
Apple Safari | Jun 17 2009 |
IVANOVITCH This update addresses incompatibilities between Safari 4.0 and certain features in iPhoto '09, including Places and Facebook publishing. (Version 4.0.1) | |
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XQuartz | Apr 24 2009 |
IVANOVITCH Looking forward to seeing Mac OS v10.7. Good to see that you guys are way ahead of things. (Version 2.3.3) | |
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Skype | Apr 8 2009 |
IVANOVITCH For FREE software delivering FREE VOIP, I see no reason to whinge about this at all. So it's a beta version - big deal. It works well, and I use it many times a day, both national and international. The latest bug fixes address most of the concerns that I have had (and I hope it won't crash as much), and although some aspects of the software are perplexing (such as making/joining conference calls), it all works well. And did I mention that it is FREE? (Version 2.8.0.438) | |
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FileMaker Server | Jan 5 2009 |
IVANOVITCH Gotta love Filemaker's attention to detail: "With ease-of-use breakthroughs in sharing and administration as well as advanced security features, FileMaker Server 7 gives you easy-to-use, yet powerful features that allow you to..." (As in the description posted above). Does this mean that Filemaker 10 isn't worth $999 and that we would be best to stick to v7? (still grumpy that v8.0 is not supported on OS X 10.5) (Version 10) | |
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BwanaDik | Oct 31 2008 |
IVANOVITCH I'd love to be able to say that I like this app, but when it consumed 95%-110% of my CPU (i.e. a runaway process), I had to ditch it. A real pity. I've noticed that it has a memory leak on a number of laptops that I've installed it on, and cannot recommend this app at all on that basis alone: it's too dangerous until it gets fixed. Other than that, it shows great potential, though I'll be looking for alternatives for now. (Version 3.2) | |
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BusySync | Oct 20 2008 |
IVANOVITCH Works like a charm, especially now that the repeating items bug is sorted out. It's worth every cent, even for a group of users. Whilst there are free alternatives available, this offers a more comprehensive suite of tools in a better interface, and the ability to retrieve backups is a deal-maker. The developers are responsive, and helpful - making the app even more useful and understandable (setup is a bit confusing because there are numerous options). All in all, great value, and a 'set-and-forget' app that does what it promises. (Version 2.1.8) | |
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Lines | Oct 17 2008 |
IVANOVITCH Not as good as the original v1.0. Here's why: • The original permitted resizing (enlargement) of the window, this one does not. • The original permitted adjustment of the grid size (i.e. larger than 9 x 9), this one does not. • The original permitted adjustment of the token colours, this one does not. All in all, this game is much less playable than the original. Once the ability to change the number of cells is added, and once it's possible to change the colours so we can tell the difference between orange and yellow (near impossible unless screen on maximum brightness), then I recommend finding the v1.0 app from years ago. I commend the effort of the programmer to smarten things up, but the slick graphics are only a small part of what used to make this game playable, and enjoyable. Alas, this version is consigned to the trash until original features are returned. (Version 1.3) | |
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Lines | Nov 29 2008 |
INVISIBLELLAMA to IVANOVITCH: you have mistaken this version of Lines with something else (yes, there's more than one "Lines" version out there). This particular one had no public version 1.0. (Version 1.3.1) | |

IceTV | Sep 4 2008 |
IVANOVITCH Okay - it's getting better, but it's still slow to refresh. The iPhone/iPod Touch version is better and simpler, but this widget appears to be getting more stable. Still loses settings from time to time. (Version 2.2) | |
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Confused | Sep 4 2008 |
IVANOVITCH Wow! An incredible challenge to play, and I'm still trying to work out the algorithm. Congrats to the author for allowing your own picture to be used as the template: it doesn't make it any easier! Will struggle with this for days. Would be nice to be able to speed up or slow down the rate of refresh, though - so we can experiment with our visual senses. Stable, simple, and extremely frustrating! (Version 1.0) | |
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GlowWorm FW Lite | Jul 22 2008 |
IVANOVITCH Also froze my Mac, and created havoc. WARNING: don't use this software with OS X10.5.... (Version 1.5.3b4) | |
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Opera | Jul 4 2008 |
IVANOVITCH One other thing: it scrolls pages very badly - this should be fixed! (Version 9.51) | |
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Opera | Jul 4 2008 |
IVANOVITCH My only criticism is that this build renders website colours badly, and doesn't handle text forms at all well (even though it claims to adhere to all standards). That, and the top menu bar is as ugly as all get-out. However, these quibbles aside, it's okay for what it offers, but unlikely to replace my other browsers of choice. It might be different for Windows users, of course. (Version 9.51) | |
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IceTV | Mar 18 2008 |
IVANOVITCH This is not improving with each iteration. Not only is the interface now larger, with clumsy icons consuming the top bar, but it appears that frequent revisions are required to make it work properly. It isn't working now. First, we had to suffer the loss of station identifiers (here in Australia). Okay, once resolved, we discovered that some channels were incomplete. Then, another build later this was resolved, but we now discover that if you choose to view more than 5 channels, you can only view up to 3 programs. Alternatively, you can choose to view less channels and see 5 programs. Further, the present active program is no longer coloured to indicate what is being shown (oddly, now the blue highlight is used to indicate supplemental program information, which is plainly wrong from an interface perspective), and I can no longer simply toggle from 3 to 5 or all programs on the fly, but have to resort to flipping the widget and awaiting a refresh. On the plus side, the supplemental information is easier to read thanks to a sharper font choice. Overall, badly implemented and I recommend that users keep Build 1.25 and learn to cope with the problematic ABC1 and ABC2 station identifiers being absent: at least it works, and works well, in a more compact space. I also dislike having to store preferences on a website, but this is trivial in comparison to the widget not actually working the way it should. On the good side? It's free. So perhaps I shouldn't complain, but I do wish that the constant beta testing wasn't up to users so much. (Version 2.0b5) | |
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coconutBattery | Mar 10 2008 |
IVANOVITCH That's better: the previous version didn't match battery cycles with Apple's System Profiler - now it does. (Version 2.6) | |
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coconutIdentityCard | Feb 24 2008 |
IVANOVITCH 'European'? You probably mean 'non-Amercian' - there is no other place on earth than USA which uses the strange and illogical mmddyyyy format. (Version 2.3) | |
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LogMeIn | Feb 17 2008 |
IVANOVITCH Why do we have to negotiate through a third device each time we wish to connect? Whilst logmein has a page devoted to security, there is no mention made of what data is kept at logmein.com. What does this offer that the OS 10.5. 'share screen' does not offer? Or ARD? (Version 4.00.697) | |
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LogMeIn | Feb 18 2008 |
ACKEE LogMeIn just works with no fuss. It resolves IP address issues for those of us who aren't on a static IP. I believe that it also enables control of multiple computers behind a firewall/router with only one external IP address - no port forwarding required. It also enables control via a web browser, so while I'm at work on a Windows PC I can control my home iMac. (Version 4.00.697) | |

FlashFetch | Jan 9 2008 |
IVANOVITCH Sorry, but I don't want my software to 'move forward'. I just want it to work, and do what I want it to do. (Version 0.3) | |
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Safari AdBlock | Dec 3 2007 |
IVANOVITCH Great work. We now have a choice of adblockers for Safari. Whilst not as customisable as SafariBlock, it leaves the decision to block or not block to a list. Set and forget... Incidentally, I have absolutely no issue with the principle of blocking annoying material from view. Others may believe that the world rotates around commerce and advertising, but some of us use the web for other purposes, and blocking advertisements is of little loss to the real world. The web won't disappear overnight if advertisements are blocked - contrary to some people's views. It happily ran for a number of years before the advertisers moved in. (Version 0.2) | |
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Vienna | Dec 2 2007 |
IVANOVITCH A timely update: it was unusable with Remote Buddy open at the same time (made Vienna uncontrollable, oddly). Further, the display bugs introduced with Leopard now appear to be ironed out. No more truncated scrollbars or icons. Still no icon to indicate that a headline has been opened in external browser: only option is to display read/unread and to manually flag item. Also difficult to re-sort headlines by date (up or down) without doubling size of pane used for headlines (I use condensed layout to emulate previously purchased RSS readers). Apart from this, it works remarkably well, and the price is brilliant value. Like others, I bought other readers but grew disappointed with the direction of development and features. I'm now happily stuck with Vienna. (Version 2.2.1.2210) | |
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LocationChanger | Nov 19 2007 |
IVANOVITCH I suggest giving it a wide berth until developer confirms that it works with Leopard (10.5). Turned my entire machine into thick cold porridge until uninstalled. (3GB RAM, MacBook Pro 2.33GHZ Intel Core 2 Duo) (Version 1.0) | |
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Growl | Oct 9 2007 |
IVANOVITCH Read the manuals? I'm a veteran Macintosh user - so have long lost any desire to comprehend manuals, instructions, or readme files. And any preferences interface that requires more than a simple selection is beyond my capacity, thus I conform to Steve Jobsian expectations. (Version 1.1.1) | |
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Growl | Oct 9 2007 |
IVANOVITCH I mistakenly attributed a complaint to the developers of Growl, when I should have checked more thoroughly: OmniGrowl is the culprit, using the Growl framework. I apologise to the developers of Growl unreservedly. It's a great piece of FREE software, and works as advertised, with no fuss or bother. (Version 1.1.1) | |
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Growl | Oct 9 2007 |
WOODEN BRAIN CONCEPTS I addressed my response to your complaint on the OmniGrowl page before I saw that this had apparently been a persistent issue for you. You do realize the infrequent nags do say OmniGrowl and you would have had to have installed it yourself. Furthermore any notification can be turned off -- including the nags. The documentation included with OmniGrowl states this, as does the welcome message. No offense, but before you complain in public fora about software, it would be nice if you took the trouble to have a look at the manuals -- or at least read carefully the messages you are complaining about. My apologies to the Growl team for the confusion generated nevertheless. (Version 1.1.1) | |

Growl | Oct 9 2007 |
IVANOVITCH Read the manuals? I'm a veteran Macintosh user - so have long lost any desire to comprehend manuals, instructions, or readme files. And any preferences interface that requires more than a simple selection is beyond my capacity, thus I conform to Steve Jobsian expectations. (Version 1.1.1) | |

Growl | Oct 13 2007 |
LEOOFBORG I'm sorry Ivanovich, but you have the worst case of PEBKAC I have ever seen. Maybe as a 'veteran user' [probably of Mac OS 9] you should RTFM and then post **ONE** review instead of polluting the reviews with excessive noise. (Version 1.1.1) | |

Growl | Oct 13 2007 |
CHRISTOPHER FORSYTHE Sorry about these others ivanovitch, they don't represent Growl. There's not much we can do, the developer of that product wants to use Growl as a way to push for registrations. Growl is a generic notification system, i.e., anyone can send anything. I'm sorry about the problem. I agree with you about the documentation needing to be supplementary, and not required reading. (Version 1.1.1) | |

OmniGrowl | Oct 9 2007 |
IVANOVITCH I mistakenly attributed a complaint to the developers of Growl, and not OmniGrowl. However... OmniGrowl is nagware, not freeware. The author should acknowledge this in the documentation. (Version 1.5) | |
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OmniGrowl | Oct 9 2007 |
WOODEN BRAIN CONCEPTS I prefer to call it donationware but yes nagware is ok too. I do call it donationware in the documentation and it does list the nags among the notifications, which can be turned off. I never (and nowhere) call it freeware myself. Unfortunately neither VersionTracker nor MacUpdate have a category called donationware -- it's either freeware or shareware and neither fit. Please take this up with VT & MU, as I too would like to see such a categoy. Since it's not shareware (OmniGrowl is unrestricted and you are not required to pay or donate. Unlike some of my other software (iDupe, Cast Away etc) which is ALSO not restricted but you are technically required to pay and so those are in fact properly called shareware.) http://www.woodenbrain.com/index-support.html OmniGrowl is more closely called freeware since as I say you don't have to pay. But again, you're correct that its not exactly right since I make it clear I hope for some donations. But quite a lot of freeware does too -- it's just a matter of the persistence of the nagging I imagine. Let me take this opportunity to nag one more time. 20,000 downloads and counting and as of v. 1.4.5 I had one donation. Adding a second nag got me 2 or 3 more. Thank you to those who did donate. If you don't want to donate so be it, but at least have the courtesy to just turn off the nags and not rate a product you probably are using for free tepidly just because of it. (Version 1.5) | |

OmniGrowl | Oct 13 2007 |
LEOOFBORG I'll be less polite than the Dev. This is the worst case of PEBKAC followed by a tantrum I have ever seen. If you're not going to RTFM, then you deserve everything you get. (Version 1.5.2) | |

OmniGrowl | Oct 13 2007 |
CHRISTOPHER FORSYTHE Dude, you need to make up your mind. Is it shareware or freeware. If it's shareware, make it shareware, and if it's freeware, drop the nagging. This just seems conflicted. 20,000 downloads is nothing, by the way. And guess what, Growl itself has gotten, *maybe*, 400 bucks. If you want cash, make it shareware. You won't get it with it being free. (Version 1.5.2) | |

TuneBar | Oct 9 2007 |
IVANOVITCH Warning: not just unstable, but doesn't play nicely with dual-screen setups (plugging in an extra monitor causes problems, removing a monitor causes system instability). (Version 2.7.2) | |
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Growl | Oct 7 2007 |
IVANOVITCH Okay: I'll reinstall (removed it entirely yesterday) and post a screenshot soon. Then perhaps I can have an explanation of how I get growl notifications (dismissible, as are all other notifications) of the number of people who have downloaded the software (in the thousands) and the number of donations (which was zero), and how I can remove this nag message by donating. (Version 1.1.1) | |
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iMsafe | Sep 2 2007 |
IVANOVITCH Useful, but now broken: Latest version (2.0) backs up to one level below where you expect, creating havoc if you used IMsafge prior to the non-beta period. (Version 2.0) | |
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NetNewsWire | Aug 27 2007 |
IVANOVITCH Having been an ex-user of NetNewsWire, I thought it would be good to try the latest version to see if it's worth switching back. It was once the premier newsreader, in my opinion. Having used Ensemble, Shrook, Vienna, and a few others, I'm now a convert - to Vienna. It's fast, lightweight, free and has an excellent interface. Why pay for NNW when Vienna does it better, for free? (Version 3.1b14) | |
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NetNewsWire | Sep 3 2007 |
DAI YI Please explain what you mean by " Vienna does it better." While Vienna is very good, it can't match NNW's features. If you don't need such features, or don't want to pay for them, Vienna represents a good choice of a newsreader. But to claim without any qualification that it's "better" than NNW is subjective and misleading. (Version 3.1b16) | |

NetNewsWire | Sep 4 2007 |
BLLOYD I just tried Vienna... and have a really tough time seeing how you could consider it "better." Heck, it dumps all your feeds in a linear list in the left pane! That won't work for me with my 100 feeds... totally unmanageable. Plus, I couldn't find a way with Vienna to set custom refresh times on a per feed or per-group basis. NNW has a ton of functionality, and if you actually use a large # of feeds and want to customize that (e.g. only refresh personal stuff daily, but refresh work stuff hourly), then NNW gives you tons of options, and Vienna gives you far fewer. Sure, Vienna is free, but free doesn't affect the quality of the product one iota... it only affects the price. (Version 3.1b16) | |

NetNewsWire | Sep 5 2007 |
JB4 I've tried several RSS readers, including Vienna and only NNW allows emt o read the already loaded feeds while new ones are still loading. The others lock up until all my 179 feeds are loaded. Intolerable waste of time! (Version 3.1b16) | |

NetNewsWire | Sep 7 2007 |
DAI YI OK, after downloading and using Vienna on my work computer I must concede that it's indeed excellent software. There are a few features in NNW that will keep me using it for now, however. In many respects, Vienna is NNW's league; but Vienna cannot claim to be superior IMHO. (Version 3.1b17) | |

Parallels Desktop | Aug 24 2007 |
IVANOVITCH Unbelievably poor installation process. In this upgrade, it has taken more than 35 minutes to regain control of my computer. Although I had other apps open at the time (Safari, iTunes, Mail, Vienna, BBEdit, Preview, Photoshop, iCal, Activity Monitor), the Parallels update process completely took over my MacBook Pro (with 2GB RAM, 40GB spare hard disk space) to the point of it being totally unworkable, with Activity Monitor showing that Safari, Vienna and iTunes 'not responding' on numerous occassions. Eventually, the installation, upgrade, installation of Parallels Tools, and subsequenty Kapersky 6.0 updates were complete, and Windows XP booted: 38 minutes later, at which time all other apps were usable again, though now with a 5-second timelag in shifting from app to app, and with fans blaring. Overall, I loathe discovering updates for Parallels, and loathe having to fire it up. I've got the fastest Mac laptop that can be bought, and it's full of RAM, yet Parallels acts as though it's no better than VirtualPC in its characteristic 'slow' mode. What a disappointment. I was hoping that I'd be able to fire up XP and view webpages in IE (the primary reason for buying the product - I'm a web developer), but the sluggish response and the ridiculous speed of loading Parallels makes it more profitable for me to simply fire up an old XP workstation and work from that. For further information: I've experimented with giving less and more RAM to the virtual machine with each update (it makes no difference - the spinning beachball sits there for just as long), and I've a stock installation of XP (with all service packs, plus IE7) and nothing else. And my MacBook Pro is running 10.4.10, and is stock also. (Version 3.0.5120) | |
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SmallScreenX | Aug 13 2007 |
IVANOVITCH Still great, still free! The new dimming feature makes it even more useful: not just for web designers, but for people who want to highlight certain parts of their screen. Rock solid, easy to use, though the ability to drag by all edges would be an added bonus - it takes some experimentation to discover that you can only drag by one section of the 'window frame. An old favourite updated. (Version 2.3) | |
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SmallScreenX | Aug 13 2007 |
IVANOVITCH Note: Dimming only works on one monitor in multiple-monitor set-ups.. (Version 2.3) | |

Parallels Desktop | Aug 2 2007 |
IVANOVITCH I share similar concerns with others here: I was an early adopter of this software, but now find it almost unworkable on my 2GB RAM, 3-month old laptop. Not only does Parallels take over the entire machine (preventing me from using any other app for up to 5 or 10 minutes) but I cannot even push it into the background to run anything else. IF the developers were truly interested in helping those of us with these problems, the ReadMe file would make suggestions about how it can work on current Apple laptops without crippling everything else. I now prefer to use an old Windows machine nearby with Remote Desktop - much faster and easier! (Version 3.0.5060) | |
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TunesTEXT | Jun 22 2007 |
IVANOVITCH Great idea, and has great potential. However, it keeps crashing on my Intel MacBook. The widget remains in place, but the app crashes in the background, even after restarts. Would be even better if the lyrics in the widget were both editable, and copyable! (Version 0.72) | |
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SyncBar | Apr 28 2007 |
CLAUCLAU I believe it's syncnow itself, type syncnow in the search bar this program comes up. (Version 0.1b) | |

SyncBar | Apr 28 2007 |
SEMAJA2.NET This is a newer version of SyncNow you could call it, as both me and Jool developed this application. However the primary difference in this application is that it is automated, unlike SyncNow which required you to manually activate the program (Version 0.1b) | |

DRM Dumpster | Apr 20 2007 |
IVANOVITCH Stops on mounting of CD-RW. Have to manually eject and re-insert CD to allow script to continue. Not sure why this is better than manually selecting all protected files, converting them to an MP3 format on CD, then re-importing... Confusing non-standard interface, too. (Version 1.4) | |
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DRM Dumpster | Jun 16 2007 |
BURNINGTHUMB Did you configure iTunes correctly to burn AUDIO CD. Did you read and follow the IMPORTANT Read Me First file ? Do you have the latest version directly from www.burningthumb.com. Anyway contact me directly at suppot@burningthumb.com if you want a solution - send me the output of the log window and it will save time since that is the first thing I'll ask for -- if you don't see the log you have old software. (Version 1.4) | |

BackityMac | Apr 20 2007 |
IVANOVITCH It stalls at backing up an image at 15.99GB... (and indicates 1% complete, on a 'second pass' of the update progress bar). Makes it useless for home directory backup to iPod disk ,for example (what I am trying to do - back to manual directory copy) (Version 1.4.4) | |
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BackityMac | Apr 20 2007 |
IVANOVITCH Works for minor backups of individual files, but chokes on home folder backup (20GB or more), and required force-quit after command+period failed to cancel stalled process of a backup to an iPod disk. A number of applescript errors appear from time to time, not making me confident that a backup imagefile can be created. Yet to try restore function. (Version 1.4.4) | |
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Sync Now | Apr 18 2007 |
IVANOVITCH Fantastic bit of software: I agree that OS 10.4 made a backward step in this area. Let's hope that 10.5 reverts back to a more functional approach. If not, I"ll continue to use Sync Now. (Version 1.1) | |
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Apple Mac OS X | Mar 14 2007 |
IVANOVITCH Not just Filemaker Pro 8.5, but v8.0 and 7.0 also won't operate - and Microsoft Word crashes on some documents (with embedded pictures), and Excel now takes forever to open. Looks like a complete reinstall is imminent. First time that an OS update has caused mayhem in my Intel-Mac. Finder takes forever. Firefox, Parallels (after losing it's wireless connection), Photoshop, Apple Remote Desktop, TextEdit, iPhoto, iTunes, BBEdit, Fetch, Google Earth all okay. InDesign is very slow to load. Menu items mostly okay as before. I recommend being cautious in upgrading this time around. PowerPC Macs seem to be fine, however. (Version 10.4.9) | |
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Apple Mac OS X | Mar 14 2007 |
IVANOVITCH Broke a few plugins for iSync and other apps, and FileMaker Pro 8.5 won't load. Not happy. Didn't go as smoothly as hoped. Now looking for FMPro fix, and SonyEricsson plugin that works, and why both broke. Non-Intel Macs seem to be fine, though (updated 5 machines so far). (Version 10.4.9) | |
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Apple AirPort Extreme | Jan 26 2007 |
IVANOVITCH Airport Extreme Driver shows no change (v405.1.0) though framework has jumped from v431.4.0 to v451.2.0 - and Airport Menu Extra now shows v441.1.0 (up from 428.3.0). Security improvements are all well and good, but it's still impossible to get more than 53.7KB/s throughput in either direction from an Extreme Base Station sharing with older 802.11b and g machines (so mixed protocols required). Hurry up with this fix, please, Apple! And let's hope the constant drop-outs are fixed at the same time. (Version 2007-001) | |
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Apple AirPort Extreme | Jan 26 2007 |
SANHOLO You cannot be serious, can you? 53.7 Kb/sec ist more than excellent for a 54kb/sec rated device! (Version 2007-001) | |

AP Grapher | Nov 19 2006 |
IVANOVITCH Doesn't work with MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo - probably needs updating to cope with 802.11n cards that appear in these machines. (Version 0.5.3) | |
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AP Grapher | Dec 6 2006 |
CHIMOOSOFT A new version of AP Grapher is in development which adds support for Intel based Macs; it should be released within a few weeks. A screenshot is available at the AP Grapher home page. http://www.chimoosoft.com/apgrapher.html | |

iStumbler | Nov 19 2006 |
IVANOVITCH Doesn't work with latest MacBook Pro (Core 2 Duo). I suspect that it needs updating to deal with new 802.11n cards that have been put in these machines. (Version 0.97) | |
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