CURLYPAWS  This is a brilliant little puzzle game containing stunning hand-drawn graphics and some devious little puzzles. It is well worth a look (a demo is available) and is great value for the amount of entertainment it provides.

The hero is a small robot that you control. As you progress you get snatches of the background to the story. You also get to meet a tremendous variety of both cute and less pleasant robots. The controls are easy to get the hang off and there are two levels of clues within the game. There is a single clue, easily available. However, if you are really struck there is a mini version of Scramble that you must make it through to see a walkthrough for the screen. This helps stop you reverting to the walkthrough too quickly!

For the graphics alone, Machinarium is worth the money - but the well-pitched puzzles and cute storyline also really impress. The games plays nicely at full screen, although I've noticed a few graphics glitches at the edges of the screen (they don't affect gameplay).  
(Version 1.0)

CURLYPAWS  A really neat utility, ForeverSave lets you save documents as you work on them.

For each program you select, you can set options on how many versions of documents you would like to retain (and since you can be saving every few minutes, it offers a more granular save option than Time Machine). You can control how often saves are performed and whether ForeverSave prompts you for an initial filename if you haven't saved the document at all.

All of this makes it indispensable when you are working on that important document only for the program to crash just before you saved things. If you are running ForeverSave then you'll only have lost a few minutes work - rather than something much worse.

The program offers a very nice interface for setting up the configuration (and editing it) for each program - as well as a visual indication of the versions available for each program. You can exclude certain folders from saving if you need to do so. You have the option of saving and taking a backup version, just saving or just backing up. If you opt for backups you can then browse the versions of the various documents to find the one that you need. The only downside if you select a program like Interface Builder is that a lot of files may share the same name - so you might want to give things sensible names as unfortunately the full path isn't visible. You can always open a copy or the original document or use Quick Look to see what it is.

There is an overall switch to close ForeverSave if you need to (I haven't found any reason to). The icon indicates whether the program is on or off. ForeverSave also comes with a very complete manual. I find it to be ideal for those situations where something happens and I've not saved the document for a long time. It also comes in handy if you save a version of the document and then decide you preferred an earlier version of it. You can go back and retrieve the old version. I'm very impressed with it.  
(Version 1.0)

CURLYPAWS  I'd suggest looking at Abbyy FineReader Express as mentioned above. I've found it to be a far better OCR package than the previous version of ReadIris, it doesn't have an artificial 50 page PDF limit and I also found the inability to upgrade the program normally to be very annoying with ReadIris (although their support were helpful when contacted - so long as i could provide proof of purchase).  
(Version 12.0)

CURLYPAWS  A very nice program that works well with the iPhone and isn't overloaded with too many features. I've found it to be very stable in operation, unlike some of its competitors.  
(Version 1.0.1)

CURLYPAWS  I've long hoped that Abbyy would bring FineReader to Mac OS X, since OmniPage has fallen by the wayside and ReadIris has a number of irritations (a clunky upgrade procedure has always tried my patience and a limit of 50 page documents annoys, unless you spring for the even more expensive Corporate version).

While I was disappointed that it was FineReader Express rather than the full product, I've found the results to be excellent. You can't correct the output within the program, but you can amend its recognition of tables, graphics and text blocks. And, in fact, the output is very good indeed - needing a lot less correction than either OmniPage or ReadIris.

For the price, this is the best Mac OCR package available and, while it means that a full version of FineReader is probably less likely I'd still like to hope that we might one day see it - if only to offer an even greater degree of control over the output from within the program.  
(Version 8.0.0.2806)

CURLYPAWS  Another FotoMagico 2 Pro user who is very unhappy about being stung for $89 to upgrade - the same price as someone with Fotomagico 1 or FotoMagico 2 Express (or the bundled Roxio version). A strange way to treat your customers - but sadly there seems to be no attempt on Boinx's part to correct this.  
(Version 3.0.4)

CURLYPAWS  It cost a lot to upgrade from 2 Home/Express to the 2 Pro version. I can't understand how Boinx feel that this shouldn't entitle existing Pro users to a lower upgrade price than someone who never paid the extra for the 2 Pro version. Sadly I won't be upgrading.  
(Version 3.0)

CURLYPAWS  There are times when you really do need to find up what is taking up hard disk space. And, as has been noted, there are a number of alternatives for doing so. So when I tried DaisyDisk, I was rather sceptical that it would offer anything new.

However, having found quite a few files and folders that I could discard, I've now bought a license. It makes a rather dull task really rather slick and (surprisingly) fun. It can be tricky when looking at small individual files (as they are very narrow slivers) but then, you aren't going to save a lot of disk space by deleting them!

The one place where it loses out to something like Baseline is in the ability to see how disk usage has differed between two points in time but, that said, this is a very neat utility.  
(Version 1.0.1)

CURLYPAWS  I often run a couple of other browsers alongside Safari, and when I do so I would like any links to open in my current browser. Highbrow makes this possible without the need to visit Safari’s preferences. Everything from NetNewsWire through to Mail then open their links in my current browser.

I can also get Highbrow to check which browser to open a link in.

It may be a niche application, but it works very well. I’ve found Helium Foot to be fast and friendly too if I’ve needed to ask any questions.  
(Version 1.0)

CURLYPAWS  After some initial problems with an early beta version (I had to restart the syncing from scratch), I’ve found SugarSync to be very good. Speed has improved with the newer versions and, while it isn’t the fastest, I find this to be outweighed by the convenience.

Taken in combination with the iPhone version, you really do have access to your files from anywhere - without them having to be on your local machine. The other big benefit to SugarSync is that you can tell it the directories to sync - you don’t need to move your files into a special “sync directory”.

I use it to sync a limited set of files - I certainly wouldn’t look to sync my entire hard disk. Given that you use it to access a limited set of files that will actually be useful from other machines then I can definitely recommend it.  
(Version 1.1.12)

CURLYPAWS  I liked Delicious Library 1.x quite a bit - the vertical information panel layout that made good use of a wide screen, the ease of use and the general UI goodness.

When v2 came out, I foolishly upgraded straight away. I found that the vertical information panel was now horizontal. The program was still easy to use and still looked great. But as the first patch came out, it seemed like a house of cards. I now got frequent crashes. Despite submitting the (frequent) crash reports, the latest version still crashes with exactly the same problem.

I've now given up on the program and switched to another. It may not have the same visual polish, but it has a great set of features and, best of all, it doesn't crash out to the desktop shortly after browsing a couple of movies.  
(Version 2.0)

CURLYPAWS  It works well, and I've been impressed with the ease of use of control points in Capture NX.

But the price - they must be joking! Here in the UK we get to buy it for the equivalent of $385, around a 54% markup over the US price (and the US price is ludicrously high as it is). So we have a GBP197 plug-in for a program costing GBP129...

Have Nik become part of Adobe (the past masters of price gouging for those of us outside the USA)?  
(Version 1.0)

CURLYPAWS  I've been very impressed with VectorDesigner - especially the fact that it can do some level of conversion of raster images to vector ones. This is the one feature that I've missed from Illustrator and haven't seen elsewhere. And while it can't match the tracing capabilities of Illustrator, it makes a very good job of simpler images.

I did notice problems with image fill of shapes (quickly fixed in v1.0.1), but otherwise the program is stable and performs well. The interface is sleek and integration with Flickr and iSight cameras is well done. The program help is a little basic at the moment, but most of the interface is very intuitive anyway.

I was impressed enough to register a copy. This is one of the best reasonably priced vector programs for the Mac and I hope that TweakerSoft continue to evolve and improve it.  
(Version 1.0.1)

CURLYPAWS  I've tried most of the Mac finance packages in the search for something similar to Microsoft Money. MoneyWell isn't that, but what I discovered was that I had been looking for the wrong thing.

MoneyWell has a different philosophy - and is aimed at helping you budget each month and track where you are spending your money. Instead of getting to the end of the month and discovering that I had overspent, it is now evident before it even happens.

This change of emphasis is really refreshing and I've found it a much better way of tracking my finances. Having said that, MoneyWell offers many of the features of something such as Money - including a very nice reconciliation feature. It still lacks a few bells and whistles such as scheduled transactions, but development is constant and (most important) building on a stable base.

Highly recommended.  
(Version 1.2)

CURLYPAWS  I've not really had many problems with the Logitech Control Centre until v2.1.4 - it now seems to drop communication with my MX Revolution mouse intermittently and proves very difficult to get working again (the only reliable fix has been re-installing). It would also sometimes drop out of the Free Spin mode for no apparent reason.

As a result I've switched to SteerMouse which works perfectly and supports the MX Revolution's feature set. I'm now enjoying my mouse again!  
(Version 2.1.4)

CURLYPAWS  I found Ascent by chance, and thought initially that with Garmin’s Training Center software now available for the Mac that this wouldn’t offer much. How wrong can you be?

Ascent gives you pretty much the same as an online service such as Motion Based, but on your own Mac. It can show you the full GPS output from your ride, you can get spot values or you can play back the ride on a graph or map and view the figures. It has some nice summary reports as well.

All in all, it is hard to ask for much more. Support covers Garmin’s Edge and Forerunner GPS units at the moment and can read data from them directly. It may work with other Garmin units, but that isn’t guaranteed. If you have an Edge or Forerunner unit you should really check it out!   
(Version 1.2.8)

CURLYPAWS  This is a very neat little application, which I ended up buying soon after trying.

I love the ability to link e-mails and files to a program - particularly since (like LicenseKeeper itself) some programs are licensed through files rather than numbers.

It has a great ability to suck serial numbers out of e-mails.

It doesn’t password protect its database, but as a home user that isn’t an issue. Storing other security items separately would be justified for me as I would want them password protected.  
(Version 1.0)

CURLYPAWS  If you want to build a tutorial or help for an application, then ScreenSteps is well worth a look.

The application allows you to capture screenshots - either using the built-in screenshot utility or your favourite. You can then annotate them and output the resulting instructions as PDF or HTML. The format is very attractive, and it is possible to tailor it too.

I'm very impressed with the ease of use of ScreenSteps - it turns what is normally a chore into a quick and easy task. Very much recommended.   
(Version 1.0.4)

CURLYPAWS  I've used Toast since I got a Mac, and this new version is the best yet.

The best features for me are:

* The progress dialog when burning

* The tidier interface when choosing the disc type

* The ability to fade from one song into the next (from Jam) - I just wish Apple would licence FairPlay to let Roxio do this with iTunes Music Store purchases

* The disc catalog add-on

I had looked at Disco, but it is a triumph of glitzy graphics over everything else. Toast is still the best.

My only criticism would be the Roxio web site, where it wasn't at all clear that I could get a lower price for upgrading from Toast with Jam - so I ended up paying more than I needed to. It is a shame that the same clarity used in the Toast front-end wasn't used on the Roxio web site.  
(Version 8.0)

CURLYPAWS  I used to like the .Mac ability to send electronic postcards, but was frustrated that I couldn't make up my own ones without remaining a member (and it just wasn't worth it for the features).

So I was very pleased to find Posterino and see the flexibility it offered. Of course, it does life posters and photo frames too.

The supplied designs are very nice indeed, but you can design your own or change the shipped versions. The scaling and moving of photos works very well too.

The program integrates with Aperture as well as iPhoto and Entourage (or other e-mail programs) as well as Apple Mail.  
(Version 1.0)

CURLYPAWS  I've used a number of other clipboard utilities, and generally after some period of initial novelty I find that I'm just not using them because they make it awkward to find the clips I want. Often they try to make up for this with flashy graphics, but the truth is that the cost is usability.

So I was very pleased to find PTHPasteboard. I've actually kept using it and found it an excellent program that keeps out of the way until I want to access it and then is really easy to pull up. It may not have the graphics "flash" of some, but it works very well indeed.

I went for the Pro version partly because I wanted to reward the developer for his efforts - and also because the filter functionality is very good.  
(Version 4.1.1)

CURLYPAWS  I had looked at one of the earlier versions of Yep (it had a different name then) and hadn't really taken to it.

However, I do store a lot of important documents as PDFs for reference and trying Yep again now I found that it was actually a great way of storing and retrieving documents - especially if they are image files and can't easily be indexed from the content.

The program has a lot of great features, but also has some very nice effects that complement the functionality and make it good to use. While there were a few lingering problems, the developers have been quick to respond and helpful and fixes have appeared very quickly indeed.

For what it does, I consider it very good value.  
(Version 1.2.3)

CURLYPAWS  This is a great little piece of software - easy to use, attractive and with some really unique features with a really responsive developer too.

I highly recommend it.  
(Version 1.4.2)

CURLYPAWS  This is really nice - it keeps out of the way until you need it, gives two alternative ways to view your clips and works very well.

It is slick and avoids feature bloat and seems pretty lightweight on system resources.  
(Version 3.0.2)

CURLYPAWS  I'm very impressed with Inform. I've used Adobe Illustrator, but every time I use it I have to consult the manual - especially if I'm doing anything complex.

However, with Inform I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to create quite complex graphic effects. It really is easy to use.

Inform also has the advantage of being Intel native. While it may not have all the effects of Illustrator (I love Illustrator's tracing options), for many tasks Inform is a far better program and far cheaper to boot.

The first release was very impressive, and version 1.0.1 has already appeared to tidy up some of the few small bugs that have been found.  
(Version 1.0.1)

CURLYPAWS  I would rather you tried the program before reviewing it!

Version 2 adds a new graphical appearance along with a lot of extra functionality.

Please give the demo a try - you may well find that you like it.  
(Version 2.1)