BUMBLEB  $129 for the Pro version, and $49 for the Standard version.

They must be nuts. I need to create three banners out of necessity. Wanted to try this, but the price puts me off.

If I was a pro banner developer, the prices are fair enough, but then I'd use Flash CS4 anyway, to have more control.

I think they would sell more licenses for this app, had the price been more reasonable.

Who *loves* banners? Who *loves* to create them? They are, at least to me, just a necessary evil.  
(Version 1.5)

BUMBLEB  And so f***in what? Daylite is a business tool. $50 a year is less than $1 a week! Get your priorities straight;-)  
(Version 3.9.3)

BUMBLEB  This app is the highest of high example of the delicious generation of apps that came about a few years ago. It seemed like everyone just wanted apps to be pretty. Features? Nah, jus' give prettyyy...

This app should be at a museum;-)  
(Version 1.0.3)

BUMBLEB  If any Flux-fan could tell me how Flux can work for me as a WordPress and Drupal themer, I'd be much delighted. I feel Flux is mostly for non-database driven sites, right? But can it help me do some cool jquery anyway? Would be nice;)  
(Version 2.20)

BUMBLEB  Overall this looks like a really good, useful app. I wish the icon where prettier, and the app cocoa, but it gets the job done (show me technical analysis).

PS: Stochastics are spelled wrong in the drop down menu;-)  
(Version 1.1)

BUMBLEB  Awww no technical analysis? I need my charts man;-(  
(Version 1.0)

BUMBLEB  Thank you, dear developer

Just what I need. Such niceness;-)  
(Version 4.0)

BUMBLEB  I was prepared for a less than optimal user experience. But I simply could not stand looking at this, and use it? No way! Every little aspect: Fonts, alignment, attention to detail, resizing, is a reminder that tells me how important good user interface design really is.

It is not about beauty. It is about usability. This app makes me feel nausea. All those button thrown everywhere, as if they did an acid-meth when developing this app. Yuck.

Heck, they even have halftone-screen 16-color Win95-like pie charts!

Now, why is there no *really good* small business accounting app for mac? Only MoneyWorks seems somehow to fit, but it has a wacky interface as well.

If I could develop Cocoa I would do it myself and earn a lot of money selling it. There is a huge whole in the market here.  
(Version 2009)

BUMBLEB  Didn't really go through with the installation of this. The install was slow to boot, required lots of firewall checks, then started up an installer that looks like an OS 9 VISE installer. So I assumed FirstEdge is the less loved product of MYOB's offerings. So trying AccountEdge, the bigger brother instead. Will report back on AccountEdge on its page here on MacUpdate.  
(Version 3.0)

BUMBLEB  Horrible and a waste of my time.

Might be functional, but uglier than ugly. A monster interface, in a bad way.

They wanted my email to be able to download the trial.

They also signed me up for "news" which could NOT be checked off. Only unsubscribed when I receive it. Not nice. This company deserves to go bust.  
(Version 1.8.7.2)

BUMBLEB  Crap. Horrible interface, and afterwards I couldn't even Force Quit it!!!  
(Version 10.2.1)

BUMBLEB  For the last few days I've been trying to download Chocoflop, but the site is dead. Anyone knows what happened?

Not that Chocoflop is usable, but I wanted to try its scaling algo;-)  
(Version 0.907)

BUMBLEB  I might as well just delete the app.

Besides, all those search engine updates are only guesstimation, since no one except from the search engines themselves know what factors play which role in search engine rankings.

And furthermore, this company is just shady. They always have a "special offer" that is "jus for yooz" and only for a "limited time" but never an indication as to how long. And two months later, the "limited time" offer still stands.

Fuck them.  
(Version 1.4.1)

BUMBLEB  Today, 9 days after the expiration of the Live Plan, the software will not even work any longer... Even though it is only 9 days out of date. It just leaves me with a Cancel button.

I might as well just delete the app.

Besides, all those search engine updates are only guesstimation, since no one except from the search engines themselves know what factors play which role in search engine rankings.

And furthermore, this company is just shady. They always have a "special offer" that is "jus for yooz" and only for a "limited time" but never an indication as to how long. And two months later, the "limited time" offer still stands.

Fuck them.  
(Version 3.7.1)

BUMBLEB  Thank you!

I for one didn't know there was a version 2 beta.

Camino is my fave browser because it is so lean. Luv it.  
(Version 1.6.7)

BUMBLEB  So, was I right or was I right? They've still only at version 1.4 now 1 1/2 years later, and it is still buggy;-)  
(Version 1.4b3)

BUMBLEB  I have often sat down and forced myself to use it, but honestly I think it gives way too much info, in an extremely cluttered, inefficient way. Rage Domainer f.e. gives me most of the info I need, with much less clutter.  
(Version 3.7.1)

BUMBLEB  Buyer beware: Even though the software can be used after the expiration of the "Live Plan" it becomes NAGWARE !!! All the time it reminds you that you need to extend the Live Plan, even though I don't wish to do that at this moment, since I rarely use this app.

Another reason I will *not* purchase a Live Plan is that the company is very shady. I think they are eastern european, but I don't know. Their website has no information to find anywhere with a mail address or anything. And the WhoIs information for their domain is "protected" by some privacy-service! What are they hiding???

PS: I know the purpose of the Live Plan is updates for the search engine algos, but please guys, my Live Plan expired last week, so I guess I would be fine without the nagging reminders!  
(Version 1.4)

BUMBLEB  Buyer beware: Even though the software can be used after the expiration of the "Live Plan" it becomes NAGWARE !!! All the time it reminds you that you need to extend the Live Plan, even though I don't wish to do that at this moment, since I rarely use this app.

Another reason I will *not* purchase a Live Plan is that the company is very shady. I think they are eastern european, but I don't know. Their website has no information to find anywhere with a mail address or anything. And the WhoIs information for their domain is "protected" by some privacy-service! What are they hiding???

PS: I know the purpose of the Live Plan is updates for the search engine algos, but please guys, my Live Plan expired last week, so I guess I would be fine without the nagging reminders!  
(Version 3.7)

BUMBLEB  Yeah, and Daylite and Contactizer Pro is a real bargain compared to Elements SBM.  
(Version 1.0)

BUMBLEB  That app Disco was a prime example of people wanting to pay for everything shiny, regardless how useless it is. Would never sell today, with the financial trouble worldwide;-)  
(Version 2.0b93)

BUMBLEB  Daylite has more sales-related features, but Contactizer can really be customized, to suit your needs. I use categories, custom fields and different process workflows to make the Projects module in Contactizer behave like Daylite, with its Opportunities module.

Contactizer has a much sweeter interface than Daylite. Means a lot to me, because I don't feel overwhelmed, but happy and inspired.

Contactizer also has the ability to send newsletters / maintain mailing list, with each mail being sent separately (so it's not bounced as spam) with merge keys, so each mail is personal. And it works wonderfully. So, from the price, you can subtract whatever you'd otherwise pay for mailing list software.

There are so many hidden features. Many users cry for a manual. Personally I think it is relatively easy to figure out myself. It's just not cookie-cutter easy. If it was, it would not fit the various workflows of different small businesses.

What can be improved? Multi-user features / sharing / syncing. I look so much forward to the improvements to the sync features that the developers are hard at work, improving upon. Basically they are moving away from Apple's buggy Sync Services technology to Apple's new Calendar Store (I believe it's called something like that) which makes sync much more reliable and effortless.  
(Version 3.7.1)

BUMBLEB  I recently gave the developers some ideas for how this could be improved, and they were very open, so expect to see this improved in the nearby future.  
(Version 3.7.1)

BUMBLEB  As to finding things in Things (no pun intended) there is a wonderful search box, beautifully implemented. And the Someday list is genius: Simple, works, and hides all the crap/stuff I accumulate. In OmniFocus, that is scattered:

You can put the project on hold, view projects that are on hold, or hide them, or you can or you can put the individual actions in a someday/maybe context, and several other things. OF course, that is flexible, but way way too much for me at least. I respect that you like it. We are all different and unique as human beings, and that's wonderful.

I also totally respect that you feel better about OmniFocus, but if you equate contexts to the "areas" in Things you indeed didn't get it. Your comments on Things was therefore incorrect.

Bullshit is bullshit, of course Things didn't work for you if you tried to use it in the wrong way. Like sitting in Pages and wanting to print by choosing Save and complaining it doesn't print. Or trying to screw a nail in your wall with a screwdriver. You would indeed be screwed.

I was with the private beta of OmniFocus, own a family license, and the iPhone software. I just never got stuff done with it. But let's celebrate the fact that there is choice in this market. Remember a few years ago when there was only poor attempts at GTD apps, no iPhone at all, only Nokia phones, BlackBerries and Palm Pilots. I'm so happy I can lie in bed at night and do a review in Things... or OmniFocus... Just the possibility is wonderful.

Sorry if I've come across as rough, I don't mean to;-)  
(Version 1.6)

BUMBLEB  I came to the exact opposite conclusion. The interface of OmniFocus on the mac, is totally awkward and confusion. I guess some like it, but I simply can't work with it daily. Feels almost like a Windows app: Clunky, too much, cluttered...

And your comment: "I prefer the use of contexts, which are like categories. OmniFocus follows the use of contexts. (Things has something similar called "Areas"; but they are just not the same thing in practice.)"

– totally gives away the fact that you totally misunderstood Things.

Areas = what David Allen talks about as Areas of Focus in his latest book - Roles in Steve Covey terms. Has absolutely nothing to do with contexts.

Tags = contexts. In Things you can assign many tags, ie. several contexts, like: "office, Janet, website" which is wonderful and less constricting than using one single context.

You can use these tags to filter your next actions, in exactly the same way as OmniFocus, although I may argue, in a much better, easier, faster, lean way. No need to switch mode from "Projects" to "Contexts" as in OmniFocus.  
(Version 1.6)

BUMBLEB  Mac-wise I love the iCal integration this one offers. But how do I get those tasks with me on the iPhone in some reasonable way? Are there third party apps that taps into the iCal tasks?

Needless to say I find it totally weird Apple has not included a basic todo app on the iPhone.  
(Version 3.1)

BUMBLEB  TVPK > Yes for gmail IM.  
(Version 1.0r558)

BUMBLEB  They have chrome text on their website! Hello 1994;-)  
(Version 2.0.3)

BUMBLEB  The UI is very busy, and very JAVA-Windows-like, which is the only factor that counts against this otherwise fine app.

It has automatic, scheduled checking of rankings. The app does not even need to be open for it to check rankings every day. Then weekly you open it up and see rankings for the whole week.

It is project based, meaning you can check your competitors when checking yourself, or check all your websites in one project, with one schedule, etc.

And the search engine algorithm subscription is considerably cheaper for AWR than its competitor Rank Tracker.

If I didn't have a license for SERank, I'd buy this one!  
(Version 6.4)

BUMBLEB  The pricing scheme is INSANE - nuff said.

And the hard sell attitude on their website is repulsive.

That said, it looks interesting, and could be a serious contender, in a market where I only see Daylite and Contactizer as somehow serious alternatives.  
(Version 1.0)

BUMBLEB  Now, I must say I don't agree with all the negative reviews Xtorrent gets. Yes the developer may be an unethical scumbag (I don't know) but the software works fine for me, and it's the only one I've found that let's me search directly from the app itself.

It is not always 100% stable, but most often gets the job done, fast. I've not been rejected by many trackers, like some people fear.  
(Version 1.1v53)

BUMBLEB  This is a counter review to my previous review, since I've finally been able to use this app. Maybe it is me, I dunno... Anyway, it works fine now...

Feature request for version 2.0:

I would like to see some automatic checking, like in Advanced Web Ranking, where the app checks rankings according to a user defined schedule. The app doesn't even have to be open, it just does it in the background. That would be neat.  
(Version 1.8)

BUMBLEB  I'm a registered user of OmniFocus, and also have it on my iPhone. I suffered through the beta processes. I waited up to several minutes for the .Mac / MobileMe sync to finish daily. I never got much done. Even though I liked OmniFocus iPhone interface.

Then I tried Things. And got things done. The flexibility and neatness, not-in-your-face style is the key.

I Will register Things today. Congrats to the developers, you won the GTD-mac app race. Midnight Inbox was a joke, Actiontastic good but too simple, OmniFocus too idiosyncratic, Thinking Rock too JAVA, well, you've done it Cultured Code. Things works;-)  
(Version 1.0rc)

BUMBLEB  Which other software delivers cool, authentic film frames, creative grunge frames? For 15$ - 40$ ??

I can only find other framing software that offers cheesy frames that fit the "ohh let's also put a cartoon text bubble on grandma" which is not what a pro photographer really needs.  
(Version 4.0)

BUMBLEB  It does feel quite like a joke to start a project in Pixelmator and spend time scratching your head, while in the end ending up with the same file opened in Photoshop, realizing it was just Pixelmator who "put a joke on you" and wasted your time with some bug or inconsistency. Sorry if that offends you all.

Did you even try the experiment/steps I described initially?

Have you tried working with large files in Pixelmator? Trouble arise mostly on sizes above around 5000 x 3000 pixels, with maybe a few layers. But that ain't much in these times of high megapixel counts.

It's strange how there is such an etiquette of politically correct geekdom. I can perfectly fine *see* this "codex of good behaviour" I simply just don't give a rats ass about it.

A little critique, and negative stars are thrown at the outcast criticizer of the establishment...

I simply expressed my feelings. Yes I was frustrated. Time wasted can be frustrating.

You should watch the movie Equilibrium feat. Christian Bale. It's very good and asks the question "should humans be allowed or disallowed to express their feelings, cause feelings can hurt"...

In the end I don't think you REALLY want a world of censorship, and a MacUpdate where people are censoring bad reviews on a whim. I know I for one have been happy reading BOTH sides of the story sometimes. You might not like my attitude, but that's not the same as me being "hateful".  
(Version 1.3.2)

BUMBLEB  Well, the thing is, I'm really just being honest here. Honesty comes out of passion.

I would really like something more *lightweight* than Photoshop (including Elements) which means I am *not* looking for Pixelmator to be something it is not intended to be! Which is also why the developers have contacted me afterwards to follow up and solve these issues. Yes, there are issues, and it is an issue that blending modes are banding/posterizing. Not optimal at least.

Now, just because many users of Pixelmator (and Photoshop for that matter) does not know much or anything about PPI, DPI, color management, RAW, bit depth, etc, and more importantly what it all practically means for your work and output, is frankly not something that should stop ME from voicing my valid concerns in an open forum.

Without valid, constructive criticism, Pixelmator will never be truly great, it will only be mediocre. I'm happy to say that the developers on the other hand, seems to work hard at fixing these issues.

All that being said, I will use this chance to say that Pixelmator being so GPU-dependent has recently made me aware that my MBP might suffer from a faulty Nvidia 8600m GT gfx card. It might have something to do with some (but definetely not all) of my problems with Pixelmator. While I can't be blamed for a hidden defect, I will of course counter my previous review with a new review, based on my fixed MBP and the other Mac I will use during the MBP service period.

So, all i all, some might not like my attitude, which is what it is. But it all boils down to passion about this product, and me being a customer (yes I own a license I'm not trolling here).

Thank you all, and merry x-mas;-)  
(Version 1.3.1)

BUMBLEB  My list would be more along the lines of:

#1

Blow Up 2 and Genuine Fractals 5/6

#2

Bicubic (Photoshop default)

#3 (a very distant third)

PhotoZoom Pro... It offers poorer results than bicubic. Plastic look, jagged lines, weird contrast, overall waste of money.  
(Version 6.0)

BUMBLEB  From the people who brought us Leap, now comes... Deep!

Cool! I'm currently evaluating Leap as a photo workflow tool. Now comes Deep - just what I need! Thanks!

Will evaluate Deep asap.

Good to see some true innovation going on!  
(Version 1.0b3)

BUMBLEB  Aa few days ago I installed the demo of VMWare Fusion, along with Win XP Professional. I installed the latest Windows software updates. And the VMWare Tools.

I find Fusion to be considerably slower than VirtualBox, from which I hope to switch because I would like better cross-platform integration.

Anyone who has had the same experience? It should be weird that JAVA-based VirtualBox is faster than a Cocoa-based paid alternative?

Anyone has a any tips? I've allocated the same amount of RAM and tried enabling both one and two processor core(s) on my C2D MBP...

PS: By faster I mean Windows and app load time, screen redraws etc.  
(Version 2.0.1)

BUMBLEB  Thank you for making these. I love you for it;-)  
(Version 1.1)

BUMBLEB  Ok ok, my comment a few weeks back might have left some people thinking I was just a troll or whatever. My comment received -5 smileys as of writing. So I gave Pixelmator another chance. I wanted to make a grunge background for my website. Should be easy.

So kids, DO try this at home:

1. Take 10 images of crackled walls, with on camera flash.

2. Open these in Pixelmator and combine them as layers in one image.

3. Set the blend modes to Soft Light and Multiply, to achieve a cool result where the flashlight fades off towards the edges, like vignette.

4. Realise that Pixelmator is bad quality even in its blend modes. The result will look ekstremely posterized (tech speak for harsh abrubt gradients)... First I figured it could be my display or calibration, but no:

5. Save the Pixelmator file as a PSD.

6. Open the file in Photoshop, and see that the image is NOT posterized!!!

7. If you export the image from both PS and PM, then you can see for yourself.

Bottomline: Pixelmator is a joke. Don't just that any feature (like blend modes) are of the same quality as in other applications. Beauty is only skinn deep it seems. Like a cheap copy.

Additionally, since the interface is still way too dark, it can be assumed that the developers don't even run Pixelmator on calibrated displays, because I do, and at standard gamma of 2.2 (yes also on Mac on this side of the millenium) I can barely even see the scrollbars of documents in Pixelmator.  
(Version 1.3)

BUMBLEB  I had 2 gb ram, and now have 4 gb ram. Photoshop runs fine. Maybe because it is not GPU-based. My GPU is 128mb. Should be enough for a couple of images with a few layers. No?

Still, in its current form, I can't use Pixelmator, since brush movements are jaggy and slow, and to my knowledge pressure sensitivity of Wacon tablet is not supported? which makes it quite donkie to use for retouching.

I think version 1.3 is a leap forward with speed in other areas, such as opening images. They say 1.4 will boost the painting engine, which should cover me. But that still does not alter my perception that it is slow, and sometimes buggy, which can, in turn, indeed bring my whole system to a halt. I don't have many other apps that can do that. Now, can it be due to me running my computer hard during productive times? Yes. Can it be due to bad interplay with other apps, drivers, or even the GPU in my MacBook Pro (GeForce 8600M GT - which has some pecularities I've read about on various forums) - probably. But Photoshop has never brought my computer down due to opening a batch of 5-10 images. There was not a warning on Pixelmator's startup screen that said: "please treat me gently" so why would I not open 5-10 images at one time? When I've tried out Iris, Acorn, LIghtroom 2, and Chocoflop, they do not show the same slowness of brush movements, etc. So I think Pixelmator should simply still be considered a beta somehow. Or labeled: For web-resolution only. 72 ppi max...  
(Version 1.3)

BUMBLEB  Paul > Then out of the box the delays should be longer. And SERank should support Google and Yahoo API's.

You are right on the keyword searching. My bad.  
(Version 1.8)

BUMBLEB  Whoopah!!! Homerun!!! Just what I need these days. This app can make me less inclined to launch VirtualBox to run the horribly bloated Windows app my trading vendor supply me with. It's called WinTrade and is the epitomy of WinBloat - al the bells and whistles in the world, and then some, wrapped in a horribly horrid interface.

Real-time?

I don't know whether or not it is entirely true that it is real-time as stated though, since the download of quotes are gotten from Yahoo, which I assume offers delayed (15-20 minutes or so) quotes. But maybe I'm wrong here?

Nevertheless, a cool idea for an unmet need!

Keep it up Gaga dev!  
(Version 1.0)

BUMBLEB  And let me add: SERank does not support use of Yahoo and Google API's in order to be able to check rankings safely.  
(Version 1.8)

BUMBLEB  Well well well what can I say... I really want SERank to work, since I'm a registered user.

But - it has many glitches, some get fixed in a new version, then reintroduced in the next version. But worst of all:

The human emulation does not work - so often, after using SERank to make a simple check on search ranking, I can't use Google afterwards, since Google deems my IP address to be equal to a spyware or spam robot! Then I have to write a captcha in order to make Google let me in. That is ok, but I get goosebumps by thinking about hidden Google ranking penalties my site may get as a result of this.

Talk about brute force SEO tactics;-(

Now I consider getting Rank Tracker or Advanced Web Ranking instead.  
(Version 1.8)

BUMBLEB  ehm... what is new? Not much.  
(Version 5.0)

BUMBLEB  Has been amazingly buggy on my behalf. And usability-wise it is a mess. Unusable software actually. I know, since my girlfriend bought a license, couldn't use it due to bugs, then gave me the license, same story. That with both version 2.x and the recently released version 3.  
(Version 3.0.4)

BUMBLEB  I have this app, and sometimes put info into it, but I rarely use it. I think it requires some discipline to sit down an watch a lesson. It needs some factor that will make me have to think. Like choosing random cards as possible answers, then I'd have to selectth right on, that matches the question. As it is now, I'm too bored to use it daily. Better to spend the money on some ginseng, and the time on some meditation.  
(Version 1.4.2)

BUMBLEB  I've been a registered user since the 1.0 beta. I regularly check in on it to see if it works now.

But no. I have only one statement on this app: It sucks, sucks, sucks!

Yesterday I fed it a few large JPEG's, which made my Pixelmator drag my whole system down, so I had to do a hard reset of my C2D MacBook Pro!!!

Brushes are still slow. And today it made my whole computer slow and would not quit. All because I worked with a 5 megapixel image, in three layers, which is something even Photoshop version 4 would have handled nicely, back in 1998 or so.

I simply can't believe anyone are using this app with success, for anything else than small web-size images.  
(Version 1.2.3)

BUMBLEB  I totally agree. Both on the price and the awkward invoice design templating system.

The upgrade price should never be more than half of the full purchase. Otherwise it's like pissing the customer in the neck. I want to feel they like me as a customer and therefore lets me upgrade at less than what a new license would cost me.

Because, what are the new "whooha ka-bam" features??? I already have the basic feature set, so why would I wanna upgrade?

MarketCircle are certainly capitalists at heart, developers second.  
(Version 3.0)

BUMBLEB  Genius... How is that for a bangin' new feature?! Essentially it is just a feature that will allow Apple to sell more tunes from iTunes Store. Wauw, amazing. More distraction;-/

I'm excited to see if it is a feature I'll leave on or turn off...  
(Version 8.0)

BUMBLEB  Most ironic is that IGG Software received an Apple Design Award forthe alpha version of iBank 3 - imagine how much that alpha must have sucked, and still they got an Apple Design Award;-)  
(Version 3.2)

BUMBLEB  Did not work for. I selected the folders to be merged, pressed "merge" and nothing happened.  
(Version 1.0.1a)

BUMBLEB  I also miss that feature immensely. And the reviewer is entitled to subjectively rate how he feels fair.

And yes, why on earth should we use Apples dev tools?  
(Version 1.5)

BUMBLEB  Thanks for clarifying;-)  
(Version 10.5.4)

BUMBLEB  "Includes additional RAW image support for several cameras."

Which? I've been looking around, but can't find any list of which cameras are now supported after this update.

Anyone knows?  
(Version 10.5.4)

BUMBLEB  After spending some time with the beta and reading the release notes, I must say that I feel quite underwhelmed by the prospective features of Lightroom 2.0...

The added additions are welcome, however, there is stuff that is more important to fix before adding new fluff and stuff. Such as:

A proper library module. Adobe seems to do one major mistake. They focus on TEXT metadata for organization purposes. Adobe, let me tell you: I AM A PHOTOGRAPHER - A VISUAL PERSON. So Apple does it right with Aperture (and even iPhoto). In those, a user can see all albums, visually, and skim through them easily.

A much much more flexible print module. Aperture can layout full books!

Better branding tools. The current Identity Plate just doesn't cut it. I need to be able to load an eps or PDF file of my logo, as well as input all my contact details, and use it flexible throughout the app.

The healing / spot tool still sucks and is slow to use for anything else than the occasional dust spot.

The interface in itself is, in my honest opinion, quite... unfancy... and... square... Not

The pace of released betas (uno until now) makes be seriously believe Adobe released beta1 just to fend off the Apple Aperture 2.0 release, which does indeed boast a serious leap forward.

Why am I using Lightroom then? Because Apple is slow at adopting the various camera models I use.  
(Version 2.0b1)

BUMBLEB  Now were in JUNE and last update was back in November 2007. Most of the updates since the release of version 1.0 has been very minor, yet Coda still lacks in many simple aspects, yet very annoying in daily use. These have been reported to Panic, but met with apathetic responses.

If Panic was a stock I'd sell my stock right away. The company seems to be going nowhere. Their good reputation is a legacy at best.

Harsh words, but think about it - they won an Apple Developer Award for Coda, and received so much good press upon the release, yet this is how they chosen to maintain that hype...

Bullshit to me. Pure bullshit.  
(Version 1.1)

BUMBLEB  Nolobe did check and had some contact with the other developers. But they did not find an agreement I believe.  
(Version 1.0)

BUMBLEB  No support for Sigma cameras? Shame on you Apple... We want some Foveon love;-)  
(Version 2.1)

BUMBLEB  Just what I've been missing for a loooong time. Thanks for making this dear developer!!!  
(Version 1.0)

BUMBLEB  Thanks for clarifying. Nice of you.  
(Version 2.0b1)

BUMBLEB  Okay Cabel

Thanks for your reply. I then expect a brilliant version 1.5 next week!

... Just kidding. Good to hear yo are working on it. It's just that I feel the releases since 1.1 was relatively minor updates... Not that they were not welcome, it's just that there are some glaring things that need to be addressed, usability- and stabilitywise. Like the option to open new tabs in the background. And store the tabs URLs even though a network is down. As is now, the tabs are all forgotten when opening the Coda project/site again. Stuff like that. But I'm gald to hear you are working on it.

PS: I must ad that the instability I wrote about in my above post was solved by the latest MBP firmware upgrade. It must have interacted with certain applications somehow. I hereby free Coda from the above alleged accusation;-)  
(Version 1.1)

BUMBLEB  Good to see this app being updated to a final version 1.8.

Even though Pastor's encryption method isn't the most safe (RC4) it is okay for passwords and software serials.

Thanks to the developer;-)  
(Version 1.8)

BUMBLEB  I wish Panic would update this app a lot more frequently than they do. It almost feels like they've abandoned Coda, which I logically find hard to believe.

Also, they still have the introductory offer active: "quick! for a limited time, you can get coda for only $79" which also gives me the impression they've either forgotten to maintain their website, or haven't sold as many Coda licenses they would have hoped. It's just that Coda was introduced exactly one year ago, back in april 2007. So, it's been a while now...

But, why would I want more frequent updates? Simply because Coda is not at all at a state I would call perfect. If you open a project/site, without an internet connection, all online-tabs will be forgotten. Very annoying, since sometimes Airport fails.

More problematic is that my MBP freeze / hang frequently lately, curiously whenever I have Coda open. And Coda is always the last culprit seen in the Console, with some nasty bugs. I will report that to their support, but so far I haven't been all that impressed with their support, so time will tell I guess...

I hope they're spending their time on a killer version 1.5 update. But given the pace since Coda's introduction a year ago, I'm not so confident in that.  
(Version 1.1)

BUMBLEB  This plugin is in my experience better than WideMail. Today Mail started freezing. The console revealed some serious errors, and a Google search nailed it down to... WideMail. So back to Letterbox that has worked fine in the past. Seems to still work fine.

Featurewise, Letterbox is simpler than the Widemail, but it makes more sense, since it integrates better, because its columns are not custom, which means no wasted space. Sounds confusing, but makes sense in actual use.  
(Version 0.22b)

BUMBLEB  The new on-the-fly feature is JUST WHAT I NEEDED. Gracias. Merci. Thanks!

And on the app itself... I use it on and off... But this app is unique, and I think many people, including myself, fail to realize the power of scheduling your learning, and working actively and effectively to learn new stuff. It can be anything. For me it is mostly new habits/strategies/reactions, and technical stuff.

The app is stable, simple and a pleasure to use.  
(Version 1.2.1)

BUMBLEB  Thanks for telling me. Did not know Aperture did it that way. Shame on Apple for making it so transparent;-) My disk space would suffer.

Yes indeed the stuff coming in Lightroom 2.0 seems promising. I think it is seems very intuitive. Even after only 10 mins use. Good usability.

That said, I still wish Adobe would implement the proper spot healing brush of Photoshop, that works without defining a source-point. The one in Lightroom often guesses wrong and I then have to move the source point manually, which is cumbersome.  
(Version 2.0b1)

BUMBLEB  How does iWork replace Bento? Bento is a database, iWork is; spreadsheet, word processor, layman layout, presentation software.  
(Version 1.0v2)

BUMBLEB  Nope, not normal. Faster here. Get in touch with the developer.  
(Version 3.1.1)

BUMBLEB  Underwhelmed by this app. I thought it would at least provide me with the ability to put the timer itself in the menu bar. But no, it does not have that feature, and other features? Well, there aren't many. A timer dashboard widget can do the same, functionally.  
(Version 1.0)

BUMBLEB  Lightroom is cool, apart from one glaring annoyance, at least to me: No proper retouching tool. Aperture has a wonderful one in version 2. The "spot" tool in Lightroom is slow to use. I don't wanna define a source point for every spot in an image. I know Lightroom initially tried to guess a source point for me, but often it is totally wrong. The problem is this approach is based on clone stamping. I want something similar to the spot healing brush in Photoshop. Thats what Aperture has now. Why can't Adobe, the great inventors of mighty Photoshop include such stuff in Lightroom?

Yeah yeah, I know, this is a rant. It's just that it is the only thing that is really slowing down my workflow.  
(Version 1.4)

BUMBLEB  Whohah! Finally I'm Aflotin' again;-)

Merci, thanks, gracias, tak, etc, to the developer;-)  
(Version 2.0b4)

BUMBLEB  So, I went out and took some bracketed shots, most of them quite boring in their nature. Tried out both Photomatix and Bracketeer. I was amazed. Mostly so by Bracketeer. It has less controls than Photomatix, but yields much better results right out of the box at default settings, and at 1/3'rd of the price of Photomatix.

Just bought it, and look forward to feeding it some worthy material;-)

Thumbs up to the developer for building on good open source and providing a fair deal. Thumbs up!

I do wish the window could be maximized though, which I was told by the developer, will be incorporated in the next major update. I hope sooner than later, even though it isn't a dealbreaker.  
(Version 3.0.1)

BUMBLEB  Installed this to have a look at HDR, and was amazed by the interface. Looks like a million bucks;-)

Now, I can't wait to get out and shoot some bracketed image files on my lovely Sigma cameras.

Will be back with a review once the results have been created, and the app tested.

PS: I'm very delighted to see a developer doing such a fine job, at a decent price. I hope he will sell lots of licenses for this software. It sure is affordable, which makes the barrier of purchase minimal.

=)  
(Version 3.0)

BUMBLEB  I was eagerly following the progress of iBank through the last betas up to the final release of 3.0. While I really like what it offers, like forecasting, I simply could not wrap my head around its interface. It feels cluttered. It does not feel intuitive. At least not to me. Same goes for the previous version 2.x of iBank, and the various incarnations of iBiz, from the same developer. It feels like apps developed by a developer who may have good intentions, and great programming skills, but little usability skills. Take it from a person who is the other way round. I can't program, but is educated in usability design.  
(Version 3.0.1)

BUMBLEB  You're right, I reread your original comment, and see that you were not that angry at all. I must have had a simultaneous verbal fight going with my girlfriend, which ended targetting you, because of a brain mishap on my part. Entschuldigung-)  
(Version 1.0.14)

BUMBLEB  Together is a wondrous, useful app. The way I can sort all my files that are otherwise scattered all over the place, by simply dragging them to the dock/shelf, is so cool. And, there's so much more, that makes this app such a nice alternative to Yojimbo, which I was using before. Give this app a shot, even if no other note/organizing apps have helped you before. This one worked for me, and my flow.

On the negative side, the tags are not yet Spotlight-searchable. Which I was told by the developer a few months back would be coming at some point. I hope it will. It would be nice to have, but it ain't no dealbreaker;-)  
(Version 2.0.7)

BUMBLEB  Because I HAVE indeed tested Aperture vigorously during its development all the way through 1.0 to 1.5 to 2.0 - so please don't come at me like that. Write your own positive review. Apple needs to wake up. If you wanna brand-masturbate, by all means do so, just don't expect me to massage you while doing so. I ain't no brand whore. I want Apple to deliver the kind of super, reliable stuff that originally back before the millenium made me decide to use their products. Now they are way too obsessed with their stocks, iPods, iPhones, and a lot of fluff, plus some really poor quality control hardware wise.

I'm simply voicing my honest opinion here. You wanna ban my honesty? Come on yourself. Instead, see it as caring. I will indeed keep my eye on this product, since I want free competition and innovation for all parties. So, maybe I'll give Aperture 2.5 a better review. Who nows? All I know is, I was not bashing it, I was telling the truth as seen from my own perspective. I can't rate'n'review it for anyone else than me, right?  
(Version 2.0)

BUMBLEB  I fully understand, I'm the same way;-)  
(Version 1.0.4)

BUMBLEB  Can you launch it without uncompressing the file EWSMacCompress.tar.gz first? I find that messy, but it may just be me.  
(Version 1.0.4)

BUMBLEB  Why is the app a folder instead of a real application? It seems weird.

The app itself is good though. Though I think 29$ is a bit too much in these early stages of development. In the future it might be $29 worth.

Keep up the good work developer;-)  
(Version 1.0.4)

BUMBLEB  Damn this is expensive. Alright alright, Genuine Fractals and Alien Skin's BlowUp kost $199 which pretty much equals the 149 EURO they are asking for this one.

BUT, I don't care what others charge. Bottomline for me is... The bottomline. I have to enlarge and sell quite a few images to make this app worth its price.

This is the same situation as audio plug-ins. Very expensive. More expensive than a lot of full audio editing applications.

Okay okay, this app has patented technology whatever. A lot probably goes into research and development - or does it?

And apart from that I don't find its results to be THAT much better than straight Bicubic done with a bit of care in other image editing apps.

Still, if this app was priced more modestly, I'd maybe purchase it. Of course it is a niche app, which makes the price go up, but I'd bet there are users using pirated/cracked copies of these apps, instead of purchasing. Personally I'd like to add this kind of software to my toolbox, if only I could afford it.  
(Version 2.3.2)

BUMBLEB  JAVA as it is implemented here, simple does not cut it on Mac OS X - we are too accustomed to Cocoa goodness;-)  
(Version 10.0)

BUMBLEB  Works great, thank you making it dear developer.

It made it possible for me to play and convert some "speex" .spx audio that could otherwise only be played in VLC Player.

Super Duper!  
(Version 0.1.8)

BUMBLEB  What does people use CMYK for these days after the press industry went all PDF? Who the F**K would seriously work on their images in Pixelmator in CMYK? CMYK is a very "lossy" colorspace. Once in CMYK, you've reached the point of no return. Your image has lost a lot of data.

What most people, incl. me does these days is:

Import your images as RGB into InDesign. Then, when you export the PDF, you profile it with the CMYK profile your offset press lab provided you with, or recommended you to use (Euroscale Coated or whatever specific)...

I studied graphic design from pre the millenium, so I now how annoying CMYK can be, so nobody in their right minds should miss color correcting in CMYK.

PS: If one does for some reason need to work in CMYK, say you're a fine-art printer, with a special workflow, you would not work in Pixelmator anyway. You would use a better app, like Photoshop.  
(Version 1.1.3)

BUMBLEB  Heavy B, why are you developing two gnutella apps instead of just one? wouldn't it make more sense focusing your nice efforts into one app?

Please enlighten me;-)  
(Version 0.7.8)

BUMBLEB  Yeah... It's sad the developer did not exit this project with decency.  
(Version 2.5.7)

BUMBLEB  Well, maybe SuperDuper could have made Time Machine start delete older backup when the disk became too full for SuperDuper to do a backup.

The feature announcement indicated that such a workaround had been implemented. As is now, only fools and people with extremely huge hard drives, would share a volume for these two backup technologies.

Case closed.  
(Version 2.5)

BUMBLEB  Yes, I found the answer there earlier today. Apparently my worries were indeed justified. The alleged "solution" is to use a large enough drive... But of course Time Machine will eventually fill up the drive, making SuperDuper complain about not enough disk space. So, that new feature is a devil in disguise.

So, as usual, I'll just use my existing setup.  
(Version 2.5)

BUMBLEB  No. There is a reason I'm asking.

First of all, I'm assuming SuperDuper accounts for the situation. I just wanna know how, and whether or not it actually does. These latter replies makes me believe it does not.

Anyway,

I am not interested in partitioning the drive, if the two back up technologies can "work it out together" existing happily alongside each other on the same (!) volume. That is one of the new features of this update, right???

As I already wrote, I don't wanna waste space. I would do that by giving each backup its own volume...

Let me recap then: What is the point of that particular new feature then?  
(Version 2.5)

BUMBLEB  I know what the currencies are. Who are you to judge from what I'm writing that I don't?

It as a comment on the pricing. Nothing else.  
(Version 4.0)

BUMBLEB  A good application. I've used it a few times when it was free. The new pricing seems a bit on the high side.  
(Version 4.0)

BUMBLEB  lev >

Use. Perspectives.

=)  
(Version 1.0)

BUMBLEB  Thank you for the reply, but that's not what I was asking. I already have a partitioned drive. But doing it that way wastes a lot of space. I'm not gonna resize constantly.

My question relates to the new feature that says Time Machine and SuperDuper can share the same volume/partition.

What happens when Time Machine fills up the volume? How will SuperDuper cope? Will it work? How?  
(Version 2.5)

BUMBLEB  I'm very glad to see this update. However, I'd like to know what happens when Time Machine starts filling up the volume? I know SuperDuper always needed some spare room available to work.

So, how will the two fight for the empty space left on the drive? And what happens hen the drive is full?  
(Version 2.5)

BUMBLEB  Same here, can't access their site. Pretty bad if they just leave with no word at all. Maybe Leopard's Parental Controls made them quit business?

Leopard's Parental controls does not control individual apps as well as Mac Minder does (did?) though...

I have no kids, I just have ADD, which keeps me occupied with all kinds of obsessive / hyperfocus stuff with me being very frustrated getting into such timewasting loops, instead of working. Been trying Mac Minder before, but then my girlfriend forgot the password and I had to uninstall, and then the demo expired, and then I was not gonna buy before Leopard was released to see how well the new Parental Controls would work for me...

Now I'm considering having several user accounts, since Parental Controls is not cutting it for me, as I'm not a child. I just can't control myself;-/

This long comment is timewaste, I now realise...

Since the medical community thinks everyone is ADD these days, it would be a business opportunity if a developer would develop a cool ADD coaching app. Something like a mix of Mac Minder and MacBreakz and Life Balance / OmniFocus and Alarm Clock Pro / FlexTime. Often I've wished Mac Minder would sync with iCal and give me a calendar, that tells me which hours I can use which apps. That would help a lot, just as an example...

Developers, do something new!  
(Version 2.5.7)

BUMBLEB  I downloaded the demo, and was shocked how unintuitive and buggy such a relatively simple app can be. I really tried to make it work, since I needed a timeline app. But no luck with this one. Back to Merlin, even though it is overkill for timelines.  
(Version 2.0.3)

BUMBLEB  I also once thought OmniFocus had accidentally deleted my data, but no, after a while, I found out I had by accident done some filtering when messing around. No data loss.  
(Version 1.0)

BUMBLEB  Things... Well, it is not for me. It lacks so much. And can't even do real GTD. I'm not religious to GTD, but GTD is a system, and needs certain concepts to work. Otherwise it does not work. I know from bitter experience.

To me, OmniFocus has shown to be the holy grail of GTD apps. Some say it's bloated, but it finally gets it all right.

Things on the other hand, works from the concept of tags. I like tags for a lot of stuff, but not for my tasks. A tasks goes one place, not several, and I can't trust myself to keep every task properly tagged. I may forget to assign every damn tag to every damn task, and therefore the tag-filtered lists will be incomplete, which is not good.

Things also lacks any support for sequential vs. parallel tasks, which means a lot better next action / context lists in OmniFocus.

IMO, Things is the kind of app that to some looks pretty and oh so simply, and every idiot can use it. But gain productively? I'm not so sure... But maybe some people will... If, then I'm happy for them, it's just not for me.  
(Version 0.8.6)

BUMBLEB  I agree. And maybe Micromats slow webservers would rejoice after a thorough cleanup of TechTool;-)  
(Version 4.6.1)

BUMBLEB  If you look at the various forums around the internet f.e. DPreview or Phase One's own forums, you'll see that a lot of users are less than happy with the release of Capture One 4.0.  
(Version 1.7.2)

BUMBLEB  As a raw image developer, RAW Developer kicks ass major big time! Really. It handles every kind of RAW file I throw at it better than Lightroom and even the manufacturers own softwares...

Especially the new processing pipeline for Sigma X3F files are much appreciated. Extreme quality, both color-, noise- and monochrome-wise.

I wish the more workflow related features were a bit more robust though. As is now, I can mark select images, but no way to work through a shoot fast, delete the bad shots, sort images into different folders. And I also wish I could rotate the thumbnails!

Well, I know RAW Developer is not a Lightroom or Aperture kind of app, but more a high quality developer. And I dig that. I just feel Lightroom is overkill, and that with a little expanded "workflow" functionality, my mind would enter a zen mind state, doing less, to accomplish more. Lightroom and Aperture has catalogs and databases. I don't want that, I just want a folder hierarchy. I feel tied up with database structures.

So what do I propose? A grid view of the opened folder, and a folder hierarchy like found in Capture One 3.x series. Now that Phase One has blown their nasty version 4.0, I guess that a lot of ex Capture One users would go with RAW Deveoper if a Capture One file workflow could be done in RAW Developer. To a lot of photographers, Capture One has been more than enough to allow great productivity. I just need my shots in, work, out, next. Then have some keywords / IPTC / metatags / Spotlight tags to find a certain image again, should I need it.

Brian the developer is a great developer, answers emails thoroughly, so maybe he will consider the above? Would be way cool. The world needs less-fuzz-solutions instead of all the crowded, bloated busy-stuff.  
(Version 1.7.2)

BUMBLEB  But what if I boot from the DVD? Will I be able to safely optimize / defrag my disk that way?  
(Version 4.6.1)

BUMBLEB  Their site is a Joomla / Mambo standard template site. Not something that makes a jawdropping impression to be frank... Of course there is trouble logging in, and of course their site is slow. Joomla... Bah...  
(Version 4.6.1)

BUMBLEB  Like most other people here I'm stunned at the business logic behind this Leopard upgrade. Why on earth would I wanna pay to have a DVD snail-mailed to me? It will take weeks before it arrives...

Anyone knows if the previous version 4.5.3 works a bit with Leopard? Which features work and which don't work with Leopard? Or is it totally unreliable?

I need to defrag my disk asap, and no apps other than this seems to be Leopard compatible at this point;-(  
(Version 4.6.1)

BUMBLEB  Thank you making this, and updating it for Leopard. If I encounter bugs I'll let you know. For now I enjoy the lettorbox layout of Mail. Great stuff. Modern and functional. Thanks again.  
(Version 0.22b)

BUMBLEB  I'm more baffled by many of the prositive reviewers, including this guys, brand-loyalty to Panic.

"I bought it with my eyes closed"

"$19 is not enough"

"I trust Panic"

blah blah - just like there are Apple zealots there are Panic zealots obviously.

I think it's great these guys are happy with CB3, I just cringe whenever I see that kind of "Company X say - Me Do"...  
(Version 3.0)

BUMBLEB  I don't know why Llamagraphics bothers to keep Life Balance alive, except for their old customers, of which there should be quite few. Or maybe all their customers are Windows and Palm users. They're used to ugly looking interfaces being the norm.

But we Mac-users on the other hand, EXPECT an application anno 2007 to be Cocoa, and as a result of that, behave like any other modern app does: Spotlight integration, drag and drop, sexy clean UI, system integration (iCal somes to mind) etc.

But Life Balance is still as ugly and cumbersome as it was back in the "good" old pre-historic OS 9 times.

This 4.0 upgrade is a joke so bad it ain't even funny.

Why do I bother then? Honestly, because I'm ADD and need the kind of solution Life Balance provides. Only a true ADD person will know what I mean by that.

Luckily, OmniFocus has now delivered exactly what I always hoped Life Balance could be.

LB=RIP.  
(Version 4.0.3)

BUMBLEB  A wonderful application. Works very well, is so easy to use, and delivers every time. Never been unstable for me. Very reasonable price.

Only minus in my book, is the 12-hour forced split, which means I cannot make an audiobook that is 13 hours long, because it will be split into two parts.

Or maybe that has been fixed by now? I dunno, it's been a while since I had to make a Tony Robbins audiobook;-)

Anyway, all in all, a five-star app!  
(Version 1.0.8)

BUMBLEB  I find Shoebox in a different league, down below Photon. Not to say anything bad about Shoebox, I've used it myself a while back. But it is not aimed at the same target user.

To me, as a photographer, Photon is more like an alternative to something like Photo Mechanic. I think Photon is blasting-hyper-fast, and will evolve into a really usable tool.  
(Version 1.0)

BUMBLEB  I've used Afloat on Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger for more than a year, and it has NEVER given me any trouble. Not even the beta. Now, on Leopard, I would like to know whether or not it is Leopardized?

Normally I'd test such a thing out myself, but reading the experiences other user have had with Afloat I become wary. Secondly, I don't find Leopard 10.5.0 a stable experience at all, so I'm extra wary of anything that can shake the boat even more. "Spaces" are not preidctable f.e. and could potentially conflict with Afloat.  
(Version 1.0b4)

BUMBLEB  Hahaha, given my earlier review, I must now say that I'm now... A Lightzone user;-)

I watched the Google Talk video given by Fabio and Uwe, on LIghtZone, and the relevance of selective editing, and the concepts behind LightZone.

I tried it again, gave it a longer shot, and became hooked. Now, it ain't perfect. Its a JAVA-app. Meaning SLOW-app. And it ain't that stable either. It crash from time to time. But apart from that, I like it, I luv it.  
(Version 3.1.1)

BUMBLEB  I have had cameras whose files are compatible with Aperture, so yes I have played around with it. I check bak on Aperture regularly, hoping it will rock my world, but I find it cumbersome, slow, and not supporting any of my two current cameras.  
(Version 1.5.6)

BUMBLEB  So, where's that 3.5 update???  
(Version 3.1.4)

BUMBLEB  33% off $15.... Hmm, $5 off... Hmm...  
(Version 1.0)

BUMBLEB  Having been a beta tester and been playing around with the demo, I have to say that frankly, the developers have to work way more with this app to make it practically usable.

Little things like:

1.

When makin a gradient, I normally press the Shift-key in order to make the gradient 100 percent vertical or horizontal. No such luck in Pixelmator.

2.

No 16-bit editing. That means your gradients, or blue skies in photos will suffer from visible banding. Damn, this is not 1998! Working with levels or curves makes this fact all too obvious.

3.

No pen/path tool. Walking ants, ie. magic wand and lasso are the tools that amateurs use to select stuff. Really, last time I used the lasso was several years ago. Layer masks are nice for softer selections, but a pen/path tool is needed for the sharp edges. But I guess that will come with the introduction of vector graphics.

4.

The translucent "gorgeous" toolbox makes it very hard to see which tool is selected. Especially the crop and arrow tools. It makes me think Pixelmators beauty is only skin deep. Sadly.

... And many many many more things, too numerous to mention here.

Why am I writing this then? Because I care. I want it to work. For now my bets are on Iris from the makers of Interarchy. Judging their skills from Interarchy, it will be a splendid, well-thought out app. Though I wish Pixelmator would be a viable alternative.  
(Version 1.0.1)

BUMBLEB  That's Jumsoft in a nutshell.  
(Version 1.0)

BUMBLEB  Been a betatester, but will wait a while to see what happens with this app. I've heard it's made by the people behind Jumsoft, and they have a pretty damn bad name in my book. That said, people can improve, so let them have the benefit of that.

Anyway, Photoshop killer or not - as a photographer I'd really like to be able to abandon Photoshop. All I need is dodge, burn, spot/healing brush (in addition to clone stamp) and of course 16-bit editing.

The beauty of Pixelmator is only skin deep since all its cool stuff is only 8-bit processing. Highly critical feature.

But what totally breaks the deal for me is the lack of tablet support. Retouching = tablet.  
(Version 1.0)

BUMBLEB  Yes, the developers efforts look really impressive on paper. But the long standing joke is that the developer is seemingly unable to code a stable app.

I tried the current version, to prove myself wrong. It ran for less than five minutes, then crashed. Wauw. Not. Really.  
(Version 1.2.2)

BUMBLEB  Aperture... How I would like to love it... Being an Apple fanboy as I am... or used to be;-)

Anyway, Aperture... First, when it came out, I could not run it on either my iMac G5, or my MacBook. It would not install, because Apple deemed my machines to be too poor to run Aperture...

Then I found Lightroom. What a wonder. It runs well on both my iMac G5 and MacBook.

I still feel interested in Aperture, but even though it would now be able to run, although crawl, on my iMac and MacBook, I still can't use it because it does not support my two current cameras; Ricoh GR and Sigma SD14. What a bummer. Some may say - buy a Canon or Nikon, but isn't Apple all about "thinking different"? So should I not be able to use two wonderful, raw-capable cameras, that in my hands are the most wonderful tools I've shot with, apart from the Pentax 67? I should. At least if Apple wanna be taken seriously.

So for now, I use Lightroom, and RAW Developer, the latter being THE MOST kick-ass raw conversion app around, quality-wise. Such a visible difference. But I need the workflow features of Lightroom.

Apple, come on...  
(Version 1.5.4)

BUMBLEB  Maybe it's just me being ADD, but this software is an almost perfect example of how my head feels when I'm feeeling overwhelmed and can't focus: A multitude of chatter, noise, that makes it all but impossible to work. Same goes for white/pink noise machines. How can people stand that? I much prefer music or silence. To me, noise is noise. I understand the concepts behind chatterblocker, it's just that they don't work for me. But hey, that's just more proof that the ADD brain is different;-)

F451 > ;-)

Timbo13 > This software sounds just as annoying as a bunch of chinese people chatting. Believe me, I've tried both the software and working in a room full of fellow chinese exchange students;-) Both are very distracting...  
(Version 1.1.3)

BUMBLEB  It has proved very stable for me over the past year or so, I've been using it. I'd like to see a search feature, and stronger encryption, but what I really like about Pastor is that is stores the passwords/serials in a file that I can move around, and store on a networked drive, and therefore open from any computer on my network, opposed to many of the other serial-storing apps that saves the data in the Application Support folder, or syncs via .Mac. Pastor's approach is much simpler, and for me, better.

Thumbs up to the developer. Thanks for Pastor. It rocks!  
(Version 1.7.4)

BUMBLEB  And as everyone can see, the developer does not understand the criticism he and his company and product receives.

As when he above states the crashes could be because of a conflict with another app, while the original post clearly states that the machine ONLY runs Studiometry.

Pretty stupid then to try and help by stating it may be a conflict with another app.

And, apart from that, another app or not - Studiometry ran in a server(network environment has never been a stable experience. If the developer still had his forums online, a search would reveal that Studiometry+server=crap and headaches.  
(Version 4.1.5)

BUMBLEB  You're pretty mad at a free app... How come?

Anyway, 1001 works great for me, and indeed it does have some nifty features compared to Flickr Uploadr. For example you can reuse your tags, which is a huge timesaver.

The photostream feature bugs me though. I don't find a need for it, and would wish it was removed from the app to make it leaner and faster and easier to use.  
(Version 1.0.6)

BUMBLEB  Typo: "... connect next tuesday with august 21, which means my friends birthday, so on the 20'th I'll frantically remember I shoudl buy a present and can clean my house on the 21'th as I had planned"...

Anyway, I could make a note in Mental Case telling me to check my calendar;-)

I guess I'm paradoxically enough on-target for this app. A real mental case;-)

I'm just a bit reluctant, since I played with MindBurn (another OS X app at mindburn.com) which is same concept as Mental Case, but in the end it always ended up stressing me, having to review and "clean that inbox" as if I don't have enough inboxes and "crap" already...

Hmm...  
(Version 1.0.1)

BUMBLEB  For a person with ADD it would be nice to have it link into iCal and display upcoming appointments, since my brain rarely connect next tuesday with ""

And overall I tend to forget checking my calendar.

Would be very useful. Such a feature would make this app able to live up to its hype. The magic begins with automatic entering. As is now, you have to put in stuff manually (even if in an easy, fast way) and check it (which happens automatically, but still - you have to spend time on all that crap you put in, that you could have simply paid attention to when you put it in, or simply skipped it)...

This whole David Allen "getting stuff out of your head" and Ethan Kinkless' "getting stuff into your head" is becoming quite pathetic. But I guess we live in an ADD world, full of information-overload. And if not, then by god we'll create it ourselves. Feeling bored? Go on Wikipedia. Read up on useless knowledge, and then stress trying to earn enough money to see a therapist once a week, to be treated of your self-imposed information overload.  
(Version 1.0.1)

BUMBLEB  $49 for what you offer, in a market featuring such biggies as Amadeus and Fission...

Take a hint - your pricepoint is wacked, and will be the death of your cashflow. IMHG.  
(Version 1.0)

BUMBLEB  Oki doki. Thanks for letting me know.

Btw, are you working on adding support for video? If possible, it would be way cool.  
(Version 2.1.3b)

BUMBLEB  I liked demoing Spectre a lot. I write "liked" since I don't specifically NEED Spectre when making music. And since AudioFile Engineering's pricing policy goes towards the ProTools using, rich rockefeller studio rats (whomever they might be) I simply couldn't make myself purchase it at $88 which was its former price. Seeing now that they're at $150 makes me wonder how come most music software is so damn expensive. Musicians earn quite little. Anyway, it seems the developers of this app targets it more at B2B, ie. studios. And of course a studio using Spectre all day, 5 days a week (or more) can easily justify a mere $150.

So maybe it's just me. I started out saying I don't need Spectre. I just have a gut feeling there would be a lot of musicians, podcasters, sound designers, that would purchase a cheaper version of Spectre.

Maybe they should consider a light-version at $69, or even $59, which does not have all the different

choices of scales and modes for each meter, but only the most commonly used, ie. logarithmic for the sonogram etc.

That would be a smart business move, that would only help them sell more, also their "pro" version, since more people would use it, hear/read about it, want to upgrade as they outgrow the lite version, etc.  
(Version 1.2.5)

BUMBLEB  Did this app just got obsoleted by Apple's own Keynote in iWork 08?

Not Keynote itself can record audio and export it in a variety of ways;-)  
(Version 2.1.3b)

BUMBLEB  I've tried giving LightZone a chance several times since it was launched a few years ago. I really wanna like it, but there's just not that moment of bliss happening...

I shot film, but now digital. I don't get why it's oh so cool that LightZone is using an, imho, archaic way of working, now that I'm using a computer, and not standing in a darkroom. Zones? Bwah. What's the use in the digital realm?

Nope... What I really need is a decent retouching and compositing package. But the spot-removal tool in both LightZone, LightRoom, Aperture, are all jokes. They are like red-eye removal - a tool for amateurs. I want dodge and burn and healing brush - not circular, but able to cope with irregular stuff like a single hair that mistakably goes in front of the models eye and nose. Removing such stuff can be a real pain, with a clone stamp tool, but Photoshops healing brush + a Wacom tablet does wonders...

As is now, I need Photoshop. But Photoshop is also a lot else I don't need. I wish I will someday find a simplistic (fast and efficient = money) retouching tool... Amazing we have all these raw converter apps, and all these raw workflow apps, but not a single dedicated retouching app. I wonder why???  
(Version 3.0.5)

BUMBLEB  Dear friends... Finder in Leopard will be rockin' but for the NORMAL users - mainstream is the target of Apple's Finder. Path Finder is so much more, and so much else... Path Finder is for power users, and Apple's own Finder should NEVER be as geeky or as powerful as Path Finder. The regular mac user is a person who wants simple computing with ease and finesse. Path Finder will still be a powerful supplement in Leopard.  
(Version 4.7.2)

BUMBLEB  Not always so guys...

sRGB is a narrow color space perfect for ensuring the best results when uploading images to the web. I use it as a webdesigner.

AdobeRGB is wider, and supported by most cameras. Though, ProPhoto is a better, wider choice.

Anyway, why shoot in RAW when ending up downgrading the image, somehow, for example converting it to JPEG, sRGB? Simple:

Raw gives the opportunity to tweak and color grade and correct overexposure and underexposure, then creating a TIFF or JPEG. Had you just shot the image as JPEG in the first place, all those color and exposure corrections would look horrible.

sRGB is a wrong choice if you plan to print your image, but it's an ok choice to convert to that profile if you put your images on the web.

That's why there are different profiles: They are meant to fit their individual purposes. You can't just say: "ProPhoto is king - use it always" - that would be missing the point entirely.  
(Version 2.1)

BUMBLEB  People are amazing. A great bundle at a great price. Happy? No... Oh no! What do I see? The registered name is only semi-personalized. How oh how, shall I ever feel true bliss, when oh when, I glance at my "About" or "License" screens, whenever I feel a need to take a break from actually using the application itself.

Come on people. Don't be so Rainman about all this. Just enjoy your apps;-)  
(Version )

BUMBLEB  Holy cow an optimistic pricing strategy for an app entering an already mature and healthy market, with apps such as EazyDraw, Lineform and Intaglio.

$90 - and they even state it's an introductory offer.

Discovering the price made me skip the download.  
(Version 1.0)

BUMBLEB  Zetsurin >

To a point, I agree with you. It is a slap in the developers face to point potential customers in another direction, ie. to a competitors product.

However, I myself often look through the reviews to see if there are any displeased users, and if, then what are they recommending instead.

It's harsh, but fair. If there's a fire in a free market - the users will alert others of the smoke.

This app has less of a following than AppZapper, and so could/should aptly be priced around 6-7 $ in order to entice a purchase and compete with AppZapper.  
(Version 1.6.1)

BUMBLEB  Tom, while I realize Studiometry is used by cross-platform teams, I can only talk from my own use, and I for one, like arguably many other mac-users, don't care about a Windows version - as stated before, I'd rather have a native Mac OS X cocoa built app, that works flawlessly on my OS of choice.

I've been a paying customer of Studiometry way back since before a Windows version was released.

How come you think I'm here for support now? Have i asked any questions? No.

Have I expressed a deep lack of confidence in Studiometry development and support? Yes.

I'm not writing because I need support in this instance, I'm writing because I feel the need to comment on my own and fellow Studiometry users unfortunate issues with development and support in the past. A past where you just plain DID NOT answer support queries. Not just mine, but many other users as well. And carelessly shut down the forum. Read up on the comments here on Macupdate and Versiontracker for enlightenment.

I have tried 4.0 and I have not upgraded. I am deeply disappointed with the development and support of Studiometry in the last year.

It is my right to express in sane words my experiences with a company and its product. A product that I've used for 4 years. And enough is enough.

With your support-less time off the last months, I believe you've really shot yourself in the foot. You need a very good spindoctor to patch this IMO.  
(Version 4.0.2)

BUMBLEB  Well, wouldn't it just be neat if Studiometry was built with de facto standard Xcode from Apple, beautiful Cocoa, and not with flawed, slowly adapting, buggy RealBasic? Then the universal binary would have been a reality like... a year ago...

And furthermore, wouldn't it be nice if the developer, Tom, fully tested the releases before letting premium-paying customers be lab-rats, and loose valuable time solving trouble?

Or at the very least marking it BETA, like:

"Studiometry 4.1.b1 Universal Binary - this is a public beta, not yet stable..."

And wouldn't it be nice if a Studiometry-customer could have faith in the support-system of Studiometry? Records clearly show how Studiometry free support equals: Studiometry support-free;-/  
(Version 4.0.2)

BUMBLEB  ;-)

Thank you for explaining  
(Version 1.0b23)

BUMBLEB  Well, the stars reflect my rating...

A blogpost:

I have just published my thoughts on Midnight Inbox at it's current state + some observations on the development process applied my Midnight Beep Software (the developer of Midnight Inbox)...

It's titled: Midnight Inbox, and the wolf...

http://www.olivernielsen.com/journal/midnight-inbox-and-the-wolf  
(Version 0.9.6)

BUMBLEB  (I've tested Xcast and watched the screencast)

Not to throw sand into the machinery here, really, but can I ask some of you Xcast fans: What is it Xcast can do that I'm not already doing with iTunes for Podcasts, and NetNewsWire Lite for regular RSS feeds?

This seems like reinventing the wheel and introducing another step in a simple process.

But I'm curious, I might have missed something.  
(Version 1.0b23)

BUMBLEB  The new version for sure has some additions, but I would not call it a complete overhaul of the interface.

The reason I'm not upgrading to version 4.x right away is:

1.

Support - whatever Tom (the developer) says now, I don't find any comfort in all the previous unanswered communication. It is crucial, and unforgivable, considering the extensive period it's been a problem for many people, including paying customers like me.

2.

Studiometry is built with RealBasic. Studiometry is therefore not a native cocoa Universal Binary. What it means to me is for example:

2a.

An app like Afloat that makes it possible to make selected windows of cocoa apps transparent simply does not work with Studiometry. Why? It is not cocoa. Cocoa is the de facto norm for sexy, well-integrated Mac OS X apps.

2b.

Studiometry is still a native PPC app, and some people complain it is not very stable under Rosetta on Intel.

2c.

I like a unified interface and have therefore installed UNO, which makes Finder, and practically ANY OTHER APP look gorgeous (no more brushed metal) well, apart from Studiometry. The single only application where the icons are not properly alpha-masked and therefore look now look like poor pre-millenium gif images. And various other display annoyances. Of course UNO is a third-party product but nevertheless; SM is the ONLY app I've seen have such trouble with UNO.

3.

The upgrade from 3.2 to 4.0 is NOT a major update. Yes it adds some stability (wauw?) and bit of this and that - but the interface is still cumbersome, it still has known bugs and annoyances, and an old school interface.

So, the bottom line: Studiometry is not modern. I want Cocoa, proper system integration, Universal Binary, AND a blog on the Studiometry website, so I can see what the developer is up to, and comment on his posts, and get replies.

I am sorry to write all this so openly, but I've been a Studiometry follower since version 1.x - and recommending it widely, but no more.  
(Version 4.0)

BUMBLEB  Mike / dev. You could have posted your reply as a simple "reply" to James' comment. Just likme I'm commenting yours;-)

Anyway, I must second James' thought - I think it's a perfectly legit observation - I've had the same thought.

don't be so offended. It's just a thought - but a very valid thought in my opinion.  
(Version 1.60)

BUMBLEB  This is one irritating thing to boot.

First it worked ok, then it kinda like hung and did not switch back my apps transparancy to a normal state, even though the individual app is selected.

So, I unstalled it, and now have to log out before the damn thing is quit.

Very irritating for a multitasker like me, having all my wor-related apps open with multiple documents etc.

And on a sidenote, since it only works with cocoa-apps, half of the apps are unaffected, so maybe the purpose of this app is... pointless?

Sorry I'm harsh, but if only this thing either worked, or was painless to quit.

(PS: Yes I did try to unenable it, but to no avail)  
(Version 2.0)

BUMBLEB  I appreciate this freeware work. However, I have experienced confusion, because the file linked from macupdate.com is a sitx stuffit file, and version 0.80, but at the authors website the version offered is 0.71 packed as a zip. Unpacking that one reveals a version 0.75 - so what the hell is what? The version 0.80 linked from macupdate is indeed the latest version it seems, but the applications menu is in german?! Weird.

And the weirdness continues:

The app has speech turned on. As if it's presuming I'm blind?!

(And no I don't have speech turned on)...  
(Version 0.80)

OLIPOWER  Latest 2.1.x versions are wuite unstable. crashes f.e. when I lick the "red cross" mac os x close button in the top left corner.

Sad, because Smultron used to be very stable, at least for me.  
(Version 2.1.2)

OLIPOWER  Works for me, but woah not very mac-like user experience. I cannot just drag the flv to the dock-icon, i have to "choose folder" in the application. And you cannot resize the window. Only make it full screen by clicking the green +button. That makes the app look weirder though.

But, it does show me my flv's... And it's free;-)

So thanks to the developer for making the effort;-)

Well... on a scond thought... It made my CPU go quite high, even though not playing anything. Not cool.  
(Version 0.4)

OLIPOWER  Being bored I gave the app another chance.

After some fiddling around, it all of a sudden starts calculating the cost of the hours I put in ... Amazing,

I also found read on a website how to enter the clients address. It shows that the vcard-link button did not show up, before the app had been "exercised" for a while. There must be some initialization problems.

Sounds weird yes, but yes the app did act weird.  
(Version 2.2.1)

OLIPOWER  I got interested in Life Balance a few years ago. That was before the whole David Allen Getting Things Done GTD wave started.

I've been wanting to use Life Balance for a long time. They offer a unique approach to life management and general productivity.

However, I've got stuck on many attempts to use it, because of a multitude of issues, issues which other users / testers, have also asked the developers to implement:

Syncing with iCal. Why? That would enable me to sync todays to-do list with a multitude of other things, including my cell phone. I don't want or need a PDA. PDA's are for business people. And geeks. Normal people just don't need PDA's after cell phones have become to refined and advanced.

Interface overhaul. The interface is too cumbersome to use daily. I cannot be scaled down in any way.

Easier input of tasks. For example via a menu in finder.

More frequent updates. This would bring more attention and momentum to the application. And a chance for them to weed out the illegal serial numbers floating everywhere. Let's face reality.

A lower price. Follow the market - sell more!

The developers response is, and always has been, a combination of denial, know-all, conservatism.

To the above, their response would probably be:

"Well, Oliver, we are very dedicated to the continued development of Life Balance. Actually, last month we received an intel-mac to be able to work on the universal binary, and we're also developing some AppleScripts now. And about our business model; well we have been in business for so many years now, so we know well how to stay in business... blah blah"

Well, just tell me straight that your cup is full, and you don't wanna listen.

Ok - what bugs me is just that Life Balance could be so cool, and a lot more usable, would they just listen to their users. I've seen on their forums many times, I'm not the only one voicing these needs. And has been for like ... 2+ years!  
(Version 3.2.7)

OLIPOWER  Frankly, I could not make it calculate any cost. I put in my default hourly rate in the preferences, then started timing. It was timing, but not calculating anything. I then tried manually inputting a few hours work. Still no calculation. When makin an invoice, it still said 0,00 sum total. Aha, that must be very good for business;-)

Additionally, despite the super simplistic interface, I could not find where to put the clients address.

Sorry to say, but it left my harddrive 10 minutes after install.  
(Version 2.2.1)