DINHBG  I've used QuicKeys forever (since KeyQuencer went belly-up at OS X), and have been increasingly dissatisfied with its performance. I've stuck with it because it does everything I want it to do… eventually.

BUT. Sometimes, for no apparent reason, QuicKeys freezes, often taking 60 seconds or more to respond to my triggers. Pointer spins beachball over QK menu, Dock says "App Not Responding." This problem has gotten worse and worse with each OS update, and even through QK "updates" (which don't seem to have any beneficial effect whatsoever).

Even more frustrating, no one at Startly (or whatever they're called now) will admit there's a problem, or even suggest any workarounds or tests to see what could be causing it. Just "Hunh. Never heard of that."  
(Version 3.2.1)

DINHBG  Holy COW I hadn't realized how much I'd come to depend on AcidSearch!

Thanks, Robin, for this latest update. I've missed you so! :-)

(Working great, btw, on an MBP running Safari 3.0.3 under OS 10.4.10--and with all the lousy reviews I'm reading of Leopard, I'll be here for a while!)  
(Version 0.7b2)

DINHBG  Very, very nice. Take a lot of processor energy, even with all of the options set at their least intensive, but still worth seeing.

My one gripe is that HP saves a preference file (hp2whichscene.txt) to the user's HOME folder. Not sure how that file ranks at the same level as the Desktop, Documents, Library, and other folders...

I'm hoping that in future versions that file is moved to the Library/Application Support folder, where it belongs.   
(Version 2.0)

DINHBG  Plus, this widget has Growl notification to let you know when you're down to 25% (or whatever you say)... much safer than the "you're now on reserve power" that's the standard OS warning....  
(Version 2.6.3)

DINHBG  Just downloaded and installed on an Intel MBP running OS 10.4.7 and Entourage 11.2.4. EABM spins and spins and spins (I took a shower in the interim, and it was still spinning when I came back), but never loads any information from Entourage.

Quitting Entourage a couple of times (EABM tries to re-open it) seems to trick the app into giving up, but EABM doesn't show up in the "Force Quit" menu and pours molasses on the system response rate while it's chugging....

The developer is out of contact until the end of August (2006), so I'll uninstall and wait for him to come back before trying this one again.  
(Version 1.5)

DINHBG  A quick and simple way to enter the tempi of iTunes tracks. I use it on every new song I add to my library.

I've used QuicKeys to streamline things by setting a keystroke that clicks the “Set” button and then advances to the next song in the playlist, so I can basically work through an entire playlist with two fingers--one to tap the tempo and one to set and move on.

One feature I’d love to see added is an audible “ping” of some kind when the tempo reaches its “bluest” (i.e., when I’ve tapped enough that the app is confident of the tempo); staring at that little number and trying to gauge the “grey/blue boundary” can be a little eye-crossing....  
(Version 1.0.2)

DINHBG  Just downloaded and installed--except in the help files one learns that built-in iSights are not supported for digital zoom. Since that's the feature I was looking for, I'll uninstall and wait for a fix....  
(Version 2.0.3)

DINHBG  Neat--kinda. You need to have a large enough iPhoto library that the app can find "pixels" of all the colors it needs.... AND you need to choose main images that include large areas of contrast--close-ups rather than photos of groups of people, for instance--if you want the completed "puzzle" to be recognizable as anything more than blobs.

One extremely annoying "feature" is that the last puzzle computed is saved to the Desktop. No way to change that is apparent, and I've gotten no response to e-mail requests for assistance with the matter. (I can't imagine I'm the only one who wants my Desktop to contain only things I'm actually WORKING on....)

Other issues--the Prefs pane is poorly designed and hard to follow. Other reviewers have mentioned speed concerns--that's true even on my brand-new MacBook Pro. And don't think about waking your screen saver while a puzzle is computing--apparently the app claims too much CPU to respond to mouse movement or keystrokes during the first several seconds of launching.

Save your money. This one's bumped to the bottom of my RandomExtra shuffle priority.  
(Version 2.1)

DINHBG  I'm also not clear how this "turns iChat into shareware"... it's an app of its own, and the programmers spent time and energy on it, yes? If you don't want to use CR, uninstall it and iChat stays just as free as it always was....

I love the inobtrusive interface, and the app does exactly what it claims to. Doesn't get much better than that! The only feature I've missed so far is the ability to stop and restart recording within an individual chat--maybe a more advanced function than the programmers were anticipating....  
(Version 2.0.1)

DINHBG  Oh NO! I hadn't realized how much I've come to depend upon AcidSearch! Now that I'm on an Intel Mac it doesn't work any more! Help!

(I was trying not to sound desperate. It didn't work, did it?)

Looking forward to an Intel-ready version! : )  
(Version 0.61)

DMGLASGOW  AHA! Version 1.3 comes through with FLYING colors! Thanks for incorporating so many of the user requests in terms of notification!

One teeny enhancement request: is there a way for Cuppa to bring itself to the front of other apps when the timer ends? As it stands, the notification dialog pops up behind other windows if I'm working on something else.

But thank you thank you thank you for all the progress you've made! : )  
(Version 1.3)

DMGLASGOW  Corrects the flaws that Apple added to Tiger's version of Safari! Way to go.

(And shame on Apple, btw--I thought I was dealing with a certain OTHER major software developer for a moment....)

AcidSearch's "Edit Search Channels" window isn't 100% intuitive IMO, but once I figured out when to hit enter and when to click, everything does exactly what I'd hoped and more!  
(Version 0.51)

DMGLASGOW  Yeah, I'm in the "too easy to miss" camp, too. If the dock icon could display a countdown, and/or the cup could bounce continuously until I reset it, I'd be much less afraid of drinking tar.... ; )

Also, while I'm at it, it would be nice to be able to re-order the tea types in the prefs list. Sort 'em alphabetically, or just drag them to change the order--something like that. : )  
(Version 1.0.1)

DMGLASGOW  Simple. Powerful. Effective. Smart. And customer service/tech support that can't be beat. Great job, Michael!  
(Version 2.2.4)

DMGLASGOW  Yes yes yes! I would LOVE to have iTunesSaver "know" to choose a different screen saver (in my case, RandomExtra) if iTunes were not playing! : )  
(Version 2.3)

DMGLASGOW  Love it love it love it!

My only request for future versions: allow me to specify a voice for a particular Buddy!

(Call me old-fashioned, but I just can't get used to my baby sister speaking as "Bruce," or my football-playing friend as "Victoria"....)

; )  
(Version 1.1)