MACMARIA  Interesting. I, on the other hand, after debating between Safari and Firefox for many years, am now kind of in love with Camino 2.0 (beta).

Simple, light, fast and stable.  
(Version 1.6.6)

MACMARIA  I've reevaluated my comment and posted a review further ahead.   
(Version 2.3.2)

MACMARIA  Awhile back I commented on this app, saying that was not working properly for me and posing some questions that the dev had the gentleness of answering.

I must say that my initial concerns where unfounded. I've been using HoudahSpot for many months now and I'm very satisfied with the app: it's fast, reliable and complies to its promises. Also, the support is very, very good... with a very capable forum where questions are replied in short time.

Therefore, I'm giving this app the best evaluation possible. Simply because it deserves it.  
(Version 2.3.2)

MACMARIA  I agree with the above comments. Nowadays, a forum dedicated to an app is a must -- it helps the users both technically and on sharing ideas and knowledge. Knapsack would benefit from that.

Extra Note: this app has a very cool icon. :)  
(Version 1.1.1)

MACMARIA  I'm testing LittleSnapper and must agree with the previous comments. It looks and feels sleek, stable and quite good on organizing screenshots (better than Skitch, IMO), but 39$ is way too much, specially for an app that just came out. I would for sure buy it at 25$, but at the current price I really must think if the organization LS provides is worth the big money. (Skitch is working fine, but when you have lots of images it is a drag to search them).

PS. Then again I also thought RapidWeaver (also by the same company) was quite expensive and decided on Sandvox Pro -- same price, more features -- and I'm quite pleased with it.  
(Version 1.0)

MACMARIA  I totally agree with the previous comment. Why should I pay for something I cannot try when there are so many apps on the market with similar goals? (Btw, a video does NOT substitute a trial period.)

IMHO, not a very smart move from the devs.  
(Version 1.0)

MACMARIA  Simple and to the point. I like it. Thanks for doing this little app. :)  
(Version 1.2.2)

MACMARIA  It's ridiculous how much I -- an adult -- am enjoying this game. A game I bought for my kid!

It has the right message. It's fun and fast. Great musical score (really great!). And terribly cute.

Make sure to see the extras they have on they website: t-shirt transfers, book markers, and wallpapers.

The developers are very nice too. They sent me bigger versions of the wallpapers (1900*1200 for a iMac 24') in about one hour.

By the way, the yellow penguin team is nasty! You really have to use all the fish and snowballs in them. And don't be afraid to send them to the orca.

:P   
(Version 1.5)

MACMARIA  Have you seen that you can change that behaviour?  
(Version 1.0)

MACMARIA  This is a very good application. Even being a beta is very stable (I was part of the private beta 1-5) and is full of great features.

In my opinion, this is a great upgrade and PDFClerk 3 makes a difference on the PDF Mac apps world: UI, PDF forms, annotations encryption and, especially, outlines. (I'm still to test the applescript capability.)

For me, being able to have a "table of contents" (outline) on the sidebar of a pdf reader program, is a must for navigation, especially in medium or long documents. This feature alone allowed me to stop using Adobe's heavy weighted Acrobat. As a matter of fact, during the last week I worked in several PDFs, including some that had more than 600 pages and the behavior of PDFClerk was exemplary.

I'm a very happy costumer with this application and its developer support.  
(Version 3.0b6)

MACMARIA  Very stable and when I tested it with other applications like WhatSize and OmniSweeper I found Baselines faster.

I enjoy the possibility of comparing the changes between the last measures (saved baselines) and the current one. Very handy.

The 20$ is a little bit too steep. I bought is during a promo and paied half price.  
(Version 1.1.1)

MACMARIA  Thanks for the offer, Pierre.

I already am trying it with the license you sent me. I'll post my comments about it in a few days.  
(Version 2.1)

MACMARIA  I've been trying this app against FileSpot and so far I'm prefering the latter. Why?

1) I can try FileSpot (FS) for 30 days. HoudahSpot (HD) on the other hand as a ridiculously small try of 15 or so queries.

2) FS integrates better the smart searches. HS saves them outside the app (besides this version trial doesn't seem to allow saves at all).

3) HS is much heavier on CPU usage. Specially when using the new menubar features. It crashed on my MBP (10.5.2) at least three times.

4) I do like the idea of a permanent menubar search (specially with the app being closed) but it must be better implemented to work properly.

5) The GUI of HS, although quite beautiful, is less practical than the FS one.

I wish that the developers would be more reasonable with the trial time. Right now I'm much more inclined to buy FS, even if the tagging features (very promising) are not working well (at least in my computer). However, on the search features, FS seems much more solid.

I don't think I have enough data to make a full review of HS, but I'm leaving here this comment.   
(Version 2.1)

MACMARIA  This app just speeds your downloads / uploads so much it's astonishing. Best, it works on normal downloads, FTPs, iDisk, and even in the same network.

So far I contacted the developers 2 times (one regarding OmniWeb support, another regarding bonjour filesharing). Both times on weekend and both times I had a reply in less than 20 minutes. I'm well impressed with them.

SD is also very stable. Never crashed once and behaves like advertised.

The only thing I ask is the update of their PDF manual. :)

Great app!

(Two lines about the MacHeist thing: if there was a written contract -- which apparently there isn't -- things would be totally different. I don't agree Yazsoft is to blame alone. MacHeist people are just as to blame, if not more.)  
(Version 5.0)

MACMARIA  Great idea to make a free version of DrawIt. I downloaded it and am amazed with the capacities and stability I found so far. In a few months if I still use it regularly I'll buy the "pro" version.

Thank you for this, Pieter.  
(Version 1.0)

MACMARIA  Because this app does much more than showing how much battery you have left. It checks its behavior and allows comparation with a database of similar batteries. More so, like it was said before, it warns you (via Growl or via the app itself) what's the level and status of the battery.   
(Version 2.6.5)

MACMARIA  Wow! Just went to the website and read all the features -- impressive. A must for real chess players (or wanna be...).  
(Version 3.0)

MACMARIA  I have to regularly save some folders in a USB little drive, I'll give this one a change.  
(Version 1.4.3)

MACMARIA  I'm a teacher and this can be particularly helpful to me. I like the time countdown and the words to mark on the side.  
(Version 3.6.1)

MACMARIA  Look at their site to see the full features of this app. It maybe worth it.  
(Version 3.0)

MACMARIA  I've been using Pages to do my flyers, but I'll try this one to compare.  
(Version 2.2)

MACMARIA  There is a very positive review of this app on the last issue of Maccompanion:

ABFA is definitely worth a serious look.  
(Version 4.6.6)

MACMARIA  I´ve heard great things about it on reviews in other review:

http://www.tuaw.com/2007/10/25/taskpaper-1-0-a-review/

http://www.43folders.com/2007/10/24/taskpaper-release-1

I like the *simple and effective* spirit of TaskPaper.  
(Version 1.0.1)

MACMARIA  This seems very useful. My partner is currently learning Portuguese (European) and I might buy the extra portuguese voice. But before I want to try it.  
(Version 1.1.1)

MACMARIA  I've been wanting to try these. Maybe I'll buy them... they seem to be a good relaxation. I mostly want to try Jewel Quest 1, since it's not a Universal app, but only ppc. (I'm using a Intel Mac.)  
(Version )

MACMARIA  Let me check how this works, it maybe worth the few $$.  
(Version 1.0)

MACMARIA  I just posted about this on my blog. Even in Java is a very sleek app. More so, the price is a killer and I, like others, can atest the developers prompt response. So far, so good.

Btw, even if .ppt export doesn't work on Mac now, the developers said it's a feature to be added by a near update.  
(Version 2.0.2)

MACMARIA  I've been wanting to buy a mindmapping application, but they are terribly expensive. This one is a bargain today. I shall try and decide.  
(Version 2.0.2)

MACMARIA  After reading the kinkless article (see comment n. 1) and the ScreenCastOnline, I really must buy Hazel.

http://screencastsonline.com/sco/Shows/files/SCO0113-hazel.html  
(Version 2.0.2)

MACMARIA  It seems to be an application with lots of potential. I wonder how it competes with other similar products, like PDFpen or PDFclerck (Adobe is a overkiller for me). In PDF studio I specially like the scan-to-pdf and annotation capability. It’s time to give it a try. :)  
(Version 4.5.2)

MACMARIA  I've been wanting to try this.  
(Version 1.0.1)

MACMARIA  Good application. It already tried it and it works perfectly.  
(Version 3.0)

MACMARIA  This one is on my list of to-do testing. I like it's features. I'll give it a serious try now.  
(Version 2.3.1)

MACMARIA  Excellent promo. I've been waiting for this one for more than 8 months. Time to buy it! :)  
(Version 4.7.2)

MACMARIA  Fabulous application. Really! Get it now; this is a great promo. :)  
(Version 1.9.9)

MACMARIA  Seem to be working fine with the beta 2 (on MBP, 10.4.10). A little slow to open (but not maddening so) which is normal given the fact it runs via Rosetta on the Mac Intel. Other than that is quite good.  
(Version 1.0b2)

MACMARIA  Doesn't open after installation. (MBP, 1.83)  
(Version 1.0b1)

MACMARIA  You should give it a try.  
(Version 2.3)

MACMARIA  I've been using Bean for a couple of days and I'm liking it a lot. I'm particularily keen on the floating capability, which is great to take notes over any application (pdfs, emails, web, etc).

Definitely worth a try.   
(Version 0.9.2g)

MACMARIA  It's been now more than three months using FT. I must say I'm very happy with it. It has been very stable, including the indexing process. I really love its capability of searching inside packages. That makes all the difference.

My only cons is the price. It's a bit pricey, however it was the only app that did all that I wanted/needed...  
(Version 1.5)

MACMARIA  This is a great piece of freeware. I like its interface and the easiness of use. The notice/alarm option is very helpful. I also like the way it stays above all applications when minimized (very handy when taking small notes). From my use it seems very stable (no crashes or weird behaviour).

If I'm still using it in two months, I'll donate. :)

PS. I only wish it would organize the notes automatically and not only by hand, but well... from all the note app that I've used so far, this one and xPad are the only ones that I've really enjoyed.  
(Version 4.7)

MACMARIA  Really nice app. I've been using it over 4 months now and it never crashed. I like the UI and it's very easy to use. Nice price too.

I wish it would allow pdf files to be zoomed. Other than that is the perfect light notepad.   
(Version 1.2)

MACMARIA  Maybe you should contact the developers. They have been absolutely great with me. (Please see my general comment on FoxTrot.)  
(Version 1.2)

MACMARIA  I have to say that I don't agree with Anon Bud at all.

I knew of FoxTrot for the first time in a user's forum of a different application (DEVONthink). Someone said it made an amazing job on searching files and contents, including metadata. (For instance, it finds pdf contents that are inside a DEVONthink database without it being open.) Since I don't like Spotlight capacities (or lack of them) I decided to give it a try.

Version 1.1 indeed made a fine job on searching (and indexing). Its capacities are great. However, it crashed from time to time. So, while on trial mode, I reported this to the developers. They were fast and very competent on their reply. More so for two weeks they asked me to try several builds and report the crash logs to them.

I got today a final build (already on 1.2) made specially for me. I'm thinking: "Wow! These people really care about users. Even when they are still trying their application."

It has not crashed so far. I'll give it some more use and if the great behaviour continues, I'll buy it. Then I'll make my review here.

I must say that on terms of support I can already give this application *5 stars.* I wish all developers would behave like them. :)  
(Version 1.2)