When I first wrote about MacAppADay, I wondered what the catch was. It didn’t take long to figure it out, however I still think it’s a brilliant idea.

So what’s the catch? Temporary licenses. The applications are free and you are free to use them, with all features, as long as you don’t upgrade. Some apps say you get free upgrades until the next major update. IE: 2.0-2.x but not 3.0. But then again, that’s pretty much normal. Others say you don’t get any updates. IE: “Please note that this license file is valid for version 2.0 of Overflow only. Version 2.1 will be a paid upgrade, should you choose to upgrade (you will not be forced to!).”

It’s December which means MacAppADay has started. Today it’s a nifty little iTunes controller and I’ve seen YummyFTP in the previews. Get your free download before they are gone: http://macappaday.com/

It all started with MacZot a few months ago. The idea was to give discounted, and sometimes free, applications to Mac users. Recently MacUpdate jumped on board with the daily special idea and now MacAppADay is next on the list.

MacAppADay is all about free apps and it sounds almost to good to be true. “Throughout December, each and every day, we’ll give away 5000 copies of a popular mac application. Even if all the apps were only worth $5.00, that’d be $150.00. And some of them are worth a lot more. Oh, and this is not a competition. Everyone gets every single application.” Now that’s a big promise for any site.