VelaTerra1.4.3

A great software package, although it did lock up more than once - when I tried to delete place sets - under OSX 4.5 on a 1.86 GHz Dual PowerPC (in all fairness, it could be my OS; I've messed it up and need to reinstall). What this package needs to REALLY shine, is a advanced time feature, for future projections of moon/sun/daylight/twilight/night data. As it stands - in version 1.1 - the time is fixed to concurrent times across the globe. Adding a prediction clock would alllow, for example, a photographer/videographer (yours truly) to plan shots in advance. On a more pedestrian level, fireworks shows, barbeques and other outdoor activities, including moon gazing and meteor shower watching, could be preplanned, without the need for mastery of a product like Starry Night (nor the expense). Adding this feature certainly would mean a beefing up of lookup tables, but i'd imagine that this is not beyond the scope of the eprogrammer, nor would it be to difficult to implement this feature in the existing package. ADD THIS and I can think of a dozen people TODAY that would pay the $20.00 price to use this in planning. Additionally, a little tweaking of the interface might be in order. It's OK, but not as slick as it might be. 3D icons, some 3D treatments of panel edges, and smaller flags, for example, might be in order. Even adding a 3D look to the moon (and adding sun) symbols might be a nice touch. (The $6.95 widget "VelaClock"- based on this app - is slicker looking.) Viva la celestial! Bravo (et CIAO)! Dorian

Finally decided to contact the developer. The response was surprisingly fast. Problem lay in a corrupted Prefs file, located in the User/ApplicationSupport folder. Hadn't looked there; only in the main Preferences Folder. Problem solved...easy. I cannot praise the usefulness of this application enough. Yet anothre reason to own a Mac...I mean...Apple. : )

Well, I don't know if it's just this Mac, but Vela Terra seems broken. It won't boo_crashes upon opening. This is an Intel iMac, 2.0GHz, 20" System Version: Mac OS X 10.4.9 (8P2137) Kernel Version: Darwin 8.9.1 This is a new problem, and I only noticed it after the last Mac OSX updates (first of June, 2007). Tried the usual (throwing out com.veladg.VelaTerra.plist) but no go. So, what gives? I hope I am not the only person in the Apple universe using this wonderful utility? If you haven't tried this yet, it is a great idea for photograpehrs who wish to time their shots with lunar and solar conditions, anywhere in the world. Dorian

Well, that was fast! The developer quickly corrected the small crash issue and even responded directly to me. This is the nice thing about a program with a concerned developer (staff). Now...if only this could be made more tailored to videographers\photographers, nothing is mnore crucial to ourdoor shots (with the exception of the weather) than the availablilty and nature of the ambient light. knowing the whens and where of sun and moon can be very very important. If this application could be made portable (and this goes double if it can be linked to an iPod or other handheld device) this would quickly become many shooter's most beloived application. Keep up the good work, and I'll be watching closely to see if this product takes such a professional direction. I can see a PRO version in your future! : ) D

A great software package, although it did lock up more than once - when I tried to delete place sets - under OSX 4.5 on a 1.86 GHz Dual PowerPC (in all fairness, it could be my OS; I've messed it up and need to reinstall). What this package needs to REALLY shine, is a advanced time feature, for future projections of moon/sun/daylight/twilight/night data. As it stands - in version 1.1 - the time is fixed to concurrent times across the globe. Adding a prediction clock would alllow, for example, a photographer/videographer (yours truly) to plan shots in advance. On a more pedestrian level, fireworks shows, barbeques and other outdoor activities, including moon gazing and meteor shower watching, could be preplanned, without the need for mastery of a product like Starry Night (nor the expense). Adding this feature certainly would mean a beefing up of lookup tables, but i'd imagine that this is not beyond the scope of the eprogrammer, nor would it be to difficult to implement this feature in the existing package. ADD THIS and I can think of a dozen people TODAY that would pay the $20.00 price to use this in planning. Additionally, a little tweaking of the interface might be in order. It's OK, but not as slick as it might be. 3D icons, some 3D treatments of panel edges, and smaller flags, for example, might be in order. Even adding a 3D look to the moon (and adding sun) symbols might be a nice touch. (The $6.95 widget "VelaClock"- based on this app - is slicker looking.) Viva la celestial! Bravo (et CIAO)! Dorian