PALADINO  I gave "Sonar" a spin and have to say that the excellent and free "fSeventer" offers all the functionality and info that most anyone would want or need.

I'm staying with FSeventer.

I used Sonar's uninstaller to delete Sonar and then then used the outstanding and free "EasyFind" to look for any files/folders that Sonar's own uninstaller might have missed.

EasyFind found 14 of them.

I then typed in Matterform, and EasyFind came up with 8 more.

Interestingly, Matterform sells an uninstaller ("Yank"); its last iteration was way back in March '07 and which has gotten some less than stellar reviews from MacUpdate reviewers.

This does not inspire confidence.  
(Version 2.0)

PALADINO  v 1.1 Keeps crashing when trying to launch.  
(Version 1.1)

PALADINO  Seems like Kaleidoscope screen saver is no longer available. Clicked on "download" and "more information got "page not found" message. Went to home page....www.Fabrica.it Couldn't find Kaleidoscope screen saver there, either. Bummer!  
(Version 1.0)

PALADINO  After configuring iCab's form filling feature, it did work for a few times then stopped working. Log in info no longer appears in user/password fields. It's now non functional. Oh well, I can live quite happily without using iCab. If iCab's developer can't or is unwilling to create a glich free, user friendly form filling procedure, then I just won't use iCab.

I'll stick with Safari 4 as my default browser.  
(Version 4.5)

PALADINO  OK, I think that I've got the forms filling feature working now. Thanks for the explanation.

In all the years that I've been using the supposedly risky form filling procedure that iCab's developer wants to avoid, I've never had my login info or any other info compromised.

Perhaps the security risk is overstated and is, essentially, a non issue?  
(Version 4.5)

PALADINO  I carefully read "fill out forms". The procedure seems awfully cumbersome...unnecessesarily

labor intensive. Still couldn't get it to work.  
(Version 4.5)

PALADINO  I redownloaded and reinstalled "Sing"; It now works. I'm afraid that I just don't find "Sing" interesting. Yeah, it would appeal mostly to infants and toddlers.  
(Version 1.0.1)

PALADINO  I Redownloaded "Stream" again today and it does install and work. Not so yesterday.

"One Day" does not work for me. I get just a black screen with white specks slowly moving around field.

MacBook Pro Intel core 2 duo,2 Gigs RAM, w/OS 10.5.6

What is Wowlab's email address for support? Can't find it on Wowlab's web site.  
(Version 1.0)

PALADINO  Another mystery from Wowlabs? Installed this but it doesn't appear in my iTunes list of visualizers. No idea how to use it. Read me file is in Japanese. Wowlabs is most inscrutable.  
(Version 1.0.1)

PALADINO  Installed Stream but it doesn't appear in my iTunes list of Visualizers. How is this supposed to work? I'm clueless. Read me file is in Japanese. Anyone know how to get this puppy going?

I love interesting visualizers but this one appears to be a non starter, and there's no help on Wowlab's website.  
(Version 1.0)

PALADINO  Hmmm....Just a black screen with white specks. No response to sound and no change of scenes. Maybe it's not working as intended? I haven't a clue about what this is supposed to do or how it's supposed to work.  
(Version 1.0.1)

PALADINO  $80 too high . Don't be ridiculous. In these times of US and European financial and economic collapse, $80 for Data Clean Pro makes a lot of sense. I mean, who doesn't have money to burn? The developer is very astute in his decision to make Data Clean available at his price point right now. Rampant unemployment and millions of folks worrying about keeping a roof over their family's heads? Such trifling concerns!  
(Version 2.0)

PALADINO  It's my System Preferences crash log that I'd send over to him. When it crashed, I got a message on my screen stating that iPhotp gridSaver was the culprit.  
(Version 1.0)

PALADINO  Activating the screensaver causes my System Preferences to crash. I'd send my iPhoto gridSaver crash log to the developer, but there's no contact info on his website.  
(Version 1.0)

PALADINO  When I first downloaded Warblade some months ago, I played it for hours.... it was great fun. Since then, the developer has made the game a lot more difficult. It's now lots of punishment with few rewards. It's now essentially an exercise in futility. I now have to abort Warblade much more often if I find myself getting bashed early in the game.... which happens a lot, so, not being a masochist, I finally just put the game in trash and deleted it in disgust.

I mean, if I end up feeling miserable after playing Warblade, what's the point? A game is supposed to be fun, after all.

Warblade is well designed overall but is just too punishing now, IMHO.  
(Version 1.33)

PALADINO  Nice idea. Needs more work. No apparent way to set an audible alert for new mail. Polling window does not move to the front upon new email arrival. Only way to check for new mail is to note change in message count in polling window.

Would be handy to have a menu bar icon that changes color when new mail arrives. One could click on icon to view message info.  
(Version 1.0b)

PALADINO  iTubeX Ultimate rocks! It's quite user friendly and has been working smoothly and effortlessly since I installed it a few months ago. This little gem makes downloading and saving You Tube videos a "piece of cake".

The young developer, I think he's in his early teens, has demonstrated that he really knows what he's doing. I predict great things from this guy. Two thumbs up!  
(Version 4.4)

PALADINO  It crashed on me, then after relaunch I couldn't access the various settings. Arrow keys didn't work. Tried to exit the app but could find no way to do so. Pressed escape key on my Macbook Pro but no response. Finally had to do a Force shutdown of my machine to get out of Plex.

I wish Plex worked for me; looks quite intriguing, well designed and esthetically appealing.

I trashed the app but will check it out again once a newer version appears.

Macbook Pro Intel core 2 duo, OS 10.5.4  
(Version 0.7.6)

PALADINO  It's not necessarily a matter of folks being unable to afford Mailplane. Many of us just don't like the idea of pissing away $25 on an overpriced trifle.  
(Version 2.0.2)

PALADINO  If one zooms in to a location too closely, the image will become blurry.  
(Version 5.0.11337.1968 )

PALADINO  A really fine browser, but the stumbling block for me is the lack of a working password/login saving feature which every other browser has. Unless iCab is equipped with this feature, I just won't use it regularly, let alone pay for it.

iCab would become my default browser if it could easily save passwords/login info.  
(Version 4.2.5)

PALADINO  At only v.0.4, Hawkscope is early in it's development. Don't think I'll try it out 'till others go first and give it a clean bill of health....don't want to tke the risk of it screwing up my OS.   
(Version 0.4)

PALADINO  Been using this gem for the past 31/2 years, first on my Powerbook and now on my MacBook Pro Intel core2 Duo. It's always worked perfectly for me with never a hint of trouble. The developer, Marcel Bresink is a real pro; he really knows his craft. I have the utmost respect for him.

This beautifully done little work of art is well worth its very modest cost of, currently, €7 (a little more than $10 US.). I'd say it's a real bargain.   
(Version 4.6)

PALADINO  Whoops, I meant this review for Hardware Monitor,however I've used Temperature Monitor before and found it, too, exemplary.  
(Version 4.6)

PALADINO  Been using this gem for the past 31/2 years, first on my Powerbook and now on my MacBook Pro Intel core2 Duo. It's always worked perfectly for me with never a hint of trouble. The developer, Marcel Bresink is a real pro; he really knows his craft. I have the utmost respect for him.

This beautifully done little work of art is well worth its very modest cost of, currently, €7 (a little more than $10 US.). I'd say it's a real bargain.  
(Version 4.6)

PALADINO  SRS's rather slimy(IMHO) business decision to upgrade only the UI for V.3 and thereby jack-up the purchase price for new buyers to $40 , enduces me to view that company with contempt.

True, iWow is a fine product, but ongoing problems with serial # activation and lousy customer support as well as the current excessive price increase with no apparent sound enhancement improvements as well as the ploy to extract another $10 from v.2 users for an unnecessary upgrade makes me want to give that company THE FINGER.  
(Version 3.0.0.255)

PALADINO  Well. I just purchased an upgrade for $9.99 but the registration # that SRS provided is not accepted as valid.(deja vu all over again) And the support URL that SRS provided http://www.srslabs.com/contact.aspx?fid=447 doesn't work. My email server tells me that there are "ambiguities" in the address but doesn't say what they are.

Apparently, SRS still needs lots of help getting their act together.  
(Version 3.0.0.255)

PALADINO  I had the previous iWow version v.2 installed and when installing this version v.3 my previous serial number became invalid.

Apparently, those of us who have version 2 now have to pay the full price for version 3 ($39.95). There's no special upgrade price mentioned on iWow's website.

Version 3 wiped out my version 2 files, so I can't go back to that one.

It took months before I was able to get a valid serial number for version 2 from iWow. And iWow's support has been virtually non-existent.

This whole matter totally sucks!

Anyone know where I can get a version 2 download, It doesn't appear available on SRS's website.  
(Version 3.0.0.255)

PALADINO  Handily launchable from one's menubar, this little gem presents one with a list of passwords conforming to one's preset parameters, including pronounceable ones.

So many password generators available, most free, but QuickPass does stand out as a rather ingeniously designed one.  
(Version 1.2)

PALADINO  Yet another password generator? There are already a fine selection of them available, most of them also free.

PwdGen is ok, nothing unique here. It'll do the job but so will a multitude of others. I like password generators that spit out pronounceable passwords such as haxial xyzzy http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/11627/haxial-xyzzy and Quickpass http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/24517/quickpass. Pronounceable passwords are easier to remember.  
(Version 1.2)

PALADINO  V.0.9.2 works beautifully on my 17"MBP Core2 Duo w/OS 10.5.4, whereas in v.0.9.1 keyboard illumination would intermittently flicker and cut out.

Far superior(more stable, more reliable) to MBP's own keyboard light sensing system which sucks,IMHO. A definitely big improvement over Apple's system.  
(Version 0.9.2)

PALADINO  Journler will be$35 quite soon with v2.6.,and $20 for students with proof of student status.

Definitely worth the money considering how good it is, IMHO.  
(Version 2.1)

PALADINO  Judging from the pricing on the developer's website, the CleanMyMac app. Cannot be purchased outright; one purchases a license to use it.....$19.95 for 6 months use, 29.95 for 1 year's use and $49.95 for 2 years use. It also states, there, that there's a 50% discount currently available, but when tallying up the license fee, the discount price is not reflected,

Very confusing,

Anyway, I'd say that the licenses are overpriced so I'll pass on this. Should be only $19.95 to purchase the app with no license fee involved.

Clean My Mac seems pretty handy and useful as well as being easy to use but it cost's too much at its current price point.  
(Version 1.0)

PALADINO  OK, I found an email address for the developers( at least the japanese end). it's

unemi-dt1@t.soka.ac.jp  
(Version 1.8b1)

PALADINO  A brilliantly conceived and beautifully designed work of art, extremely esthetically pleasing and satisfying. Fun to use.This little gem really made my day and put a smile on my face.

Crashed a couple of times on my Macbook Pro w/10.5.4 but still very usable.

Couldn't find contact info on their website. Would be nice if they included it. Would like to send them my crash log and communicate with them.  
(Version 1.8b1)

PALADINO  iClock 3.0.5 works fine on my Intel Mac w/OS 10.5 (leopard) with one exception; the stock quote function will not appear when pressing option key and clicking the iClock time readout in the menu bar.

Developer rarely responds to queries regarding iClock.  
(Version 3.0.5)

PALADINO  Demeter 1.5b2 crashes on me soon after launch every, time.

Intel Mac w/10.5.4  
(Version 1.5b2)

PALADINO  I've just spent 7 days testing Netshade 3.3.2 and found that there are NO 3 star (most secure) proxies available, just two 2 star proxies (moderately secure) and both are so slow as to render them unusable for all practical purposes, but a number of 1 star proxies (the least secure, so why bother), most of them slow, still available.

I'd consider this kind of performance unacceptable.  
(Version 3.3.2)

PALADINO  "The variable zerothoptions is not defined" message appears upon Houdini launch in version 1.5.1 also.

Hey developer, don't ya think it's time to give it up already? You're

obviously in way above your head.  
(Version 1.5.1)

PALADINO  Virusbarrier is $70, but then, as others have pointed out, a year after purchase you'll need to pay $30 for another year's worth of updates, and again a year later.

For some reason, the cost of these updates is not mentioned anywhere on Intego's website, at least I couldn't find it, and I searched and searched.

Hmm, wonder why they're not mentioning the update cost there? (The update cost was stated a while back, but no longer)

A better bet, if you feel the need to pay for virus protection ("Viruses for Mac? What viruses? There are still NO active ones out there") might be the highly regarded "avast! Antivirus" http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/26644/avast%21-antivirus. They just charge a licensing fee, which is $40 for one year, but $75 for three years....which is just $25 per year, not bad at all.

Of course, as has been mentioned by others, here, there's ClamXav. It's FREE and is quite respectable. http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/15850/clamxav  
(Version 10.4.4)

PALADINO  Nope, never have.....but I just took a look, gave it a try, and I DO like what I see!

Seems a bit more sophisticated than Screenium and, so far, appears to work quite well.

Thanks for mentioning it!  
(Version 1.0b3)

PALADINO  I, too, tried to configure iCab to accept log-in info after getting instructions from the developer but no matter what I did could not get it to work. It was a totally exasperating experience.

Until this feature is completely smoothed out and made totally user friendly, iCab won't get much use from me.

Except for this one fly in the Preparation H, iCab is quite good, I do like it. But it IS a deal breaker for me.  
(Version 4.0)

PALADINO  I totally agree; no ability to save log-in info is a MAJOR shortcoming of an otherwise fine browser.

It makes logging in at various sites, using iCab, a pain in the ass...entering username and password manually each time.

Wonder why the developer didn't include such a browser "must have"? Yes, a BIG shortcoming, indeed!  
(Version 4.0)

PALADINO  While a screen capture utility with good video/movie capture ability at $20 would be great(the only other screen capture app that does that{as far as I know} is Snapz Pro X, which works quite well but is $69), Screenium is still in beta and it's video capture is aggravatingly buggy.

Why the developer requires one to purchase a full license before trying all Screenium's features(it's preferences are unavailable and there's no help function), is beyond me. Screenium, still in beta, needs more work.

The standard still image capture seems to work fine, but it's the video/movie capture....the only feature which would get me to pay the $20 for Screenium that has problems.

And I'm just NOT gonna pay for a beta version with all its video/movie capture bugs. Once the developer irons out the bugs, I'll most likely buy it.  
(Version 1.0b1)

PALADINO  There's a version for OS 10.4 also available; look at the bottom of the window above.  
(Version 3.4.3)

PALADINO  Are you running OS 10.5? Quickscale won't open with anything less. It's for Leopard only.  
(Version 3.4.3)

PALADINO  ClamXav, my anti-virus program, found what it says is an infected file; it's the "iTextAsian.jar" file. The path to it is: /Applications/xmind.app/Contents/Resources/plugins/com.lowagie.itext_2.0.4/iTextAsian.jar.

Dunno if it's a false positive or not. If it is an infected file, it's likely a PC/Windows virus....but ya never know.

Check it out.  
(Version 2.1)

PALADINO  Memoires is a really nice, simple journeling app; I'd use it except that it's, IMHO, overpriced...considering it's simplicity. So I'll pass on this one.

A much better bet, I think, might be Journler: http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/18214/journler

It's got some really interesting features, and it's free for non-commercial use.   
(Version 1.1.38)

PALADINO  Schreiben is really sweet....it's simple, well designed and very efficient.

The price is reasonable at €4.95, which in US dollars is, at the moment, about $7.

Schreiben is sure to get more and more expensive since the greenback is on its way to eventually becoming toilet paper, so those of us in the US best get it now.  
(Version 2.1)

PALADINO  Having used WriteRoom for several more months, I have come to appreciate it even more and now feel that it certainly IS worth its $25 price; if I hadn't already purchased it for the MacPromo price of $15, I would unhesitatingly pay the full $25. Five full stars for WriteRoom! β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…!!!  
(Version 2.2)

PALADINO  While it's an ok notepad, it lacks the uniqueness or sophistication to justify its $20 price tag....but then, I question whether any notepad is worth $20.

I MIGHT go for it if it were no more than $10, but at $20....out of the question.

There are developers who put a lot more work into creating apps, and apps that are unique, too, yet charge half of what Mac Notepad goes for.

Anyway, I'll definitely pass on this one.  
(Version 4.4)

PALADINO  Yeah, €15(about $20, currently) for this is HORRIBLY overpriced(I think ALL this developer's software is horribly overpriced).....but "Keyclick" works beautifully and is only $2.50.  
(Version 3.6)

PALADINO  Yeah, support? What support.

HORRIBLE! HORRIBLE! HORRIBLE!

And, of course, there are no secure, usable proxies any more. ARRGH!!!!!  
(Version 3.1.1)

PALADINO  This is obviously designed for children; if you're "all grown up", it will insult your intelligence, so don't waste your time with it.

It's very limited in what it can do, and the little cartoon character that tells you what each function can do is too annoyingly "cutsypoo"....but, then, for better or for worse, I'm not a child; a little kid would probably find it appealing.

And, yeah, you can't just quit this app, it won't let you before all the credits scroll, so you have to force quit....it's a bit aggravating.  
(Version 1.2.2)

PALADINO  I use this for one purpose only, to help create a writing environment that maximizes my creativity.

I set the screen background to a color that suits me best...a dark blue, the page color a lighter blue but still rather dark, and the font color a pale blue...along with the font style and size that I like. This particular combination works for me.

I then keep my room lighting at a very low level. All together it DOES facilitate the flow of my creative juices.

The user can play around with color combos 'till he/she finds the one that feels right for him/her.

After I've got my writing down, I export it to my word processing app.

I really like Write Room, it works for me for the purpose for which it was intended.

I purchased a license when it was at the MacUpdate daily special price of $15, which I think is about right for this app.

At the regular price of $25, I think it's rather overpriced.  
(Version 2.1)

PALADINO  While I'd pretty much agree with the previous reviewer's opinion, I found that the jump in difficulty at level 7 is too great.

Up until then I was doing pretty well; it was challenging yet I could still get my "wins", but at the 7th level I was getting mostly losses with very few wins.

Regardless of how hard I tried, I was getting severely beaten. It rapidly changed from good, challenging fun to a depressing exercise in futility.

It would be great if the developer's would make the increase in difficulty more gradual.  
(Version 1.0.1)

PALADINO  I think that free email providers are most likely to have inefficient spam filtering(or none at all). My three "for pay" providers catch virtually all spam; almost none gets through, although some folks do have spam problems with their "for pay" providers.

Anyway, if you are lucky enough to have efficient spam filtering from your provider, then, of course, something like SpamSieve would be superfluous.  
(Version 2.6)

PALADINO  Just wondering, if one's email servers already have effective spam filtering included, would there be any reason to use something like this with one's email client?  
(Version 2.6)

PALADINO  While I don't get a "corrupt disk image" message when downloading this, the app just won't open for me. It starts to but then instantly quits.

Tried downloading from developer's site as well as MU but Senor Staff doesn't open.

OS 10.4.9.  
(Version 0.8)

PALADINO  Looks interesting but, so far, I see no reason to use this over iTunes. At 111 MBs, Songbird is 4 times the size of iTunes. Bloatware, I guess.

True, iTunes keeps getting more bloated so I'm sticking with version 6.04. Works just fine for me.  
(Version 0.2.5)

PALADINO  "Steal your coworker's paycheck"....nice theme, I like it. Some further game themes the developer could focus on: how about "Burglarize Your Neighbor's House" or"Swindle Your Business Partner". Perhaps, "Snatch an Old Lady's Purse.

For a kid's game, how about "Take Your Classmates' Lunch Money", or "Steal Your Best Friend's Bike".

For a real hoot, how about "Bankrupt the Family Next Door".......force them to go to a homeless shelter. Ha! ha! ha! ha! ha!....oh, what fun, what fun!   
(Version 2.0)

PALADINO  Cocktail is fine, but, as others have pointed out, there are a number of other maintenance apps currently available that are at least as fine, and cost less or are free.

I use the excellent Onyx, which is free, and both Tinker Tool(also free) and Tinker Tool System ($7.00), which, IMO,

are truly outstanding.

Try Cocktail, and try the others as well.

I think you'll agree that there's really no reason to pay $15 for something which does what the others do for less and offer more features, as well.

If the developer wants to continue charging $15 for Cocktail and attract more buyers, he'll have to come up with some earth shaking, unique, useful features to justify the price.  
(Version 3.7.5)

PALADINO  I wonder if the developer uses his own program. And if he does, has he won a lotto jackpot yet? If not, why not? Of those who have purchased Lotto Sorcerer, have any of them won a jackpot?

If not, why not?

And of all those who use this app, how many of them have won anything at all?

These are questions that need to be answered before anyone decides whether or not to purchase it, IMHO.  
(Version 6.5.1)

PALADINO  This chronically buggy piece of crap is brought to you by the same folks who bring you Internet Cleanup, another chronically buggy piece of crap.

I've used both, on and off since their inception, and have rarely experienced smooth going. I've now washed my hands of both of them. UGGHHH!!! NEVER AGAIN!!!!

First there was Aladdin which was taken over by Allume, and now it's Smith-Micro that owns these horrible apps. And none of the three had/has a clue how to make SC and IC work well.

Both Spring Cleaning and Internet Cleanup should be given a decent burial, and then, perhaps, rewritten from the ground up by developer's who really know what they're doing.

  
(Version 9.0)