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Three-bundle Thursday: Games, books and Mac apps

For anyone who likes to read, play or, um, use a Mac, there's a great bundle to be had.

Rick Broida Senior Editor
Rick Broida is the author of numerous books and thousands of reviews, features and blog posts. He writes CNET's popular Cheapskate blog and co-hosts Protocol 1: A Travelers Podcast (about the TV show Travelers). He lives in Michigan, where he previously owned two escape rooms (chronicled in the ebook "I Was a Middle-Aged Zombie").
Rick Broida
2 min read

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Humble Bundle

Hi, cheeps! No, I'm not dead or in the hospital, though it was kind of so many of you to ask. As I mentioned on Monday, I'm traveling this week. But I'll be back to full-strength deal sharing next week.

In the meantime, I bring you three of my favorite kind of deal: bundles!

1. Mac time

I love a good software bundle, especially when it mixes a little of everything: productivity, utilities, maybe even a little fun.

That's the Ultra-Premium Mac Bundle in a nutshell. It serves up seven insanely useful Mac apps and one fun one for $44.99. Combined value: $469. Whaaaat!

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StackSocial

The roster includes screencasting and video-editing tool ScreenFlow 5, data-recovery utility Data Rescue 4, and the latest entry in the mega-popular Civilization series, Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth. (That title normally sells for $50 all by itself.)

I'm not a Mac person, but I know a sweet bundle when I see one. This one: sweet.

2. Book time

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Humble Bundle

Are you a fan of science fiction, fantasy or horror? The Humble Bundle folks are about to fill your library with goodness: the Humble Subterranean Press Book Bundle lets you name your own price for a mess o' books from -- you guessed it -- Subterranean Press.

This DRM-free e-book collection includes anywhere from five to 17 titles, depending on how much you pay. I say pony up $15 to get the whole kit and kaboodle (aside: anyone know what a kaboodle is?), thereby ensuring you'll enjoy the works of not just Harlan Ellison and Jack Vance, but also Clive Barker and John Scalzi. Total value: nearly $100.

Plus, a portion of the proceeds goes to Worldbuilders, a charity that supports Heifer International. Win-win!

3. Game time

While you're visiting the Humble Bundle site, click over to the Humble Square Enix Bundle 2 -- as compelling a game collection as I've seen in a while.

For as little as a buck, you get Hitman: Absolution, Supreme Commander 2 and Hitman GO for Android -- very highly rated games, all. Beat the average (currently $7 and change) for at least three more titles (there's a mystery "coming-soon" game in the mix), or pay $15 to add Tomb Raider and Sleeping Dogs to the mix.

Again, worthy charities get some love as well. Even if you've already played a couple of these games, this is still a great collection, especially for a price that's about what you'd pay for a movie ticket and small popcorn. (It's all about value for your buck, people.)

Cheapskate out. See you back here on Monday!