SJSW  I "get it" that erstwhile users of TypeStyler have an affection for it but the facts are that TypeStyler is $179.95-$199.95 and looks & feels like something from the "way back" machine. The functions that TypeStyler has that Art Text 2 doesn't are not worth an extra $140.00- $160.00 in my opinion and I say that as someone who makes a living as a Designer. The only thing that I agree with in your "review" is that anyone considering a program like this demo both of them and make up their own mind if TypeStyler is worth that much hard earned cash.  
(Version 2.2.1)

SJSW  After demoing this "new" version I can say with complete confidence that this does not look, act, or feel like a modern Mac Program. It feels and functions like a "leftover" from OS 9 which, after a little research, it appears that it is. I find it hard to believe that the developer could justify the price tag he's put on this semi-restored relic when Art Text 2 is 1/5 the price, has much of the functionality and is elegantly designed for OS X. Maybe it's just me, but I prefer that my software is updated more than once every ten years...then again, maybe P.T. Barnum was right.  
(Version 10.6.35)

SJSW  There is nothing personal about my comments and pointing out that you are mistaken is not an attack. You made a misleading (and flat out wrong) assertion that I have refuted with facts. If you're using a current version of Gmail Notifr then you know that it most certainly DOES tell you the sender and subject from the pull down menubar item yet you refuse to acknowledge that you are wrong. I wouldn't care save the fact that someone reading your review unchallenged might not try Gmail Notifr based on your erroneous evaluation of a major feature. At any rate, I'll leave it to others to draw their own conclusions about the value of your opinion in this forum.  
(Version 1.0.5)

SJSW  I think that what must be going on here is that you are somehow confusing Gmail Notifr by James Chan with another program. Gmail Notifr has supported showing the sender and subject (from the menubar item pull down) since version 0.2.2 (Nov 3, 2008). That was 16 updates and almost 1 year ago. I find it revealing that someone commenting on a "Mac Update" site would not be "up-to-date" on software they purportedly use. Perhaps when you do your next review you should focus on the positives (or negatives) of the program you're reviewing instead of making comments about another program that, in this case, reveals your ignorance. When you make assertions that have no basis in fact, your have no credibility in this forum.  
(Version 1.0.5)

SJSW  Gmail Notifr absolutely does tell you the sender of the email as well as the subject so your assertion that it does not is incorrect. In my opinion to call a program that was the only viable free alternative to Google's official notifier for over a year "worthless" and then give misleading information about it is irresponsible. If I sound "harsh" let's just say that I appreciate developers like James Chan who give their time and talent to the Mac community (with free programs) and that includes this developer as well, I think this could be a fine program as it matures and I really like the U.I.. Right now though it can't check Google Apps accounts (of which I have many) and I need to be able to check more than 4 accounts. That means, for now, that it won't work for me but it doesn't mean that I think it's "worthless". For many users this may be all that they need and I do appreciate the developers efforts and wish him well.  
(Version 1.0.5)

SJSW  I agree with others that this app has some real promise. The interface is very nice and shows some real thought but it does comes up short on what I consider some pretty basic features such as being able to check Google Apps accounts, growl notifications, and limiting one to only 4 accounts (I have six counting my Google Apps accounts). Also (and of lesser importance) the menu bar icon could be certainly be improved to something that's a little less of an eyesore. A trip to Deviant Art to ask one of the many fine artists there for permission to use some basic mail icons could be one solution for the developer

Overall I'll hold off on any kind of rating, I realize this is a new app and I really appreciate it being free at that. Hopefully we'll see some of the features mentioned above be implemented as that would make it a genuine competitor against some of the other apps in this category. Right now, Gmail Notifr is still the king, but I'll be pulling for this one, as I said I really like the interface design.  
(Version 1.0.1)

SJSW  This program is "just" ok for it's category and the reason I say that is partly because of some quirks in it's functionality and also because it doesn't support png transparency.

One of it's major quirks is that Funtastic Photos upon starting the program opens a finder-like (I say that because you're not in the finder) browser window that forces you to use it to navigate to a file you wish to edit (no drag and drop). If you dismiss that window (say to open a file from the file menu) the program quits. This is extremely Un-Mac like and reminds me more of a windows program that quits when you close the last window. This is annoying to me as I like to quit a program when I want it to quit, not when I simply close a window. At any rate, the whole process of opening a file without drag and drop or standard Mac dialogues is frustrating and frankly not very well thought out in my opinion.

Also Funtastic Photos does not support png transparency which is also very odd for a graphics editing program these days. I realize that the program is supposed to be primarily for photos (jpegs mostly) but it does have a save as png option that literally strips the transparency from a png if the original file you opened was a transparent png. This, in my opinion, is unacceptable and makes Funtastic Photos useless for editing graphics for web use where transparency is vital for use on colored backgrounds.

All in all I would say that the program has some potential if some of the quirks get fixed but for right now I would say that I cannot in good conscious recommend Funtastic Photos (and yes, I do own a license, so I have spent some time with it). I would recommend Demoing Pixelmator or Acorn for Photo editing as both of these programs are not only more powerful but also adhere closely to both Mac and graphics standards.  
(Version 1.0.6)

SJSW  This has turned into my "first call" program for logo design and web graphics. It's beautifully thought out with an outstanding feature set not to mention a true Mac look and feel. It's really hard to find any fault with the program but I guess if I had to ask for something it would be a customizable grid with snap-to functionality. The alignment tools already available are great but being able to place elements a little more precisely would be nice. This is an outstanding program well worth the price. Highly recommended.  
(Version 2.2)

SJSW  This is one of those amazing little apps where you sit back and tell yourself "man, this is just what I've been looking for". I find myself dragging and dropping stuff in shovebox all day long and then I organize it at the end of the day. Give it a spin, you'll be buying a license. Props to the developer.  
(Version 1.7.3)

SJSW  -No drag and drop.

-No support for current mac .icns specs (which include 512x512).

-Non-standard Mac look and feel.

-No menu-bar functionality.

-$40.00?...You gotta be kiddin' me!  
(Version 1.0)

SJSW  Actually, my earlier comments were in reference to Gmail Notifr by James Chan NOT the official Google Notifier (which I would never put on my machine because of the background daemon it installs). Gmail Notifr certainly DOES support multiple accounts including Google Apps accounts (it checks six different accounts for me). Gmail Notifr is more flexible in setting check-mail intervals than Gmail Studio in that I can enter any 1 minute interval that I wish whereas Gmail Studio (in the version I demoed) had a more rigid 1-5-10-etc. pre-set pull-down menu. Gmail Notifr has Growl support (like Gmail Studio) and as I mentioned before, doesn't feel the need to tell me that I have 0 emails. I will concede that Gmail Notifr does not sleep accounts so if that is a feature that is important to someone I'm sure they will pay the 10 bucks for Gmail Studio instead of using the free Gmail Norifr. However IMHO the feature set in Gmail Studio is not so advantageous as to make me want to pay for it when compared to the feature set of Gmail Notifr. In my mind, the feature sets are at best a wash. My advice to anyone would be to give both apps a spin to see for themselves how each performs keeping in mind, of course, that the demo for Gmail Studio is crippled unless you pay for it. I, for instance, wasn't able to test if it works with Google Apps accounts although it says that it does. I prefer to be able to test all of the features of an app before I pay for it which is why I prefer time limited demos to crippled ones. As I said before I have nothing against Gmail Studio, it's just that I feel that it's not well positioned against a free alternative.  
(Version 1.0.0.1)

SJSW  Have been playing with the demo for CO8 which I wanted to try with the new "official" support for IE7. I was hoping that I would be able to use it to test websites builds in IE7 and it does work when the site is up and running at a URL that IE7 can navigate to on the web. However I can't get it to open a local HTML file so that I can test a site that is not live. When I navigate to a site folder using IE7's "open" command all that it shows are folders and no files. Specifically it will not show the HTML file to open the site in the browser. I realize that IE7 is only at the "bronze" support level but being able to open a local file is critical (in this case) for my needs. Anyone out there had a different experience? I'd love to know as I would really like this to work so I can retire the old "Devils Tower" on the other side of the room. BTW I'm not trying to rip on Code Weavers, I understand that support for IE7 is new and that support for programs gets better over time. It's just that I need this particular feature for the CrossOver to be useful to me.  
(Version 8.0)

SJSW  Matthew, welcome to the Mac. I read on your site that you recently came over from the dark (PC) side to concentrate on development of Mac Applications. Congrats on that decision. I just wish that you had started with something for which there isn't an excellent Free alternative like gmail notifr. I will say that I really like your icons better but as far a functionality goes gmail notifr has the same feature set almost blow for blow (multiple accounts, growl notifications, etc.) and gmail notifr actually lets you pick the interval at which mail is checked to be anything that you want instead of a preset drop-down list. I also like the fact that gmail notifr doesn't feel the need to tell me that I have 0 emails, it doesn't actually show me a number until I have some email to check. In fact, I cannot think of a feature that could be implemented in a gmail notification app that would make me want to pay for it over the free gmail notifr but that's just my opinion. Also I like it when I can actually demo all of the features of an application without it being crippled. I much prefer that the demo be time limited (even if it's a very short time) so that I can test all of the features. For instance I couldn't check to see if my google apps accounts would actually work in Gmail Studio. At any rate, the app seems to perform well and it does look good, my only problem with it is that I already have the same thing for free.  
(Version 1.0.0.1)

SJSW  Often it's not about "how much" an app can do, but rather how well it does what it does, how fast it does what it does, and how easy it does what it does. In all three cases Picturesque is primo and IMHO has no equal (and I own many apps of this kind). As a Web Designer/Developer this is an indispensable tool. Highly recommended.  
(Version 2.1.5)

SJSW  This program, to me, doesn't have the look, feel, usability or functionality of a well thought-out Mac program. On the developers website it states that "Image Commander full support for Microsoft Windows XP, Vista and Apple Mac OS X . Image Commander have look, feel, and function identically on both operating systems, each running the same underlying engine". Aside from the fact that it sounds like it was written by Tarzan (me Tarzan, you Jane), I don't think the developer understands that Mac Users have higher standards for software than a typical PC user. We expect to be able to drag and drop as well as have standard menu-bar functionality. This program has neither and as someone else has mentioned there is freeware out there that is much better than this. My advice to the developer is that if you want to sell software to Mac Users, go back to the drawing board and write a Mac Program with Mac-like usability and functionality. Porting a PC program just doesn't cut it.  
(Version 1.20)

SJSW  Update: Credit where credit is due. John, the developer replied to my second email and apologized for the delay in getting back to me. He was very helpful in solving the problems I was having with ImageLobe, it turns out that another quartz-based image editing program is the culprit having loaded "other" quartz effects into my system (without my knowledge) that are not, at this time, compatible with ImageLobe. The problem is that we have not figured out which program did this, as I have many image editing programs on my Mac. It could even be a program that I may have just demoed and removed from my system. Removing the offending .qtz files fixed the crashing and "green line" problems I was having with ImageLobe. ImageLobe is a solid entry in the "simple" image effects category and I highly recommend it for anyone looking to add effects to photos quickly and simply.  
(Version 1.96)

SJSW  I recently purchased and registered ImageLobe but am now having the same problems with crashes and green lines as others here have noted with this latest version. I have emailed (including screenshots of the problems) the developer but have yet to hear anything back from him/her, not even an email confirming that they are aware of the problems.

Today, I re-sent my original email (sent days ago) in the hopes that I'll hear something back and so I'm not going to post a rating at this point. I did like the program, up until this version, but ignoring emails from paid/registered users about bugs which render the program useless is very bad business IMO.

I will update here based on my experience, but for right now I would advise others not to purchase this software right now as this version has major problems and, at this point in my experience, an unresponsive developer.  
(Version 1.96)

SJSW  RapidWeaver actually does have a blank page solution that is so powerful that in the past year I have switched over from using the Dreamweaver/Coda/CSSEdit combo that I used previously in my web design and development business. I use "Jonas Themes" Blocksbox RW theme which in combination with the Blocks plug-in from Your Head is IMHO the best blank-canvas WYSIWYG tool of any kind at any price. Of course both the theme and the plug-in are third party "extras" but well worth the price to make RW a true blank-canvas approach creation program. I will admit that there is a learning curve to getting RW, the theme, and the plug-in working in harmony (and like every program it has it's quirks) but once you do creating beautiful, not to mention compliant, sites is a real joy. If you possess good design and graphics skills, the possibilities are endless. I would encourage anyone looking for a blank-canvas approach to give the Blockbox theme a spin and see if it's for you. I can honestly say that it's made my life much easier (than Dreamweaver which I never really liked even after getting good at it) and my clients absolutely love the results.  
(Version 4.2.2)

SJSW  I've been waiting for something like this...but not for $50 a month. Guess I'll just keep firing up the old devil's tower on the other side of the room! For just a couple of months of the $50 price of this "service", you could go out and buy a used Windows machine and load the browsers you wish to test on it.  
(Version 1.0)

SJSW  This App may have some promise but it's not quite ready for prime time (or should I say pay time). It looks and feels like a port from Windows (or perhaps it's a java app) and doesn't have any menubar controls except quit which is in Italian. I can't really tell what kind of buttons it can produce because the demo is crippled and won't let you save anything so that you can actually see what it can do. Can I save in multiple formats? I just can't tell. Thought I'd go to the developers website to see if I could get more info but it's completely in Italian so no help there. I'm going to hold off judgement on this because, as I said, I believe there might be some promise but I really feel that for me to pay for this the developer would have to:

1. Make the App more "mac like" using the menubar for at least standard mac app items.

2. Make the demo time or number restrictive instead of not being able to save a created button. I would never buy it if I couldn't test a button from it.

3. Provide a website in English if you're going to try and sell the app here in the states. While I love Italy, (my favorite wine is Moscato di Asti) my Italian is very poor (ok, non-existent) and I really would like to see more information.

I Hope the developer can get some help with an English localization and turn this into something usable.  
(Version 3.0)

SJSW  Why would you give this a 1 star rating? Do you realize that the rating is not a "version" rating but rather an overall rating that aggregates into the total rating of the App? You say in your "review" that you would give previous versions 6 stars which means that you must have been happy with it. Why wouldn't you give the developer the benefit of the doubt and instead write a comment or a trouble comment here? You say that the developer hasn't written you back in a couple of days (your "review" is dated SUNDAY), did you stop to think that maybe he's out of town for the weekend? I understand that you're frustrated that an App that you like and use is not working for YOU at the moment (it works fine for ME), but to come here and give it a 1 star rating is wholly unjustified IMHO. Did you really stop to think about it before you pulled the trigger on a rating that could effect whether other people try the App or not? The rating can never be "undone" (even if you give it a 5 now your average rating would be a 3) and some people just look at the overall ratings of an App without reading any comments as to "why" it was given a low rating.

For all of you out there who do happen to read this I want you to know that this is an OUTSTANDING application, perhaps one of the most useful FREE applications that I have ever used. It is MUCH better than the "official" gmail notifier which installs what many believe to be spyware on your computer that runs in the background and cannot be turned off. I have never had a single problem with this program and it is updated and improved (bug fixes and new features) almost on a weekly basis. The developer is extremely responsive to problems and suggestions and has been from the first day that the App was introduced.   
(Version 0.4)

SJSW  Thanks very much for this tool...it's excellent for creating custom webpage backgrounds. Simple, Intuitive and Useful.

Don't understand why someone would recommend a batch "resizer" as an alternative, ImEdge Blender and a photo resizer are in no way, shape or form the same kind of program.  
(Version 0.1.6)

SJSW  I've purchased several themes from this developer in the past and I have to say that he's done some truly innovative work with regards to RW theme design. I can appreciate the time and creativity that goes into making themes that are both usable as well as being easy on the eyes. That being said however, I do think that $18.00 US is a little steep for a single theme especially in these difficult economic times. If I had his talent for creating these RW themes I think that I would rather make a lot of smaller sales rather than just a few large ones but then that's just me. Perhaps the economy in Switzerland isn't in the same shape that it is here in the U.S..  
(Version 1.0)

SJSW  I've been using this for several months at this point and have found it to be a very useful utility, it does exactly what it says and does it very well. Highly recommended for faster page loads and saving bandwith.  
(Version 1.2)

SJSW  Thanks for this...works great...love the pref feature to have mail checked at an interval of my choice. Would love to see something similar for yahoo mail(ymail). Thanks again and good work.  
(Version 0.1.2)

SJSW  I liked this utility in demo mode but the trouble started after buying a license (it's $19.95 by the way, not $15.95). After receiving the serial I went to the pref pane to register the program and...no dice. The pane just dims and none of the "options" on the pane are available, it just seems to lock up and I can't input the serial anywhere. That's not the worst thing though, because as someone who purchases a lot of shareware I can understand developers having problems keeping up with system updates, etc.(I'm running 10.5.4) and I generally cut them a lot of slack because most are good guys busting their butt to make their customers happy. What I do find inexcusable is not answering emails about a problem and after 2 emails to this developer I still haven't heard anything back. This after having to scour his site just to find an email address to write to in the first place. I wanted to write this as a warning to others because I broke my own rules about buying shareware when I purchased this so in that respect it's "my bad". The rules are if it's not a least 4 stars on MacUpdate don't buy it (with common sense used in the number of reviews) and if it hasn't been updated in less than six months...ditto. I broke both rules with this guy and I won't be breaking them again anytime soon.  
(Version 2.4)

SJSW  After trying the demo I can say that this software is excellent at what it does and it does do exactly what the developer claims. The GUI is slick and the program is extremely fast on my Mac Pro. Congrats to the Developer for a fine piece of work. That being said however, I do believe that the program is overpriced for a one trick pony. Perhaps someone indicated to him that a higher price would add value and thus make the program more desirable but in this case I believe that he's overshot the market by at least 100%. While I would definitely purchase Photon for $25 or $30 dollars, $69 just seems high to me and I say that with all due respect because I think the program is very good. In my mind he would be better served to get $30 from "the many" rather than $69 from "the few".  
(Version 1.1)

SJSW  Ditto...shows it's searched, says it's found something...but...I can't see them...oh well, I like the idea.  
(Version 1.0)

SJSW  This made the trash in less than 30 minutes. There are dozens of FREE photoshop "actions" that put this way overpriced "plug-in" (it's actually a separate program) to shame. Try actioncentral or the exchange on adobe's site.  
(Version 5.5)