DR. GIRLFRIEND  Sorry, Misha, but I disagree. Customer service from the developer, stability (or bugginess, in this case) of the app, and how frequently bugs are addressed are all very important to my decision-making process when purchasing or upgrading an app. I think this is true for a lot of people, especially when there are similar apps at the same price-point or even free.

I understand your point and will keep that in mind, but perhaps you should have changed the review to a comment instead, rather than deleting it altogether. As Revco said, it's common practice on MU to point out flaws and unfair upgrade prices in reviews. Also, if there is a pattern of neglect by the developer, we deserve to know about it so we can spend our money elsewhere. If you delete some reviews and not others, it seems weird.

What about "reviews" where the person says "Great!" or "I really like this app!"? Those aren't helpful, imho, but they're all over the place here. As long as the person has owned or used the app, I'm interested in what they have to say. Censoring some reviews and not others is a slippery slope that I hope MU doesn't descend.

Thanks for your hard work though; we do appreciate you trying to keep MU clean and fair.  
(Version 5.0.9220.531002)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Agreed.  
(Version 5.0.9220.531002)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  I've always been a huge fan of Afloat, but this new version takes the cake! Not only does it allow you to keep your preferred apps' windows on top, there's also a veritable treasure trove of extra features built-in, which allow you to work more productively.

For instance, using the Afloat menu or a few simple keyboard commands, you can control the transparency of your windows, you can drag, move, or resize a window by grabbing it anywhere (not just at the title bar or lower right hand corner as OSX demands), you can make a window remain on the screen even if you switch Spaces, you can Overlay (i.e. make a window transparent and float so that your mouse clicks fall through the window and only affect the windows below), you can pin to the Desktop and more.

This is one of those truly brilliant and amazing apps that, once you've used it, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it. The Drag/Resize Anywhere feature alone is a huge boost to my productivity - I work on large monitors with high res and being forced to grab that tiny lower right hand corner to resize really is annoying, not to mention painful, if it's done dozens of times per day.

The only thing I don't like about Afloat is that:

1. It doesn't work with Firefox (unfortunately, but it does work with Safari, Bean, VLC, and any other Cocoa app) and

2. The developer doesn't have a "Donate" button on his website. He really needs to put one up. In fact, if Aloat weren't free, I would definitely buy it. It's that good.

Thank you, Emanuele Vulcano, for this excellent app.  
(Version 2.2)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  The crashing problems seems to have been fixed (yay!), but it seems to be using a bit more memory than previous versions (85 - 95MB in VLC v1.03 vs 23MB in MPlayer Extended rev 1210).

Thanks for the update, devs. Good job.  
(Version 1.0.3)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  I don't see any hate here, just people reporting various problems. That's a good thing, since it helps contribute to the program's improvement. :)

Nobody is denying that VLC is an awesome app or that the devs aren't to be commended (it is and they are), but from the comments I've read here and elsewhere, it seems version 1.02 wasn't a very stable release.  
(Version 1.0.3)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  I used to recommend this app as an alternative to iPhoto and some of the other image viewing programs, but, unfortunately, I can no longer do so. It took the developer over one year to post an update to this current version and were it not for Snow Leopard's release, I seriously doubt he would have done anything at all.

In addition, I've sent multiple emails to the developer regarding the fact that my paid for license for version 3 will not work on this version; he hasn't answered a single one. Misha from MacUpdate was even kind enough to contact him on my behalf (since I bought the app through this site) and still nothing. Stony silence from FR-Soft.

Undaunted, I installed the current version as a trial on Snow Leopard to put it through its paces and was disappointed to see the same ugly, non-standard and clunky interface that has plagued this app from Day 1. It looks even sadder now in 2009, than it did when I bought it nearly two years ago. Apparently I'm not missing much.

Save your money folks. Judging by the lackadaisical development pace and the complacent attitude of the developer, this app is dead.   
(Version 3.1.1)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Did anyone else notice that they've changed the name from Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® to Adobe Lightroom?

Funny. I guess they've milked that cross-branding for all it was worth and are now giving it the name it should have had in the first place.  
(Version 3.0 Beta)

DR. GIRLFRIEND   That should read "it's hiding in plain sight".

I miss the edit function on this site.  
(Version 9.0.2)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  The Dark Grid view option is hiding in plain site. It under:

Preferences-->General-->Grid View-->Light (or Dark).  
(Version 9.0.2)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Dark grid view is a welcome (and overdue) improvement. It seems as if the light grid view has also been tweaked a bit -- the font seems bold(er) and the background's blinding whiteness has been reduced. I'd still like to see more GUI customization options, in the List View, for example; I'd prefer a darker (or non-white) interface throughout. Come on, Apple! Can't you trust us to choose our own colors? I don't think that's too much to ask.

No problems so far on OSX 10.6.1  
(Version 9.0.2)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  "Please note that you must install Services Update 1.0.1 prior to running the 1.0.2 update."

Wow, Adobe. Just... Wow. Photoshop 1.0 was released in 1990, almost 20 years ago, and you jokers still can't write a decent updater. The mind boggles.  
(Version 1.0.2)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  This is wonderful! I've yet to come across a browser with decent bookmarking capabilities -- especially when it comes to temporary links that you just want to read later and not store -- so this little app really comes in handy. Very nice GUI too, but I agree with AWADO; the menu should gracefully fade away after the link is dropped rather than requiring an extra click to close it.

If you're using Firefox, you can perform a similar action using the Read It Later Addon and more advanced saving, editing, and organization of webpages using Scrapbook:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/7661?src=reco

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/427  
(Version 1.0.3)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  That's just Intuit being Intuit.

http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2007/12/quickbooks-pro-bug-leads-to-data-loss-for-some.ars

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/19/BUGDGPB1RV1.DTL

http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=11165&tag=trunk;content

http://www.tidbits.com/webx?14@@.3cbbb684/14  
(Version 10.0f2440)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Nocturne 2 is available from iusethis.com (sorry for the link to an outside site, but Nocturne 2 isn't on the developer's site for some weird reason):

http://osx.iusethis.com/app/versions/nocturne  
(Version 1.0.4)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  If you're having trouble with Pollux lately, this message from the dev's website might help explain why:

"Over the last couple of days, Pollux has gotten an unanticipated high volume of traffic and downloads. We’re very happy for the huge interest and success our app has received, but for the very same reason, the third-party services Pollux uses such as MusicDNS and Lyricwiki are no longer able to support Pollux for free. Thus, our current version (1.1.9) is broken.

As we are just two college students not looking for any profit, we are unable to pay for the services Pollux depends on even with the very generous donations we have received. We’re looking to resolve this issue and continue to bring you Pollux at the lowest cost we can manage. We apologize for Pollux not working until we can sort out this matter, and we thank you for your interest and patience.

Chetan and Shashwat"

End Quote.  
(Version 1.1.8)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Hangs and/or crashes on exit.  
(Version 1.0.2)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  MPlayer Extended's in the house - and now with 64bit goodness!

I haven't used Mplayer Extended for a while because I'd been satisfied with Movist and VLC, but the latter two apps are having issues under Snow Leopard: Movist chews through memory like Jaws on a surfer and VLC is acting stupid by hanging/crashing on exit. MPlayer Extended to the rescue!

After install, this message appeared: fontconfig needs to update its font cache; this may take a few minutes (it did), but once completed, it was smooth sailing. Setup and configuration was a breeze, unlike VLC, which tends to have necessary settings hidden under arcane menu options.

Very pleasant GUI and smooth, unjittery playback. Memory usage was impressively low.

Unfortunately, I did run into a few problems:

Remember last played movie and position doesn't work. (playlist option).

ESC does not make fullscreen shrink to small screen it closes movie entirely! Oops! Not good. Most players just shrink the screen, not close it. I'd like to see an option to change this annoying behavior.

Still, MPlayer Extended is a great improvement from previous versions and is good enough to use as your default media player. Nice work, devs. Thanks!

  
(Version rev12)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Great review, Peter! Thanks for the thorough comparison.  
(Version 0.9.3)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  No prob here. Did you have Mail open or closed when you installed it? I had Mail closed and didn't have any previous versions of Letterbox installed.  
(Version 0.24b5)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Yes! It's working perfectly! Why couldn't Apple have this setting as default in the first place?

Thank you, Aaron Harnly!  
(Version 0.24b5)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  SuperDuper is the most reliable, consistently updated and easiest to configure backup solution on any platform (imho). I started using it in Tiger and found it indispensable. To this day, I still use it in Snow Leopard and it hasn't failed me once.

I have a MacPro and run multiple O/S versions on several different internal harddrives. I use SuperDuper to clone these drives and keep them up to date. SD works beautifully every single time -- right down to the last file opened and read in my email or the last song rated in iTunes. When Snow Leopard came out, I upgraded right away, knowing that SuperDuper had my back (and my backup of Leopard!) safe on another drive. I did the same during the Tiger/Leopard upgrade and can't tell you how freeing and wonderful it was to be able to go back to the older, more stable O/S with all of my apps and settings intact, while the bugs were being worked out on the new one.

I've given up using TimeMachine and other backup schemes in favor of scheduled SuperDuper backups and my life has never been easier. When one of my internal HDDs died a while ago, I just switched to my SuperDuper clone and kept right on working. I only lost less than an hour of work (the time between my scheduled backups) rather than the contents of an entire harddrive. How cool is that?

Like 1Password, I now can't live without it and only wish it was available for other operating systems. 5 unqualified gold stars!  
(Version 2.6.2)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Guys, use the "Troubleshooting" tag instead of "Comment" if you're having problems -- you'll be doing a service to others by warning them of potential issues. And if Apple sees enough of those red "trouble" tags, they might be inclined to produce a fix faster.  
(Version 1.0)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Yeah, me too, SSNICKERER. Good catch. I usually don't mind that bug though because I'm almost always running Think to focus on just one or two apps anyway.  
(Version 1.4b291)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Thanks, Steven. The feeling is definitely mutual. I've noticed your posts also and admire the way you review and comment: you are relentlessly positive and helpful. And your criticisms are always constructive, not mean-spirited. All MacUpdate reviewers (myself included) should all take a page from your book. You're a classy guy.  
(Version 1.4b291)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Bug: Tag recordings with album artwork implants album art even if this option is turned off.  
(Version 1.4b291)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  I totally agree, Rampancy.

I understand when a dev loses interest on a project or determines that it isn't shaping up as planned, but that's no excuse to string your paying customers along and to continue taking people's money. In such cases, the dev should call it a day and a make a graceful exit ... or risk the wrath of angry users bad-mouthing future projects.  
(Version 2.0b102)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Worth it's weight in gold. Speed Download plus Flashgot make downloading and uploading a pleasure, not a chore. This app literally saves me hundreds of hours per year and the customer support from Johnny is top-notch.

No issues so far with this latest update on Snow Leopard; in fact, it seems to be downloading a bit faster than usual. Nice work!   
(Version 5.2.6)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  When it's working, PandoraJam is fantastic. It's paid for itself many times over in my mind, by helping me discover new music and turning me on to new bands without the added burden of having to run a browser in order to use the Pandora.com service.

That being said, there are some quirks that you should be made aware of:

-Not compatible with ClickToFlash

-BetterPrivacy (Firefox addon) needs to be carefully configured to keep PandoraJam running smoothly.

-Flash Player's Settings Manager needs to be carefully configured to keep PandoraJam running smoothly.

-Little Snitch needs to be carefully configured to keep PandoraJam running smoothly.

If you're the least bit privacy conscious and feel the need to clean your system's cache, you're going to notice some weirdness as far as PJ is concerned. Tips:

-ClickToFlash. Turn it off while PJ is running; it's too much trouble to run simultaneously.

-In BetterPrivacy, make sure you protect the pandora.com folders and the settings.sol folder. Unfortunately, you'll also have to allow clearspring super cookies for the PJ app to run.

-Go to the Flash Player Settings Manager here:

http://www.macromedia.com/support/documentation/en/flashplayer/help/settings_manager02.html

Follow these tips here:

https://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dcs4kx8q_21dtz8dt

http://blog.pandora.com/faq/

-In Little Snitch, Allow TCP connections (for PandoraJam) through ports 443 and 80 on everything PJ asks to connect to except: google-analytics, onestat, doubleclick, and beacon.

4 out of 5 stars because the dev is not very responsive to support questions. Nevertheless, Enjoy!  
(Version 1.4b290)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Bye bye Launchbar!

Quicksilver is working just as good as it used to in the good old days. No instability, no system hanging, no crashes like with some of the other previous betas.

And on a more superficial note, I'm elated that I no longer have to look at that ugly orange LB in my dock or my applications folder. And even more elated to save $40.00! (Sorry, ObDev. Little Snitch still rules though and is worth every penny.)

Thanks, Quicksilver Team!  
(Version 1.0b56a7)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  How awesome is it to see a new stable version of Quicksilver back on Macupdate? A big "Thanks!" to all of you brave beta testers who never gave up on it and the current developers for keeping it alive.

Can't wait to try this version.  
(Version 1.0b56a7)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  I agree. Formulate Pro is another good free one.

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/19911/formulatepro  
(Version 6.01)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Thanks for the comment, KLAGRECA. I tend to classify iBiz as more of a "billing" app rather than an "accounting" app like the other Quicken/Quickbooks alternatives I mentioned above. I have a separate list for time and billing apps:

OnTheJob

GrandTotal with TimeLog

Billings

TaskTime

OfficeTime

Studiometry

Online Solutions:

FreshBooks - http://www.freshbooks.com/

The Invoice Machine - http://invoicemachine.com/home

CreativeManager Pro - http://www.creativemanagerpro.com/

InvoTrak - http://invotrak.com/

Invoices On The Run - http://invoicesontherun.com/index.php

Zoho Invoice - https://invoice.zoho.com/

MooBiz - http://www.moobiz.com/apps/invoicing/

BaseCamp - http://basecamphq.com/

Siwapp (free) - http://www.siwapp.org/

InvoiceJournal (free) - http://www.invoicejournal.com/

CashBoard (free) - http://www.getcashboard.com/

FastDue (free) - http://www.fastdue.com/

~Best wishes.  
(Version R8)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  One of the first things people ask when switching to Mac and attempting to use Quicken or Quickbooks for Mac is: "What's a good alternative to Quicken (or Quickbooks)? I keep a list in my documents folder to email to people who ask me. Here are the current contenders, in no particular order:

Prospects

iCompta

MoneyDance

MoneyWell

MoneyGuru

iBank

Checkbook Pro

Fortora Fresh Finance

Budget

If you have to use any Intuit products, I wish you luck. If you don't, you may want to consider supporting a company who is more customer-friendly to the Mac community. ~Best wishes.  
(Version R8)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Thanks for the update, Bitcartel, but the issue still persists: if "Tag recording with album artwork" is NOT selected, the artist and song title is added to iTunes under the same field (Name). Also, the album title is not tagged at all.

Workaround for users who prefer to apply their own higher quality album art is to keep "tag recording with album artwork" selected in PandoraJam, then manually remove the PJ applied coverart while in iTunes, and reapply higher quality album art with iTunes or the tagging app of your choice.

Still no 64bit love either :(  
(Version 1.4b290)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  FYI: Still not compatible with iTunes 9 yet.  
(Version 5.3.1)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  When "Tag recording with album artwork" is NOT selected, the artist and song title is added to iTunes under the same field (Name). Also, the album title is not tagged at all.

Anyone else having this issue?  
(Version 1.4b288)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Sorry, that post above was not supposed to be appear as a "review", but a comment.  
(Version 3.5)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Great review, LeMerlot! Thanks for the helpful info, but I do think you were much too generous giving Picasa 5 stars considering the huge Privacy Fail of the address book and contacts syncing.

~Take care. Dr. G  
(Version 3.5)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Canon's driver finally reports ink levels in Snow Leopard, so if you're a Canon user, give that a try first.  
(Version 1.2)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Thanks for another great update. I wasn't having any issues, but I appreciate your efforts and generosity! This is a great little app. Thanks for keeping it free :)  
(Version 3.2.2)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Movist is not up to snuff for Snow Leopard users (and possibly others, as of the current release); it has a huge memory leak. Additionally, it's not ported for 64bit and hasn't been updated since June 09.

VLC is the current champ. Don't even waste your breath to argue.  
(Version 1.0.2)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  This application launcher requires you to double or single click on the icon of the app you wish to open. Also, you must manually add each application to the list before using this program.

If you prefer to use quick keyboard shortcuts (as with QuicksSilver or Launchbar), you might not like this mouse-dependent app.

The GUI is clean, but a bit limited and on the bland side. Suggestion for the dev: add the option for user configurable colors and text. The available choices are too few.

Things you might like:

Orbiter allows item tagging which can really come in handy if you want to organize a group of disparate items and open them simultaneously. Ex: You're building a webpage about bikes. You can tag your source material including pics, docs, sketches, icons, and other media along with the client's invoice and ichat transcripts in Orbiter and open it all at once. In this situation, Orbiter is much quicker than using other apps like QS or Launchbar because these items must be opened individually there.

The simple interface might be preferable to users who find Quicksilver and Launchbar too overwhelming.

Since you manually add only the items you want, the list will stay as small or as large as you like. In other words, you will only be shown choices that you've put there, so you won't have to scroll past "BootCamp Assistant" when you're looking for "Calculator".

All in all, a nice effort. Very nice that it's free ... and Snow Leopard compatible. Cheers!  
(Version 1.2.5)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Another awesome script from TomX!

To those of you wonder why this handy little script is necessary: it cleans the crap that Flash leaves behind, like those nasty SuperCookies, which compromise your privacy and are NOT removed, even if you reset Safari.

SuperCookies or LSOs (local stored objects):

- are never expiring - staying on your computer for an unlimited time.

- by default they offer a storage of 100 KB (compare: Usual cookies 4 KB).

- browsers are not aware of those cookies, LSO's usually cannot be removed by browsers.

- via Flash they can access and store highly specific personal and technical information (system, user name, files,...).

- have the ability to send the stored information to the appropriate server, without user's permission.

- Flash applications do not need to be visible for them to be in use.

- there is no easy way to tell which flash-cookie sites are tracking you.

- shared folders allow cross-browser tracking, LSOs work in every flash-enabled application

- Adobe and the companies that store LSO data on your computer, do not provide a user-friendly way to manage LSO's; in fact, it's incredibly cumbersome.

- many domains and tracking companies make extensive use of flash-cookies which offer unlimited user tracking to industry and market research.

Think of all the sites you visit that use Flash: your bank, your credit card company, p0rn sites, shopping sites, social networking sites, medical sites, etc. Do you want advertisers stalking you across the net compiling data on everything you do? Well, they already are. These SuperCookies cookies, which few people know about and are not controllable through our web browsers, can also be used to re-spawn traditional browser cookies — they could be a useful avenue for identity thieves. iPurge Safari allows you to delete this harmful data.

Some of the info for this review was gathered from these sources:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/31/business/media/31privacy.html?_r=3&ref=technology

http://epic.org/privacy/cookies/flash.html

BetterPrivacy is an excellent addon for Firefox users to combat SuperCookies:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/6623

To remove SuperCookies from any operating system, follow the instructions found here:

http://www.fightidentitytheft.com/blog/new-breed-super-cookie-defies-removal-almost

5 stars for TomX! Although I prefer a solution that uses more fine-grained control like BetterPrivacy (because there are some LSOs I don't want to delete, like the one for pandora.com), this script is sill very necessary and useful for Safari users.  
(Version 1.4)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Gah! Floola is not yet compatible with iTunes 9.  
(Version 5.3)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  I bought this app as part of the December 2007 MacUpdate Promo Bundle and in all that time it has been steadily maintained and consistently improved by the developers, yet they haven't once asked for more money.

Contrast that with two other great programs that were sold in the same bundle:

1. RapidWeaver, who months later, bumped up the version number and wanted an upgrade fee from its users.

2. Yep, who went for a ridiculously long amount of time (a year, I think) before doing any maintenance whatsoever on their app (so long, in fact, I wondered if it had been abandoned) and then recently had the nerve to bump the version up and also stick their hands out for an upgrade fee.

Now don't get me wrong: I believe in supporting the company's whose products I use, but I also don't like to feel like I've been had.

All three of these apps are excellent at what they do, but if you want excellence AND devs who are honest, hard-working, and care about their users, then look no further. ForkLift delivers. ForkLift is, imo, the best ftp app around and it's well-worth the investment. You will get your money's worth if you buy this app.  
(Version 1.7.5)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Floola:

http://search.macupdate.com/info.php/id/23129/floola

YamiPod:

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/12411/yamipod

Both free.

I'd love to know what this app does that the other two don't which makes the developer think it's worth $12.00 in this tough economy. Even if the other two were not free, a one-trick pony like this really shouldn't cost more than $5.00 imho.  
(Version 3.1.1)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  For the love of all that is good and holy, please add the option for the user to change the blinding white background page! I paid for this thing; I'd really like to use it without searing my retinas.

There are a few choices under the page inspector, but I don't care for any of them. How hard would it be to let the user choose their own background color and set that as default for all subsequent pages?  
(Version 3.0 (v362))

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Pardon my mistake: that sentence should read, "I'd donate anyway." I tried to donate, but the developer is unbelievably sweet and doesn't take donations.  
(Version 2.4)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Correction to my earlier review: I tried to donate. This guy is just too sweet! He flat out refuses to take donations.

James Hoover, you are a scholar and a gentleman. Thank you for this wonderful free program.   
(Version 2.4)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Bean is so d@mn fast, it loads before you finish taking your finger off the button!

If you want a no-nonsense, unbloated, easy to use word processing app, look no further. Bean is The One. Bean is peerless; it makes you proud to own a Mac. Along with WriteRoom, it meets 95% of my word processing needs.

Once in a blue moon, I'll open up Word to make sure everything looks right (it always does) and using Word for just a few minutes will remind all over again of why I love Bean so much.

Can't believe it's free! I donated anyway. If I ever meet the developer in real life -- he'd better watch out, 'cause I'd smother him with kisses!  
(Version 2.4)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Look directly above your post, underneath the star ratings for this app. There's a small section which says "Other People Suggest" and gives a list of similar apps. Take your pick.  
(Version 2.0b4)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  This update didn't fix:

1. The weirdness going on with Mail (unexpected multiple copies being generated)

2. Dock pinning items that I've selected for removal, like Launchbar.

3. Sound being turned off after Reboot or Sleep. (Fix: Go to System Preferences, Sound, Output, and re-select "Line Out".)

4. SMCFan Control is shut down at sleep or reboot and does not turn on again without manual intervention, even if you set it to load at startup.

This update has seemed to fix:

1. Issue with my Logitech Illuminated keyboard not being recognized/modifier keys not working. Seems to work fine now without the atrocious Logitech Control Center having to be installed.

2. Wacom drawing tablet (Intuos 3) not losing preferences after reboot or sleep.

I'll post updates as needed.  
(Version 10.6.1)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Excellent player. If you're a Windows user, this app would be the equivalent of the K-Lite Mega Codec pack: it plays anything you throw at it. If you're a Mac user, I'm sure you already know this is one of the best free apps around.

Tested and working nicely in Snow Leopard 10.6.1.  
(Version 1.0.1)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Movist is usually pretty damn awesome, but this update is bad news on Snow Leopard. There's a huuuge memory leak -- it gobbles up over 2GB of RAM playing a simple .avi file on my system. Stay far away if you're on Snow Leopard.

Use VLC until this issue gets fixed.  
(Version 0.6.4)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Mactechhead, have you installed Little Snitch on Snow Leopard yet? How's it working out for you? Any issues? Did you do a clean install or copy over your rules from Old Leopard?

Thanks.  
(Version 2.2b1)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Even if this was called "Medium Download" or "Slow Download", you know what, I'd still buy it because it solves my number one and two issues with downloading:

1. Scheduling

2. Cut-offs

Speed Download allows me to schedule my downloads during times when it won't affect others on my network.

Speed Download will resume my broken downloads so I don't have to wake up in the middle of the night to babysit them.

This is also important if you use a browser that is prone to crashing -- and let's face it, what browser ISN'T these days -- SD continues to download even when your browser crashes. It works independently of the browser so you don't lose those big files mid-download and have to start all over.

These things are more important than speed (to me), but, as it happens, I get very speedy downloads to boot -- much faster than using a browser alone. Your mileage may vary of course; that's why the developer offers a trial. Use it. Whining that it doesn't give you enough speed when there's a perfectly good trial version available in which you could have tested the app before you bought it makes you look a bit dim.

The developer is constantly improving this product and it's a fabulous app. Totally worth the money, imo.  
(Version 5.2.4)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  I really like Yep, but I have to admit, as a paying customer, I've been disappointed. When an app like this -- so central to my workflow -- goes so long without an update or bugfix, that makes me upset. I bought Yep when it was first released and I was very happy initially. That happiness soured as time went on and none of the bugs were being fixed and no improvements to the product were applied. Instead, Ironic released several new products (Leap, TagIt, Fresh, and Deep) some of which duplicated functionality already present in Yep.

I think that under the circumstances, and given how long it's taken Ironic to address the bugs in Yep v1, everyone who bought v1 should be given a free upgrade to v2. Not fixing major bugs and then charging for an update stinks of Adobe-ism. Please don't go down that road.

There are other document management products available and though it would pain me to have to switch, I'll do it in a heartbeat if Ironic doesn't address this issue in a way that is fair to its very patient customers who have already paid for Yep v1.  
(Version 2.0b2)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  I don't know who to thank: BetterZip or Snow Leopard, but in this latest version I was able to unrar and join my multi-part archives without having to use a separate joining app. Normally I use Machacha or Ajoiner, but I haven't installed either one on Snow Leopard and my files still joined together quickly and smoothly -- even the files with passwords. What a wonderful surprise!

Thanks, Robert/MacItBetter and Apple! Nice work.   
(Version 1.8.2)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Ordinarily, smcFanControl is a very good app, but I'm having an issue in Snow Leopard that I'd like to make others aware of: SMCFC randomly shuts down without warning. This has happened numerous times after a reboot or after waking the computer from Sleep. It's happened on a clean install of Snow Leopard and I didn't notice until the temps were running quite high on (Original 2006 MacPro) and my fans kicked up a few decibels on their own, alerting me to the problem.

Please note: I don't this this is SMCFC's fault; I think this is a Snow Leopard bug as I've noticed other instances of the O/S not remembering various preferences (keyboard modifier keys, Wacom tablet settings, etc) or apps that I've set to open automatically at login. Hopefully Apple will have a fix soon. In the meantime, keep an eye on your system because SMCFC isn't 100% stable on Snow Leopard yet.  
(Version 2.2.2)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  You know how you start listening to iTunes, putting it in the background so you don't get distracted from your work, then a new song comes on that you really like, so you go back to iTunes to rate it, then you notice the song is from a compilation and it's tagged all wrong, so you start re-tagging it, then you notice that the entire album the song came from is also tagged wrong, and the artwork is missing (or worse, it's a 50kb x 50kb square photo that you grabbed from google images when you were drunk and burping up beer and pizza fumes so toxic it nearly melted your monitor), and the albums next to it are also tagged wrong because the dillhole who uploaded it put the genre down as "Spoken Word" instead of "Rock" and embedded his stupid sig, BiGgIe B@LLz MuZiK BoY!, in the comments? Now you have no choice but to drop everything you're doing to address these crimes against your music library and once you get started, you simply can't stop, and the next thing you know, it's 5pm - time to go home! You just wasted your entire flipping day fixing your iTunes library. Again.

Well one day, my friend, you will realize that "perfecting" your iTunes library is an impossible goal -- iTunes is The Rock and You are Sisyphus. Give up. Relax. Enjoy your music again. As long as you have it tagged with album title and artist, who cares about the rest? Toss it in there and press play. Then fire up I Love Stars to rate your music without looking at iTunes and you'll never be distracted again.

Tested and working fine in Snow Leopard.  
(Version 3.1)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Bug in Snow Leopard: Remove From Dock does not work. I love Launchbar, but I don't want it in my Dock. Please fix. (Btw, I have the new Clipboard feature disabled and it still won't step off my dock.)  
(Version 5.0rc4)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Sophie has posted a beta version for Snow Leopard on her blog. Here's the link:

http://www.coversutra.com/get/2.2/

Or, navigate there yourself by hitting the MacUpdate link posted above, next to the word "Developer".  
(Version 2.1.7v217)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Previously, I used a Greasemonkey script on Firefox to download from YouTube, but if you're not careful, Greasemonkey scripts can become unwieldy and lead to memory leaks. Since, to me, troubleshooting memory leaks on Firefox holds about as much appeal as watching reality television, I prefer to use iTubeX on Safari for YouTube downloads and keep my Firefox addons as light as possible.

This app is worth the money, especially since you can now also download mp3s. Solid 5 stars.  
(Version 5.3)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Another free treasure. One of the few apps to win a coveted spot in my menubar. Unlike some of the other system monitoring apps, iStat Menus has a lovely, logical interface that packs just the right amount of info without looking too cluttered. I love the way you can configure it to show exactly how much or little info you choose.

iStat makes it easy to tell at a glance if my RAM is getting too hot -- which happened to me just last week, in fact. Turns out I had a couple of bad 2GB sticks. Thanks iStat! My donation is on the way :)

Tested and working great so far in Snow Leopard.  
(Version 2.0)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Best of the Best.

When people who are new to Macs ask me about essential Mac apps, XLD is always at the top of my list. Stable, easy to use, and free. You can't get better than that. If you're not satisfied with just playing .mp3s, you need this app. It's awesome.

Tested and working fine in Snow Leopard.  
(Version 20090829)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  There is a free Brush Viewing app:

BrushView QL (requires OSX 10.5 at least because it works via QuickLook):

http://brushviewer.sourceforge.net/

However, Brush Pilot is a more elegant solution and well-worth the $15.00, imo because it even works on OSX 10.4 Tiger. This app is not only helpful for Photoshop users, but I find it absolutely necessary when running Pixelmator too, because Pixelmator's own brush management is horrendous. Photoshop's brush management is laggy and slows down the app after extended use and Pixelmator's is nonexistent. Brush Pilot to the rescue!

Brush Pilot is also very speedy, even across networked and external drives.

A Big Thank You for doing what Adobe should have done a long time ago, Bittbox!  
(Version 1.03)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Since I wrote my review on April 21, 2009, a fantastic new app called Brush Pilot has been released, which helps mitigate the brush management issues in Pixelmator. Not a perfect solution because I still feel Pixelmator's brush management is subpar, and you shouldn't have to run another app alongside it, but it's better than nothing.

Brush Pilot can be found here:

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/31704/brush-pilot  
(Version 1.4.1)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Dead.  
(Version 0.8)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Dead link. It appears that this dev is the same guy who makes iTunesMyWalkman which is still being maintained.

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/19372

Can we ask him to update this page please? Thanks.  
(Version 0.2)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Thanks for the heads up. I'll just try another app.  
(Version 1.11)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  For those who are bothered by 1Password's sometimes frenetic pace of updates, you can adjust the frequency it checks for new versions under the preferences menu. Just do this:

Preferences-->Updates-->Automatically Check For Updates

Then choose when your setting: Daily, Weekly, or Monthly.

Cheers!  
(Version 2.9.31)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Dead link. Is this app gone for good?  
(Version 1.11)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Thanks for the tip, DONKEYOTAY; I did see that. I just think the available choices are hideous.

(Great username, btw - I laughed.)  
(Version 3.0v360)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  1Password is having an early-bird sale for current customers to upgrade to version 3. The prices are 33% off. I just upgraded my version 2 Family License (5 seats!) to version 3 for $29.95! Unbelievable deal and a steal at half that price. Hurry and get your upgrade before the sale ends.

Adobe, you could learn A LOT about customer service and how to treat your loyal customers from these fine folks. Their apps are constantly improving and their customer support is outstanding!   
(Version 2.9.27)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  I disagree. Keep the updates coming - I like my 1Password app feeling Funky Fresh!

Just add a "Skip All Updates until "x" option, where "x" = the first day of the month, or the nearest Friday, or whatever.   
(Version 2.9.27)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Worst Mac App ever. Tied with Disco (the burning program). Both apps were hyped like crazy pre-release, but once the programs actually were available, they simply did not deliver on the promises they made. Lots of Flash (GUI), but does nothing but Crash.

I want a refund! Click the smiley if you think the Developers should refund every person who was mislead into buying this unstable, buggy piece of garbage.  
(Version 2.0b99)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  I agree! Auto shutdown would be awesome!  
(Version 1.74)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  This app hasn't been updated since September of 2008! Such a pity too because the unconventional UI hampers an otherwise decent program. It could really use a refresh. Despite its visual shortcomings, FR-Photo Studio is still one of the better image browsers available for Mac, and since it's priced at just $15.00, it's hard to complain.  
(Version 3.1)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Works as promised - thanks!

Might be confusing to some folks because there isn't a GUI or confirmation dialogue; perhaps a simple on/off switch would be in order.  
(Version 0.2)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Dead link. Fix please.  
(Version 1.0)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  There is a setting that allows you to turn this "feature" off. I can't remember what it is called because I uninstalled SnowTape already, but check under the preferences.

Unfortunately, whether you leave it on or turn it off doesn't matter because SnowTape ignores your choice and adds the stupid crossfading anyway. :P That was true for the previous version anyway; I have no idea if that bug has been fixed yet. SnowTape also would not place the recorded songs in the iTunes library like it claimed. These two annoyances led me to uninstall SnowTape and go back to PandoraJam which, I feel, is a superior product.  
(Version 1.1.3)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  5:00am PST - Site is up, but running extremely slow.

5:05am PST - Nevermind; site is down again. App is hanging in the middle of update. Don't bother updating until they fix their server issues.  
(Version 5.0.5)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  You don't need to uninstall the entire app to fix that; just uninstall the product key as follows:

1. In the Finder, select /Applications/Microsoft Office 2008/Office/OfficePID.plist, and then on the File menu, click Move to Trash.

2. Select /Users/username/Library/Preferences/Microsoft/Office 2008/Microsoft Office 2008 settings.plist, and then on the File menu, click Move to Trash.

3. On the Apple menu, click Restart.

4. After your computer restarts, open any Office 2008 application. The Office Setup Assistant opens.

5. Accept the software license agreement, and then enter your valid product key.

The product key is located on the back of the Office 2008 for Mac DVD sleeve or on the back of the Install Guide.

Link:

http://www.microsoft.com/mac/help.mspx?MODE=pv&CTT=PageView&clr=99-0-0&target=f2d51b70-f7d6-4a3c-ae8b-b90597d7530e1033

Next time, don't hesitate to ask for help; that's what we're all here for :)

It beats a re-install, right?  
(Version 12.2)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  To Uninstall:

http://www.microsoft.com/mac/help.mspx?clr=99-0-0&srcid=f2d51b70-f7d6-4a3c-ae8b-b90597d7530e1033&ep=9&target=9a229738-5fcd-4c82-a163-bd35845b8ddc1033

It'd be nice if you left some feedback on what your trouble is though.  
(Version 12.2)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  The weak link in this app is the interface. Just because it's called "notebook" doesn't mean it has to look like one -- or if it does, why not imitate the clean, professional look of a Moleskine instead of an ugly, spiral-bound journal? I'd also like it if one of the choices were a plain solid background, like WriteRoom.  
(Version 3.0v355)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  @MIKEGIANTMIKE - Your problem sounds unusual; I did not have that experience on any of my four Macs that I've updated. I recommend you contact Agile Support at support@agilewebsolutions.com. They're really friendly and will usually get back to you within hours.

You also might want to look through this link first:

http://support.agilewebsolutions.com/showthread.php?t=14008

Good luck! (And please post your results here if you think it will help others.)  
(Version 2.9.19)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  @MIKEGIANTMIKE - See my Tip posted above.  
(Version 2.9.19)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  How To Import Your MacUpdate License Info Into 1Password.

1. Login into your MacUpdate account. (The login area is at the upper right corner of every MacUpdate page.)

2. You will be presented with a screen that shows "MacUpdate: My Purchases".

3. Click on the word "Receipt" for the application(s) you have purchased.

4. At the bottom of the list, underneath your serial numbers, you will see a button that says "Save to AppShelf". Click it once. The file will be saved to your computer (probably to your Downloads Folder or Desktop, depends on how you have things set up).

5. Open 1Password on your computer.

6. Drag the MacUpdate file you just downloaded onto the 1Password icon in your Dock.

7. 1Password Import Assistant will open. Choose "Start Import".

Voila! Done! All of your license and purchase info is now imported into your 1Password Wallet.

1Password will also import info from a variety of other applications such as KeyPassX, RoboForm, Password Wallet, Generic Text, Cloak or Turbo Passwords, and many others. Just choose "File, Import," and follow the easy instructions on your screen.   
(Version 2.9.19)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Sweet! They've read my mind! You can now import AppShelf licensing info by dragging and dropping the AppShelf file onto your 1Password icon in the Dock. Tested and works perfectly! Thanks, Folks!   
(Version 2.9.19)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Agile Web Solution rocks so hard! Mere hours after Safari v4 is released, Agile has an update posted making 1Password compatible. Happily, this is the kind of customer service 1Password lovers the world over have grown to expect and appreciate from the Agile team. Superior software made even better by exemplary customer support.

If you know someone who is new to Macs, buy this app for them. It's indispensable. It's shocking how much time you save and how much more efficient your day goes when you have 1Password managing the annoying gruntwork of remembering your logins, wallet info, secure notes, and generating strong passwords. If I could only afford one app to put on a brand new Mac, this would be it.

1Password is my desert island app!

My dearest wish is that it would auto-import the licensing information and serial numbers from my purchased software (like App Shelf) so that I don't have to copy/paste it into a secure note myself. Other than that, this app is sheer perfection.  
(Version 2.9.19)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  MPlayer is improving, but it still doesn't hold a candle to VLC yet. Here's why:

If you drag a folder onto Mplayer, it will not automatically start playing the files inside. VLC does. This is really a necessary feature if you have hundreds of organized music or video folders and don't want to open each folder, then manually drag the file(s) into MPlayer, just to make a playlist.

There is no way to Save a playlist. VLC can.

There are no keyboard shortcuts to skip, go back, shuffle, repeat, or add folder. VLC can do this.

If you start playing a song and decide you don't like it, click remove. Watch in amazement while MPlayer removes the song, but decides to keep playing it anyway. This behavior is idiotic.

Player freezes and stalls frequently. Ex: 1) Started playing an .avi file in fullscreen, pressed ESC key, MPlayer completely froze my computer. Required a Force Quit to regain control. 2) Hovering your cursor over any menu item while a song is playing will cause the song to stall. Remove the cursor from the menu and the song resumes. 3) MPlayer stalls when more files are being added to the playlist if a file is already playing.

Playlist window keeps hiding behind other apps. This is annoying if you're trying to drag items into the playlist from several different windows.

Can't play .m4a files. VLC, Songbird, Cog, Play, ToolPlayer all play the same files with no issues.

When mixed file types are added to Mplayer, it allows all of the songs to show up on the playlist, but will not play any m4a. Skips to next .mp3 in the playlist.

Shortcut For Show/Hide Playlist doesn’t work.

Player starts playing new files when files are dragged into the playlist. It should continue playing current file and not skip to newly added. VLC behaves correctly when new files are being added.

No ability to shuffle playlist.

The mini player is still too big -- it should be really mini, like Songbird.

Does not respond to media keys on Apple keyboards. To be fair, VLC doesn't either, but Songbird does with this little Addon:

http://addons.songbirdnest.com/addon/1408

The good thing about MPlayer is that, like VLC, it uses a fairly small amount of system resources compared to iTunes and Songbird, which are both pigs.

The interface is straightforward, if a bit bland.

There are too many minuses for me to recommend this app, but hopefully, it will continue to improve. You can't argue with the price.  
(Version 1.0rc2)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  @RICHCASTILLO: It still runs even if you're not connected to a network. Tested today on Leopard with network turned off (however, the application did require a network connection to apply the serial number beforehand).  
(Version 3.0v355)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  This tool is very handy. I can't tell you how many times I've uploaded intimate pictures of Monarch and me to our flickr account and forgot to turn on "private browsing" in Safari, then rush out, forgetting to clear the cache because we're too busy arching Dr. Venture. You can imagine the rest: those d-bag Henchmen download images from the cache and the next thing I know, I'm getting calls from every p3rv on Craigslist with a Harvey Fierstein fetish and a bottle of lotion.

Anyway, SafariPB is great! I use it with Launchbar and now it opens automatically instead of the regular Safari. I'm a busy gal and I can't remember to always manually turn on private browsing, so this little applescript is a lifesaver for me. Thanks, TomX!  
(Version 1.7)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  This browser sounds really exciting! I'm a long time Firefox user (since the days when it was called Phoenix) and I'm truly disappointed in how bloated, buggy, and memory-intensive Firefox has become. It all boils down to leadership and the Mozilla Foundation has been operating like a beast with too many heads for years now. I want my lean, mean privacy-conscious browser back -- not this gargantuan, crash-prone imposter who shares a bed with Google.

As soon as this browser implements 1Password and a decent ad-blocking program, Firefox's days are numbered.  
(Version 0.6)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  The good news:

1. It installed this time.

2. The interface is clean and minimal.

3. There are a few sample Feeds to start you off with.

4. It's free.

The bad news:

1. On every launch, it presents a pop-up window demanding to know "Where is Growl Helper app?" Hm... Well, I don't use Growl on this computer. I ignore the "Browse" option which wants me to search my HD for Growl and instead choose "Cancel". The app loads at last.

2. Is there such a thing as too minimal? Yes, unfortunately. An app is too minimal when the user cannot instinctively figure out how to use it and consults the Help File only to be told, "Help isn’t available for One Objective Feed."

3. I finally figured out how to add feeds under the "Manage Feeds" button, but nothing happens after the button is pressed. Sigh.

4. The sample feeds don't display any images even though they should. (The Dilbert cartoon works though.)

5. There is no way to organize and/or group the feeds.

6. The pane which separates the feed titles from the actual text of the articles is non-adjustable, therefore when you have more than a few feed titles to browse through, you must tediously scroll to the bottom.

In conclusion: Appearance isn't everything. Although this app is off to a nice start with it's pleasant GUI, I'd like to encourage the developer to spend a little more time working on the usability issues outlined above. I'll check back in a few months and see how this app is coming along. It could be very promising.

Good luck!   
(Version 1.5)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  @xenophile: RecipePuppy.

http://www.recipepuppy.com/  
(Version 1.2)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Double post. Ignore.  
(Version 1.2)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Cost isn’t the issue, my friend. Both programs are image editors and as such, should perform a basic function like brush loading & removal quickly and reliably, without the user having to dig around in nestled folders outside of the app to manually remove them. That is not an advanced feature that only $699.00 programs can do.

If you want people to stop comparing Pixelmator to other apps in the same category, ask the dev to update the description on his homepage. Currently it states:

“Pixelmator, the beautifully designed, easy-to-use, fast and powerful image editor for Mac OS X has everything you need to create, edit and enhance your images.“

That’s a bit over the top, all things considered, don’t you think?

If everyone acts like raging fanboys and won’t give constructive criticism, how do you expect this app to improve?  
(Version 1.4.1)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  I keep trying to love this app. The interface is absolutely gorgeous, but as a hardcore Photoshop user, I'm sad to say Pixelmator just doesn't cut it for me. Ex: I added a bunch of custom brushes that I wanted to experiment with and Pixelmator just blobbed the brushes in one giant panel, right next to the Default brushes the app came with, until the brush palette extended off of the viewable area of my 30" monitor!

There is no intelligent Folder Structure nor an easy way to group your brushes once you add them to Pixelmator. Scrolling from the top to bottom of your New and Expanded Brush Palette is a nightmare. And what's worse, Pixelmator doesn't allow you to delete more than one brush at a time from within the app, so every time you open it up, "HI!!!" the giant brush palette is there to greet you.

I read the manual and this obvious flaw is never addressed. I contacted the dev and unbelievably, he advised me to delete this giant brush palette by navigating to User/Library/Application Support/Pixelmator. Give me a break. I'm not doing that every time I need to delete my brushes. Back to Photoshop for me. It may be a bloated, over-priced pig of an app, but at least I can get my work done in a timely fashion.

Pixelmator may be fine for users with simple needs, but power users who know their way around Photoshop might be better served waiting until this app matures.   
(Version 1.4.1)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Crashed after install. Hung immediately upon 2nd launch. Had to force quit after a couple of minutes. Too bad. I really like the clean interface shown on the screenshot.

MacPro|10.5.4|8GB RAM.   
(Version 1.4)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Nevermind; when the app relaunches, the unwanted feed puts itself back.

Screw that. Into the trash, NewsFire -- that behavior is unacceptable, free app or not.

I'd change my review to a 2 if I could.  
(Version 1.6v76)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  To Remove The Developer's Blog From Your Feeds:

1. File-->Add Group--> name the group "Lame".

2. Drag the unwanted blog into group "Lame".

3. Right click "Lame", select Remove.

4. Remove Group and Feeds.

Done deal.

As far as the app goes, it's decent. Other than the obnoxious trick of forcing people to view and not delete his blog, it's easy to use and fairly nice looking. I actually bought this app before it went free, but it's not my RSS reader of choice; I use it because the others I've tested seem buggier. NewsFire wins by default.  
(Version 1.6v76)