When you think of great software, of the tools which really make a difference to you, does that mean Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, and Pages? Or do you think of those essential apps like Tinderbox, Scrivener, BBEdit, TaskPaper, and Scapple?

If you rely on those latter tools, crafted by specialists rather than engineered by multinational corporations, you’ll be keen to save 20-25% on other artisanal software products. You can do so, over the holiday season, in the 2016 Winter Festival of Artisanal Software.

If you haven’t yet discovered real software, then you should try some: instead of battling with sprawling apps designed for Martians, you’ll discover elegant efficiency and tools that empower rather than dispirit.

Products included in this offer are:

• Aeon Timeline 2, for working with timelines (I have it, it’s superb, and unique)
• BBEdit, the best text editor ever (it’s one of my mainstay apps)
• Bookends, the reference manager (I have it, it’s the best in the field)
• DEVONthink Pro Office, the information tool for paperless research and office work (I have it, it’s amazingly powerful)
• HoudahSpot, for powerful file search (I’m seriously tempted)
• Nisus Writer Pro, an excellent word processor with unrivalled features for multiple languages (I have it, and use it often)
• PDFpen, the PDF editor
• Scapple, for making quick diagrams (I have it, and use it often)
• Scrivener, the writing environment, for fiction and nonfiction authors (I have it, it’s superb)
• Storyspace, for authoring hypertext (I have it, and write about it here, as it is unique)
• Take Control Books, range of excellent books on Macs, iOS, and apps
• TaskPaper, for making lists and getting organised
• TextExpander, for reducing the effort in typing
• Tinderbox, the most capable and powerful note-maker, planner, and much more (I have it, it is superb and unique).

Full details are here.

This is an ideal opportunity to purchase some of these wonderful tools at substantial savings.

Note that I do not have any commercial connection with any of these software vendors. But I know good software when I use it, and I use their products a lot. Although from independent vendors, many of these products work wonderfully together, and with other major apps. They are also supported by the developers themselves, not some remote and uncommunicative ‘support centre’.