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User Reviews
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Excellent free app. Quite similar to the $8 iAddressX. Upside, a bit faster and even more user friendly. And free. Downside, doesn't have a couple of features (like auto-dial) that iAddressX has. But overall a terrific, super easy to use, fast link to Address Book info. |
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Tried downloading this several times in the last two weeks, and keep getting an error message saying 'too many clients'. |
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To suggest an alternate: The free SkalMac Tuner is a great, easier to use, intuative standard tuner. This has far more non-standard tuning options, but for someone like me, who simply wants an easy way to tune their guitar I find it clunky and annoying. But I'm not a high-end musician, and I don't generally need non-standard tuning. Based on some comments here. it's clearly a boon for the right person. But for many it will be overkill. |
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Works just fine on my G5 iMac. Very minor delay starting up. Very cool, very unique. I used it as my main screensaver for quite a while, and got lots of questions and comments on it. Personally I found the art a little grim after a while seeing it everyday, but that's a taste thing, not quality. But worth checking out to see the rare screensaver that tries something radically different. |
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This an amazingly funny little app. My wife and I got laughing so hard that we both ached. It's one of those things that's so silly, so stupid that it just keeps building. You can't believe you're lauging at it, but you can't stop either. |
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While I use and like BuddyPop (see review below), if you want a freebee that will give you equally quick access to your Address Book info, I recommend ABMenu. Lives in the menubar, very simple, very fast. Just missing a few bells and whistles that BuddyPop has... |
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Corerection to my review below - on looking back, iAddressX does have a couple of things (like built in auto dialing) that ABMenu doesn't have. I just never used those features. For the key use - quick menu bar lookups - I stand by my comments |
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I tried both this and ABMenu. They're just about identical, but ABMenu is free/donationware, and seemed, if anything, a tad more user friendly, and seems to pull up the info a bit fatser. |
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Bit the bullet and paid the $20. It was a close call. The couple of times I needed it, it did save me some time and effort, but I found I didn't call on it all that often. Also, the search process was still a little slow, at least on my computer. In the time History Hound took sorting through all my pages, I could be halfway through a new google search. But there were those couple of times, on a subject I had been researching over time, that it was a great help getting back to the pages I needed. |
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Fine, works well, but as noted below, Hardware Growler does the exact same thing for free... |
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It certain does what it says simply and well. But personally I found $7 a bit much for the one trick, especially since hitting return does the same thing. BUT... I see that it has really helped some people, so I guess it's a 'try it and see if it helps you' sort of app. |
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I've been using a combination of this app, Saft and Safari Enhancer. The big upside is that Safari is far more flexible, tweakable and fun. I can recover from crashes and get right back where I was, I can pre-set various groups of tabs to open, I can use the sidebar effectively, I can gain speed by turning off the cache, (and about 50 other cool and/or useful things). The (so far) small downside, is that I've experienced what seems like a slight increase in the number of freezes and/or crashes. However, those are still pretty rare, and with this software I can get back to where I was in just seconds. I can imagine that certain combinations of Safari related apps could be a bit toxic and lead to problems on certain computers That said, I'd say this is really worth a try. You can always remove it if Safari starts getting funky. |
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Works just fine for me in Tiger. A very simple, straightforward way to check for problems in preference files. Already was able to head off a couple of problems before they became real problems. I sent a donation. |
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Just to add my voice to the many already here... It works great! Simple, fast, easy. Free. What more could you ask? |
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Yes, it takes a few minutes of reading the instructions, and a few more minutes of experimenting to get the hang of it. And it gets easier the more you use it - both because you learn it's fine points, and it learns yours (like what abreviations you use for an app or file) But before long it's all second nature, and fun to use. And this is coming from a cranky old guy who's far from a computer whiz. I compared it with Butler (which I found less intuitive and more annoying) and Launch Bar (more limited and not free). Subjective reactions to be sure. Both are excellent in their own ways, but this was the one I stayed with. For those who want a compromise - something simpler than Quicksilver to learn and use, but still free and fast at opening apps and documents, ABC Launch is quite good. A lot fewer bells, whisteles and options, but faster to become second nature. But for me, I like the fun of the constant development and additions, and the fact that I'm always finding new ways to make Quicksilver work even better for me. |
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Very simple, very fast, very nice. I use both this and Quicksilver. Quicksilver is obviously a lot richer in options, but also takes longer to learn to use, and can be slower and less effecient when you simply want to open an app it hasn't 'learned' abbreviations for yet. It's a taste thing. I rely on Quicksilver more and more, but my wife, who values clean simplicity more than bells and whistles has happily stuck with ABC Launch as her default launch app. (The fact is, either is wonderful as a free app). |
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My favorite of the many note apps I've tried. I use it constantly. For me, just the right balance of flexible, unobtrusive, and managable. Others were either too basic so annoyingly complex that I'd end up not bothering. I love that it hides away, but pops out with a single hot key or mouse move, then hides away again the moment I'm done. I use it enough that I felt compelled to send a donation, which I only do with freeware that really becomes part of my daily life. This did. |
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A clarification to my review below. Although it took 48 hours before I used it, to be clear it was downloading unseen in the background during that time. I was using the computer normally, with no loss of speed. The computer was also going in and out of sleep. Didn't want people to think the computer had to be sitting open on the program that long! |
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My Favorite screensaver. Always changing, always evolving. I just sent a donation, since I now use it all the time. It does take forever for the first sheep to download. It took almost 48 hours before I could use it. But, after 2 days I had one working, and in the months since there are always new ones coming and old ones going without my doing anything. Over 5 months it's worked without a hitch. Not sure it's the case for everyone who's had trouble starting it, but maybe it just takes some patience... Really worth trying, very special and very beautiful. Just don't expect it to work in 5 minutes! |
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A really great recreation of the original. I play it so much I felt compelled to send a little donation. Truly addictive! |
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An excellent simple free menu bar clock with instant access to a calendar. Always worked perfectly for me. I did finally switch over to MenuCalendar Clock (while grumbling about the $19 fee) so I could have access to iCal events through the Calendar. But if you don't need that kind of function, this is simple, elegant and trustworth. |
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Love this little app! I use this daily as my only to-do list. Simple, easy, direct. Free (although I use it so much I felt compelled to send a donation). There are certainly to-dos with more bells and whistles, but I found they got in the way or slowed things down. This takes a tiny bit of real estate in my menu bar, opens and closes with the touch of a hot-key, and can be organized and re-organized each day in just a few seconds. Sometimes basic is better. |
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I just bit the bullet and paid for this. I agree that the price is too high, but I use it every day and it works very well, keeps my desktop neat and provides instant access to my schedule. I've tried to find other, cheaper options, but so far nothing out there comes close. (Of course, since I wrote that, a new free app will appear tomorrow...) Better $19 for something I use 10x a day than $8 for something I quickly forget I ever bought. |
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My favorite of the many maintanence/optimizer programs. Tons of options, stable and free (though I've sent a small donation to support continued development). While it seems like none of these apps has everything you need, this one comes close, and is usually the first app I reach for when things start running slow or funky. |
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Snuck this onto my wife's computer over a week ago.... and I've been getting smiles, smooches and more ever since. What a sweet, simple app. Thanks! |
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My favorite of the iTunes controllers. Everything is easily customizable; hot keys, info floater, ( I prefer the app's built in floater to the optional Growl - easier to position and control). I use it all the time without having to think about it. What more could you ask? The one time I had a question, the developer got back to me right away, even if there wasn't a ready answer. There is a minor bug that I reported that apparently has appened to a few other people as well. If the menu extra is on I have to quit iMote before the computer will let me quit iTunes. No big disaster, and the developer said it will be addressed in the next version. |
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One of those simple little apps that make life better. After going through a painful hard drive death that left me with some lost material at a bad moment, this is a great little reassurance that all is well. Yes, one can get there through Terminal, or check through disk utility, but this is simple, fast, free (although I think worthy of a donation) and always there. It takes up a tiny bit of menu bar space. Drives die fast (as I found out). I don't want to have to be lucky enough to happen to check in time to catch it. This should absolutely be a built in option from Apple, but it isn't, so I'm glad someone put it out there. |
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I love this app. Free (although certainly worth donating to support), it seems as effective, if not more so than the commercial apps. It certainly found things that Norton's annoying software had missed. Plus it's updated every day with new definitions. Yes, it can be a bit tricky, but I'm no computer genius, and I've managed to avoid any trouble, and to set it up to scan all incoming email (which - annoyingly - MacWorld said you couldn't do in a recent article). Just took a few minutes to read the directions carefully. Certainly worth a try before you buy expensive commercial products. |
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Realized I didn't rate this in my last comment, and as I like it, why not throw in my stars. As discussed below, there are other apps that do the same thing for free, but none I tried work as well, as quickly, and as elegantly in their current versions. It's worth the $5. (Although I do think Apple should include this as part of the OS). One of those little things I wasn't sure I needed, and then found I used a lot. |
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This has always worked perefctly for me (I'm running 10.4.7). It's a terrific little app. Customizable, takes up very little room in my menubar, instantly gives a lot of useful details I can choose for the day and week. And it's true freeware. I can't even find anywhere in the app or documentation that asks for donations, or even says where to send them. One of those great little apps you use every day. |
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Absolutely, hands down my favorite, most used app on my Mac. And the new update is even better. It's literally saved me hours of worktime. The only time I've ever sent more than the requested donation. Everyone I've ever talked into using it has felt the same. |
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Really easy to use, really effective. Use it all the time. My only request would be a list of results option, instead of having to use the arrow keys to search blindly through the results. |
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I'm on a G5 iMac, so I've been happily running the current program. It's simple, it's fun, and it help keeps my desktop sane and organized. It has quirks. Sometimes (rarely) it takes hitting the hot key twice, for example. And in some apps the hot key always works, but the double mouse click doesn't always take. But it never gets to the point of real frustration, and I'm never sorry I have it. I do wish their support was a bit more... helpful. But I'd hate to work without the program. |
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OK, but a bit buggy, a bit old, and there are better options. At least for me. I tried a couple of different apps and found DragThing a much better, more flexible, easy to use and stable approach. The only thing it didn't have was a menu bar drop down, but I solved that by adding the free app FinderPop, which is much faster than DockExtender's menu bar item. There's much that's good about DockExtender, but problems like hot keys seeming to be broken in Tiger, lost icons, etc. are very annoying, especially on an app that costs $20. I'll put up with the occasional bug in freeware. On paid apps, I expect updates to keep improving the product, and keep it functioning at full capacity. I don't like that they haven't updated this product in 2.5 years. Also, the free trial is so limited that there's no way to really judge the app. So I paid the $20, only to find I used it less and less in favor of other products. |
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Simple as pie. Generally very effective, thought it seems to occasionally (rarely) lose a shortcut. But then it's no big deal to re-do. The new menu accelerator is very handy. |
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Just checked with the developer. Still no update for Tiger. Too bad... |
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Sadly PrefsMenu has lost some functionality in Tiger, so most all the icons (all apple functions) are now generic. No big deal, but loses something both asthetically and in ease of use (my eye naturally goes to the icons before the words). So, for me the $5 is worth it.) |
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A terrific little app. Sadly, it's lost some functionality in Tiger. The icons are mostly generic (all Apple are generic. 3rd party icons are still there), and you have to quit and re-start to effect preference changes. But still, it's free and it's useful. Hopefully they'll be an update one of these days... |
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I've been using Saft for awhile now, (along with the free Safari Enhancer and Safari Stand). Between the three, Safari is a far more flexible and user friendly app. The auto restore of tabs after a crash alone is worth the price. But saft does a lot of useful things. Just check out the list... The one time I had a question for the developer, I got a quick, useful response. I wish the documentation was a bit clearer in spots. And since I've been using it Safari might crash a bit more frequently, but it would be a slight difference (still rare), more than offset by the gains in options, shortcuts, etc. |
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AcidSearch is a much more quick, customizable, direct way to all the same sites (plus many, many more). This is nicely laid out, but having to work outside the browser slowed things down for me a lot. |
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This is lovely, but the more recent, very similar TerraVista (also free) renders a finer, more detailed image, and can be made considerably larger than the image in EarthGlobe. It also has more night highlight options. |
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Too bad. Some promising ideas here, but seems to have been abandoned in beta land (last update, April 2003). Some features don't work at all, others are clunky. I recommend Check Off as a free, easy to use alternate. No alarms, but highly stable, does everything else at least as well, and in a simpler way. Also, this app has the most annoying nagware I've ever encountered. After 9 minutes (!?!) a nagware window opens that cannot be shut without quitting the program. 9 minutes? To evaluate a program that's all about how it interfaces with one's day? Yeeesh! |
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Simple, effective, stable. Finds the time to run the maintanence scripts and repair permissions when the computer is on. If it isn't on at the 'normal' scheduled time, it simply waits until the next time the computer is up and running runs them then. So there's no need to have my mac on to meet any pre-set schedule, even my own. I set it once, and have never had to worry about it again. Also, the delocalizer function is easy to use and very effective at saving tons of disk space. It's not free, but it's not expensive either. It could do more, but what it does, it does simply and well. I've tried a lot of the utility and system maintanence programs, and find that this, Onyx and Preferential Treatment are the ones that have stayed part of my day to day use. |
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While nowhere near 'Argonaut - 2149' in game play, graphics, etc, it's old style simplicity (super simple graphics, low end, sometiems human generated sound effects) did make me smile. And the two player mode is a great idea. But in the end, if I'm going to fire up an Asteroid game, it probably will be something a bit slicker. But that's my taste, not a fault of the program. |
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Seems to be broken in Tiger. The spotlights are now flattened out, and don't reveal much of anything. I've heard the same from others. Too bad, it's an interesting idea... |
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Maybe it was just me, or a conflict in my system, but on two tries I got nothing but the dreaded spinning beachball. Had to force quit each time. On the other hand, the somewhat similar, also free 'FinderPop' has worked without a hitch. |
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Couldn't be easier, faster. more reliable. Perfect bootable back-ups every time, with no fuss, and lots of warnings to prevent accidental mistakes. No the cheapest cloner. But for my money the best. |
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I've been using DragThing for about 6 months. It's given me hidden, useful docks all over, all of my favorite apps and documents (and docks themselves) now have hot keys, and I have little need of the apple dock. No other app has increased my day to day efficiency this well. You could probably put together many of DragThing's functions with other apps, maybe even some freeware, but the grace, style and stability of DragThing seems worth the cost to me. It did take me a bit of playing around to figure the various options out, but then I'm an old guy, and far from a computer genius. |
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