LOUKASH  Note that this upgrade is only free, if you have registered AFTER November 20, 2006.

Longtime users are supposed to pay an upgrade price of $19.95 for this, er, bugfix...

Being still PPC and thus not dependent on Snow Leopard, I guess I'll skip this one and wait for a MAJOR OVERHAUL of this dated, yet still very functional app. If any...  
(Version 5.2)

LOUKASH  > "The solution is to turn off TechTool's protection (in the preferences pane). "

No, the solution is to exclude /Library/Application Support/TechTool Protection/Your_HD_name from being backed up by Time Machine...  
(Version 5.0.6)

LOUKASH  The download file size should say "26.1 KB", not "MB"...

A nice little helper, by the way. I'm using it for quite some time already.  
(Version 2.0)

LOUKASH  Regarding contexts and tags, you don't need to use / and @ as direct keyboard shortcuts. Once you have entered a tag following the THL scheme, each time you simply TYPE / or @ (regardless which modifyier you need to press to get them), you will be presented a contextual menu offering all tags you have used so far. As for context tags, you can also select any entries you want and apply one of the already available context tags from the Information pane > Context popup menu.  
(Version 0.9.3.7b)

LOUKASH  Out of the whole recent MacHeist 3 bundle, this app surprisingly and unexpectedly turned out to be the only one so far of real value for me. Until now, my organization of upcoming tasks and events was spread over several apps. Partly I was using Dashboard stickies, partly the iCal To Do list (despite the actual usability drawback in iCal for Leopard), partly pasting dates and checkboxes into MacJournal, and partly writing down quick notes in Sidenote... Of course, over the time it was easy to lose track WHERE actually each event has been noted.

The Hit List allows me to combine various kinds of notes in one place without much effort, thanks to its flexibility and keyboard friendliness. It also retains a connection to iCal - and via iCal also to my project timer of choice, TimeLog.

That said, since the app is currently still under development, there are still a couple od issues that definitely need improvement. But the developer is updating very frequently and generally he seems to be on a good path. Congratulations!

Regarding the value, I doubt I would have even looked at the app at its regular pricing. But since the MH bundle was a no-brainer, here I am. :)  
(Version 0.9.3.7b)

LOUKASH  CDFinder is still the most competent removable media cataloging software out there. I'm checking out other similar products regularly, and so far none can match CDFinder in terms of power and flexibility. Not to speak of the first class support, of course. I'm a registered user since 2000. Over the years I have sent many improvement suggestions to Norbert. In the meantime quite a lot of them have been implemented, including the cataloging of Disk Image files in the current version, which has been one of my top feature requests since many years (but apparently not easy to implement!).  
(Version 5.5)

LOUKASH  Given that this app has been around since 13 years (see http://www.cdfinder.de/en/en/versions.html) and successfully managed the transformation from Classic to OS X, it's likely that there is a pretty large user base who will download every new update available. I mean: I'm using CDFinder since 2000. And even though I'm currently using Norbert's yet-to-be-released 5.6 beta version, usually I'm downloading the regular updates via MacUpdate as well.

In other words: despite some quirks and in parts a bit "dated" interface design, CDFinder is probably still the most competent removable media cataloging software out there. I'm looking at other similar products regularly, and so far none can match CDFinder in terms of power and flexibility. Not to speak of the first class support, of course. (That's why I have currently the pleasure to use a "private" beta... :)  
(Version 5.5)

LOUKASH  I have tried and paid for many FinderPop OS X "replacements" in the past, but none has ever come close to the real thing. In fact, not even the reborn FP versions 2.0 and 2.1. But now with v2.2 FinderPop is back where the OS 9 version left off, and even more. Welcome back!

P.S. A big Thank You to Ittec, Folder Glance and Butler (which is a class on its own, actually!) for bridging the gap for the past few years.  
(Version 2.2)

LOUKASH  This framework is actually provided by Audiofile Engineering for use with their Wave Editor app as an MP3 export option. As such, it WORKS perfectly as advertised. In fact, if you select the MP3 export option in Wave Editor for the first time, it will ask you if you want to download this very same DMG file.

(Don't ask me if the framework also works in other apps. I don't know...)  
(Version 3.97)

LOUKASH  The Onyx installation allows you to choose any destination you wish. When you get to "Instalation Type", click the "Customize" button and choose a folder from the pop-up menu in the location column.  
(Version 2.0.2)

LOUKASH  An excellent tool for helping to make vinyl recordings sound better.

If you are used to work with standard audio editors and plugins, DeNoise may need some time to get used to it; the interface might need some improvement, too. But once you have figured it all out, the results are amazing. Along with CLickRepair from the same developer it can help to make rare recordings enjoyable again, which you would have likely trashed in their original vinyl state.

It's also important to point out Brian Davies' excellent and almost instant support.  
(Version 1.1.1b21c)

LOUKASH  An excellent tool for restoring damaged vinyl recordings.

If you are used to work with standard audio editors and plugins, ClickRepair may need some time to get used to it; the interface might need some improvement, too. Also, it takes TIME to repair recordings without having too many "false positives". But once you have figured it all out, the results are amazing. It can make rare recordings enjoyable again, which you would have likely trashed in their original vinyl state.

It's also important to point out Brian Davies' excellent and almost instant support.  
(Version 2.3.1)

LOUKASH  Výborně! Unlike cocoAspell which would never work for me, this one actually WORKS right away! Thanks!  
(Version 1.3)

LOUKASH  Scenario:

You have a MacBook and an iMac SIDE BY SIDE, each one with its own built-in display and a keyboard. You are sitting IN FRONT OF both displays. The goal is that you want to work on both Macs simultaneously somehow.

Without Teleport, in order to work on your OTHER Mac you need to "switch" physically by moving your hands to the other keyboard/trackpad/mouse.

With Teleport, you keep your hands on ONE Mac. You only "beam" your pointer/keyboard input to your other Mac via network connection.

In other words: Teleport ONLY makes sense if you have DIRECT VISUAL CONTROL of all your Macs' displays. It is your VIRTUAL KVM switch.

For other networking uses Teleport is likely the wrong tool. Use VNC, Personal File Sharing or whatever method fits best. E.g. for transferring >1GB files you likely might want to try Personal File Sharing first...  
(Version 1.0.1)

LOUKASH  P.S. I should also point out that I've been reviewing v3.0. If the developer has taken the issues seriously, it's likely that at v3.2.1 everything looks and works much better than with v.3.0. I don't know and personally I don't have a reason anymore to check that out.  
(Version 3.2.1)

LOUKASH  JayhawkBabe, speaking of "uneducated reviews", you might want to READ my review first before you actually comment on it. For instance, please note the subtle difference between a PowerBook 140 (from 1992) and a PowerBook G4 (from 2005) as well as 8 MB (that spells MEGAbytes) and 1.5 GB (that spells GIGAbytes). And please try to understand the CONTEXT of that comparision. Okay?

Speaking of vector PDF export: I don't remember it exactly and since then I've deleted DrawIt from my hard drive, but it's quite likely that I've actually tried that in the FIRST place and that it didn't work the way I would expect. That's not necessarily the developer's fault though, that's the way Apple's PDF export works. Oh, and the last time I checked, PDF is actually a CONTAINER format that can contain text, bitmap and, of course, vector data. The chances that you get bitmap data instead of vector while exporting via Print dialog are quite high.

Just for the record: In the end I've given up searching for a replacement for Illustrator 10 and upgraded to Illustrator CS3 recently. Unfortunatelly, for a professional graphic designer there's still no way around it, no matter how hard other software developers try. Sad but true.  
(Version 3.2.1)

LOUKASH  Click-and-hold on the label on the left side of a field, a contextual menu will pop up.  
(Version 3.3.2)

LOUKASH  From the application description:

"Version 1.0 only runs on PPC."

In other words:

PPC != Intel

MacBookPro = Intel

In other words: You seem to be using the wrong tool...  
(Version 1.0.3)

LOUKASH  Nicely done, but if you're a power user of CDFinder and you're looking for a replacement, keep on looking.

On the plus side:

- CDFinder import. Just make sure that you're running CDFinder in English (temporarily disable all languages except English in CDFinder's Get Info window) while you're exporting your catalogs, because DiskLibrary won't import localized CDFinder export files.

- Saved Searches (aka Smart Catalogs), although they're slow, at least on a PowerBook G4/1.67.

- catalogs Owner attributes

On the minus side:

- A single catalog file (Library Data.disklibrary). This may work if you intend to catalog 2 drives and 10 CDs, but I have already over 1000 CDFinder catalogs files occupying over 300 MB disk space. It will be a big pain to maintain all that data in a single file. Especially if you want to synchronize with another Mac or backup your important data regularly: each time you make a single simple change to your database the *whole* big file will change its modification date, i.e. the whole big fat file will be processed on sync/backup! (And yes, I've read about "Compacting the database (Advanced setting)" in the Help file.)

- Yet another Image Cache folder with thousands of files...

- Won't locate files in Finder with uncommon Unicode characters in their path (e.g. Central European). Is the app using AppleScript to get the location? Because that's exactly the point where AppleScript fails!

- Doesn't catalog Finder Labels, Finder Comments, Version, File Type, File Creator, doesn't correctly catalog application bundles.

- How do you *update* a catalog?

- The search should include "ANY field contains". I can't possibly always remember if a search string is contained in the file name or in the metadata or wherever.  
(Version 1.7)

LOUKASH  Quote from the home page: "For those of you who are familiar with the iWork applications; you will feel right at home."

Right. Similar to Numbers, you may want to go and cook yourself a meal while you're waiting for DrawIt to move a simple vector path a couple of cm to the left...

What I mean: 15 years ago I was running vector applications (e.g. Freehand 3) on a PowerBook 140 with a 15 MHz (!) 68030 Motorola processor, 8 MB (!) RAM and a 40 MB (!) hard drive. I was able to draw and move vector paths INSTANTLY. Why is it such a problem on a PowerBook G4/1.67 GHz with 1.5 GB RAM???

To be fair, DrawIt isn't the only application suffering from this. But even any derivate from Apple's Sketch (which used to be available in Panther's Developer Examples) can simply draw a path and move it from A to B instantly...

Another quote from the home page: "All the trivial options are of course supported"

Er... how about Vector export?  
(Version 3.0)

LOUKASH  Unlike in the old Mac OS days, in OS X there are several ways to preview (or rather *pre-hear*) audio files in Finder without even launching another application:

- Column View (cmd-3)

- Get Info window (cmd-I)

- floating Inspector window (cmd-opt-I)

All you need to do is to open the Preview section then...

Opening a sound file with QuickTime Player doesn't seem to me as much overkill either, certainly not more than lauching *any* other app to play an audio file. And QT's Info window shows a lot of, well, *info* as well.

So as a player SoundApp Reborn seems only a waste of Dock space so far. It doesn't even accept Drag&Drop on its icon yet.

If you can bring back all the format conversion that the old SoundApp could do, then you may have a winner though! :)  
(Version 0.1)

LOUKASH  PageSpinner's interface looks quite dated, indeed. But it's a great tool if you want to be "learning by doing". And in its class it offers the best AppleScript support. If you speak a little AppleScript (and I'm not an experienced scripter at all!) you can easily modify the script examples to create workflows for various needs.

I've done my whole site with PageSpinner: www.loukash.com

(with some exceptions like the blog or the shop though...)

What it desperately needs is a site manager. It used to have a bad one in the OS 9 days, now there's none. I've used to use PageMill's site manager in Classic but PageMill doesn't work reliable anymore on Macs that can't boot from OS 9... (and there's no Classic on Intel...)  
(Version 5.0b1)

LOUKASH  It works, but it's not as easy as it could possibly be.

First of all, it helps if you understand at least a little about some sort of programming, so you can modify both the AppleScript code as well as the XSLT/XSLT:FO code to suit your needs. I speak a *little* AppleScript as well as HTML/CSS and I understand the basic concept of XML, so I was able to figure out quite a lot.

Second, the TestXSLT application is not very stable but that's not the fault of the developer of Quick CD Cover and should not be reviewed here.

Third, the script now works only with an AUDIO CD playlist, not with a simple iTunes playlist. But it could be modified to make it work with any playlist, of course.  
(Version 1.1)

LOUKASH  Why not simply use Apple's built-in DigitalColor Meter (in the Utilities folder) and copy the hex value with cmd-shift-C...?!  
(Version 1.0)

LOUKASH  This could become a good and easy to use layout app. But after a couple of minutes playing with it I'm already missing:

- Spot colors

- Moving objects between layers

- Deselect all

- Join path

- Zoom/Move shortcuts à la cmd-space

- Quick page preview

- Editing guides

- ...

And there's no Services support. Why? I thought it "just works" in Cocoa?

Not ready yet to replace InDesign 2 (!) which is what I'm still using for my layout work.  
(Version 1.01)

LOUKASH  WARNING!

Do not install v1.2 if you are already running an older version of Soundflower on your PPC Mac. v1.2 will most likely not work anymore, although it will report a successful installation. Just stay with v1.1 until they fix it.   
(Version 1.2)

LOUKASH  Put an alias of the /System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/ folder wherever you want or drag that folder to your Dock and you can launch all built-in menu extras without having to launch an additional app in the first place...  
(Version 1.2)

LOUKASH  Certainly this is not a bad app for a 1.0 freeware release. But there's still a long way to go.

For now it should be okay for hobby DJs who would like to go slightly beyond iTunes' Party-Shuffle. But if you deejay professionally, don't expect too much at the moment.

I've tested djay on a Powerbook G4/1.67/OS 10.4.6 which I use for deejaying regularly with the DJ-1800 software. Unfortunately djay doesn't run as smooth, especially if you use the Pitch and Tempo. (To be honest here, DJ-1800 needed some time as well to evolve to the rock solid DJ app that it is now...) And don't even try the Maximum Quality setting on a G4... (well, that's no surprise though and it's not djay's fault)

The interface has some good moments as well as some bad.

- iTunes integration is nice. But Artist/Song/Time columns are not enough, I would certainly need BPM/Genre/Year/Album/Comments/Grouping, even Composer as well. And Drag&Drop from iTunes playlists doesn't work, unlike with DJ-1800.

- Artwork is very nice, when it works, that is. And would be even nicer if the images wouldn't be mirrored...

- I don't understand the purpose of the black-to-gray background gradient. It's simply disturbing!

- All functions, sliders and buttons should have their keyboard shortcuts whenever possible: Start, Pause, FF, REW etc.

Hint: If you don't have a 4-channel output device, only a 2-channel iMic or similar, try to group it with the built-in audio I/O to an Aggregate Device using Audio Midi Setup utility. In theory this should work. (I don't have the iMic with me right now so I can't confirm it though.)  
(Version 1.0)

LOUKASH  The difference between SuaveSketch and ArtRage is about the same like between Illustrator and Photoshop: SuaveSketch is a VECTOR based drawing app whereas ArtRage is actually a PIXEL based image editor.

That said, certainly ArtRage has more value than SuaveSketch. SuaveSketch is basically a "rip off" of Apple's Sketch.app (available if you install the Developer Tools) plus the freehand tool MINUS all other useful tools you'll find in Sketch.

One can compare SuaveSketch to the Rita app (http://macupdate.com/info.php/id/19331). In that comparision Rita wins easily.  
(Version 1.1b2)