KRIONI  First, just to clear something up - I have nothing to do with this product, just commenting on an intellectual property issue that I find interesting. So, I'm unlikely to get a nasty letter from WD's lawyers.

You're certainly right that large corporations have often sued people without legitimate grounds. That doesn't mean it always happens. Here, not only is the product name in a different market, it isn't even the same name. Also, the word "velociraptor" is not unique to Western Digital, but is rather a name for a dinosaur made popular in the movie "Jurassic Park." You'll notice that the owners of the movie "Jurassic Park" have not sued Western Digital.

So, while I understand that some random corporation may frivolously send threatening letters to people who have not infringed in any way upon their intellectual property, it isn't certain. Also, if people going about their lives always took into consideration that someone may sue them for no good reason, no one could ever do anything. What is usually done is an analysis of the likelihood that you have actually infringed upon someone's intellectual property, and then evaluating the likelihood that they will bother to sue you. Here, the likelihood of both seems fairly low.

Also, your "copyright notice" disclaimer seems amazingly unnecessary. People use puns all the time based on names of popular music/movies/etc without having to apologize. Due to the extensive nature of our entertainment media, if one had to publish a disclaimer every time one uttered a phrase that happened to have come from, or been the title of, a movie or song, we would be unable to communicate. I think your closing paragraph is a great example of the craziness that would result if we all were as worried as you seem to propose. There are a few useful concepts in intellectual property law: fair use, de minimis use, and so on. Good thing, or we would have to abolish all intellectual property for our society to survive.   
(Version 1.1.234)

KRIONI  Western Digital makes a drive called "Velociraptor," which has the letter "i" in it like the dinosaur it is named after. This software omits the letter "i" to make a pun on what it does: OCR. Also, software for performing OCR is a very different market than hard drives, so there's no worry about confusion. I don't think WD will have anything to say about this software.   
(Version 1.1.234)

KRIONI  Strangely, every Modification Date is from June 2009. Have the developers waited 4 months to release something they finished in June, or did the computer they put this together on have a really bad Date setting?

I'm looking forward to using this, but thought that was very strange.  
(Version 1.0b56a7)

KRIONI  @Moog Modular:

Hmm. If you are complaining that Apple should update their included open-source software packages more often, I somewhat agree with you. That said, Apple has a lot to test for, and non-critical open-source updates probably fall behind fixing bugs that actually cause problems for users.

However, it sounded very much like your were criticizing the volunteer developers of a free open-source package of software for not compiling and hosting binaries. That's what I was offended by. Yes, you paid Hamrick, but you didn't pay these guys. They owe you nothing.

As far as hosting costs, you must have a great deal with dreamhost.com - their page describes unlimited hosting as costing $8.95/month, which is quite a bit more than $10/year.

However, I bet you could contact the developers directly (MacUpdate.com comments are probably not the most direct way to reach them), and offer to host compiled binaries. Or, perhaps you could team up with someone who, while not skilled enough to develop the software itself, could at least help in compiling binaries, and then you host them. That wouldn't even require contacting the developers, just finding one person to do (or help you do) the compiling. That would be much more constructive than seeming to blame people who are working for free because they want to make good software for the community.

Once again, if you were picking only on Apple, most of what I said does not apply. You certainly DID pay them, and so have every right to complain, even if what Apple is doing might make sense (as far as where they place priority on updates).  
(Version 1.4.1)

KRIONI  P.S. I'm also a customer of Hamrick Software (developer of VueScan). A great product, and I expect customer service from Hamrick because I am a _paying_ customer. Did you send this developer money? No? Then don't pick on him.  
(Version 1.4)

KRIONI  @Moog:

Look, that is the point: this developer does NOT "sell" this. He's saying that he can't afford to host the binaries. Think that's bad - do it yourself, then, if it is so cheap.

Second, if you cannot compile the binaries to this updated version of open source software, just wait for Apple to include an update when they think it is necessary. Is there something wrong with what comes with Mac OS X for you? This is one of those :if it ain't broke, don't fix it situations" unless, of course, you are the kind of person who wants to (and CAN) compile the freshest binaries yourself.

Don't be rude to someone who is developing this software for FREE. At some point, Apple will decide to include updates, and then this guy's hard work will benefit millions of Mac users.

Geez!  
(Version 1.4)

KRIONI  Note that if you send a Pagehand PDF to someone who then edits it with Adobe Acrobat, the resulting PDF will no longer be able to be edited by Pagehand.   
(Version 1.0.5)

KRIONI  I don't know if you missed it either, since you're commenting on 1.0.4 and I have 1.0.5, but there is an Export option in the File menu on 1.0.5, and RTF is one of the choices. So, if it wasn't there before, it is now.  
(Version 1.0.5)

KRIONI  I would say that I'm surprised by some of the comments about price, but I'm not. I've read too many opinions from people who say that $10 is too much for something that makes their life much easier. Ever take a cab when you could have walked or taken a bus? Ever gotten fast food instead of making lunch yourself from groceries? Come on, people!

Anyway, this utility enables me to do something VERY useful: save my SMS conversation, my call log, my Notes (without using Apple's Mail.app), and more. I paid $10 gladly.

I've had a few issues when MSB tries to read the data files created by various third-party apps (especially the AT&T app - not sure what was wrong with it, but I bet it was AT&T's fault). When I've emailed the developer, he was very responsive and helpful. He handles my complaints professionally and has resolved the issues I had. What more can you ask? MSB has to deal with many different file formats in the iPhone backup and the developer has pointed out that people are reluctant to send him their files so he can see what went wrong (I was at first, but have come to trust him).

Anyway, this is a VERY useful application and there are no good alternatives that I am aware of. So, the question is whether backing up your conversations, call logs, and more is worth $10. If the answer is "no," why are you an iPhone owner? You're paying how much per month to create those messages, and yet don't care about saving them for the future?   
(Version 3.1b2)

KRIONI  There are some really dopey comments on here. They aren't reviews, merely pushing their own biases. Many people were willing to pay for Eudora and did so. If Infinity Data Systems can make an email application that can start to match the features of Eudora, they will actually be able to _sell_ MailForge, not just give it away for free like the other email clients.

I'm going to guess that IDS is shooting for paying customers, not free-loaders who didn't appreciate the power-user features Eudora had and no other email client does, or seems interested in ever adding. They probably won't take advice from those who aren't willing to pay. I've been in their forums - they are very responsive to people who want the features of Eudora and are willing to pay for them. If you don't know about those features and aren't willing to spend any money, I'm hoping they will ignore your advice.  
(Version 1.0.2)

KRIONI  @JIMW:

Note that this can also create iCal events (not just Todos), by typing in free-form information like "at 3:00 pm tomorrow" (or whatever), rather than clicking on 10 little boxes to change the day, hours and minutes.

That makes it much faster.  
(Version 1.3)

KRIONI  Those file size are typical. A standard read-only disk image created by Disk Utility is about 10 MB, even when the application and README are less than a megabyte combined. However, the developer could make a Compressed Read-Only disk image, which would then make the disk image about the same size as zipping that 10 MB standard disk image, and, unless their web server cannot serve DMG files directly (doesn't know the MIME type so web browsers try to load it as text and see gobbledy-gook instead of downloading the file), make zipping the disk image unnecessary.

Strangely, many developers don't know about Compressed Read-Only disk images.  
(Version 0.4.1)

KRIONI  Suggestion to developer: People are more likely to find out about your app if it has a unique name. I'm assuming when people do a search on Google (or any other search engine) for the word "Tagalog" your app won't even be in the first page of results.  
(Version 1.0b3)

KRIONI  Does what it says, simply. I didn't think I would need it. Then, when I was hooked to a TV screen and using the mirrored-displays setting, I was at 1024x768 resolution. Needless to say, that meant I didn't have a lot of menu bar in Safari (watching something on Hulu). I went to hit Caffeine (to keep the screen from dimming), but it wasn't visible. Same thing in the Finder. Then I remembered this app, Menuola. Downloaded it, fired it up, and voila!

Nice to have when you need it.  
(Version 2.0)

KRIONI  Working for me - Mac OS X 10.5.6, iPhone 2.2

Syphone is great, and it still works here. I wish it had a feature to export ALL messages, rather tahn one number at a time, but I'm glad we've got something.  
(Version 0.99b11)

KRIONI  The fragment library DOES work, despite my earlier comment. It is just a bit confusing. The way it works is that you pick an item in the dialog, which then acts like a palette. Once you pick an item, keep the dialog open, but double-click in the main window where you want to insert the chosen molecule. Strange, but it does work.  
(Version 0.81)

KRIONI  Correction: Powdered Bean is partially wrong - the same thing DOES happen in TextEdit.  
(Version 2.0.4b)

KRIONI  Whoa!

Powdered Bean is correct about what happens. To replicate this bug, do the following:

1. Open some document with a bunch of text.

2. Highlight some of that text (try a line or two). Note what text FOLLOWS the text you highlighted.

3. Open the Find/Replace dialog by pressing command-F.

4. In the Find: field type in the first word of what is highlighted.

5. In the Replace with: field type in XXXXX

6. Hit Replace.

What gets replaced is NOT just what matches the "Find" text. Instead, the entire highlighted text is gone, replaced by XXXXX (in my example here).

Interestingly, this is what happens in TextEdit as well. The problem is not with Bean. In fact, theoretically, this is what SHOULD happen. Reason? The Replace button is supposed to replace the currently highlighted text. The button is NOT Find-and-Replace, it is merely Replace. A 'Replace All' on the other hand, is designed to Find-and-Replace all occurrences.

So, what Powdered Bean discovered is NOT a bug, but a somewhat confusing feature common to most editors. Certainly to editors that use Apple's text engine.  
(Version 2.0.4b)

KRIONI  I remember using ChemDraw and the 3-D version almost 10 years ago to model nanotubes and nanopeapods (right after peapods were discovered, in fact). This free program does what they did and much more. It's a lot of fun to build little molecules and see how they form, especially when you turn on the auto-optimization that calculates how the molecule would actually position the component atoms.

It really does let anyone play around with building and interacting with molecular structures.

There are some weird interface issues. First, the keyboard commands to switch between tools are function keys, and don't seem to work on Macs, even if you toggle the function-key setting in System Prefs. Second, closing the last window quits the program. The fragment library doesn't appear to work right now, so it isn't possible to import the sample molecules that come with avogadro.

Nevertheless, if you're interested in molecular engineering, nanotech, or anything in that category, this is a free way to have access to a tool that lets you play around. It looks like it has much more advanced features as well, but I can't speak on those with any authority.

  
(Version 0.8a)

KRIONI  Mosaic certainly did NOT become Netscape Navigator. Just because the same people who made Mosaic for NCSA left the University of Illinois and decided to amek their own browser does not mean Mosaic "became" Navigator. Inspired, yes. Mosaic still existed after Marc Andreessen and the others formed Netscape.

In fact, Mosaic was licensed to Spyglass, Inc. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spyglass%2C_Inc.), which later licensed the source code to Microsoft so it could make a browser to compete against Netscape.   
(Version 9.0.0.4)

KRIONI  "One of the original web browsers."

Well, sort of. I used the original Mac web browsers. First, the original web browser was named, aptly enough, WorldWideWeb, by Time Berners-Lee, the inventor of the http protocol (and thus the web itself).

The original two Mac web browsers were MacMosaic and MacWeb. I first used them in September 1994. Netscape's first public beta (0.90beta) was in October 1994, and it was great!

So, great history with Netscape. Then they got into a big battle with Microsoft and the feature bloat on both sides was horrible. Standards abandoned, poor performance, ugliness abounding. Not a good scene.

I suppose it's interesting to have a commercial version of Firefox, but I'm not sure I see the point.

Read more history at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_browser  
(Version 9.0.0.4)

KRIONI  Worked nicely for me - I had downloaded some FLV files from YouTube and this worked cleanly.  
(Version 0.9.5)

KRIONI  Well, I did a search to find the developer. Softpedia has the following:

Developer: Dante Palacios

Website: http://mac.softpedia.com/

Then I did a Google search for his name: "Dante Palacios" and discovered that there is a user here at MacUpdate with that real name: Glion

User Page: http://www.macupdate.com/users/Glion

His email is there, too. It would make sense for him to put up a free website somewhere. Perhaps someone should email him to suggest that.   
(Version 0.8.3)