ROBK  If you are not a Pandora One subscriber, Pandora streams the music in AAC+ (or HE-AAC) format. The NEW iTunes 9 is supposed to be able to play the new AAC+ (or HE-AAC) format.

But for some reason the AAC+ tracks recorded by PandoraJam do NOT play back as AAC+ (or HE-AAC) tracks in iTunes 9 or 9.0.1. According to iTunes, the sample rate of these trcaks is 22050 Hz (not the 44100 Hz it should be). In other words, all the high notes are lost.

I am not sure whether this is a bug in iTunes or Pandorajam. But I do hope the developers of Pandorjam find a fix or workaround.  
(Version 1.4b290)

ROBK  Here are the release notes:

Version 1.4 (build 290)

What's new:

Fixed issue where on launch, loading the music player could take a long time

Workaround a Snow Leopard issue where closing or hiding the window results in stream of error messages logged with system.  
(Version 1.4b290)

ROBK  I have used Podworks and was disappointed with it. It is okay for copying a handful of tracks at a time (e.g. one album) but I found it VERY frustrating when copying lots of tracks at a time.

If the hard disk on your iPod has suffered some damage (which is a VERY common problem with hard`disk based iPods), PodWorks will report an "Filesystem error". You must click OKAY to continue EACH time. This is insane!! Podworks should log the error and automatically continue. At the end of the copying, Podworks should report that errors occurred and offer you to look at the error log report. It does not!!

In one of the menus, you can ask Podworks to show any "transfer errors". But when you do, you do NOT see any of these "filesystem errors". This looks like a bug.

Some of the tracks that Podworks copied were also corrupt (even though they play just fine on the iPod or within Podworks). I really wish the developer had included an option to VERIFY that the transfer was good. I know that would slow down the copying (but I could live with the extra time to prevent data corruption in my iTunes).

In other words, if you are copying a handful of tracks from your iPod to iTunes, Podworks is fine (but you may want to look at FREE alternatives). If you want to copy lots of tracks (or ALL the tracks off your iPod), I would recommend you pass on Podworks. It may take you HOURS especially if you have to manually click OK for EACH "filesystem error" that Podworks encounters when reading from an iPod with a damaged hard disk (which is a common problem).  
(Version 2.9.6)

ROBK  This is a GREAT program to listen to Pandora but it is NOT a great program for recording Pandora and importing the tracks into iTunes.

The big problem lies with the NEW codec that Pandora is using to stream music. As of 2007, Pandora uses AAC+ and streams at 64 bps.

AAC+ is a GREAT codec but unfortunately iTunes does NOT support it NOR can you add it via Perian etc. Yes, you can play back the AAC+ tracks in iTunes BUT at with POOR audio quality. All the treble is GONE. (iTunes can play back the AAC+ tracks BUT at a low 22050 sampling rate. POOR).

If you want to play back the AAC+ tracks properly (with all the treble at the 44100 sampling rate), you will need to use either VLC or Songbird.

Ideally, PandoraJam should have an OPTION to convert the recorded AAC+ tracks into regular AAC files (or MP3 files) BEFORE importing them into iTunes. It does NOT.

P.S. To my knowledge, there are NO easy to use programs on the Mac that will convert these AAC+ tracks into regular AAC tracks. (Audialhub, Switch or QT will not do it). But you can do it via the command line using the FAAD2 program which you can install via fink or darwinports. FAAD2 will convert the AAC+ tracks to WAV files. You can then use any Mac audio conversion to convert the WAV files into MP3, regular AAC files etc.  
(Version 1.3b250)

ROBK  Have you ever been able to Burn these Ridata discs with another Burning Program? Perhaps it is not the Burn program but the inability of your hardware to burn Ridata discs.

I had a similar problem with Verbatim CD's. It would hang at the closing session stage. It made no difference what the burning program I used. I had to switch to a different Brand CD. Now I can burn without any problems.  
(Version 2.3u)

ROBK  Lingon is not my app. I am just a very happy user of Lingon. TimeMachine Editor is a great one trick pony. But I have little need for it. Lingon allows you to change the time interval for TimeMachine backups PLUS much more. Lingon is also free. Users should check them both out and choose what is best for them.  
(Version 2.0.3)

ROBK  The name of this software is VERY misleading. I suspect that is why there are so many comments asking for clarification.

This software does NOT Unlock the Region Code on your DVD drive. It does the opposite. It sets the Region Code. You can only change the Region Code up to 5 times. This software does NOT get around this limitation.

Then you are probably asking "why do you need it?" Well, you may not have remembered but the first time you tried to play a DVD on your Mac, your Mac asks you to set the Region Code of the drive. But you need to supply the admin account name and password. This software lets you set the Region Code without the need of an admin account name and password. This is probably NOT a big deal for home users (since you are likely to set the Region Code once and NEVER change it). But it might be a real pain for corporations and universities etc. This software may help in this situation.

If you really want to UNLOCK your drive from the stupid Region Code DRM so you can watch DVDs that you bought legally overseas, you need to do TWO things. Replace the firmware on your drive and use a free Program callled Region X. Search for "Region X" on Google or MacUpdate.   
(Version 1.0)

ROBK  Is this software designed to split up just audiobooks? or any MP3 / AAC file?  
(Version 1.0.1)

ROBK  Looks great! It appears to have all the main features of Jungledisk but without the cost!  
(Version 1.0)

ROBK  You can also use Lingon to change Time Machine backup times.

See http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20080211194627629  
(Version 2.3.1)

ROBK  You can use Lingon to change the Time Machine backup timing.

See http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20080211194627629  
(Version 2.0.1)

ROBK  Where can you get Java 6 for Tiger? I don't think it is available. It would appear you must use Leopard for LightZone.  
(Version 3.6.1)

ROBK  I am disappointed. Up until version 2.4.5, iVPN was a FREE Open Source Project. Now starting with version 2.5, it is closed source, proprietary and no longer free.

I do hope someone forks version 2.4.5, improves it and keeps it free and open source.  
(Version 2.5)

ROBK  I see you released the project under GPL v3.

Where is the source for mlbackup? I don't see it on your site.  
(Version 0.75)

ROBK  I think you are missing the whole point about Firefox. The real advantage of Firefox over all other browsers (including Opera and Safari) is its extensibility with Firefox extensions (like GooglePedia etc). There are so many great Firefox extensions that make your life so much easier. Many people cannot live without a particular Firefox extension that they have come to rely upon.

Until Safari or Opera add extensions, they just can't compete with Firefox IMHO.

But if you are just surfingthe web and don't need any extra functionality (that extensions give you), then either Safari or Opera are fine choices.

But even then there are some websites that throw up a warning message saying Opera or Safari is not supported please use IE or FireFox. Some won't even let you continue and use the website unless you use IE or Firefox. So it is good idea for all Mac users to install Firefox.  
(Version 3.0)

ROBK  For a FREE Open source solution, check out TestDisk -

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/27683/testdisk

But note TestDisk is a command line program that you use in Terminal. It actually comprises of two programs --

1. TestDisk to locate and repair damaged partitions and

2. PhotoRec to locate and recover deleted or damaged files (inluding photos, documents, archives etc). The name PhotoRec is misleading since it recovers not only photos but documents, archives etc.

But if you are not comfortable with the command line, you should check out Data Rescue II with its GUI.  
(Version 1.2.1)

ROBK  The program seems to run just fine. But it keeps asking you questions like which font and size you want before the list is finished.

Since it just dumps the information into a TextEdit file, I would let the user set these options using Textedit. Or add an options button where you can set the font and size permanently.

Pity it is not open source so one could customize this script as he or she would like.  
(Version 1.0)

ROBK  After using TestDisk, you don't need to use gpt to recover the newer EFI partitions used on the Mac. TestDisk can recover damaged or accidentally deleted EFI partitions used on the Intel Macs all by itself!

Just use TestDisk to identify and repair EFI partitions on Intel Macs. It is very simple.

You only need to use the Apple pdisk command to restore damaged or accidentally deleted Apple partitions used on the older PowerPC Macs. TestDisk will not restore Apple partitions used on PowerPC Macs.  
(Version 6.9)

ROBK  I don't think this program is needed at all if you run Leopard as the Leopard launchd should run skipped jobs when the machine is next awake.

But if you are still running Tiger, this program should do the trick and make sure your computer is running the unix maintenance scripts at a regular interval.  
(Version 1.5)

ROBK  Finally some FREE GPL'd data recovery software for the Mac. For those who dpn't want to pay $99 or more for data recovery software, TestDisk and PhotpRec may be the ticket!

But why is the second program called "PhotoRec"? The name is misleading. Not only can PhotoRec be used to recover Photos but it can be used to recover many other types of files like documents and archives.   
(Version 6.9)

ROBK  According the the X-Losses Decoder Project, ZiPeg breaks UNIX permissions during the extraction of an archive.

See http://tmkk.hp.infoseek.co.jp/xld/index_e.html

Is this true?  
(Version 2.3.0.896)

ROBK  According to the X-Lossless Decoder Project, The Unarchiver breaks unix permisions during the extracting of an archive,

See http://tmkk.hp.infoseek.co.jp/xld/index_e.html

Is this true?  
(Version 1.6.1)

ROBK  Still no support for the Lumix DMC-FZ18K camera. Go to Amazon.com and this camera is in the top 10 of all cameras Amazon sells. It is very excellent camera and supports RAW. Yet Apple's iPhoto and Aperture do not suppot it.  
(Version 2.1)

ROBK  According to the changes, Apple added support for more cameras that support Raw. Does anyone know which cameras were added?

Rob  
(Version 10.5.3)

ROBK  Well if you want fast Repair Permissions, you will have to go back to Tiger. The Repair Permissions in Leopard needs to do a lot more checking due to changes in Leopard. It will always be significantly slower than Tiger's "repair permisions". In my view, it is not a big deal since most users do not check or repair permisions that often.

Repair Permissions in both Tiger and Leopard often report Warnings which can be safely ignored in most cases.   
(Version 10.5.3)

ROBK  This browser is no longer GPL'd. Why has the developer dropped the GPL and stopped contributing to the Open Source Community? I do not know.

But now you must trust the developer that his code is not doing anything sneaky. Personally, I would stay away from this browser doe this reason. There are other OPEN Source browsers to choose from (e.g. Sunrise, Firefox etc). I would try those browsers first.  
(Version 1.5)

ROBK  I see that CopyCatX makes a block copy of an UNMOUNTED system drive by booting of a special recovery CD.

I don't think this is much different that SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner. Since I don't think that these programs comes with a special recovery CD, you can always boot off an external Hard Disk that contains Mac OS X (and Super Duper or Carbon Copy Cloner) on one of the partitions and do a block copy of the system drive inside your Mac. (You could even use the free "asr"command line program provided by Apple to do a Block Copy).  
(Version 4.0)

ROBK  I believe that some of the comments made below by the developers of CopyCatX could be seen as a little misleading.

CopyCatX is NOT the only program that can do a block copy of a drive. Both SuperDuper and Carbon Copy Cloner can do that. Even the free command line utility provided by Apple called asr can do a block copy of drives. But before ANY program can do a block copy (or a bit by bit copy) the drive must be UNMOUNTED. So if you are trying to make a clone of your System drive, you cannot do a block copy of the drive but a file copy of your drive. I don't think CopyCatX gets around this limitation. Please correct me if I am wrong.

CopyCatX is not the only program that can copy your Time Machine Drive (or Partition). I believe that SuperDuper and Carbon Copy Cloner can copy the Time Machine Drive (or Partition) when it does the clone in the block copy mode (or a bit for bit copy)

But I do see two advantages of CopyCatX over its competition:

1. It will attempt to recover a damaged drive with bad blocks. (If you want a truly FREE solution for drive recovery, use a command line program like GNU ddrescue. It works under Linux, FreeBSD and Mac).

2. It will copy a drive to MULTIPLE destination drives.

If these features are important to you, then consider buying CopyCatX. If they are not, I would use Carbon Copy Cloner (donationware $5 or more) or SuperDuper ($28 or so). Both are a lot less expensive.

Considering that most programs that do drive recovery are historically expensive, I do not think that the price for CopyCatX is unreasonable. (Of couse, as a consumer, I would like to see a LOWER price).

P.S. Before you buy any Mac Backup program, make sure it backups or copies ALL the metadata associated with EACH file (such as BSD Flag, ACLs, Extended Attributes, Lock Flag, permissions, resource forks). Many backup programs for the Mac do NOT do a great job at preserving metadata.  
(Version 4.0)

ROBK  Read all the comments below. Considering how the company has treated the recent MacHesit customers, I would stay away from buying this product at all costs. You have been WARNED.  
(Version 5.0)

ROBK  Please file a bug report with Perian.

http://trac.perian.org/report  
(Version 1.1)

ROBK  You should file a bug report with the folks at Perian.

See

http://trac.perian.org/report  
(Version 1.1)

ROBK  I am convinced that a lot of the freezing issues are caused either by bad RAM or a bad video chipset.

My sister had a new iMac and it frooze four times right out the box during the installation of the Apple Software Updates.

When you have these problems, the first thing Apple will want you to do is reinstall the OS. When I said it was freezing RIGHT out of the box, Apple said it might be a bad software install at the factory.

So I booted off the install DVD and when I went to the Disk Utility to erase and format the drive, Disk Utility started to show problems. I had a 3 inch space between some of the tabs (First Aid, Erase etc) when there should not be any spaces. So Apple confirmed it was a HARDWARE issue.

My recommendation to those with freezing iMacs is to do the following:

1) Run your iMac for 2 hours playing games. using Skype etc

2) Then boot off the DVD install disk and run some of the programs (like Disk Utility). BUT do not reinstall the OS. If your iMac freezes or shows weird graphics etc, it DEFINITELY is a Hardware issue (at least in Apple's view).

I know some are suggesting that the iMac Freezing problem is a software issue. But where is the official Apple note acknowledging this?

I have bought two Macs during the past year and BOTH had to be returned for hardware issues. The quality control for the recent Apple products leaves a lot to be desired IMHO.  
(Version 1.3)

ROBK  Why are you distributing this using the propreitary .sit format? Many folks (including me) do not like using Stuffit Expander.

You may want to consider using the more common .dmg or .zip format built into Mac OS X.  
(Version 1.0)

ROBK  I don't understand this service. How can it offer this service for free? What is the catch?  
(Version 0.9.4)

ROBK  Please add encryption so one's darkest secrets can remain secret :-)  
(Version 1.0.26)

ROBK  Remember this is a Release Candidate. It will have bugs!

If you want a player that just works (at least most of the time), stick with the stable version 9.0.47  
(Version 9.0.64)

ROBK  Why are you putting an expiry date on the software?

Are you thinking of making this product sharware after the Beta?  
(Version 1.0b12)

ROBK  Thanks for sucha great product. But I am curious.

Why doesn't GUITar also compress files/folders into ZIP format (like all the other multi format archivers)?  
(Version 1.1.1)

ROBK  For a comparision with Home and Away and other apps, just visit the Home Page for Marco Polo.

See http://www.symonds.id.au/marcopolo/  
(Version 1.1.5)

ROBK  Azureus is the most flexible BitTorrent Program out there. But if you really want something simple, try the Opera Browser with Torrent support built in.   
(Version 3.0.1.2)

ROBK  What is the difference between "Maintenance" and "Onyx"?

They seem to do the same thing.  
(Version 1.1.3)

ROBK  This is not new. Running Widgets on the Desktop is officially sanctioned by Apple when developing widgets. You just need to turn on the DEVMODE for Widgets.

See http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20050422172929402

Rob  
(Version 3.0)

ROBK  This comment is no longer relevant. From the Developer's Web Site:

"Permanent Eraser 2.2.3 introduced a feature where a dialog box would appear once the application had launched. This warning gives the user the option to either quit or continue with the program. To prevent this warning from appearing, hold down the Option key when launching Permanent Eraser. "  
(Version 2.3.1)