HUGOBENG  This really is an application I keep finding new uses for, and it keeps getting better. It may not be the slick powerhouse you think you need, but if you try it you'll find it takes care of all kinds of jobs, from a simple bookmark list to maintaining complex, linked research databases. It's wonderfully flexible and very, very stable. I've been a user since I first got DataGenie, years ago. I confess I often try other things then realize "iData will do that... better". iData has built-in telephone and email utilities that I rarely use, and it takes a while to get used to the differences between "Preferences" and "Datafile Settings." Otherwise, there are numerous import options; and between "Export" and printing, you can almost always find a way to get you data out for further processing. DEVONthink Office Pro has the ability to import datafiles as sheets, so you're not locked out of any other format. Best of all, the developer, Robin Casady, is responsive and helpful. It is updated regularly with surprising new features and overall improvements.  
(Version 3.1.3)

MACLOVER1.1  StickyBrain, Yojimbo etc.. out the window... I have one think to say: DevonThink !!! These guys should pay me for all the publicity LoL But hey when a product is REALLY good... any other is just pale in comparison.  
(Version 3.0.4)

CLYTIE  iData 3 is indispensable. I use it as a personal dictionary, to catalogue my books and keep track of all sorts of data. I'd be lost without it.

I was the user who reported the slight matching errors with combined diacritics: the devs fixed it almost faster than I could keep up with my email! That's service.

iData 3 is extremely stable, intuitive, easy to use and flexible. I recommend it highly.

It's one of my Five Favourite Apps. my MacBook and I would like to be stuck on a desert island with. ;)  
(Version 3.0.3)

JOE.C  Using StickyBrain as noted by some must have a fast processor and lots of Ram. iData Pro i have been using for years and could not keep up with all the changes in StickyBrain (Bloat with its extended database). I finally dumped StickyBrain in favor of iData version 2 and use Growl for notification.  
(Version 2.1b6)

ANONYMOUS  Sticky Brain beat you to Palm support, they have my money for now. Do what they did, just sync to Memo Pad and forget about the Palm client app for now. At $20 cheaper I'd still go with Sticky Brain for now, but I'll keep my eye on this old favorite.  
(Version 2.0.13)

ANONYMOUS  PLEASE add back Palm support and I will upgrade ASAP. The Palm interface could use just a little bit of work to take it from just barely okay, to perfect.  
(Version 2.0.12)

ROBIN CASADY  Oops, the first sentence of my reply was supposed to read, "We have not received any reports on this particular problem.  
(Version 2.0.10)

CLYTIE SIDDALL  I've been using iData 2 heavily for quite a few months now, so I thought I'd drop back in and do a brief review.

I couldn't imagine being without it, now. I use it for what has now become quite a large personal dictionary, and have it open constantly. It's extremely easy to use, rock-stable (if anything ever does give me trouble, it's not iData 2), quick to respond and well-designed.

I initially got it because I needed full Unicode support, and iData 2 is still one of the very few that provide that. I now also rely on its instant search (other dbs I tried slowed down markedly as my file became larger) and its comfortable interface. I'm looking forward to installing its Palm OS version, so I can take my info anywhere, and synchronize the two. (new T3 :D )

Beats me why the previous reviewer said he had stability problems with it. I tried very hard to break it at one stage, and didn't get anywhere. :) (I think it's forgiven me.)

from Clytie  
(Version 2.0.10)

ANONYMOUS  Tried demo but it didn't feel very stable. I imported Mail from Entourange which crashed the software twice and when I did manage to import it was messy and not very usable.

First impressions were less than favourable and I don't think I could trust this software with database tasks. Sorry!  
(Version 2.0.9)

NORM NAGER  As a long-time user of the predecessors of iDate 2 (iData Pro, Info Genie and QuickDex), I think that the file size overhead is worth the added benefits of styled text, embedded graphics, customizable toolbar, and clickable links to files on disk.

The new formatting of iData 2 adds bold, colorful, easy to apply touches.

The always easy-to-use software adopted added features we're used to in other Panther-era software, such as Office 2004. But I can quickly bring up free-form notes much faster with a ___and____ and____ find operation in iData 2 than I can with Office 2004's Entourage. Not that Entourage isn't fast: it's that in iData 2 I don't have to go through a couple different stages to start my search.

iData 2 does a superb job of handling phone dialing, including prefixes, area codes, and extensions. All it takes is a lightning-fast search, highlighting of the entire number sequence, and clicking on the phone icon. No wrong number dials, either.

I suffered from tendonitis in both elbows that required splints for 6 months and several cortisone injections in the joints and from carpal tunnel damage in both wrists and punching in phone numbers was a source of pain and inflammation until iData 2's predecessors introduced automatic phone dialing. And iData 2 builds on its rich heritage in that and other features.

It's quite handy to import my email contacts and browser bookmarks into iData 2 and while in a free-form note to simply click on one to address an email message or fly to a website.

A click on the preference gives instant access to iData 2's own spellchecker component. I don't like to be distracted by spellcheckers at work so I really like the ability to turn it on only when I'm ready for it to proof what I write.

One of the greatest qualities of iData in all its versions is its excellent technical support. The help program and users' guide have really improved. But I became so enamored with the personal, responsive support--including the willingness to listen to suggestions for product improvement, that I donated my services as a volunteer beta tester.

I respect the thorough beta testing that the program went through and the quickness of its author to pick up on suggestions for new features and improvements that went far beyond eliminating bugs.

I don't use palm devices, so I can't comment on how iData 2 works with them.

I once wrote that iData 2's predecessor "operates like a first-class, computer-savvy secretary, only faster and with greater ease for any executive, professional or home user." It certainly did that for me in the course of writing two books, in processing my lecture notes and in helping me during my rise to head three national organizations in my field.

The secretary of which I wrote then has now been promoted to executive secretary with iData 2.0.2!

Respectfully, Norm Nager

Emeritus Professor of Communications (Retired)  
(Version 2.0.4)

CHRISCHRAM  I was so impressed by the demos of iData 2 that I scrapped it and bought a license for iData 1. Why? Datafiles with simple plain text data, such as those generated by the late, great IngoGenie, balloon up to enormous size under iData 2. Look at an iData 2 file with BBEdit and you'll see why. Each record's metadata is up to 10 times the size of the actual data you're storing. YMMV of course, but iData 1 works for me while iData 2 is just plain overkill.  
(Version 2.0.2)

ANONYMOUS  As a long term user of Infogenie I'm happy to have this however when the beta expires it looks like being a bit expensive for such an apparently simple product.  
(Version 1.0.15)

ANONYMOUS  As much as I liked InfoGenie under OS 9, I equally dislike iData Pro under OS X.

The interface is just an eyesore, the text rendering is even worse and the lack of support for System Services really handicaps this app.  
(Version 1.0.15)

ANONYMOUS  Not sure why people are bashing iData now as they do - mabe it's this later (beta) version which causes problems, but I have been using iData for quite a while now and really like it and it always has been stable for me.  
(Version 1.0.15)

ANONYMOUS  Just appallingly bad software. The developer needs to spend some time learning about UI and clean code. I couldn't get this app in the trash can fast enough.

And adding insult to injury, the developer plans to one day charge for this. That's like paying someone money to knew me in the biscuits.

This program may one day be useful, but until that day my advice is to steer clear.  
(Version 1.0.15)

ANONYMOUS  Tries to create a world-writable preference file in a public directory, /Library/Application Support/iData. An unacceptable security hole.  
(Version 1.0.14)

ANONYMOUS  Does not run. First it complains that it can't create some folder, then it continues to use the same "invalid" location for future runs. I had to delete its preferences, and it gave the same error no matter where I pointed it. Continually asked for Administrator access at the same time.  
(Version 1.0.14)

MIKEWELSH  Anonymous' repeated remarks are so outrageous and untrue as to be absurd. One can only contemplate the hidden agenda that reviewer may have. Hiding behind the gutless "Anonymous" designation demonstrates her/his craven posture. iData is not perfect, but it is very useful, easily configurable and fast.   
(Version 1.0.14)

TROUTNC  I think Anon (11/16/03) is cowardly and WRONG. There is no other application that does what iDataPro does. Period.

It is a great app that I rely on every single day, and Mike Wright has been nothing but friendly, courteous, and responsive with my questions and remarks. Mike deserves better than mean-spirited potshots from some anon hack.  
(Version 1.0.14)

ANONYMOUS  All I know is that this guy must pay to be called a "Hot Pick" because this software does not come close to deserving that kind of recognition. It's out of date, bad design, and poorly executed. Far better solutions exist and should be used. This program is stuck in the mid 90's.  
(Version 1.0.13)

ANONYMOUS  There are far better apps out there that do the same if not more than this program:

CONS:

* Bad Interface

* Dated design

* Occasional crashes

* This does not feel nor act like an OS X app. In fact, it doesn't even feel like an OS 8 or 9 app.

PROS:

* Somewhat interacts w/ Safari

ADVICE:

Find another app because this one doesn't fit the bill.  
(Version 1.0.12)

HAROLD HARKINS  Oops. Came back into the office this morning and iData would not let any of us save to the iData files. The files opened unlocked but would not let a user save to the file. Checked the permissions for the file on the server and they were read/write for all users, so obviously more work is required for iData and it's back to SBook5.

Harold  
(Version 1.0.5)

HAROLD HARKINS  I too have been an early adopter and have used QuickDex, then InfoGenie and now iData Pro from the earliest version of QuickDex. I have also used SBook5, the new Cocoa free form contact manager. SBook has some nifty algorithms which allow it to index and search by last name and to distinguish between human last names and corporate names as well as a variety of suffixes like MD, Jr, III, Capt etc.

iData still opens from scratch much faster than iData (I'm using a PB G4 800 mh with 1 GB of memory) and I find the wait for SBook to open my 1500 card data base annoying. I also like the fact that the search box is automatically highlighted in iData and that I can page through all the find results in iData without having to take my hands off the keyboard. In SBook, the results of a find are posted to a list and I have to mouse down to select the card I want. In addition, the text string searched for is not displayed unless it's within the top of the file which is displayed in the window whereas in iData the text string search results are highlighted and displayed regardless of where they may be on the card. (They are displayed in card order and from top to bottom of a card if they appear more than once. I find it easier to just keep hitting the return key to "page" through the results of the search than to leave the keyboard and go to the mouse, and then have to scroll down to the found text string.)

On the other hand, SBook5 sortof has iData hands down in terms of sharing files over a server. iData allows the first opener of a file to lock it so that subsequent openers can't overwrite changes that the first opener has made to the file (by locking the files and not allowing any secondary user to save changes), but it does not provide for real time updates to all the files that are open. SBook5, like Now Up-To-Date, refreshes every user's file every specified number of seconds or minutes so that changes made by someone else are displayed usually within a couple of minutes. I am continuing to have recurring file corruption problems in SBook5, however, and haven't been able to figure out why, but for now I've decided to take my system back to iData because of the speed of iData and the fact that the file does not get corrupted.

Frankly, I've not used the dandy Service features of OS X so the fact that iData is not Cocoa doesn't make that much difference to me. They are both kewl apps, but for me right now, iData is more stable.

Harold Harkins  
(Version 1.0.11)

SYLVAN WELLS  I have been using iData Pro since it was released. I used QuickDex for ten years before that. IData pro is a wonderful program! It does what it purports to do perfectly without alot of extra "features" that bog it down. Would it be nice if it was a "cocoa" application. Yes, I would love to have Services, etc. but it is my understanding that the developer is doing that as I write this comment. Maybe we will see it soon. But, for now, there is no free form data manager better than iData Pro and I highly recommend it!!!!!!  
(Version 1.0.11)

LUCKY 13  As much as I liked InfoGenie under OS 9, I equally dislike iDataPro under OS X. It really is an eyesore, with clunky toolbar icons and choppy text rendering. Also, the lack of support for System Services severly limits its usefulness.  
(Version 1.0.10)

ANONYMOUS  In a word: ick!

Go back to the drawing board on this one.  
(Version 1.0.10)

COCOANUT  Joel - Geez, the developer himself couldn't have written a better review! It's **so** transparant, couldn't you at least have *tried* to make it seem authentic? The concept of the program is great but it feels like a dated, early Mac app which is badly in need of modernization.   
(Version 1.0.8)

JOEL HUBERMAN   iData Pro is an indespensible program for me. It helps me to remember ANYTHING. I simply type whatever information I think I might need to remember in the future into iData Pro and Save. Whenever I need the information I can retrieve it in an instant. I use iData Pro for names, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, URLs, ideas, record-keeping, and more.

The fact that iData Pro can use fieldless records makes it tremendously flexible. The fact that records are saved in a flat text format means that even if the iData Pro program should crash (which it NEVER does), one can use a standard text editor or word processor to read the iData Pro files (though not so rapidly as would be the case with iData Pro), so one's information can't be lost (note: always back up important files, even if they're created by programs as stable as this one).  
(Version 1.0.6)