ST. CLAIR SOFTWARE  No, that's actually one of its minor features now. Its major features are:

1. Going to folders very quickly (via clicking on Finder windows and having recent and favorite folders at your fingertips)

2. Having tags, Spotlight comments, rename, the Trash, and other things available in Open and Save dialogs

3. Hierarchical menus for traversing multiple folders quickly

4. Keyboard shortcuts for favorite and recent folders in both file dialogs and the Finder

5. "Rebound" which re-selects the last file you chose in an Open dialog

There's a screencast that covers many of these at http://www.stclairsoft.com/download/Screencast-Overview.mov  
(Version 4.3.1)

ST. CLAIR SOFTWARE  I think you're confusing Open and Save dialogs with the Finder. Default Folder X enhances file dialogs, it doesn't replace contextual menu items in the Finder. As you point out, there are quite a few solutions for that. DFX makes navigation easier within file dialogs, and between file dialogs and the Finder (or Path Finder, which it supports as a complete Finder replacement). This isn't done by any of the solutions that you've listed.

And yes, opinions vary on Default Folder X depending on how much you use Open and Save As dialogs in your day to day computer life. People who use them a lot have said DFX pays for itself very quickly, but if you rarely use them, it may not be worth buying for you.  
(Version 4.2.1)

ST. CLAIR SOFTWARE  I can get email notifications about replies to postings I've made, but there doesn't appear to be any way to get an email for _every_ posting about a particular product, even as the developer. If there is and I've just been unable to find it, someone please point the way.   
(Version 4.2.1)

ST. CLAIR SOFTWARE  As HMURCHISON suggested, take a look at System Preferences -> Default Folder X -> Settings -> Options. Set the toolbar style to "Gray sidebar" and you'll get the less obtrusive windows you're after.

The problem with simply defaulting back to where you were is that the bad behavior is not consistent in all applications, and what you're asking for isn't always desirable. Think about having two different Open dialogs in an app, such as the Open and Insert Image dialogs in Fireworks. These correctly keep track of two separate folders - if DFX were to override that, it would make using Fireworks less convenient. The application (Preview in your case) is _supposed_ to handle this intelligently, but that seems to have broken in a number of places in Leopard. I'll look at fine-tuning it with DFX, but I probably won't be able to evaluate every app - handling Preview, however, should be easy.

Oh, and please contact us directly at support@stclairsoft.com in the future. I had no idea you had problems until I noticed your comment here.  
(Version 4.2.1)

ST. CLAIR SOFTWARE  Beige: You've probably got a damaged DFX preference file. That's the only time we see people getting crashes. Please try following the steps in the FAQ at http://www.stclairsoft.com/DefaultFolderX/faq.html#troubleshooting. That should take care of the problem.

Sorry for the trouble! - Jon  
(Version 4.2)

ST. CLAIR SOFTWARE  I think this definitely fills some holes in Time Machine. If you're interested in restoring a particular file, Back in Time makes it much easier to see what your options are and what's gone on with the file - the whole "swooshing back through time" thing in Time Machine doesn't really work for me. Back in Time doesn't have as much demo appeal, but is much more useful.

I'm a developer, and I was actually considering writing something very similar to this (though with a few other features that I specifically want). The real question is whether it's worth $29 for something you use once in a while. Personally, if I had to restore a file from Time Machine once a week, I'd buy this. But I don't drag things back from Time Machine that often, so I'm going to hold off for a bit.  
(Version 1.3.1)

ST. CLAIR SOFTWARE  La Sepia - please drop us an email and let me know where you're seeing performance problems. If there's something that's dragging things down, I'd like to get it fixed.

Thanks!

- Jon  
(Version 4.0.8)

ST. CLAIR SOFTWARE  Try switching to the "gray sidebar" appearance and see if that improves the speed. It's in the "Options" tab in the DFX settings.  
(Version 4.0.6)

ST. CLAIR SOFTWARE  Version 4.0.3 corrects Bill Clinton's CPU usage problem (below) along with several other issues. I'd like to encourage everyone to update to the new version. If you've already purchased a license or upgrade for version 4, updating to version 4.0.3 is free.  
(Version 4.0.3)

ST. CLAIR SOFTWARE  Please contact us at support@stclairsoft.com. You've probably got a damaged preference file (perhaps you tried DFX sometime before?) The easiest way to fix this is to run the installer and choose "Uninstall". When you're prompted with 4 checkboxes to specify what to remove, make sure they are all turned on. That will remove the prefs file too. After doing that, reinstall DFX and you should have a completely clean installation and it'll work correctly.

Sorry for the trouble.

- Jon  
(Version 4.0.1)

ST. CLAIR SOFTWARE  By default, DFX makes it so you have to hold down the option key when you click on a filename. This is "historical" and comes from the fact that DFX actually supplied the click-to-copy feature to Mac OS X before Apple added it. When it was a Default Folder X feature, you had to hold down the option key to do it, so that's the way it stayed.

You can change this preference in your DFX preferences so that it works exactly the same way it does without DFX installed. Sounds like we're now confusing first-time users with this default setting, so I'll change it in the next revision.

- Jon  
(Version 4.0.1b2)

ST. CLAIR SOFTWARE  In version 4.0.1b1 I've added a switch to turn off the animations, window fading, etc.   
(Version 4.0.1b1)

ST. CLAIR SOFTWARE  Please give the 4.0.1 beta a try. I think I've resolved all the stability and speed problems that were occurring with Mac OS 10.4 (unfortunately, it all had to do with the new preview feature in 4.0, and the fact that DFX was creating previews with QuickTime under Tiger because QuickLook is only available in Leopard). If I haven't fixed all the problems, please let me know what sort of trouble you're still having.  
(Version 4.0.1b1)

ST. CLAIR SOFTWARE  As the review two entries below yours points out, you're comparing apples and oranges. Safari does a simple "Find" by matching text in the URLs and titles of pages in your bookmarks and/or history. HistoryHound actually searches ALL OF THE TEXT in the pages in your bookmarks and history. Think of a word you saw in a particular news article that you read a week ago - not in the title, but actually in the article. Now try to find that page in your history. That's what HistoryHound does :-)

- Jon  
(Version 1.9.2)

ST. CLAIR SOFTWARE  Dana - I'm sorry you don't agree with our pricing. We charge for updates VERY rarely (so far, it's only been in 2001 and 2006) - all other updates and upgrades to Default Folder X have been free. There is cost in providing good support and in providing updates, so yes, every few years, we'll charge for an upgrade. In the past, this has been when there are major changes involved, as was the case for supporting Mac OS X and supporting Intel-based Macintoshes (those are the two times we've actually charged for an upgrade).

- Jon  
(Version 3.0.1)