GOODTIME  I appreciate the review. There were a slew of things that were be being fixed for several of our trusted sponsors.

Today we had a spindump issue with a MacBook Pro sponsor and we did offer that person a special build to test and get back to us.

Currently we are working on a Tiger counterpart to StarPlayr2 and it will take several weeks. After that is StarPlayr2 2.1 which may take months.

The developer of this software is addicted to developing StarPlayr (possible OCD tendencies). We have heard rumors of users becoming addicted to StarPlayr as well.

I am going to break down and put the auto update feature in there. It seems to have been requested enough. It will be a super simple auto-updater. Nothing complex. On launch it will notify the user that an update is ready for download. They click yes and it will download the update and with the disk image popped open. I am not sure if I am going to have it install it, but it is simple enough to drag the app to the Applications folder. And the user will no longer have to keep hunting for updates.

Updates will thin out as StarPlayr2 becomes more and more stable. Our focus now is on Tiger and the next set of cool features. There are many things that did not make it into the program yet, so if we are the best, 6 months to a year, the bar will be set even higher.

Goodtime

Note to editor: There is something wrong with the SiriusMac votes in the SP2 area and with the StarPlayr2 votes in the SiriusMac area. Somehow the votes are linked. One of our users told us about this issue. SiriusMac used to be linked with NiceMac, but it is no longer apart of our company. StarPlayr2 and SiriusMac are separate products and the voting on MacUpdate should be separate as well.  
(Version 2.0.18.2)

ALLOUTMACSTODAY  With the new Sparkle (1.5), it does not notify the user about anything updates on first run. Gets a better first impression :)  
(Version 2.0.18.2)

MACUPDATE ADMIN  goodtime stated: "Somehow the votes are linked. One of our users told us about this issue. SiriusMac used to be linked with NiceMac, but it is no longer apart of our company. StarPlayr2 and SiriusMac are separate products and the voting on MacUpdate should be separate as well."

They aren't linked. MacUpdate users make suggestions and MacUpdate users vote on those suggestions. We only provide the opportunity for our users to suggest other softwares and vote as they wish. We have no other control over the matter.  
(Version 2.0.18.2)

GOODTIME  Not to make a big stink about this, but if they are not linked then how come when a user votes for SiriusMac, it adds the same vote for StarPlayr. And if a user votes for StarPlayr, it adds the same vote to SiriusMac.

Try it and you'll see what I am talking about.

I seriously doubt both programs have the exact same votes as well.

Try voting for one of them, but before you do check the votes on both. Then vote for one. Then you'll see the other one gets updated with the same # incremented by one. That is messed up.  
(Version 2.0.18.2)

MACUPDATE ADMIN  Just checked and they're not linked. Thanks for your concern.  
(Version 2.0.18.2)

GOODTIME  Can you explain then why SiriusMac and StarPlayr2 always show the same # of votes? Try loading both and refreshing the page.

Maybe in your database its not linked, but there is a bug somewhere in the display showing the same # of votes.  
(Version 2.0.18.2)

MACUPDATE ADMIN  Contact macupdate at macupdate dot com

That is the proper way to further deal with this, thanks.  
(Version 2.0.18.2)

GOODTIME  With the recent CPU usage bug in 2.0.18.1 that came to light a day after the release, I am glad it was not pushed to 1000 machines through an auto-updater.  
(Version 2.0.18.1)

GOODTIME  You hit the nail on the head. We are slowly figuring out it is impossible to keep everyone happy. But the passion is what drives us even though we might be a little insane on the frequency of the updates.

Recently we worked on an issue for one user an it took us about 7 tries to get it fixed. The user could only get 2.0.0 alpha 1. The farthest coul phyosicyly d go back was alpha4. So we took that and compared it to 2.0.11. Long story short we did get it fixed with this version.

You may be wondering why we rearranged the software code for one person? Our thinking is if one person is having a problem there is most likely at least 10 others that ran into it and are experiencing the same issue.

We did get the problem fixed in 2.0.18. It turned out this guy that had a problem with it was a pretty big comedy writer for 20 years of many popular comedy shows. It made us feel pretty good that someone in hollywood was using our software and was kind enough to let us know what was working and what wasn't. It took us about a dozen emails back and forth to get it resolved. The whole time he was very professional and we did not know who we was at the time.

Thanks for the great feedback. I saw your other 5 star rating got lost when MacUpdate merged SP1 and SP2.

Yes we are very passionate about what we do even though this is just part time gig. In reality it is a second job that pays less than minimum wage but we enjoy every minute of it.

StarPlayr has been one of the toughest yet most rewarding projects. And we're not really programmers either. We are people who have an idea on how to do something then we just figure out how to execute it. None of us have any formal training or background in computer programming. We do have lots of experience and trial and error. That might count for something, but the passion is what fuels us. It can often be mistaking for other traits but without passion man this would really be a boring gig.

Cheers,

gt :)  
(Version 2.0.18)

GOODTIME  StarPlayr2 will never have an auto-updater. Adobe's and Microsoft's auto updaters put a really bad taste in my mouth.

Most shareware that auto updates get in my way and I do not wish to impose point point updates on a user.

You can update the software on your own schedule when you want to. We no longer update info on Macupdate or Versiontracker. They are updating it themeselves by scanning our RSS feed or reading NiceMac.com. Many of these updates are daily builds and are only posted officially on NiceMac.com for our users who wish to test the latest and greatest build.

If it is that big of a deal contact MacUpdate and ask them to only update the page once a week.

The next update will not be released until July 31st.

Goodtime  
(Version 2.0.9)

MACUPDATE ADMIN  MacUpdate policy is to post the new update for whatever software as soon as it becomes available. It has always been that way.  
(Version 2.0.9)

GOODTIME  Thank you for the reply. That's good to know. We will continue producing updates to the public when deemed appropriate.

We are infact slowing down, the last 9 point point updates were accelerated due to the Apple Design Awards. Even after the deadline was up at 2.0.4, we had some momentum left over and we felt responsible to provide fixes to our users as they became available.

We are working on a Tiger version and a list of a few new features for Leopard. We do not expect to have another release for a two months.  
(Version 2.0.9)

GOODTIME  Thank you for your comments. StarPlayr is a program that either you get it right away or you just won't.

There is a forum that answers user's questions called NiceMac.com. It's in the read me file that comes with the software and it is also listed in the help section.

The UI is shrinkable. You can also hide the UI when playing it in background by pressing the Red X button or minimizing the screen.

UI seems happy and snappy to me.

StarPlayr has tooltips for every possible option.

gt  
(Version 1.7.7)

GOODTIME  3-day passes are available from Sirius; not from StarPlayr or nicemac.

Free tech support is available at nicemac.com  
(Version 1.0b17.4)

GOODTIME  Clunky? What machine are you running it on? I can run this on a PowerBook Pismo G3 and it runs fine.. No clunkiness here on any of the Machines that I tested including underground hacks, intel Macs and G3, G4 and G5.  
(Version 1.0b10)

GOODTIME  There is more than meets the eye in StarPlayr.

Popup menus for Genres and Channels.

1) Hot Fkeys for Presets.

2) 10 ten presets can be programmed in under a minute using the Program toggle button.

3) Keyboard shortcuts via arrow keys or numeric keypad. See undocumented keyboard shortcuts and also screenshots at nicemac.com

4) Better error correction on recordings and live StarMP3 progress.

5) Many users like the UI based on feedback on the forums.

6) And it is still in beta.  
(Version 1.0b10)

KINGADROCK  I think by "clunky" he means it's ugly, needlessly confusing, and non-traditional in appearance. It runs just fine but the interface really could use a makeover.  
(Version 1.0b15)

GOODTIME  Trust me, There will not be a makeover. This is my design and I am sticking to it.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  
(Version 1.0b15)

KINGADROCK  Beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder, but functionality applies to everyone. There are Apple User Interface Guidelines for a reason. As the developer, it's your right to ignore the tried and true methods recommended by Apple and incorporate your own non-traditional approach. To each his own, but I think you'd really benefit from a better GUI.  
(Version 1.0b15)

GOODTIME  I see. Apple changes it's guidelines and UI.. iPhone and Leopard are prime examples.

There will be an option to re-skin StarPlayr down the road and I may have a more traditional version as well.  
(Version 1.0b15)

GOODTIME  Thank you for the feedback. I'll give the UI some more thought. It is a work in progress. I think it is still let than 1 month old.

Sincerely,

Goodtime

Soul Developer of StarPlayr  
(Version 1.0b15)