GERBER  Blogging was a natural progression from journaling. And, to some degree, so is the ability to store all kinds of different rich content -- we often record more than text these days, so why not store it in your diary? The program remains elegant, stable, and easy to use, and has become a real B+ blogging and snippet keeping app. Nothing wrong with versatility!  
(Version 5.1.4b2)

GERBER  It works fine with the iPhone 2.1 firmware. Just made two ring tones.

Easy to use, just drag & drop. I only wish it could handle other sound formats and just convert to AAC in the middle. Instead I have to use iTunes or Quicktime Pro to do the conversion.  
(Version 1.3.1)

GERBER  Dom21: Bruce is specifically talking about TC's deniable filesystem implementation, which in the previous version had some holes. TC 6 is supposed to patch those holes, so we'll have to wait and see if they were successful.

Regardless, it's DFS implementation is good enough for most situations in which you're required to turn over a password. (Perhaps by a TSA customs agent) Unless someone does a cryptographic analysis, it's invisible to even a wary observer.  
(Version 6.0a)

GERBER  (All the comments in my previous review of version 5.1 still apply unless noted here.)

TrueCrypt 6 is a nice improvement over 5.

Hidden volumes are now supported, and therefore plausible deniability. There are also major speed improvements, which I did not confirm, but I was able to play back video from the secure mount without trouble.

It turns out that HFS+ volumes are possible (and were in 5.1 as well), but you have to re-format an existing FAT32 secure disk. These disks won't be cross-platform, of course, but they'll perform much better.

The Mac (and Linux) version still lacks a traveler/portable mode as well as boot disk encryption.

With the addition of hidden volumes and its excellent security algorithms, TrueCrypt is indisputably the top encryption tool on the Mac.  
(Version 6.0)

GERBER  Jungle Disk is a phenomenal online backup solution. Amazon S3 is the cheapest online storage you can get, and JD makes it quick and simple to back up your files to S3. All transmissions are encrypted, so you don't have to worry about Amazon employees getting at your stuff.

As a basic synced remote disk program, you can do better, but you'll pay more for storage. It does not have the simplicity of .Mac's iDisk.

Of course, if you're already backing up with it, there's no reason to worry about storing a few extra files on S3.

The JD Plus service is also very nice if you're backing up large files that change frequently since it permits block-level backups. (I'm looking at you, Entourage database!)  
(Version 2.0b2)

GERBER  Huh. Hadn't noticed that before. Apparently "yType", formerly a part of CopyPaste, will now be a stand-alone application.

Still, $20 isn't too bad if it's a worthy upgrade. While it's a big galling to not get the discount I feel I'm entitled to, that's the dev's option.

Still, PTHPasteboard is $25 and does as much or more (or for basic multi-clipboards, it's free -- you only need to pay for text filters), so there's lots of options.  
(Version 1.0)

GERBER  That's not so much an upgrade path as an opportunity to buy it at full retail price -- even if it's a promotional price.  
(Version 1.0)

GERBER  9.0.1, I am happy to report, fixes all the critical bugs in the 9.0 release. It's rock solid, now, just like it always used to be. This update also adds some minor, but very helpful, features.

Interarchy remains the Big Dog of file transfer clients. While there are many more applications that handle the same tasks, some of which are, perhaps, prettier (Transmit), simpler and easier to learn (Fetch), or are free (Cyberduck), no program has the power and depth of Interarchy.

Version 9 has greatly cleaned up and simplified the interface. The new sidebar, better tab management, and the path bar at the bottom of the window are great improvements and make it much easier to browse around a large directory tree.

The ability to browse the Finder in a tab gives it the ability to have a dual-pane-like view, while still maintaining the simplicity of a single window most of the time. You can also copy & paste from the Finder to Interarchy, which is very handy, but unfortunately doesn't work in the other direction. (Although drag & drop does) You can also copy & paste within Interarchy, even to transfer files to other servers.

The SSH connection type is truly awesome. Directory listings with lots of files pop up instantly. Mirror and backup syncs (one of Interarchy's major strengths) are far faster since it can crawl directories incredibly quickly to find differences. Whereas I'd avoid mirroring certain complex sites since it took so long to find changes and run the mirror, I now find it entirely painless.

There's also some very nice additional spit and polish including some menu rejiggering to make it a bit more standard, some new preferences, interface clean-ups, etc.

Then there's all the usual Interarchy goodness: File converters for automatic encoding/encryption/compression of files on upload; support for nearly every file server protocol; Net Disks and mirrors for easy synchronization between your Mac and a server; contextual menus and droplets for easy on-the-fly file transfers; and an excellent AppleScript dictionary.

Interarchy is definitely not for everybody. I highly recommend testing it and its competition before buying it. But if you need some of these unique features, or if you want hassle free and automatic synchronization, mirroring and backup, there's nothing better.  
(Version 9.0.1)

GERBER  The presence of encrypted data is fairly obvious, and the fact that TrueCrypt is installed is a good sign that there's something to look for there. The bonus with the PC version is that you can hide an additional encrypted partition within an existing encrypted partition. This doesn't hide the fact that there's SOME encrypted data, but is does hide which data, specifically, is encrypted.  
(Version 5.1a)

GERBER  This is one of the top encryption tools on Windows, and it's great to see it on the Mac. It offers highly secure encryption for file volumes (disk images) and filesystems (not including the boot drive/partition). In my testing it was stable and performed fairly well. (Equivalent to most other FUSE-based filesystems)

Unfortunately, the Mac version falls flat in many ways compared to the Windows (and Linux, in some cases) versions of TrueCrypt. These limitations limit the usefulness of TC, especially compared to other options on the Mac. Specifically:

Hidden volumes are not supported, and therefore there is no standard of plausible deniability. The fact that there is encrypted information and the quantity of it is obvious to an adversary.

There is no "traveler" mode, so you cannot keep encrypted volumes on a portable disk without installing MacFUSE and TrueCrypt on each system you need to access it from.

There is no encryption of the boot drive. However, external drives can be fully encrypted.

It only supports the FAT32 filesystem. Native HFS+ is not supported. So you have to deal with .ds_store files, etc.

It relies upon MacFUSE, which is something of a moving target as it's under active development. This also creates a potential security weak point that the TC authors would not necessarily be in a position to correct.

Given all of this, Disk Utility's encrypted disk images are, in many ways, superior to TrueCrypt. TC is more difficult to use (it's distinctly un-Mac-like) and less widely supported on the Mac.

While the encryption is stronger (512 bit encryption vs. 256 bit in Disk Utility), neither can be readily compromised through brute force. There is also some security in TC being an open-source project. Apple's implementation of secure disk images has not had nearly the review that TC's has.

The one real advantage of TC is that its encrypted disks are cross platform. Or, more accurately, the Mac version of TrueCrypt can access Windows' TrueCrypt volumes.  
(Version 5.0a)

GERBER  The new SSH-based transfer protocol is amazingly fast. It does some sort of magic compression, so pulling files down is speedy as all get out, and comparing directories for mirroring transfers is lickety split.

Unfortunately, yes, it's got a lot of bugs that, strangely, weren't present in the recent beta releases.

I'm holding off on a review until 9.1 comes out and fixes these bugs.  
(Version 9.0)

GERBER  QuicKeys is the most powerful macro package available for the Mac. It makes it easy to handle simple automation, and without much trouble you can create highly automated workflows that trigger off just about anything. You can activate a macro based on keyboard shortcuts, which application is in the front or background, disks mounting, custom keys on your hardware devices (yup, it can support darn near any USB device, regardless of whether you have drivers specifically for it), and many other triggers.

There are other utilities and methods to automate under OS X, such as UI scripting, Automator, and less expensive automation programs (Proxy, iKey, Keyboard Maestro). This makes the high cost of QuicKeys a bit hard to swallow, but if you need to automate to the nth degree, there's nothing better.

It's also worthwhile to note that while QuicKeys X3 has been around since '04, the point updates have added fairly major new features, and all at no cost to purchasers.  
(Version 3.2.1)

GERBER  A very nice update, overall, but with some small caveats. The new interface, while visually pleasing, now fades in and out as your open/save dialog moves. This makes DF seem even more tacked-on than the previous version. The animation, as well, can be distracting. This is, however, a small gripe, as the new interface is easier to use and far more functional and in many ways easier to use.

The integration of spotlight is positively FANTASTIC when searching for the right graphic or text file from among hundreds in a folder. For those of us who rely heavily on smart folders (now that Spotlight works quickly and reliably in MacOS X 10.5), the addition of Finder labels and spotlight comments into both open and save dialogs is positively indispensable.

Lastly, the DF icon in the dock (or menu bar) is a fitting replacement (well, almost) for the old hierarchical folder icons in the dock. One click brings you your favorite folders and their contents, which can also be enjoyed in your open/save dialogs.

While this may seem spendy for a one-trick-utility, consider that upgrades are always reasonably priced at ~$15, and the open/save dialog is probably your second most used interface on your Mac. (Or third if you use LaunchBar/QuickSilver/etc.) If you do a lot of work with a lot of different files, you won't regret this purchase.  
(Version 4.0)

GERBER  Great update to an already excellent utility. Very easy to use and very powerful.

The new snippet groups and per-application inclusion/exclusion via groups and globally is a much-needed enhancement since some apps don't play well with glossary programs like this one. The ability to share snippets with multiple computers via .Mac or the web is terrific for workgroups or just folks with multiple computers.

My favorite new feature for the truly obsessive time-savers out there is the AppleScript snippet. Now you can do some pretty hairy calculations and clipboard automations, or even just do stupid things like insert the currently playing track in iTunes into your email signature.

The one disadvantage of this program is that it's more expensive than the competition (Typinator and TypeIt4Me) which can each do MOST of what TextExpander can. If you're price sensitive, you can save a few bucks on one of the other utilities,  
(Version 2.0)

GERBER  This is a truly wonderful application if you're looking to integrate your Google apps (Gmail and Calendar) with your Mac.

While it's easy to integrate Mail with Gmail by using Google's POP3 and SMTP services, the calendar and address book are harder to manage.

This program makes a nice little background program which neatly handles the sync for you. When it starts up (ideally as an automatic startup task) it will keep your iCal calendar of choice in sync with a Gcal counterpart.

For contacts, it cleverly publishes an LDAP server so that all your Gmail contacts are searchable and addressable within the Address Book and Mail. (This is, however, one-way and does not keep them in sync as it does the calendar -- you merely have access to your online calendar from your Mac applications.)

Configuration is fairly involved -- this is not a point-and-click application! But the documentation is solid and the results are nothing short of astonishing.  
(Version 1.0b12 )

GERBER  The program's pretty light-weight. It runs fine under Rosetta and is plenty fast.  
(Version 2.7.5)

GERBER  This latest version (finally) works with PPC Macs reliably. Has a few rough edges, interface-wise, but boy, it's tons easier than the TiVo web interface or Galleon.

It's a great one-stop solution to take TiVo files onto your Mac!  
(Version 1.2)

GERBER  Great programming for ripping audio and converting between formats. A must-have for anyone who's exploring new music and running into open source formats like FLAC and Ogg. Makes it easy to convert large numbers of audio files from one format to another, and it preserves tags during file conversions as well (provided metadata can be embedded in both the source and destination formats).

Interface needs a bit of work, but the author is working on it. Current version has problems converting 24 bit FLAC files and, again, the author's working on it.  
(Version 0.6.1)

GERBER  Err, did you read my review above?

You would want to use it over VLC because it works in any QuickTime supported application and it looks just fine under the default settings.  
(Version 0.5)

GERBER  Excellent plug-in for Quicktime. Gives access to all the widely used but Quicktime-incompatible codecs like DivX, 3viX, Xvid and various contortions of audio/video combos (MP3 audio with DivX video, for example). A must-have for anyone who visits video sharing sites.

Unlike VLC or Mplayer, both of which offer comparable quality playback, this plug-in makes it all work in Quicktime, which means it also works in all QT-compatible applications. So yeah, now you can download your DivX files and play 'em in Front Row. Go nuts!

Playback is substantially smoother and more trouble-free than other QT components (especially for DivX), and works fine on underpowered Macs. (I have a 1ghz PowerBook G4, and can play back full screen XviDs without trouble.) Again, about identical to what I get with VLC.

As far as I can tell, this package doesn't include encoders, though, only decoders, so you'll need other tools to encode video in these codecs. Also, there are no functions to adjust smoothing or video enhancement as there is in the official DivX QT component and in VLC. The quality shown, however, is just fine.  
(Version 0.5)

GERBER  The latest update is awesome. MUCH easier to use, and the new utilities (Black-Scholes... Oh, how I wish I had that when I was taking finances) are welcome additions.

This program regularly makes PC using finance wonks (i.e. everyone in finance) wonder why the heck they're still using their financial calculator. (Or a PC, for that matter.)  
(Version 2.7)

GERBER  Yep, you sure can.  
(Version 1.4.5)

GERBER  This appears to be about the best possible way to share large files with friends and family. You don't need to set up an FTP site, or get a .Mac account with a public folder, or mess around with emailing a giant file (and risk that it won't be received).

Pando works kind of like a Bittorrent client. You add your files, it generates a .pando link file, and emails that off to whomever you want to pick up your file.

That person then opens the link, and via the magic of P2P file sharing, gets the file from you and from anyone else who has already received the file and has Pando running.

But here's where it gets good: It ALSO sends the file to Pando's "super-node" servers, which means that there's always at least one "seeder" online at any given time. So even if you quit Pando and go away, your recipient can still pick up the file. (Within 14 days of its upload, at least.)

Basically, it's like BitTorrent or Gnutella with a super-fast peer in the mix. Or, alternately, it's like Pando sets up an FTP server for you, plus it works even faster if there's more people online (since they'll all feed the file, thus increasing the speed of downloads).

But just because it's P2P, it doesn't mean that this is for illegal files or wahtever. This works just as well (better even) for sharing photos of your kids with Grandma, or swapping a few big Word files with classmates or colleagues.

It's not secure (well, it's a little secure, but don't send your taxes this way), and there's still a few bugs (it's beta), but the app works great already and is only getting better.  
(Version 0.9.0.4)

GERBER  This email program is stuck in some awful interface hell from the days of MacOS X's public beta. I'm not entirely sure what makes it so unbearable, but suffice to say that using it is both confusing and unpleasant, from an interface perspective.

Aside from the interface, however, this email program is lighting quick at IMAP interactions of all sorts, and is probably the bar none best IMAP email client out there, from an under-the-hood perspective.

So, ugly on the outside, sweet well engineered IMAP goodness on the inside.

It would be a KILLER Linux app, but it struggles with the Mac market for these reasons. But hey, give it a try, see what you think.  
(Version 4.0.5)

GERBER  After hearing endless complaints from Windows users (or "switchers") about how much of a drag it was for cmd+tab to not include individual windows (as it does in Windows XP), I figured I'd give this little program a try and see what all the fuss was about.

Well, I'm gonna say it: The Windows way is better. Well, sort of.

See, on Windows, you don't see the NAME of every window. You just get an icon. You have twenty MS Word documents open? 20 MS Word icons will show up, and you get to scrub through and pick your favorite!

Witch gives you all that plus one better: Your windows are NAMED. This simple enhancement makes it a far superior app switcher than Windows or Mac provides.

Witch also provides a very customizable appearance, many configurable hotkeys to do just about anything (I especially appreciate the ability to switch between the current application's windows -- great for when I DO have 20 MS Word docs open!) and a handful of other goodies. All for the low low price of whatever you think is fair!

My one regret is that it can't take over cmd+tab, so you end up having to use option+tab or something dumb like that. Apple shouldn't be so greedy with their keyboard shortcuts.  
(Version 1.0.2)

GERBER  I love it!

If you need to JUST WRITE, this is the tool. Bash out your thoughts, then dump 'em into your word processor/layout program and deal with formatting. Excellent for the "Writing Down the Bones" crowd.  
(Version 1.0)

GERBER  No longer disables Quicktime. Seems to work just fine on a PPC Mac.  
(Version 9.0.20)

GERBER  You can also right-click (or control click) on any image and choose to block it.  
(Version 5.5 beta 1)

GERBER  This new version is wicked fast, feature-filled, and is basically the best browser out there. Even though it's a beta by Omni standards, it's as stable as Firefox, Camino or Safari.

Great update, and with the adoption of WebKit, updates should be coming a lot faster than they used to. Here's hoping...  
(Version 5.5 beta 1)

GERBER  Omni is actually VERY fast in releasing security updates. So that's an unfair shot.

At any rate, Omni has moved from using WebCore (an undocumented set of APIs) to the open and easier-upgraded WebKit. In both cases they do modifications to enable all the extra OW features, but the plan is that by sticking with the documented and supported APIs, updates will better keep pace with Safari.

Based on the private beta, they've managed to update webkit a few times recently, so I think their plan is already working.  
(Version 5.5 beta 1)

GERBER  Well, it no longer deletes itself. That's worth a star.

Basically, it makes a clunky animation of a flying saucer delete files. To do this, you have to be in icon view, then you select your files, then you open this app. "Fun" commences!

No drag and drop, so it's actually HARDER to use than the regular trash (everything is a two-step process). No ability to customize the animation (I was hoping this might be a resurrection of The Grouch!), and if you just click on the program without a selection in the Finder, it gives me an error dialog.

Sweet! Just what I want! A mistaken trashing should WASTE MY TIME!

I can only hope this ends up on PerversionTracker. It would be in good company there.  
(Version 0.6.1)

GERBER  Excellent multi-clipboard utility. Unlike many others, CopyPaste does hang when receiving non-standard clipboard data (e.g. Remote Desktop clipboards).

Full support for various text manipulations of the clipboard, access through Dock or menubar or hotkeys, and general stability and trustworthiness are what really make CopyPaste stand apart from the competition. (Even if its text editor and interface seem a little stuck in System 7.)

yType, however, is less well thought out. It responds slowly to auto-correction data, causing erroneous corrections while the typist gets ahead of the machine. Dealing with two capital letters in a row is also problematic. In general, Spell Catcher or TypeIt4Me will do better for auto-correction.

yType remains useful for glossary expansion and auto-expansion of commonly typed words.  
(Version 2.7.5)

GERBER  Check out the hardware requirements on the OmniDazzle page. Only newer graphics hardware is supported.  
(Version 1.0 Beta 3)

GERBER  Very slick little toy/utility. Could be extremely useful for demos, training or screen recording to highlight important screen elements on-the-fly.

About half of the included effects are truly useful for "serious" purposes, and the rest are just wacky and fun. (And some of them may cause seizures!)

If you've already shelled out $50 or whatever for a screen recording utility and make some money doing training, or if you're a software designer who wants to do slick demos, $15 could well be worth it for this app.

If you just want to find your mouse, that price will be hard to swallow, and you're probably better off with one of the many less expensive solutions.

For a beta, the application is quite full featured and stable, with all the spit and polish that Omni is known for. I have had no crashes or other problems with this program. It does seem to eat up a few CPU cycles for some of the fancier effects (pixie dust, for example), but isn't too bad. The less graphically intense effects made little/no hit on performance.

Be sure to check the hardware requirements, as I quickly found this wouldn't work on my aging TiBook, although it works fine on my 1 ghz Powerbook.  
(Version 1.0 Beta 3)

GERBER  Fairly lackluster application. FinFlow and FinLease from Paranzasoft do a lot more, and do it easier.

http://www.paranzasoft.com/  
(Version 4.0.2)

GERBER  It works, but the interface is a bit strange (even stranger than the normal spotlight interface -- the button icons are incomprehensible, and the path browser thingie at the bottom is just plain odd). Sure, Spotlight's standard query engine is awful, but cheaper options like NotLight give the same abilities in a more intuitive interface.

If this app were $5, I might investigate it further, but at $20... It's got to be a LOT more polished and a LOT more useful.  
(Version 1.0)

GERBER  Another rehash of the same old thing from Big Fish Games. It's Wild West Wendy except instead of a bartender in the wild west, you're a mystic cafe owner. Same game, new graphics.

Big fish takes "tacky remakes" to whole new lows.

The game is slow, not very fun, and highly repetitive. Stability is middling -- I got two lockups in three games.

For additional fun, beat yourself over the head with a frying pan while you wait for it to download!  
(Version 1.0.8)

GERBER  It's better that the Windows client... That's about all I can say for it.  
(Version 8.101)

GERBER  Great little outliner. Eminently Applescriptable, file attachable, and generally extensible. There may be better pure outliners, but this is a wonderful general brainstorming and stuff-writing-storing program. It's also lickably OmniSoftware. Mmmm!

New beta works great. No problems.  
(Version 3.6beta3)

GERBER  Wonderful program. Making launchd agents isn't for the faint of heart, but Lingon makes it quick and easy. Lingon even takes a stab at making it intuitive, and succeeds as much as they might, given how complex these launchd files can be.

Lingon also serves as a wonderful interface to control the under-the-hood daemons and agents that make your Mac do what it does.

So far, no crashes, freezes, damaging of my computer (except when I cancelled the loginwindow, but ANYONE could do that!) or anything else. Solid, wonderful, helpful program!  
(Version 1.1.1)

GERBER  Great outliner, extremely extendable into a variety of tasks.

For pure text "brainstorming" outlining, I think there's better products. This isn't MORE. However, for more general purpose outlining: task lists, project management worksheets, etc..., there are none which come close.

I use this program instead of text files to store all the random stuff in my life. It's quicker, prettier, and more functional than plain text!

This latest update adds some extremely helpful Applescript and Spotlight hooks which make it even easier to wedge OO into your daily workflow.  
(Version 3.6 beta 1)

GERBER  You need to set the date field format in your date column.

I agree that it should follow your system's defaults. Not sure why it doesn't. But that'll fix it.  
(Version 3.6 beta 1)

GERBER  Great little program. Does a variety of financial calculations ranging from the obvious (figure actual interest rates based on a published APR), to the truly tricky (bond and stock valuation).

Great for finance professionals, business students, and anyone who enjoys micro-managing their money.

There seems to be a sub-menu bug in the recent releases. I understand this is an OS X 10.4 problem. In any case, scrub the menus, some have sub-menus and they aren't obvious.  
(Version 2.6)

GERBER  All in all, an underwhelming attempt at a PIM. By embracing Apple's existing programs, SOHO manages to neither distinguish itself, nor add any real value to what comes free on your Macintosh.

I'm not clear what Chronos was trying to accomplish, but they've managed to make a calendaring program that is harder to use than the simple iCal, but no more powerful and far slower. The address book adds, well, more colors, and the aforementioned link section. As any PIM-type application will be most often used for these two functions, it is apalling that these modules are so underwhelming.

The Print Essentials package does a good job of quickly and easily printing labels and letters from the address book. This is nothing that many other packages can't accomplish, but it does its job serviceably well.

The SOHO Notes module appears to be StickyBrain, although the different branding makes me wonder if there's something inherently different about it. I have little basis for comparison.

The underlying database that comes with the system (OpenBase) chews up CPU cycles on my 1 ghz AiBook. I have read some complains regarding its stability while serving StickyBrain, and I assume those flaws remain in this version.

Products such as DayLite and Entourage offer far more power than this suite, at a modestly higher price.  
(Version 5.0.4)

GERBER  FinFlow is an awesome program if you need to do any sort of cashflow or investment analysis. This includes mortages and other loans, as well as business or personal cash flows.

If you're a business/finances student or professional, you need this program. It makes variable cashflow calculations quick and easy. There is nothing else like it for the Mac or the PC.

Do read the manual though. Some of its functions are a little unintuitive at first. There's a method behind it, but there is a modest learning curve.  
(Version 1.6.1)