DENNISG  Not sure what all the complaining is about. The label software has always worked perfectly for me from Day 1, starting two years ago, and it continues to be flawless. This latest software update makes creating and saving labels easier than it's ever been -- good thing, because it doesn't seem to find the labels I created with the previous version. That's the only knock against this software I can think of. Otherwise, it takes mere seconds to create new labels. And with the new driver, printing is instantaneous.

4 stars -- instead of 5 -- because I had to spend 45 seconds making a new shipping label.  
(Version 8.1)

DENNISG  I downloaded the demo version of TapeDeck, and was immediately stunned by its interface which exactly mimics a portable cassette recorder. This, of course, means there's absolutely no learning curve in using TapeDeck, since virtually everyone has experience using cassette recorders. Congrats to the developers for this inspired interface.

My one beef with the software has been resolved by a video they posted on their web site. Like the previous reviewer, my main objective with TapeDeck is to capture a stream of internet radio content. The video showed me how to do that. And as I write this, I'm recording Radio Paradise to one of the "tapes." Just drag the tape to iTunes, plop it onto your iPod, hop on an airplane, and you've got hours of entertainment to distract you from the pathetic lack of legroom, absence of food, and the 3-year-old kicking the back of your seat.

I gave TapeDeck a rating of 5 because it does its job perfectly. For a version 1.0 product, it's well-conceived, intelligently executed, and rock solid. The only thing that could be improved is the necessity to download an ancillary system utility called Soundflower that directs the sound to the TapeDeck application. It would be nice if this capability were built in to TapeDeck instead of requiring a separate download and setup. But it's a very, very small quibble, and takes nothing away from the fact that this program's capability is the answer to my prayers.  
(Version 1.0)

DENNISG  I downloaded this little app yesterday, and have used it fairly extensively for the past 24 hours. This is my first time using an address-book helper, so I can't compare it to any other program -- only on its own merits.

First, let me say that this is the way Apple's Address Book should operate natively. Since it doesn't, programs like BuddyPop will always find a place on the Mac's of people who want address book info close at hand without having to have the app open all the time.

BuddyPop's default hot key wouldn't work for me, so I changed it to control-space, and that seems to be the ticket. Use that hot key, and a little window appears, awaiting your keystrokes. Type in SMITH, hit return, and you get the info for the first Smith in your address book (you can, by the way, define which fields BuddyPop should display). And therein lies BuddyPop's one real flaw. If I type in SMITH, and I've got 17 of them in my address book, I don't want to have to keep hitting the right arrow key in order to cycle through them. What I want instead is a list of all the Smiths so that I can click on the one I want. That's infinitely faster and more efficient.

In my mind, this flaw limits BuddyPop's use for businesses. Say, for example, you want to find contact info for one of your doo-dad suppliers, but can't remember the company name. You could key in SUPPLIER, but you might end up having to cycle through a hundred of them, if you've got that many in your address book, which many businesses will.

This is less of an issue for personal use (where we don't generally use search criteria that applies to a hundred address book entries), although it still exists somewhat.

All in all, I love the way BuddyPop brings my address book info close at hand. My rating indicates how it performs for me, and not how it might perform for a business, which I discussed previously. Obviously, if I used it for my business, I'd rate it considerably lower. But as it stands, it well deserves the high rating I gave it.  
(Version 2.5.1)

DENNISG  I've been reading about AppZapper for months now, and it always intrigued me. When I saw this latest update (1.6.0), I decided to give it a try. I've got one word to describe my experience so far: wow! This is, quite possibly, the most intuitive, simple to use, and effective utility I've ever seen. Congratulations to the programmers. After one test-zap, I'm hooked.  
(Version 1.6.0)

DENNISG  I completely agree. Since the death Home Page and Adobe PageMill, there's been nothing in the middleground of WYSIWYG web-site creators. My biggest fear with iWeb is that it will be like RapidWeaver, an easy-to-use program that's crippled by its regimented approach to web-site creation. iWeb would be perfect if it were more like Freeway Express, but far more intuitive. Oh, heck ... I just wish it were an OS X version of Home Page.  
(Version 1.0)

DENNISG  I'm a huge fan of Radio Paradise, and have always been frustrated that I couldn't listen to it in the car. And then I discovered iFill, one of the simplest and most useful apps on my Mac. Aside from what it does -- which is to take internet radio streams and capture them to directly to your iPod -- the WAY it does it is simple and elegant. It actually works like an Apple app.  
(Version 1.08)