach to regular email messages.
- App4Mac Thanksgiving Sale [9]: From 28-Nov-08 through 30-Nov-08 all App4Mac software is available at a 50 percent discount. App4Mac is the maker of Sequence, CutX, xTime Project, FlexTeam, wKiosk, and Checkup (reviewed in Joe Kissell's article "CheckUp 1.0: A Beautiful but Unripe Maintenance Utility [10]," 2008-02-29).
- Agile Web Solutions Buy One Get One Free [11]: Buy one copy of 1Password, the popular password management utility, at 15 percent off and receive an additional copy for free. If you already own 1Password, you can give a free license [12] to anyone you want. Both offers are good through 30-Nov-08.
- Equinux Black Friday Bundles [13]: The maker of CoverScout, TubeStick, and VPN Tracker is offering 25 or 50 percent discounts for 72 hours, starting at midnight on 28-Nov-08.
- 'Give Good Food to Your Mac' 3rd Edition [14]: From the 17-Nov-08 until 30-Nov-08, Mac users can create their own cocktail of applications and enjoy increasing discounts depending on their purchase order: 20 percent off for three apps, 30 percent off for four apps, and 50 percent off for five apps and more. Over 60 applications are included in the promotion.
- Microsoft Office 2008 Sale [15]: Microsoft is offering 75 percent off Office 2008 for Mac: Special Media Edition. Available only on 27-Nov-08 and 28-Nov-08, the discount can be found only at Apple Stores, Best Buy Online, and Amazon.com. Additionally, the 50-percent-off holiday discount for Office 2008 for Mac: Special Media Edition announced earlier this month remains in effect through the end of 2008.
- MacTech Giveaway Promotion [16]: For 28-Nov-08 only, MacTech magazine will be giving away 100 free six-month subscriptions - the offer is first-come-first-serve. For those too late to land within the first hundred people, MacTech is still offering a free issue of the longstanding Mac technology journal delivered to their doorstep.
- DEVONtechnologies Black Friday Discount [17]: For 28-Nov-08 only, DEVONtechnologies, LLC is offering 25 percent off all software including DEVONthink, DEVONagent, and DEVONnote. The discount also applies to upgrades from Personal to Pro or Pro Office editions of DEVONthink, and upgrades from DEVONagent 1.x to 2.x.
- Houdah Software Black Friday Sale [18]: For 28-Nov-08 only, Houdah Software is offering 50 percent off HoudahGeo and HoudahSpot - their popular photo geocoding software and file search tool. To access the discount use the coupon code: BLACK08.
- Apple's Black Friday Sale [19]: For 28-Nov-08 only, Apple is offering direct discounts on the 20-inch iMac (save $51), the MacBook (save $101), the 8 GB iPod nano (save $11), the iPod classic (save $21), and the 8 GB iPod touch (save $21). Also discounted are a variety of other items, including the Nike+iPod Sport Kit, Apple TV, iPhone 3G Dock, AirPort Express Base Station, 500 GB Time Capsule, and iPhone Bluetooth Headset. The deals aren't amazing, but worthwhile if you've been planning on getting one of these products anyway.
Additional Deals -- Looking for more deals? MacTech's Deals and Special Offers Forum [20] has a host of additional sales listed.
Enjoy the bargains, and if we learn of more sales, we'll add them to this article.
[1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_(shopping)
[2]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyber_Monday
[3]: http://www.vmware.com/go/buyfusion
[4]: http://www.vmware.com/landing_pages/fusion_rebate.html
[5]: http://www.smalldog.com/
[6]: http://www.chronosnet.com/
[7]: http://www.softpress.com/blackfridayoffer.php
[8]: http://www.gracion.com/enclose/
[9]: http://www.app4mac.com
[10]: http://db.tidbits.com/article/9481
[11]: https://agilewebsolutions.com/store?d=Thanksgiving
[12]: http://agile.ws/gift/thanksgiving
[13]: http://www.equinux.com/us/start/
[14]: http://www.givegoodfood2yourmac.com/store/
[15]: http://www.microsoft.com/mac/
[16]: http://www.mactech.com/offers/2008-UltimateBlackFriday.php
[17]: http://www.devon-technologies.com/
[18]: http://www.houdah.com/
[19]: http://store.apple.com/us/browse/campaigns/black_friday
[20]: http://forums.mactech.com/