XENOPHILE  Nice, but...

Big league price without the big league features, and a developer with a relatively short track record.

For less than half the price, check out info.xhead for a serious encrypted database app. For $3 less, check out 1Password, which transparently integrates with all web browsers to automatically save and send any and all login info. 1Password's developers issue rapid-fire updates to keep their app working seamlessly with all Mac web browsers, and their customer service is highly professional, in contrast to that exhibited by the SecretBox developer in this comments section.

  
(Version 2.0.2)

XENOPHILE  Working great here, none of the problems listed above.

Maybe try deleting preferences?   
(Version 1.0.6)

XENOPHILE  The last sentence in the original post is:

"Please fix ASAP. Thank you."  
(Version 3.0.6)

XENOPHILE  and the size is utterly unecessary. Why can't Roxio just release an installer package that replaces only updated files?

Not only would it save Roxio's customers time and hassle, it would save Roxio money on server bandwidth. Very strange that they don't seem to care...  
(Version 10.0.3)

XENOPHILE  I used Amnesia for the full trial period, and for the last week compared it directly to CleanApp. I've also tried a few other uninstallers over the past year or so. While I like Amnesia's interface and design, functionally it falls short of these other uninstallers, particularly CleanApp.

Note that my comparisons are made using CleanApp without the logging agent installed. I prefer to keep as few background processes running as possible, and IMO a logging agent is too much overhead for an uninstaller app.

On my Powermac G4 FW800 system, Amnesia is significantly slower than CleanApp, churning the HD for several seconds after dropping an app on its window before listing associated files, compared to CleanApp's nearly instantaneous listing. Surprisingly, the files that each uninstaller identifies are not always the same; out of perhaps 20 "uninstallation," CleanApp found extra files in two instances. The other side of this coin is that CleanApp tends to list false positives, files unrelated to an application, while Amnesia never does. I prefer getting false positive hits, but for users less familiar with Mac OS X, Amnesia is the clear choice. Blindly accepting all of CleanApp's hits for deletion would soon cripple other applications.

My main issue with Amnesia are its quirks. If an app's purpose is to delete files, then it should never flake-out, yet Amnesia did this several times over it's trial period. Twice I dropped apps on Amnesia only to have Amnesia endlessly thrash my HD until I force-quit it. After a system reboot, dropping the same apps on Amnesia worked fine. And once after clicking "uninstall," Amnesia began churning and thrashing for several minutes. I checked the trash to see if Amnesia had deleted anything, and discovered that it had moved 2/3rds of my "Applications" folder to the trash. I suppose this could have been user error, but shouldn't an app designed to uninstall individual applications and their associated files give a warning of some sort before trashing the entire "Applications" folder?

Ultimately, I see little need for uninstallers like Amnesia. 90% of the time, the files left after dragging an app to the trash are harmless. For the other 10%, the files are always in a handful of locations where they are easily found. I also use the freeware app "Find Any File" which will search the entire HD. Just run a search with the app's name, and the developer or software company name.

If I'm really serious about removing an application entirely, I use "Uninstaller". For example, I tried out a humongous set of HP scanner drivers, and wanted to be able to remove them if they didn't work. Uninstaller scans the entire HD and saves its state, after which you install the software, then Uninstaller scans the entire HD again and reports exactly what files were installed. This is a brute strength approach but it is 100% effective, and the only approach worth paying for IMO.   
(Version 1.1.1)

XENOPHILE  Ok, thanks, that clears things up for me. I'll be buying MacGourmet directly from you, the developer.

How does Mariner get access to markets you don't? Do they put MacGourmet in a box and sell it at real stores or something?  
(Version 2.4.2)

XENOPHILE  PPC version?   
(Version 3.0.1)

XENOPHILE  Does not support PowerPC!

What's annoying is that this comes as an installer, and the installer gleefully goes about its business on a PPC mac. Yet since this is Intel-only, the uninstaller will not run, so I had to use Find Any File to locate and remove the TuneUp droppings.

Looks like the developer's attention to detail needs a tune up.  
(Version 1.59)

XENOPHILE  How do you know you never issued him a serial? Maybe he's not posting to MU using his real name? Or maybe he even used an alias to request a test serial from you!

Or maybe your snooping around where you shouldn't be?

The only people I trust less than convicted felons are the detectives who nailed 'em. Cops are a necessary evil, with emphasis on the second word.  
(Version 2.5.5)

XENOPHILE  WTF is Microsoft's problem with naming this driver? Their website says "IntelliPoint 7.01". The downloaded disk image is labeled as "Microsoft-Mouse-d260". Mount the disk image and within it is contained a file called "Microsoft Mouse Installer". The Finder's Get Info shows version 1.0.

I only installed the MS driver to see how it compared to my old workhorse, USB Overdrive. It worked well enough but I'll definitely be sticking with USB Overdrive.   
(Version 7.01)

XENOPHILE  Plenty of freeware alternatives that do the same thing.   
(Version 9.0)

XENOPHILE  How is this better than Firefox? It has fewer features and is based on an older version of the Gecko rendering engine.   
(Version 1.6.10)

XENOPHILE  Agreed. I don't find the photorealistic effect of a ring note pad "fun," either. It's distracting and a waste of space, and serves no purpose. Presumably the developer was being "creative," but making a diary app look like a literal diary is pretty dull.  
(Version 1.4)

XENOPHILE  Agree on the need for a hand tool to scroll large images.

Include this and fill out some of the other features, and this could replace Preview for me. Skim has mastered PDF viewing on Mac OS X, so IMO JustLooking should continue to focus on all other images, and match/exceed Preview's feature set. It's almost there, all it needs are a few features like the hand tool, a few tweaks here and there, and at least one killer feature or GUI innovation that blows Preview away.   
(Version 3.3.3)

XENOPHILE  Teachable moment for all the suckers who paid for this:

Do NOT pay a developer to help him test his beta software.   
(Version 0.909)

XENOPHILE  Does the developer know about this? MacUpdate isn't a bug report log, you should contact the developer first, then review the software after he works it out (or doesn't).  
(Version 1.0)

XENOPHILE  If there's a limitation on the software that is removed upon purchasing a registration, then by definition it is not "freeware".

WTF is the matter with you?   
(Version 4.7)

XENOPHILE  Developer site has a download for a snow leopard version (same version number, apparently), but little info otherwise on the update. Before buying, it would be nice to know more about the development state, since the last version update was back in 2007. The developer sites Freefall page has a "manual" link to the manual for version 1 of Freefall, which doesn't inspire much confidence.   
(Version 2.0)

XENOPHILE  Make sure the window is fully minimized, without the "lcd" display showing.  
(Version 9.0)

XENOPHILE  Excellent GSD app, but way overpriced at $50. To be fair, all GSD apps are overpriced, and $50 seems to be the going rate for entry-level GSDs.

One minor qualm I have is with the literal metaphor, which shows up as a yellow legal pad background. It's cute, but I prefer the more neutral background used by 99.9% of other applications.

The deal breaker for me is the beta status. If a developer wants me to do beta testing, at least give me the beta app for free. If the final release is pay-ware, fine, but don't make me pay to test beta software. It's really quite absurd that The Hit List developer expects users to pay $50 to ferret out and report bugs, but judging by the comments here, plenty of suckers have signed on, so more power to him.  
(Version 0.9.3.16beta)

XENOPHILE  This app is exceptionally polished and intuitive, and its feature set is well designed. If all Mac OS X shareware was this good, Microsoft's market share would be doomed.

Only problem for info.xhead is that 1Password leaves it in the dust. As a data manager, 1Password is a bit more robust, but where 1Password shines is in its web browser integration and development pace. 1Password works so seamlessly with web browsers that it's easy to forget it has a separate application, it's virtually invisible it works so well. And with every browser update, 1Password's developers issue a lightning fast update that just works.

Although dedicated to 1Password, I'm keeping an eye on info.xhead, because it's got the potential to leap ahead of 1Password, and the competition keeps both developers at the top of their game. info.xhead is also considerably cheaper - $15 versus $40 - but even a cheap mofo like myself recognizes that 1Password is still the better value.  
(Version 2.0b)

XENOPHILE  Based on your post, it seems that the limits to your toolishness are indeed infinite.  
(Version 0.82)

XENOPHILE  Doesn't work.

I figured what the hell, an old-school Windows app would be fun, but I used this for a few days and it never crashed my system.  
(Version 1.0.4)

XENOPHILE  Keep up the insightful reviews! Given that you don't need to try the software, I'll expect to see you submit several hundred reviews per day. Thanks.  
(Version 1.6 build 468)

XENOPHILE  Not my experience at all.

ViewIt is peerless when it comes to viewing high volumes of images. Drop a folder on ViewIt, and it bores down the hierarchy to display as many images as you can throw at it. I regularly use it on THOUSANDS of images without a hiccup. I've never found anything else that comes close to ViewIt's features and stability.

Oh, and the image display quality is outstanding. Not all image viewers are equal in this regard.

I've contacted the developer several times with questions, and he's always responded within 24 hours.   
(Version 2.31)

XENOPHILE  ClickToFlash is a better design, it blocks all flash, or optionally only certain types of flash, and the user can choose to load and play a single flash or all the flash on a web site. It also has white list functionality so the user can always let flash play on certain sites or domains.

That said, BashFlash will do the job, and it's great to see some competition among Mac flash blockers - one can never have too many.

Props for the description, too!

"A single poorly-designed Flash banner - even in an inactive window or tab - can 5uck up an entire processor core with its shady mortgage offers."

So true. It seems that flash is a magnet for gullible fools and the hucksters they feed, the internet equivalent of the shouting cokehead on "As Seen On TeeVee" scams.  
(Version 1.0)

XENOPHILE  Jesus, that GUI is a disaster! Three rows of tabs? WTF is the developer thinking?  
(Version 5.3.6)

XENOPHILE  $15 for this one-trick pony? Whatever.

Here's a tip for free:

If you absolutely need to drop files on the desktop, try creating a few folders and label them by category.

Place each of these folders in the dock. Right-click to set the view options as you like.

When you're dragging a file to drop on the desktop, from Safari, for example, flick it to the "show desktop" screen corner to activate expose (set expose options in system preferences) and reveal the entire desktop. Drop the file in the appropriate folder.

Now for the groovy part: you can access each of the file groups right from the dock! Just click its folder to see all the files in a category. If you want you can add custom icons to the folders so it's easy to tell them apart in the dock.

Now for the far out, mind blowing part: drag your desktop folder (in your home directory) into the dock, and you can click on it to access everything on the desktop. Set the stack view options to view content as list, and you can drill down to all the category folder contents as well! Mac OS X even gives the desktop folder its own special icon.

The cool part about this method is that the dock folders are always in full view, their contents one click away. With view options set to view them as stacks, you can see at a glance whether they're empty or contain items. No need to activate expose so you can see a bunch of labels on your desktop. And since your files are already in category-specific folders, you're one step ahead in getting organized. The category-specific folders will also hold and manage a lot more files than the desktop alone, which quickly degenerates into an impenetrable mess regardless of how many $15 labels you make.  
(Version 1.0.2)

XENOPHILE  I never said I wouldn't use it because of the name, I only said it was a dumb name.

Big difference.  
(Version 1.1.3)

XENOPHILE  No, make that 30 bucks.

Jesus, do people really buy this stuff?  
(Version 2.0.4)

XENOPHILE  25 freakin' megabytes for this one-trick pony? And 20 bucks, too?

A very aptly named software company.  
(Version 2.0.4)

XENOPHILE  Finally! I've been looking for an app like this for some time. Sharing pr0n links has always been tedious; emailing a buddy is the last thing I want to do after finding some hot pics online! Using X3Watch, I'm able to automatically update my friends on the hottest XXX sites, and that keeps my hands free for whatever else...

My only suggestion is to make X3Watch configurable for different buddy sets, so for example I could have one set of emails for barely legal sites, and another set for glam sites, etc. Also, make X3Watch more easy to toggle on and off, so my friends don't think I'm a total pervert.   
(Version 1.5)

XENOPHILE  I don't understand these types of ratings, but the pattern is familiar: user has a problem he suspects is related to a particular app, so he goes to MU, sees no other reviewers have had the same problem, and confidently concludes he's dealing with crapware that deserves a one-star review. This "Power User" then carefully recites the problem behavior in as many words as possible with the caveat that he cannot be certain it is the fault of the app in question and sucker punches the developer with a one-star review.

This probably sounds crazy, but did you ever consider contacting the developer to inquire about your problem?  
(Version 4.4)

XENOPHILE  Developer's comments suggest he doesn't understand the concept behind adjusting the volume of individual tracks.

hint: if it's not analyzing the perceived loudness of tracks, then it's not particularly useful.  
(Version 1.3)

XENOPHILE  This app is the cat's meow.

If only Apple could somehow incorporate it into Mac OS X...  
(Version 2.5.1)

XENOPHILE  So what did you expect? A free service that backs up your data off-site, guarantees it's security, and promises to keep its servers on line forever?

They've got to have the legalese you complain about because if they didn't and had a server fail or went out of business or whatever, someone like you would try to sue them for losing the sole backup of your Important Data.   
(Version 0.6.507)

XENOPHILE  WTF are you, Lou Dobbs?

Turn off the TeeVee, get off your couch, and check out the world. I know it's a shock, but not everyone in the world - or even the USA - speaks english.

You know what? English-native speaking people are actually a minority of the world population! Furthermore, I'm sick of jingoistic a-holes like yourself ratcheting down my country's reputation every time you lash out in hostile ignorance.   
(Version 0.12)

XENOPHILE  Whoa, dude, that's effed up! You used Onyx for years with no problems, and then you used a beta version of Onyx and it almost hosed your system? Outrageous!

You should think about switching over to alpha software versions. Beta is second to Alpha, so Alpha versions are tops. At a minimum, you should use Alpha version applications for critical tasks like backup, system maintenance, and so forth.

Good luck!  
(Version 2.0.5b4)

XENOPHILE  Heh, I have the opposite opinion of DVDpedia. I love the info view, it's minimalist design is easy to read and devoid of distractions. What initially drew me to DVDpedia was it's GUI and design.

Delicious Library? Ugly. WTF is up with the fake wood? And the interface is an abomination, requiring the user to mouse to and fro across the entire app window for tasks that are routinely grouped together. The info window is cramped into a tall, narrow space. What I'd like to know most is, WTF came up with the simulated wood interface, and do they cover their house, car, etc with fake wood panels to be stylish?  
(Version 4.5.1)

XENOPHILE  If it bothers you so much when others criticize the name and icon, why don't you improve them? In the time you've spent arguing with reviewers here at MU, you could have chosen a better name and gotten started on a better icon.

Sorry, but a misspelled pun on an application's function makes for a poor name. It's cheesy and lazy. Come up with something original or at least politely descriptive.  
(Version 1.1b)

XENOPHILE  Agreed. The name is so terminally unclever that just reading it induces pain. The icon is lame; we can't see that kind of detail on an icon in the dock, so it appears as a blue blob.

As for the developer, you didn't think people would judge your app by its name? Sweet Jesus, if you ever have kids, do them a favor and let your wife name them.   
(Version 1.1a)

XENOPHILE  I've tried all the search utilities I can find, and FAF is without question the best of its kind. By separating the search and results into different windows, FAF permits one to easily tweak search operators and compare results. The search window alone is wonderfully Mac-like and makes the addition of new search operators and fields effortless. But where FAF shines is its results window, which displays hits in either the familiar list format, or in a novel hierarchical file system view. What makes the file system view so wickedly powerful is that when a user searches for a file, he usually has some idea of where it is, or at least where it is not, so it's easy to drill into the file hierarchy and look at search hits only in relevant places. Very, very cool.

It's a shame FAF is getting fewer downloads than some competitors like Devon's EasyFind, because FAF kicks Devon's runt app into next week.

I give FAF 7 out of 5 stars - one extra for being free (many thanks to the developer), and one extra for being insanely good.

separating  
(Version 1.2.1)

XENOPHILE  TTP sure knows how to make itself feel at home on a Mac. I installed TTP to give it a try, and despite a lack of any tangible benefits, it's been very busy!

1. It pollutes my system with lots of files, most of which are invisible. I don't need more mystery files on my system. I've used DiskWarrior and Drive Genius, and neither of them left their turds all over my system.

2. TTP spawns at least one daemon. No. I mean it, no! I don't want more background processes eating up CPU time. TTP's daemons are also very rude; they never asked permission to install themselves and run in the background.

If I'm going to use a maintenance utility like TTP, it's because I want my system optimized. My definition of "optimized" does not include extra invisible files and more background processes. Thus, I see no reason to use TTP, much less pay what amounts to a yearly subscription fee to keep TTP updated and current with OS X.   
(Version 5.0.4)

XENOPHILE  Jesus, get your names straight, Microsoft. The Microsoft website calls this "Microsoft Intellipoint 7.0," the disk image is called "Microsoft-Desktop-X-d250," and the file in the disk image is called "Microsoft Desktop Installer" and has a version of "1.0".

How the hell are we supposed to keep all this straight?  
(Version 7.0)

XENOPHILE  What's with the negative ratings on this comment? The reviewer posted a simple, verifiable fact, and apparently it hit a nerve amongst the Firefox Fanboyz here.  
(Version 3.5rc2)

XENOPHILE  Think about it: an international version of a weather application requires more than a few trivial language localizations. Different weather servers, often providing data in different formats from the American servers, would need to be accessed and interpreted by Wx. Furthermore, these weather servers typically aren't set 'n' forget affairs, they are constantly updating/changing the requirements for accessing data, as exemplified by the number of second-rate weather apps that work great for a while and then lose some or all of their features because their developers don't constantly maintain them. Thus adding international weather servers represents not a one-time investment of time and effort, but a sustained increase in the maintenance work on Wx.

I'm sure the developer can add to this regarding his priorities on Wx. My suspicion is that he's got a life outside of Wx, since he'd have to register an awful lot of users to make a decent living.   
(Version 5.35)

XENOPHILE  WTF is this brutalization of the english language supposed to mean: "Version 11.5.0.600 includes no changes in features or functionality. Some small elements of the plugin, which in no way affect the multimedia engine, installations, or other performance aspects, have been updated."

If these "small elements of the plugin" affect neither the plug-in's installation, nor its features, functionality, or performance, then WTF are they included at all? Is this the spyware/malware element of the plugin?

Adobe's marketing language manages to tell us everything we don't want or need to know, namely, what's new? I suspect the "what's new" is something that most of us probably wouldn't want on our systems, and something all of us definitely would want the installer to require informed authorization to install.

  
(Version 11.5.0.600)

XENOPHILE  Abandonware.

As a longtime Bookit user, I'm a bit disappointed by the developer's inability to maintain compatibility with popular OS X browsers. Firefox 3 has been out for ages - already at version 3.0.11 - yet Bookit remains unable to sync Firefox 3 bookmarks.

When I purchased Bookit 3, the developer advertised it as a tool for syncing bookmarks among common Mac OS X browsers, which is perfect for me because I use Safari as my main browser and fall back on Firefox for a handful of critical sites that render Safari impotent. Bookit is one of the few shareware apps I've ever bought, and it's a workhorse; simple and powerful and, once properly set up, it makes the ordeal of managing bookmarks virtually effortless.

So when Firefox 3 was released and I found that Bookit didn't support it, I figured the developer had a life and an update would be forthcoming in a few weeks. A month went by, then two, and still no update, so I contacted the developer and was told there would be no update. Well he didn't exactly say that, but his reply was similar to the current excuse posted on his blog.

The developers explained that Mozilla released Firefox 3 at an "inopportune time" because they're currently "knee deep on Bookit 4 (which supports Firefox 3) and aren't quite done with it."

Well, I must admit it was pretty rude of Mozilla to release Firefox while Everyday Software was up to their knees in Bookit 4, but if I'm patient Bookit will eventually be updated so I can use it again, right? Actually, wrong. The developers state that "if you buy Bookit now, you'll get Bookit 4 free, so don't worry about that." I'm a loyal user who licensed Bookit 3 some time ago, so it looks like I'd better start worrying.

Now what do I do? The developer helpfully offers a suggestion:

"all we ask from you is a little patience while we wrap it up. You see, We do this little operation in our free time after our regular 9 to 5 so development isn't as fast as everyone (including us) would like..."

They go knee deep in Bookit on their free time, but that doesn't make it freeware, does it?

"...With the 'I want it yesterday' attitude of the internet these days it will be hard for some, but I have confidence most of you will be able to do it."

No, that's not the attitude of "the internet," it's the attitude of paying customers, and good businessmen catered to that attitude long before the internet existed.

"For the next couple months, your Firefox 3 bookmarks won't be in sync, but listen - it will be OK - trust me."

I used Safari and Firefox for years before buying Bookit, and guess what? It was "ok". I payed the developers money because Bookit was an exceptional tool that made switching between Safari and Firefox effortless. Bookit no longer does what I bought it to do, and if I want its functionality restored, I'll have to pay for a new version of Bookit.

The developers conclude their rant by telling registered Bookit users what they can go do with themselves:

"how about you take a big deep breath and do something enjoyable with your time. Luckily, it's summer and there are a lot of great things to do outside while you wait for Bookit 4."

How professional. I suggest the developers also do something enjoyable with their free time, because not many Bookit users are going to be paying for that knee-deep update.  
(Version 3.7.5)

XENOPHILE  Totally agree. I love dogs, but that photorealistic icon of a dog on a stack of books is just plain ugly. I'm sure that in person, the dog on which the icon is based is utterly adorable, but when scrunched into my crowded dock, I can barely even recognize it as a dog.

On the other hand, looking at Bookdog's interface reminds me that the icon is perhaps the most beautiful part of Bookdog...  
(Version 5.3.2b)

XENOPHILE  Sweet Jesus, save yourself some time and remap those menu items with OS X's System Preferences! Keyboard & Mouse --> Keyboard Shortcuts.  
(Version 11.0b (5530.17))

XENOPHILE  Great video player!

I have a request for rare feature that I find indispensable: permit full screen playback at any size. I often want to view low quality clips fullscreen so they aren't surrounded by OS X background stuff, but most players insist on stretching to fit in fullscreen mode. I've tried quite a few players, but to my knowledge only Quicktime has the option to view clips fullscreen at any magnification (unfortunately Quicktime cannot resize in fullscreen, for example from 1x size to 2x size, which would be convenient for low resolution clips).

Add this one feature and Movist becomes my default player. If I wasn't so picky it already would be - this is a very well designed video player, all the more impressive for such an early version.   
(Version 0.6.2)

XENOPHILE  Why?

I can do this for free with AppleScript or Automator without the overhead of an extra background application.  
(Version 3.1)

XENOPHILE  This is pretty good, but I suggest checking out "WurdKR055", it has all the same features and it's free.   
(Version 1.8.4)

XENOPHILE  Agreed, it's a stupid name. Too many people think it's clever to misspell the name of a product or business, when actually it's lazy and unoriginal.

I'm trying to picture the developer naming this app:

"hmmm, what to call this? Well it does crossword puzzles, so I'll call it 'Crosswords'. No, wait! That's too lame, it needs a twist, something to grab users' attention. Uhhhhh....Yes, that's IT! I shall call it 'KrossWordz'! Oh how clever I am!"  
(Version 1.8.4)

XENOPHILE  Check out Pref Setter, it's comparable to PlistEdit Pro except that it's free.  
(Version 1.4.1)

XENOPHILE  The free version is still available here.

I knew something this great wouldn't be free forever. FontExplorer is an awesome solution for those with enormous font collections, who've already dropped big money on fonts and wont mind paying for something to manage them.

Those complaining about the price probably haven't bought enough fonts to actually need something so powerful as FontExplorer.  
(Version 2.0.1)

XENOPHILE  Netfixer, Paparazzi! both do this for free.  
(Version 1.0.8)

XENOPHILE  Awesome free software.

I was using DropDMG but DMGConverter is better for converting multiple images; I can drop dozens of DMG images on and it effortlessly converts them serially without choking like DropDMG does.

A few suggestions:

1. DMGConverter will only create new images from folders - I'd like to be able to drop a file or group of files on it to create an image. DropDMG can do this, so it's definitely possible.

2. When an image, file, or folder is dropped on it, DMGConverter should be able to figure out what to do. Currently I must switch to the "Convert" tab if I want to convert a disk image, or switch to the "new image" tab if I want a new image, adding extra steps to what should be a one step process. If I drop a folder is dropped on DMGConverter, then obviously I don't want to convert a disk image, likewise if an image is dropped on it, then usually I don't to make an image of an image. Make DMGConverter smart enough so I don't have switch modes all the time.

Otherwise, this is a great freeware app.  
(Version 5.0.4)

XENOPHILE  Are you sure the PDFs or perhaps the file system are not corrupted? 60,000 PDF files must have taken years to accumulate, so it's not unlikely that parts of your collection have been corrupted over the years when changing HDs or upgrading to new systems. I would use something like Disk Warrior that can check both files and file system for corruption. This has fixed similar issues I've had when trying to import file references into an application (not Yep, but something similar).  
(Version 1.8)

XENOPHILE  The developer changed the download link, but it's still on the eBay Addict home page.  
(Version 1.2)

XENOPHILE  Totally valid criticism, not worthy of all the negative ratings IMO.

Still, it misses the point, since RW is targeted at those who don't write HTML and want a quick and dirty way to publish websites.   
(Version 4.2.3)

XENOPHILE  Delicious Library isn't all that great. It's ok, but the GUI requires an inordinate amount of mousing, and it lacks the features and attention to detail of other multimedia cataloging applications in its price range. Furthermore, DL is being developed at the pace of a tortois. I used DL for about three years before moving up to DVDpedia, and during that time the developer issued a few maintenance updates but added no significant new features or feature enhancements.  
(Version 1.40)

XENOPHILE  This was never an issue for me, but perhaps you could have STF notify the user more forcefully when in simulation mode.

BTW, thanks for such a great app!  
(Version 1.3.7)

XENOPHILE   In contrast with US and Canadian software companies which provide an excellent technical support, this company IWASCODING appears as a JOKE !!!

If you were this offensive with GarageSale's developer, no wonder he didn't want to help you. What on Earth does a developer's nationality have to do with software quality and customer service? I'll tell you what: nothing. U.S. and Canadian developers are unfortunately every bit as capable of delivering worthless support as their counterparts from the rest of the world.

Next time you want help or sympathy, don't insult 85% of the world, and maybe you'll get a better response.

FWIW my experience with iwascoding support has been as good as it gets.  
(Version 5.3b3)

XENOPHILE  Wow, for someone whining about an app being targeted towards the French language and not at "this side" of the ocean (presumably the english speaking side), you sure don't know English very well.

Reminds me of the pictures going around of anti-immigrant protesters angrily shaking protest signs filled with misspelled words.  
(Version 2.9.5)

XENOPHILE  For $39, this should not preserve original content protection (funny how the developer advertises this as if it's some sort of feature).

Check out MacTheRipper (free) or RipIt (cheaper) for a solution that rips DVDs without combersome limitations. Fast DVD Copy offers more features than RipIt but at a steep price. RipIt is newer and being developed at a fast pace, hopefully it will soon match FDC's feature set.  
(Version 1.0.3.1)

XENOPHILE  Worthless.

Does not transfer file permissions. Maybe the developer could update this after he reads up on Mac OS X.  
(Version 4.56)

XENOPHILE  Right, and I tried searching Adobe's site to find the difference between the "slim" and "full" installers, only to give up after 20 minutes. WTF is the matter with these people?

And WTF doesn't Adobe offer a single download for both Flash and Shockwave? Instead I've got to click through extra pages at their bloated website for updates. Makes no sense.  
(Version 11.5.0.596)

XENOPHILE  Good questions. I'm curious, too.

This arrangement between Advenio and Mariner is confusing. I don't understand the point. Are Advenio planning to abandon MacGourmet and sell it to Mariner? If not, how do they benefit from letting Mariner lard MacGourmet with bloat and then take a cut of their profits?

I don't care for Mariner at all. They have a history of acquiring killer apps only to transform them into bloatware. Mariner developers seem to have little creativity or sense of function, so they bloat all the wonderful apps they buy with a dizzying array of features. I was a dedicated MacJournal user until Mariner bought it, and within a year or so the lean and quick journaling app I knew and loved was expensive bloatware.

I love MacGourmet because it's a killer recipe manager. I'm not looking for something that analyzes nutritional content and creates shopping lists based on meal plans for the next month. I do plan meals, but I also like to be inspired, and I like to create or discover new dishes based on what's left in my fridge. I like to cook what I feel like eating, not what some list I made a week ago tells me I'm supposed to eat.

Are you listening, Advenio/Mariner? Instead of larding your app with nutrition data and rigid scheduling, how about doing something creative? Instead of a rote nutrition database for ingredients, how about a feature that takes what's left in my fridge and pantry, and lists the recipes I can use with those ingredients? Instead of a scheduler, how about a feature that analyzes what meals I tend to cook on each weekday, and then lists the recipes I've used the fewest times for a particular day of the week?

Do something exciting, not this dull bloated crap.  
(Version 1.2)

XENOPHILE  So you want them to add a few lines of spam to their spam?  
(Version 1.3)

XENOPHILE  Why don't you show some love for Leopard, and upgrade?  
(Version 1.2.5)

XENOPHILE  Six stars! After all that time in the wilderness without Safari Plus, this app is salvation. Thank you so much for developing this!

As far as design and functionality...it just works. Set it, forget it. Merely check a new favorite when registering at a new site.

If Safari Cookies' functionality were built into Glims, we would have a new killer app.  
(Version 0.2)

XENOPHILE  A launchd background process, running as root, for a graphing app?

Ok, so the developer changed it so as not to need root access, but why even consider such a thing for a graphing app? Is Vvidget designed to do more than make pretty graphs?

Props to the previous poster for saving me the trouble of trying out this proto-malware.  
(Version 10.5.7.2)

XENOPHILE  According to Dog Park's iSpectrum page: "iSpectrum Analyzer is FREE but unsupported."  
(Version 2.05)

XENOPHILE  Your reply is a textbook example of the attitude that leads to unintuitive, overly complex GUIs: usability is just an "opinion," which is your polite way of saying the complainers are too stupid to figure out your masterpiece.

Developing an intuitive GUI is an art that most developers learn through lots of hard work, trial and error, and the study of user feedback. Do you have what it takes to even try?  
(Version 2.0)

XENOPHILE  Downloaded, installed, and rocked out. Checked out developer site to buy Volume Logic, only to find a message saying it is discontinued.   
(Version 1.3.2L)

XENOPHILE  So why are you posting this help request here? Email the developer and then you can describe his customer service in your review.

Or are you perhaps a mind reader and so already know the developer wants you to pay twice for his software?  
(Version 4.5.1)

XENOPHILE  This might actually be useful if it could store "sets" containing both resolution settings and colorsync profiles.

For now I'll just keep using Apple's menu item to switch resolutions. Nice try, though.  
(Version 3.8.6)

XENOPHILE   Take your software-stealing arse to bittorrent where it belongs. I can't believe you're trying to pirate software on MacUpdate!   
(Version 3.1.7.11394)

XENOPHILE  Alternatively, you can skip the "deleting application" and just search for application related files using easyfind. Search for the developer name as well as the application name, and you'll usually get all the files.

It also helps to know where to look for associated application files, which can vary depending on the tasks carried out by the application.  
(Version 2.2)

XENOPHILE  Alternatively, you can skip the "deleting application" and just search for application related files using easyfind. Search for the developer name as well as the application name, and you'll usually get all the files.

It also helps to know where to look for associated application files, which can vary depending on the tasks carried out by the application.  
(Version 2.2)

XENOPHILE  Awesome app! I've been having intermittent TM errors and was pulling my hair out trying to figure out WTF the error messages even mean. TM Error Logger identified the problem file and selected it in the finder so I could trash it. Problem solved.

As a bonus for a single purpose app like this, the GUI doesn't make a simple task any more complex. No instruction manual required. Thanks for such a useful app!  
(Version 1.15)

XENOPHILE  Whoa, thanks for the reply, Ripit Customer Service! That was fast! I'm downloading v1.2.3, original comment will be deleted and replaced pending evaluation of the new version.  
(Version 1.2.3)

XENOPHILE  Not working in Leopard for me, just crashes System Preferences.

Too bad this is abandoned, it's one of the all-time best screen savers. I haven't seen anything similar, either.  
(Version 2.6.1)

XENOPHILE  $9 for an application that does what smart folders do while using more system resources?

LOL  
(Version 1.0)

XENOPHILE  RipIt does not create true Video_TS folders. I don't know the difference, but Toast will not recognize Video_TS folders created by RipIt.

I compared RipIt to MacTheRipper using about a dozen DVDs from my collection. Neither MTR nor RipIt could successfully rip three titles; both MTR and RipIt could rip 8 titles, and only MTR could successfully rip one title. Note that I was using the payware version of MTR.

It's certainly possible that the DVD I could rip with MTR but not RipIt is not representative of the ripper applications capabilities, in other words, RipIt may well be able to rip all but a handful of titles that MTR can rip. Unfortunately, the non-standard Video_TS folders created by RipIt make it unsuitable for backing up a valuable DVD collection. It is also troubling that RipIt has no documentation alerting users to the freak Video_TS folders. After burrowing around RipIt's website, I was able to find a workaround for the freak Video_TS folders (posted by a user), but that is not acceptable for backing up something like the $200 Sopranos DVD box set!

Hopefully RipIt developers will someday offer a full-featured DVD ripping application. For now, RipIt is clearly aimed at laptop users who want to rip DVDs to their HDs to save battery life, NOT at DVD collectors looking for a backup solution.  
(Version 1.2.1)

XENOPHILE  This looked promising. Downloaded, installed, and fired it up. Created a few sets containing folders where I keep all my desktop images. Then I tried selected different sets, and they were empty. A few minutes of trial and error left me with nothing.

To summarize, I did not find ChangeDesktop very intuitive, and its promised feature set does not compel me to bother learning how it works, at least not when desktop picture preferences are built into OS X. I understand it's freeware, but still, I expect more polish in a version "3" app. Maybe version "4" will be the charm...  
(Version 3.0.4)

XENOPHILE  LMAO!

I hope you intended that post to be funny, because I just sprayed my display!  
(Version 2.1.1)

XENOPHILE  Mariner has a history of aquiring brilliant shareware apps, jacking the price, and bloating them beyond all recognition. This approach is evident in the "deluxe" version of MacGourmet, which will not remain a lean and focused app for long.   
(Version 1.1)

XENOPHILE  So who's developing MacGourmet now - Mariner, or Advenio?

My concern is that Mariner tends to assimilate vibrant new shareware from independent developers and bloat it into dinosaurs bearing little resemblance to the original shareware. I used to use MacJournal, but finally had to stop because Mariner jacked the price and bloated it beyond all recognition.

I notice Mariner already has jacked the price of MacGourmet for a "deluxe" version that loaded with bloat I don't need. Sad.  
(Version 2.4)

XENOPHILE  Your comment hosed my Safari! Now I have to type this using Firefox.  
(Version 2.0.3)

XENOPHILE  WTF?

Logic, Protools, WaveEditor, Sound Studio, Amadeus, Ableton Live...

I don't even do production on my Mac and I know about these apps - I'm sure others here know of more.  
(Version 6.0.5)

XENOPHILE  You could try checking out the official Journler site, which has extensive info on the upcoming 2.6 update. Or you could spread rumors about having read that Journler is abandonware. Do you perhaps develop a competing shareware title?   
(Version 2.5.5)

XENOPHILE  Works fine on Leopard for me.  
(Version 1.3)

XENOPHILE  WTF dude? How many bad reviews are you going to give this? Some amateur developer created PPP, put it up at MU for all to use - for FREE - so you show your appreciation with a series of whiney rants?

Your "Aaargh!" complaint about PPP being an unsuitable replacement for QuickImage is downright bizarre, it seems you believe setnaN is somehow responsible for providing you with a QuickImage replacement for free. As if the "Aaargh!" wasn't enough, posted another review to SHOUT YOUR OUTRAGE AT PPP FALLING SHORT OF THE ALMIGHTY QUICKIMAGE. Ok, we got the point, but you're outrage was still boiling over, because you had to correct your second review. Was it to apologize for being so rude? No, it was to downgrade your two star rating to a one star rating! For FREEWARE!

I've seen some rude reviews over the years here at MU, but yours is one for the history books.   
(Version 2.0f)

XENOPHILE  APE is a system hack that is unsupported by Apple, meaning that it mucks with system-level internals in ways that Apple does condone, and more importantly, ways that Apple has not rigorously tested.

To be fair, there is some controversy among geeks who know vastly more than I about OS X as to whether APE destabilizes OSX. So when you're up against a deadline, or you've labored for hours on a complex project since last backing it up, if it gives you a nice warm fuzzy feeling to contemplate a few OS X gurus arguing whether APE destabilizes your system or not, then go ahead and use APE. Me? I don't trust APE any further than I could throw a real ape.  
(Version 3.8.5)

XENOPHILE  "Trial and error" - WTF dude? DeepVacuum has highly detailed application help resources covering every available option. Help resources are accessed via the "Help" menu in the menu bar, it's the last menu going from left to right (the menu bar is at the top of your computer monitor). To open the menu, use your mouse to position the on-screen pointer over the word "Help" and click once and release. Then move the pointer to highlight the menu item you want to view (menu items automatically highlight when the pointer brushes over them). Click once and release to select the menu item, which will quickly flash a few times. A new window will open and float above all....

Awww, eff it, this is a waste of time. You're review sounds like you're either an epic moron, or you have an ulterior motive such as driving down sales of DeepVacuum in favor of a competitor.   
(Version 1.66)

XENOPHILE  Onyx has the option to automatically perform all tasks, or you can select fewer tasks if you like. In the preferences you can set Onyx to reboot or shut down or sleep after all tasks are completed.

I'd suggest not blindly running the "all tasks" routine unless you know what you're doing, though. I've seen users pretty startled at not having any browser history after doing "all tasks" with some maintenance program.   
(Version 3.0.9)

XENOPHILE  Gorgeous.

Among the finest dark icons I've ever found. Thanks!  
(Version 2.0)

XENOPHILE  Shouting doesn't make $60 a "small fee".

Fix your caps lock and try

http://translate.google.com/

then come back and tell us again how small a fee $60 is.  
(Version 3.0.3)

XENOPHILE  Whoa, that is incredibly greedy. So if I want to use it on my laptop and on my desktop, too bad? Eff that, I'm not even checking out the demo.  
(Version 1.1)

XENOPHILE  You might want to check out DVDpedia - it's unrivaled IMO.   
(Version 2.0.4)

XENOPHILE  Very nice! RipIt is maturing into a solid app with a good feature set, and its developer is clearly dedicated and responsive to his customers.

Start accepting payment via paypal and you've got another customer.  
(Version 1.1.5)

XENOPHILE  How is this better than the h.264 encoder that comes standard with Quicktime?  
(Version 0.9.5)

XENOPHILE  An easier alternative that uses zero overhead is to simply fill a folder with application aliases and drag that folder to the dock. It has the added options of opening as a list, fan, or grid, and can be outfitted with a custom icon.  
(Version 1.4)

XENOPHILE  I ditched the payware DropDMG for the utterly awesome DMGConverter. Before switching I checked out several other DMGConverter competitors but none of them matched it's feature set, GUI/ease of use, or generally cool vibe. Even better, several weeks of use has proven DMGConverter's stability to be superior to that of DropDMG.

It's a rare freeware application that motivates me to donate - DMGConverter is one of those applications.  
(Version 4.1)

XENOPHILE  Great, another cheesy Filemaker Pro app. FMP is great for custom database solutions, but it's so lame when a developer uses it to build a relatively simple shareware applications, and then turns around and sells that application. I guess this might be worthwhile if there weren't any recipe database managers for Mac OS X, but with several brilliant recipe managers for OS X (some free) and literally dozens more available, this Filemaker generation is actually a bit insulting to Mac users.  
(Version 3.2)

XENOPHILE  Abandonware. Developer site is either down or no longer exists.  
(Version 1.0.3)

XENOPHILE  Wow, thanks for your most edifying lecture! It was thoroughly mind-expanding to see the mystifying process of choosing a recipe manager distilled into a few discreet steps. I really enjoyed your outside of the box thinking. Like, check how long an app has been around, and avoid paying a significant amount for beta software. Had I known this 5-10 years ago I'd have saved a small fortune. I love your rules that at first glance seem counterintuitive, yet upon further reflection their profound wisdom is revealed; the rule to make an informed decision when choosing a recipe program or any other product, before spending money, could be applied to decision-making in virtually every part of life. If only "The Decider" were so wise! As you succinctly explained, "The point of all of this is that you shop around for a recipe program." Truer words have rarely been typed at MacUpdate.

Thank you for generously imparting your profound wisdom.  
(Version 2.3.6)

XENOPHILE  Developer spent all his time on the rad 3D smoke effect.  
(Version 1.0.3)

XENOPHILE  Secrets rocks! As many reviewers have noted, Secrets is comparable to MacPilot in functionality, but they are worlds apart in usability. Secrets is instantly accessible as a preference pane, and it's organized like iTunes, with display preference groups in the left pane, and individual preference details in the right pane. As a non-developer, I like the "more info" button that opens a web page with an explanation of any preference. Documentation is further provided by a link to Secrets' home page, and a somewhat vague question mark button which links to a nearly useless Secrets Wiki page. Presumably the Wiki will improve as the Secrets user base grows.

My favorite feature also will improve as Secrets' user base grows; users can add new "secrets," which after a three day period of review open to all users, are reviewed by the developer and added to the Secrets database. The "Update Secrets" button in the preference pane downloads any new secrets, which are immediately accessible in the "new secrets" grouping. This community secrets database is by no means limited to bad-a55 haXX0r5; adding a new secret requires some technical knowledge, but with a little study most Mac OS X users who would be interested in Secrets would be able to add a new secret.

I'd like to see a version number somewhere on the preference pane, and it's not clear if the "Update Now" button checks for preference pane updates or only downloads new secrets. Nitpicking aside, this is a fantastic app, and my most often used system utility after Maintenance. There's a whole mess of shareware utilities that can access hidden OS X settings, but Secrets demonstrates why several specialized utilities are sometimes preferable to a single utility that can do it all, but does none well.  
(Version 1.0.5)

XENOPHILE  A condom doesn't tell you if it "discovers" a virus while your being intimate with your partner, and it blocks all viruses, not just the one's it "knows" about. Also, ClamXav doesn't make using your Mac significantly less enjoyable. Maybe it would be best to leave condoms out of any antivirus software discussion. ;)

Sounds like what happened is that when you updated to Leopard, ClamXav somehow updated its virus definitions. Did you reinstall ClamXav? Another possibility is that those viruses were coincidentally added to the definitions around the same time you updated to Leopard. In any event, you should never assume that any AV software removes 100% of viruses from your system. Always handle files based on the assumption that they may be infected.  
(Version 1.2)

XENOPHILE  I will echo Esperidion's observation that Hear yields over-processed sounds. For those interested in listening to music that is faithful to the original intent of the recording artist, Hear is worse than useless. It's also a resource hog on my Power Mac G4 dual 1.42 GHz system.

Hear did enhance the movie watching experience on my system (stereo, not surround), giving crystal clear voices and crushing special effects sounds, all with a more spatial aspect, as if the soundstage was larger than my two-speaker stereo system, but smaller than a full surround sound system. I'd certainly recommend trying out Hear, but given my setup I figure I'll pass on it and put the $50 towards a true surround sound system.

I didn't use Hear very long, but it was stable as far as I could tell.  
(Version 1.0.3)

XENOPHILE  Whoa, what a gracious developer! Someone squeals about his application's trivial shortcomings and whines that it is too hard to pirate, and the developer's courteous response exhaustively details state of the app and even jokes about piracy.

Note to developer: this app ROCKS! I've been storing sensitive data using the ancient X-Locks, abandonware since 2002, because until now I hadn't found a superior enough replacement to justify the drudgery of transferring all my data. SecretBook is among the most "mac like" OS X shareware I've ever used; it's simple, elegant, and even succeeds in bringing a bit of joy to managing passwords and other sensitive data. It's no surprise that the developer found only a few piracy attempts per month, because SecretBook is well worth its price.  
(Version 4.0.5)

XENOPHILE  Greedy and rude. Checking for unique serials is certainly justifiable for expensive, complex applications that are used in a workplace, like Photoshop or MS Office, but for this overpriced one-trick pony? What, you're scared dad will be using in the study at the same time his kids are using it upstairs while doing their homework?

Maybe you should develop an app worth stealing before adding phone-home functionality.  
(Version 4.3)

XENOPHILE  This does nothing I cannot already do with a standard Leopard installation. Time Machine goes back in time and retrieves files, exactly as Apple says it does, and yes, it can copy the files wherever I like. I can poke around in my Time Machine backup volume if I need to.

But hey, all you need is a few suckers to drop 30 bucks and you've scored a nice haul for a little Time Machine retread. Don't blow it all on booze and hookers...  
(Version 1.0b81112)

XENOPHILE  Transmission is without question the best Mac OS X BitTorrent client. It's loaded with features, which are all brilliantly organized with a GUI that puts all the basic features up front in the main window, and packs away controls for fine tuning those features in the preferences. This is a textbook example of GUI design that even Apple would do well to study.

I've been using Transmission since it was a bare bones client, and I stayed with it because it just worked. It's a rock solid app that does what it's made to do, no bull. A real joy to use.

The only bug that's affected my downloads was with the 1.3x versions, which would report normal session transfer download performance, but for some reason did not save all of the downloaded data to files, resulting in long-arse download times. Version 1.40 resolves this bug.  
(Version 1.40)

XENOPHILE  Not competitive with alternatives like iTunes Library Manager and Libra, both of which can assign unique preference files to each library, something that cannot be done with iTune's built in multiple library function. Extra bonus: ITLM and Libra are both $10.  
(Version 1.4.1)

XENOPHILE  Uses Unsanity's APE hack. Avoid if you value system stability.  
(Version 2.1.2)

XENOPHILE  Bloated garbage. Reader is slow and unresponsive, with an unecessarily complex interface that is closer to Windows than OS X, and a tendency to crash occasionally. Although Adobe promotes Reader as "free," it's toolbar is larded with a flashy advertising panel that exacts payment in the form of attention.

Presumably some people are locked into using Reader due to one of its obscure features that is otherwise unavailable, which is unfortunate since nobody deserves such punishment.

Try Skim, it's lightning fast, packed with features people actually use, and has a more Mac-like interface. Skim is also rock solid and under rapid and responsive development. As a bonus, Skim is only about 3.5 MB and it's free, although I'd pay for it if I had to.  
(Version 9.0)

XENOPHILE  Downloaded to try it out about a week ago. Yesterday I finally got around to checking it out, but it says I've had a few days to evaluate it so now I have to buy it if I want to rip anything.

I'll give the developer a pass since he's new, but if he doesn't offer a trial version I can actually evaluate, I'll be rating this app down.  
(Version 1.0.1)

XENOPHILE  Developer site offers little detail of features, no support documentation, and a cryptic feedback section that doesn't answer any questions.

Presumably this app rips a decrypted copy of a DVD onto one's HD. Ok, but does it handle any of the latest copy protection schemes? I tried using MacTheRipper to rip a DVD that I own so I could play it back from my HD when on trips, etc. But the rip was no good, apparently due to dummy VOB files or something. RipIt's developer offers no indication of whether it will work on such DVDs.

If RipIt were freeware, I'd discern its features via trial and error and be grateful for it. I expect a bit more from Shareware.  
(Version 1.0)

XENOPHILE  Downloaded to try out, but upon launching it, it asked to install files on my HD. No indication of what it wanted to install where. I couldn't find any clues in the manual, either.

I'll pass on this one until I can find out what it wants to do to my system.  
(Version 6.1.5)

XENOPHILE  A valid question, and a suspicious response from the developer. No explanation, no answer to the actual question, instead we get an ad hominem and some tripe about how hard he worked on the app.

One would think that a developer of ad-blocking software would understand concerns about privacy and malware.  
(Version 2.1)

XENOPHILE  Abandonware. No updates for over a year, latest version incompatible with Leopard. It's unfortunate, because SafariPlus was the best cookie manager I've ever used; it was simple, unobtrusive, powerful, and its feature set perfectly matched the gaping hole in Safari's functionality. I just upgraded to Leopard but it feels like a horrible downgrade whenever I use Safari.

I would gladly pay for a Leopard version of SafariPlus, or anything comparable. What I would really like is for Apple to incorporate SafariPlus's functionality into Safari, since it is the sort of "advanced" feature that every web browser should have.  
(Version 1.5.1)

XENOPHILE  Lame.

Free scripts that complete these tasks can be found in minutes using The Google. Reputable shareware developers distribute scripts like these for free, while charging for actual applications.  
(Version 1.7.8)

XENOPHILE  Avoid.

Unsanity APE is an unsupported hack that accesses Mac OS X processes that Apple has delcared off limits. All too often, I've identified APE as a cause of system instability or application weirdness when troubleshooting Macs. Any potential user of APE needs to ask themselves if they really need the functionality it enables, and if so, can they afford extra system down time as the price for this functionality?   
(Version 3.8.2)

XENOPHILE  Two words: C O C K T A I L

Heh, actually one word.  
(Version 1.9.5)

XENOPHILE  LOL, well, DUH!!! Do you complain that your car is useless for the one purpose you bought it for...transatlantic flights?

If you want to copy a CSS-protected DVD, use MacTheRipper. It will extract VOBs from a DVD, resulting in a Video_TS folder that you can then burn using Toast or a number of other shareware apps (IMO Toast is easiest and always is rock solid for me).

BTW I hope you own the DVDs you intend to copy, and that the copies are intended solely for personal backups to guard against damage to the original DVDs. Stealing DVD content is a crime and even if it wasn't, it is still immoral.   
(Version 9.0.2)

XENOPHILE  Useless. I tried doing a traceroute, and OTTool told me OS X requires me to log in as root to do a traceroute. WTF? I use OS X's Network Utility to do traceroutes all the time without logging in as root.   
(Version 1.2.1)

XENOPHILE  How is this better than simply going to System Preferences -> Spotlight -> Privacy and adding HD's, Volumes, or folders to the Do Not Index list?

$20 seems pretty steep for an app that just gives a shortcut to a preexisting System Preferences feature.  
(Version 2.0)

XENOPHILE  LMAO! Well said, dude.  
(Version 1.9.9b6)

XENOPHILE  Some of v4.3's new features are nice, but on my dual 1.42 GHz G4, the performance boost is the most welcome improvement. Navigating in the 3D viewer is now fluid and instantaneous, and the overall experience is far more enjoyable.

Unfortunately, GE still has a ways to go. A few low points:

1. The following note appears far too often in Google Earth's manual:

"Currently, this feature is not supported for Mac versions of Google Earth."

Apple's market share is growing in leaps and bounds, so there is no excuse for a major company like Google to cripple the Mac version. What's most insulting is that Google keeps the Linux version up to speed with the Windows version. WTF?

2. Stability. v4.1 was rock solid on my system, so Google will hopefully address the bugs in v4.3 momentarily.

3. Lame integration with Google Maps. Google Earth is just screaming out for a feature that would turn off the satellite view for a simple road map view. It's almost there, and 3rd party solutions are available, but if Google implements such a feature it will undoubtedly be cleaner and faster.

Despite it's flaws, Google Earth is of course a must-have application. What we really need are more competitors to force Google to quicken the pace of development.  
(Version 4.3.7191.6508 )

XENOPHILE  Fast and responsive developer. This is the first time I've griped about an app on MacUpdate, only to see my gripes fixed on the next version!

I'd still like a widget in Safari's toolbar which will save flash movies to disk. Perhaps it could open a window or pane with a list of flash movies the user can select for downloading. Since Safari's Activity Viewer already gives this info, it seems like it would be easy to add such a widget. I know it's possible to double-click the flash movie address in the Activity Viewer to open it in a new window, and then copy the address from the address bar in the new window, and paste it into a downloading app, but it's a tedious solution.

My only other request for TubeTV would be for a more fully-featured download manager, but that's really outside the realm of freeware - although I wouldn't hesitate to pay for TubeTV if updates continue to rock as hard as the last one.  
(Version 1.0)

XENOPHILE  Nice, but $30 for a utility that changes my desktop picture? $30? Really?

In the same price range, we've got workhorses like:

GraphicConverter $35

Amadeus II $30

Audio Hijack Pro $30

Compositor $30

ViewIt $20

Is changing the desktop picture comparable in scope to any of the these shareware titles? Has the developer of Picture Switcher invested time and effort similar to that required to develop these workhorses?

IMO $5-$8 is a fair price for a full-featured desktop picture utility, and I bet the higher volume of sales would end up being more profitable.  
(Version 2.0.3)

XENOPHILE  Seems pretty good, but all I can find on the developer's website is a beta version, which appears to have been in development since March 2007 and still costs $15. Why would I pay the developer to test his software for him? As other reviewers noted, there's little documentation and the app isn't entirely intuitive.

For payware, I'd recommend MyCoverCD or CD Labeler as inexpensive apps that get the job done; I've tried both and prefer MyCoverCD's GUI and feature set. For a bit more cash, my favorite is Disc Cover - I've been using it for years and it absolutely rocks. Its got a rich feature set, a wonderfully intuitive function, rock solid stability, and the developer updates it regularly to keep pace with OS X. Another benefit of Disc Cover when compared to the cheaper shareware labelers is that a lite version ships with Toast Titanium, so it has a broad user base as insurance against it becoming abandonware.   
(Version 2.3b1)

XENOPHILE  $30 for a clipboard manager? LOL, I don't think so.  
(Version 1.1)

XENOPHILE  Sorry, I prefer shareware that doesn't "plung" into my system.   
(Version 2.1.9)

XENOPHILE  Use Max - it's free and will do a CD Paranoia extraction, the gold standard for audio file extraction.

Music Man is nonsense, it's just an alternate interface for standard OS X functionality.  
(Version 2.1)

XENOPHILE  Fair enough. If you can sucker people into paying for this, then more power to you.   
(Version 2.0.6)

XENOPHILE  Right on! A good citizen willfully submits to propaganda and does his patriotic duty to go forth and buy stuff!  
(Version 0.2)

XENOPHILE  You're actually charging money for this?

Besides using OS X's myriad short-cuts to access files, and then simply dragging and dropping the Video_TS folder on the DVD player, there's also this:

PlayVideoTS, http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/20141/playvideots

PlayVideoTS just happens to coincidentally do exactly the same thing as Virtual DVDs, except it's free and was released first. I suspect its author would be interested to know that someone else is charging money for his idea.

Of course, besides PlayVideoTS, there are many other free apps that catalog Video_TS folders and launch them. To name a few: Mezzanine, DVD Juggler, Videopicker.

There are also some excellent payware apps that will launch video_TS folders, such as Matinee. It's $10, but it has a refined interface and avoids cludges like adding a new file type to your system.

Note to developer: if your fiance refuses to support your hobbies unless they turn a profit, maybe you should take that as a warning sign...

  
(Version 2.0.2)

XENOPHILE  For those with trouble viewing flv files, Perian lets you view flv files using Quicktime.

Props to realplayer for adding a downloader feature. So far it works very well, maybe a bit easier to use than some of the freeware flv file downloaders available. I'll post a more comprehensive review after using it more.  
(Version 11.0 Beta (build 631))

XENOPHILE  Effing Brilliant!

Ever since upgrading to Tiger, I've been desperate for a solution to finding files and stuff on my computer. It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack using OS X. Finally, Google comes to the rescue with a simple app I can quickly launch and leave running in the background.

Google Desktop just finds stuff. Period.

Perhaps for a future release, Google could somehow tie this into the file system so it works faster. Or maybe Apple could buy it from Google and incorporate it into OS X somehow, so it worked like a searchlight.

Thanks for filling a gaping hole in Mac OS X, Google!  
(Version 1.3.1.806)

XENOPHILE  It's great to be able to save flash video to my Mac, and it's a nice touch that TubeTV can automatically convert the video to mpeg4 after downloading. Unfortunately, I found a few problems with TubeTV.

First, the web browser is redundant. Why include it when I can use a real browser without any browsing limitations? And the search field for YouTube is also unnecessary, since I can just go to the YouTube website using my browser and search for videos (and open multiple videos in multiple browser tabs). A far better solution would be either a Safari add-on or standalone app that simply grabs flash videos from Safari and saves them on the local HD.

The real flaw with TubeTV is that it cannot "grab" flash video from the browser cache, not from Safari and not even from it's own browser! If I load a flash video in TubeTV's browser, view it, and decide I want to save it, TubeTV must download the entire video again. This is a waste of time and bandwidth, especially for dial-up users.

All in all, a nice little app. If it were shareware, I'd consider it's shortcomings a deal-breaker, but as freeware it's a welcome addition to my hard drive. Thanks!  
(Version 0.9.2)