ROB.H  Thanks for the update. I actually use 'Web of Trust' Firefox plug-in on the Mac for checking out dodgy sites, and the link I posted originally seems to check out ok (WoT gives it a green circle), so I'm not sure why Google would flag it with a warning?

If anyone wants to check out what rating Web Of Trust gives the vault24 site, they can do so at the Web of Trust website at www.mywot.com, but it's obviously for people to check out sites using whatever means they trust at the end of the day.

I don't have any affiliation with vault24 or their product, as I mentioned I just happened to find they did a similar product for free. If it turns out that there is a problem with the vault24 site, then by all means the moderators should remove the link from my original post :-)  
(Version 1.8.2)

ROB.H  The devs are very responsive in fixing problems, sorting the one I had within a few days, and it works fine on my Mac Pro now.

Nice that it's a plug-in that integrates with iPhoto - has an inuitive interface and is easy to use. I'm paranoid about backups and this lets me back up my photos (I've got over 8,500 currently) easily and without any sweat.   
(Version 1.1)

ROB.H  Have tried using this with iPhoto '09 running on Leopard 10.5.8. Everything is fine up to the point where you click the Export button to start the export, then the following message pops up... The application iPhoto quit unexpectedly. The problem may have been caused by the iPhotoBurnToDisc plug-in.

Have tried uninstalling/reinstalling as well as rebooting but no joy. Shame as it looks like a useful app.  
(Version 1.0.2)

ROB.H  Nice little app. I like the way you can monitor multiple accounts, and the design of the preview window where you can see the start of each email is cool. Haven't had any problems with stability.

There's a few things on my wishlist like a menu bar icon that stands out a bit more (perhaps give the user a choice of two or three different icons) or the ability to add an audible alert alongside the growl notification. Also, being able to delete emails from the preview list would be neat.

Still, this is a useful app and it will be interesting to see how it develops.  
(Version 1.0.1)

ROB.H  Ticks all the right boxes for me.

Now that NetNewsWire is going commercial/ad-supported, Vienna is a great free alternative. Clean uncluttered interface (with some interesting visual styles to choose from if you like that sort of thing) plus it's easy and intuitive to use.

The only thing missing really is the sync features of NetNewsWire, but then I'm trying to ween myself off hours of reading newsfeeds every day on every device I own, so that's probably a good thing!   
(Version 2.3.3.2304)

ROB.H  Great idea, but...

1. The interface seems a bit screwy. The horizontal scroll bar completely obscures the last file in the list.

2. Whatever file I try to convert, at whatever quality, the program does nothing except produce the message "The application lame quit unexpectedly".

Am using Leopard 10.5.7 but I guess this app still needs a bit of work. Here's hoping for an update that makes it more usable.  
(Version 2.025)

ROB.H  Am liking Snowtape a lot more since I first looked at it in April. The two major problems I had both seem to have been fixed (stability and adding new stations).

Looking forward to new features being added, like the ability to rip directly to mp3 or at least export to mp3 as an option. Also, being able to choose where Snowtape puts its repository. Oh and being able to fade in/out with the editing tool would be nice.

Still, a great example of how an interface should be done although for some reason my friend hates it. Horses for courses I guess.  
(Version 1.0.1)

ROB.H  Agree, it looks promising but the would have preferred at least a time-limited fully functional 'demo'. Also, I couldn't get the restore function to work at all, not even for the single file the demo allows.  
(Version 1.0)

ROB.H  With respect, memory fragmentation is NOT just a mechanical phenomenon. Any system whereby resources are allocated and then de-allocated as required could potentially suffer from fragmentation. There's an article by Apple about memory fragmentation here - http://support.apple.com/kb/TA21681?viewlocale=en_US

The other thing is, iFreeMem is free, so no-one is asking you to pay for anything.  
(Version 3.0)

ROB.H  Nice clean interface and does the basics right, plus I like the fact that it's based on OpenSSL. I do have a few niggles though:

There's no way to set a default password in the preferences, so every time you encrypt a file you have to specify the password. If I want to encrypt 50 or so files and use the same password for each, then I have to enter the password that many times. Also when decrypting, if a file already exists with the same name it automatically renames the file you're decrypting. It doesn't warn you and give you the option to overwrite the original or rename the new one. Also, it strips the file extension out of the encrypted file name, so if I have two files - secret.doc and secret.docx and want to encrypt both, then I have to manually type the extension back in to the Save As field so I know which is which.

I'd agree with the previous comment that it's a little bit pricey for what it does (e.g. GoSecure does pretty much the same and is $5 cheaper). If the program was free or cheaper, then you could live with the niggles.   
(Version 1.0.5)

ROB.H  How interesting. I don't slag this application off at all, I merely point out that there is a free alternative with similar features.

For this at least two people mark the comment down? Hey ho, that's the kind of world we live in =;-)  
(Version 1.8.2)

ROB.H  Great little app and one I would buy if it wasn't for the fact that it crashes all the time.   
(Version 2.5.3)

ROB.H  Lots of ways to achieve the same result for free, ie a bit of common sense (just don't click on links in emails), sensible browser settings and add-ons like Web of Trust or Site Advisor as someone has mentioned below. $70? Come on...  
(Version 1.0)

ROB.H  Great looking interface and fairly intuitive to use. Only problem was that it only comes with a small selection of stations built-in and it refused to import all but one of the stations I tried to add. The one station I did manage to import would only play for 5 seconds at a time before I got a message that the connection was lost.

Shows promise though, so shall certainly watch to see how this develops.  
(Version 0.2.3)

ROB.H  Pleasant GUI but light on features. Not worth $14.95 at this stage.  
(Version 1.0)

ROB.H  Works well enough, but when there are free alternatives (like Secrets or Onyx) that do the same thing, then it's difficult to justify the $19.95 price tag.   
(Version 3.2.9)

ROB.H  Marvellous little app - saved me so much time trying to track down an errant file that was causing repeated problems.

Would recommend this to anyone who's ever experienced Time Machine's enigmatic "Oh dear I had a problem but I'm not going to tell you what it is" error message. In fact I'd recommend it even if you haven't had a Time Machine error message - yet. One day...  
(Version 1.16)

ROB.H  Maybe the article was published in April 1st? ;-)

Have to say, I've got data on CDs and DVDs that I burned several years ago and it's still fine.   
(Version 2.0)

ROB.H  You know the drill - you're a serious professional, you don't play games, you use your Mac for serious stuff. Then someone tells you about World of Goo...

Such a simple concept, each level requires that you reach an 'exit' and that you allow the required number of Goo Balls to escape. However, while it's based largely around physics and logic the gameplay is thought provoking and fun. They seem to have got the balance just right. Add to that the colourful graphics, entertaining music and the 'Sign Painters' off-beat humour, this'll have you hooked.

Money well spent if you ask me, and so refreshing to see a game that doesn't involve chainsaws and buckets of blood!  
(Version 1.2)

ROB.H  I don't wish to be mean to the developers, but I have found a lot of these features either for free or for much less cost. If you look at what online sites such as Picnik can do, or low cost software such as PhotoShop Elements, then it does make this look like a very expensive option for the 'convenience'.  
(Version 1.65)

ROB.H  Working with multipe versions of files in different locations, straightforward backup/sync hasn't been an option so thought I'd give this a try.

Extensive range of options for how to compare files or folders, and intuitive interface and results presented in an intuitive way makes it easy to get all you need done. Had a minor issue with an aspect of using NAS drives so contacted the developers. They responded in under 24 hours and were really helpful, providing a solution within a couple of days - great support!

Worth the price for the time it's going to save me. Would definitely recommend it.  
(Version 1.8.6)

ROB.H  Did try this out with Skype and found it easy to use and entertaining, although many of the effects are quite cheesey. Unfortunately in the trial version it puts a large watermark/banner across the image meaning the person on the other end of the video call can only see the edges of the image. Would have preferred a time limited version, e.g. fully funcyional for 15 days, or the first 30 seconds of a video call.

In the end I decided to go with CamTwist for two reasons - price (it's free) and features (you can use movies, slideshows, Flickr sets, in addition to video effects).

Both worth checking out though.  
(Version 1.102)

ROB.H  I am using this on a Mac Pro running Leopard 10.5.6 and using a Logitech QuickCam Vision Pro.

Works well with Skype (beta version 2.8.0.324) so long as I configure everything such as the effects I want to use, before launching Skype. It's a shame you can't change video effects during a call, for some reason it doesn't work - I have to end the call, change the effects, then start a new call. Also, trying to switch Skype from the CamTwist back to the default Logitech webcam while CamTwist is running causes Skype to 'quit unexpectedly'. My other problem is that everything comes out reversed, so text displays backwards.

On the whole very pleased with it despite the glitches, and it's a bargain given that it's free. It's worth a donation, but I see there have been no updates for nearly a year so am not sure if the developer is still around?  
(Version 1.7)

ROB.H  Would want to know more about how this actually works before buying - unfortunately the website doesn't say much. Does it simply hide files by moving them somewhere - in which case, what about backing them up? Does it use encryption of any sort or are files just flagged as hidden? Will they show up in Spotlight? What if the app has a problem (e.g. after an OS X update), can you retrieve your files without it?  
(Version 1.1)

ROB.H  I watched the video and have to agree that while an interesting idea, this unfortunately lacks the polish to make a viable alternative to either any of Leopard's built in navigation tools, or 3rd party app launchers out there, yet.  
(Version 8.1)

ROB.H  I was going to but looks like 'MJ' has it covered. I'm using a 2008 Mac Pro with the nVIDIA 8800GT card, so looks like that may be my problem. Looking forward to a fix.  
(Version 5.0.6)

ROB.H  You can also use the free OpenDNS service with which you can either set up your own custom filtering, or choose various levels of automated filtering which are maintained for you by OpenDNS and their contributors. Also you can set it once for your entire network if for example you have 2 or 3 kids, each with their own Mac or PC.  
(Version 4.5.1)

ROB.H  I've just installed v5.0.6 under Leopard 10.5.6, and have a similar problem (same scenario, slightly different outcome).

I use the Go -> Start Application feature, launch an app from it (which loads and runs ok) but then Pathfinder becomes completely non-responsive. It doesn't actually crash but I get the spinning beachball of death whenever I move the cursor over Pathfinder, although the rest of OS X and all my other apps keep running fine. Only option is to then kill the Pathfinder process and start again.  
(Version 5.0.6)

ROB.H  Nice little app. However I'm finding that it uses a lot of memory (661Mb real memory) in my case.  
(Version 1.3)

ROB.H  Unfortunately whenever trying it out, it crashed System Preferences when leaving test mode. Only got a couple of other screensavers and neither of them have a problem. Also, the digital clock wouldn't display, all I got was the ':' symbol. hate to say this but the graphics weren't very realistic (although that's probably to speed up the animation).

This is on a 10.5.5 system with a 24" monitor.  
(Version 1.2)

ROB.H  For info - you can download a free Home Inventory program for OS X from www.vault24.com

Similar features to this - catalogue items by room (value, purchase date, etc.), add photos, attach receipts, record insurance policy details, etc.   
(Version 1.8.1)

ROB.H  I would consider this, if only to give me a little more granular control over looking thru Time Machine backups. However I agree in that $29 is a bit steep.  
(Version 1.1)

ROB.H  Some interesting functionality and features, but a couple of gotchas too.

1. File name extensions get stripped off in the designer view, and you line everything up accordingly. Once the .dmg is created the file extensions reappear and as I found, the filenames then overlap and look messy so care is needed in the design phase.

2. I dragged 12 files on to a new/blank .dmg and found that they were automatically arranged into a single-width vertical column that extended off beyond the bottom of the window. While possible to rearrange the files near the top, the other files went past the bottom of the visible window and with no scroll bars there was no way to get them back. Only option was to delete the project and start again. Tried this with/without 'snap to grid' being turned on.

Not quite there yet for me.  
(Version 1.5)

ROB.H  Small, neat and does the trick. I did try to see if I could get it to crash following the steps the other reviewer mentioned, but didn't manage it - I ticked the two options then opened Preferences and the Preferences window appeared. Still, would be interested to hear what the developer says.

One observation regarding password protecting your Rar files is that you only type the password in once and the characters are hidden. Either you should have to type it in twice to confirm you haven't made a typo, or there should be a tick box to reveal the password you're going to use so you can check it. Without that you risk creating an archive you can't get back in to if you made a typo on setting the password.

Other nice features in future versions would be things like the option to automatically delete the original file(s) or folder(s) when the archiving finishes, etc.   
(Version 1.0)

ROB.H  Doesn't work... (OS X 10.5.5)  
(Version 5D)