CoverSutra for Mac3.3.1

Does NOT work in Lion either.(I had the .dmg file for the Macheist edition saved in my Documents)

This app does NOT working Mavericks.I'll try it in Lion.

Works GREAT in SnowLeopard 10.6.8 in both my iMacs. I really like this app. I got in from MacHeist and I love it! It Never crashes!

What happened with CoverSutra? Taken off the AppStore suddenly and not listed anymore on the developer's website.

Version 3.3.1 is no longer working with iTunes 11.0.3. Well, the progress bar doesn't work and I'm getting some iTunes crashes and if there's one app that never crashes on me, it's iTunes. I contacted the developer and Sophia replied a few hours later saying she's now working on a fix for third-party code that seems to be causing the problem(s).

FYI, 2.2.2 can still be downloaded here: http://sophiestication.s3.amazonaws.com/coversutra/CoverSutra_2.2.2.dmg

The program just works, looks pretty and is supported. I don't work for free and I don't expect the author does either. CoverSutra lets me define control keys, cover art, and lots more. I'm a happy customer.

This is the second time I've purchased CoverSutra. I bought it when it first came out, however many years ago. When I figured out I'd have to pay for the upgrade for Lion, I balked at first, like many of you. I tried all the other alternatives and Bowtie was the closest--I loved the thumbing capability. But Bowtie notoriously doesn't show the artwork properly, at least on my machine, 50% of the time. And when you rate a track, the stars don't reflect that immediately. CoverSutra just works. So, give me all the frownie faces you want. This woman is a fantastic graphic designer and CoverSutra is a joy to use.

I have version 2 and tried version 3 out but I think version 2 is much better mostly because when I'm not using iTunes the album cover on my desktop goes away, in version 3 it is always on my desktop plus now the album cover is way to big and there is no way to shrink the size of it. So I paid for something that does the same thing as version 2 but is uglier than version 2.

I've been happy with this product, and with its evolution. The number of whining comments here is sad. Most seem derived from the Internet expectation of free and cheap, rather than quality and fairness. Being a developer is to be in business. Rent has to be paid. Pricing changes. This is true in the real world, and it is true in the virtual world. Yet far too many expect anything acquired on the Internet to be either free or very cheap. In any world, real or virtual, you get what you pay for. If you find a product that doesn't meet your expectations, be constructive in your comments. Far too many here seem rooted in bitterness or selfishness (or from competitors).

For those sticking with version 2 who need to download a fresh copy, the file is available here: http://files.sophiestication.com/coversutra/CoverSutra_2.2.2.dmg

For those sticking with version 2 who need to download a fresh copy, the file is available here: http://files.sophiestication.com/coversutra/CoverSutra_2.2.2.dmg

Most of the people who's comments I've read should be really embarrassed for themselves. I think the developer explained her position thoroughly and fairly -- which is precisely what people always claim they want -- and then her reward for being so up-front is to be libelled (yes, libelled as in "legally actionable," some of you might want to look up the tests and then look in a mirror) on forums. If you don't want to upgrade, don't. Wow, you saved your self FIVE WHOLE BUCKS. Boy you showed HER. Why, you could buy half a Starbucks coffee with your savvy savings! As it happens, I won't be upgrading. Not because of anything Sophie did -- I just don't use the program much, and thus don't care to upgrade (though this "upgrade" is so cheap I consider it a trivial expense). I might come back to it someday, but I just don't spend much time in my iTunes music library as I used to (I've been more focused on video lately). The rest of you -- grow up, or at least interface with the real world of income and expenses a little more often.

Beautiful app! I paid full price for it a long time ago and it has been worth every cent to me. I also paid for the Mac App Store update because I wanted to encourage an independent developer to continue making quality products. At the new, low, price I am encouraging all of my friends to use it as a slicker interface to iTunes. People are saying that there were too few additions to the new versions to make them worth a paid upgrade... Others were financially crippled by the $4.99 upgrade fee that they HAD to pay for the upgrade... If the update is worth it to you, pay the upgrade fee. If it's not worth it to you, don't pay and don't upgrade and you can pretend that none of this ever happened. Either way, $4.99 for a great app is too petty an amount to cry about "broken promises" and switching to an "acceptable compromise".

you're a fool if you pay 19.99 for this garbage... especially given this particular developer's track record. she had trouble working with the folks at taptaptap, and now she's quickly taking her own company down the drain with her broken promises and hostile attitude toward *paying customers*. but if you simply *must* deal with this hostile developer, don't be dumb and buy it here for 19.99... go to the mac app store and purchase it for 4.99. beware - if you buy it here, you are going to get charged again in the future to upgrade, no matter what she 'promises'. if you're looking for a solid, *free* alternative from a developer who is not openly hostile to their customers (as sophia definitely is), check out bowtie. note: i am not associated with bowtie, but have found it to be an acceptable replacement, especially given the 0.00 price... that shows me this developer is more concerned about software than money!

very bad developer. broke promises with paying users after going mac store only. very hostile to her customers too. and now I see she updated version number to 3...in secret and no blog announcent...how bad. not getting any more my money

The Developer is unacceptable Don't buy this, download instead bowtie or tunesart, they are both better and free

Launch bar and others can do the same basic stuff. Switched when the developer reneged on the free updates for all version 2.x. Then switched v2.5 to be 3.0 to get out of her deal to make all 2.x updates free. The kicker...she herself said this would be wrong to do, then did it when the only other option was to actually make good and provide an update to 2.5 outside the mac app store. She clearly chose to stick it to customers, go back on her word, and in her own words "lie" and call this v3.

The version number was updated from 2.5 to 3.0, but where are the new features? Where's Growl? This seems more like v2 than v3...

The developers' attitude towards their customers is unacceptable.

The developers have foolishly removed the download for existing customers. If you have a license and need to reinstall the software, a download is available here: http://www.sophiestication.com/coversutra/get/

I'm extremely disappointed with the developer of CoverSutra. She lied to her customers about "free updates until 3.0 version". When customers complained about it she was VERY HOSTILE towards her clients. This is unbelievable.

I no longer have "free upgrades until version 3"? I no longer have CoverSutra.

It would have been fairly simple to issue the 2.5 update to all existing owners, but this just goes to show the contempt Sophia holds for her users and supporters. Don't forget Sophia, we helped you get where you are today, no paying users = no bills paid and no career.

"Thanks for registering! CoverSutra has been registered and you have free upgrades until version 3". I won't support a developer who reneges on their agreement. Ask Yazsoft how that worked out for them. You won't be getting any more of my money.

Breaking promises («Thanks for registering! CoverSutra has been registered and you have free upgrades until version 3.») is for me a dealbreaker. Paying for a minor update (v2.5 at the AppStore), even it’s not much, is a no-go after the first promise. Other developers do the same (Pixelmator boys) but the wise ones (eg. MarsEdit, Acorn, DaisyDisk) support old and new customers: keeping at least the actual version updated outside the AppStore. Sophiestication, it was a nice time w/ CoverSutra, but now it’s over and I move on to other solutions out there.

You may want to change the platform to Intel only. According to what the developer has communicated, they will no longer provide updates to version 3 as stated in the program itself. Previous users will need to repurchase the program for future ver2 updates.

In the new App Store this lists for $4.99. Why does it say $19.99 here? That's a big discrepancy! I used this before I moved to TunesArt. I don't remember this app EVER selling for $19.99. MacUpdate should correct this quickly as this does them disservice by showing a greatly inflated price.

CoverSutra is an essential for anyone who does work, homework, or browsing while listening to music. This small application shows your currently playing song in the dock and looks much more appealing than iTunes. It's basically a very feature-full control for people who don't like the look of iTunes.

On the newly launched App Store you can buy a new 2.5 version... So, we with a 2.2.2 license stays out in the cold? :-/

Sorry, folks. The post below was in reply to Shock J.

Weird. I just tried it again; it's still working fine for me. What keyboard shortcuts are you using in Coversutra? I'm using cmd+5 (or cmd+4, etc). I've left the fields for "increase My Rating" and "decrease My Rating" blank though. Another thing, I'm using iTunes 9.0.2 instead of the current 9.0.3 version. Maybe that has something to do with it?

Sophie is an awesome and talented developer and Coversutra is one of my very favorite apps, but I just wish she would cede to popular demand and offer users the option to display album art without that annoyingly reflective cd cover. A simple small square which displays the album art without any embellishments would be most welcome.

Setting a track rating via keyboard shortcut is no longer working for me. Anyone else seeing this?

Sorry, but TunesArt is way better.

Fantastic app. The single problem I have is that Growl notifications only appear if you manually click on a track in iTunes or when iTunes automatically changes. If you use the Apple keyboard media keys to skip a song, Growl notifications do not appear on a track change. When this is fixed, it would be a solid piece of software. The memory leaks look to have been cleared up and it's 64 bit. Great interface and invisible until needed, as any good app should be.

On Snow Leopard, with the 2.2, it often crashed... Now with the 2.2.1ß, it does not even launch... (10.6.1, Macbook Pro Late 2009)

hello, the pockets do not change correctly in the preferences

I just can't find the perfect iTunes companion. Please ad lyrics fetching (like in Gimme some Tune) and iPod Scrobbling like in the original Last.fm player. Considering these are Freeware ......

I have a lot of playlists in iTunes. Please tell me that this version fixes the limitation of only showing about a third of my playlists. I really want to like CoverSutra, but I can't use it until this problem is fixed.

Sophie has posted a beta version for Snow Leopard on her blog. Here's the link: http://www.coversutra.com/get/2.2/ Or, navigate there yourself by hitting the MacUpdate link posted above, next to the word "Developer".

Please tell me an update is coming ASAP. Just installed Snow Leopard and Cover Sutra has issues. The menu item does not show up at all so if that's how you use it, it's a no go. Desktop cover artwork and key commands still seem to work, but I can't access anything else cause I turned off the dock access. I'd rather not dump all my prefs. Update PLEASE, love this app!

hello, More update, why: (?

iTunes controllers are like Twitter clients, there is a new one popping up each and every month. But still, no one beats the style, elegance and ease of use of CoverSutra.

I've tried them all and CoverSutra is the best iTunes controller there is. I love it!

I like that it integrates Lastfm, I'll try it

Perfect... and today for free! :-) Thank you!!!

A great App, but it sometimes disappears (crashes) or is very laggy when the system is under stress. It also could lag the way that it blocks the computer for some time.

I really like CoverSutra, especially for its menu bar searching. But it is still lacking features. Like launching iTunes with it. I use(d) it manily because of its Last.fm-Support. But it only can scrobble titles. not "loving", no playlists and most notably no radio support! Also its kinda pricey for "just" being a remote to 1-1.5 free programms.

CoverSutra is a simple app and it works well. However, I recently switched to CoverStream because of 1 preference: choice to Launch and Quit only when iTunes launches and quits. CoverSutra doesn't have this. You have to set it as a login item for it to work every time you open iTunes. But why leave an app you aren't using open? :(

iTunes 7.7 broke it for me. the pulldown menu cannot start songs anymore.

I can not get menubar searching to work for the life of me, cleared caches, toggled the library update preference, everything. It worked fine in previous releases.

Why, when I pause or resume play does CoverSutra put up a bezel which says, "No Playlist Selected"? There most definitely IS a playlist selected, and the music starts or stops as expected.

@Leo Spill: To get the Heart icon back, type the following in Terminal and relaunch CoverSutra: defaults write com.sophiestication.CoverSutra gender 'female' For a shiny heart, check my mod out: http://macthemes2.net/forum/viewtopic.php?id=16786118 For those lamenting the loss of Growl prefs and/or gawking at CoverSutra's RAM usage, check out the Advanced Preferences by holding Option down while displaying CoverSutra's menu from the search bar or menu icon, as shown below: http://flickr.com/photos/factoryjoe/2483175479/ Disabling "Automatically reload library" may ease your CPU / RAM woes, I'm not quite sure myself as of yet.

Not sure how others feel but I would really like the option to get the old notification back + larger album... and where can I download 2.0.1? Can't find it anywhere and I want to downgrade at least for now..

Like the app, But please Ms.Developer, why fiddle with the good stuff ? Can we have the heart in the menu bar returned ( as an option in the preferences maybe ) ...and also can the album artwork ( That seems to have shrunk) be put back to it's original proportion. ( ...or again can there be an option to increase it in the preferences) It's far too small now. Thanks for listening Ms.Developer.

CoverSutra won't search anymore with the new version (2.1.1 and 2.1.2) ... sometimes it takes 30-60 seconds until the results pop up and the same time again to load the covers. Also it won't show up Growl notifications anymore (only sometimes) - I tried to delete all preferences and caches - but no luck. After installing 2.0.1 again, everything works fine again.

Version 2.1.2 was using over 500Mb (on a 2Gb machine!) less than 10 minutes after launch. That's not good at all - it makes it unusable! (I am running stuff as well as iTunes and CoverSutra :) The option to use Growl notifications seems to have vanished, too - please can we have this back? I don't want loads of apps that all use their own notifiers: I want everything to work with Growl…

I personally can't stand the way song-changes are shown in the new version. (right below the menu bar) So far I've found no way to restore the old behavior with the beautiful and unobtrusive bezel-notification in the middle of the screen so I've downgraded to 2.0.1 and don't plan to upgrade.

just updated to V2.1(210) wonderful service, great progamm! ... but ... I want the heart back in my mac menu!! :-(

CoverSutra is without any doubt the greatest of all iTunes controllers. Just two minor complaints: 1. The 'players controls' window disappears as soon as you switch to another window while I would like to see the 'players controls' window all the time. I hope CoverSutra's developress will be able to add this feature in a future version. 2. CoverSutra is a little bit pricy with more than 23 USD as of today. Unfortunately, CoverSutra's success destroys all hope for a cut in price.

Since moving to the newest beta, scrobbling has been hit-or-miss. Is this CoverSutra or is there a problem with Last.FM? I have Growl configured to tell me when scrobbling succeeds or fails, and it's giving me no notification when it fails.

Is there any way to set the position of the popup that appears when you change tracks?

This app is just ... amazing! I love it!

2.0 is very nice, but I'm stuck with Tiger at the moment. Where can we download 1.2?

Even though I use Play MiTunes (duh I made it :P ) this has got to be one of the most beautiful pieces of software around. Fantastic job sophie

This is by far the best iTunes-controller there is. The interface is the most beautiful one, it has perfect GROWL-support and the new search-function makes iTunes itself noting more then a music-server. I control my music with keyboard-shortcuts only, Coversutra gives more then enough options on that front.

THIS REVIEW IS FOR VERSION 2.0 (MacHeist bundle) CoverSutra blows away any other iTunes control etc. software. It works the way it should (2.0 only 10.5 compatible) and has very nice and instant search feature right from Finder menu bar with album art. The over all visual and functional quality is very high. Extremely good playlist integration and yes, its from Finder menu bar!

I would buy this application right now if it had the ability to play playlists like CoverStream does. This is by far the nicer app, but it needs this addition for me to buy it. I don't want to have to use iTunes at all if I can help it.

I've been using Synergy Advance for a good long time, and love the Growl integration, and the level of key customization and control, but due to the lack of updates on Wincent's end for Leopard, or in general, I've been looking for something new and so far CoverSutra has my bid. It definitely fits well into the leopard interface. The visual notifiers are great. Only comment for amissing feature I have so far is that it'd be nice to have a hotkey to show/hide the growl display. The current player control window serves this purpose, but a bit bulky when you just want to check what track is playing, etc.

Best iTunes controller available, and I've tried them all. Works great, looks great, and contrary to the whiners below about the cost, it's worth paying for great software.

I choose to use Sizzling Keys instead of this for a couple of reasons: The ability to show\hide the album art with a shortcut key. The ability to rate a song 1-2-3-4-4 stars with one shortcut, instead of having to choose "rating up, up, up" I also like the added shortcut keys to sleep\lock the computer The fact that it's mostly free is also nice - but I'd gladly pay for CoverSutra if it integrated those features.

ah, ok well I think I figured out how to do it anyway. Just took a while ;) Thanks anyway!

To the Developer: I was just wondering if you could show me how to subclass NSLevelIndicator Rating style to customize the rating system the interface builder provides (because it really sucks)

Agreeing mostly with the previous reviewers, whilst being a great application, the overpricing is probably the worst I've seen to date! You can get a lot more for your money in the Mac Indie software world! Nevertheless, if display preferences for all parts of the software are introduced, along with further Last.fm integration (imagine something that would do Amua and iScrobbler's jobs without being as bloated as Last.fm's product), then one or two more might be convinced to part with the exorbitant cash.

This is a good software and one of the nicest looking iTunes controllers out there but before I'm willing to pay for it there are features/issues that I would like to see addressed, which is why it only gets a 3. --------------- Features --------------- • This software could really benefit from the adding of a hot-key to make CoverSutra or the ability to turn hiding on and off. A combination of these would also work and would probably be a better option. • There is currently no support for playlists so you can't keep it open as a stand-alone completely to iTunes, you still need to switch back to switch playlists and the like. --------------- Ease of Use --------------- You install it and... Well that's it. The layout of what features it does have is well done and obvious. The only draw-back is you can't specify it to launch when iTunes does and you have to click on the icon to make it show itself. --------------- Value --------------- Personally I think this program is too feature deprived to yet justify the price, but it does have the potential to be a great app and in fact worth paying for. --------------- Stability --------------- 100% stable. Never an issue with it running or crashing. The only slight flaw is that if you CMD+Tab to it the window remains hidden. Small flaw, probably easy to fix.

I like this app, but it is ridiculously over-priced, considering GimmeSomeTune and others is free. Worth $6-8 at most. And @Last.fm log-in isn't working for me.

VJL: Thanks Much!

Very slick looking app! If it finds the artwork automatically, it would be even better.

Very nice interface and the window width can set to narrow (unlike iTunes) or stretchable across the horizontal size of the screen if desired. This allows for exact positioning (unlike iTunes in my 2 hours recordings. With the available hotkey functions it is much more userfriendly than any menubar iTunes control I tried.

Will this give me a full registration number, or just something similar to MacHeist?

Man, I would love to win this one!

NEOX: CoverScout fetches covers for you, and this program displays them and controls iTunes. I am purchasing it for the last.fm integration. A great deal at 1/2 off too!!

. Why can't you pick a playlist or browse tracks from the player controls ? You should be able to display 'multiple' artist jewel cases on the desktop and enable a user defined playlist from that selection - It would have the feel of a real world scenario - Pick a few CDs and play them. Over-all a very poor application in the heavily contested field of iTunes remotes.

How does this compare to Cover Scout?

Look great! I love this app as is.

Very nice application at a reasonable price. Cool!

Downloaded, tried it, buying it. :-) The perfect iTunes controller app, whether shown or not. Growl integration was exactly what I was after, and more stylish than the others (plus I had a strange thing with iMote where it would reopen iTunes straight after I had quit it). Sophie, you've outdone yourself!

Coversutra is a great application, I've been running the trial version for a bit now, along with some other things and I think it is CoverSutra that I finally decided to throw my money down on. It looks great, runs great and is a true Mac App.

Geez, my bad, didn't even know there were third party options for music play and visual candy. oh well! This looks like a great add-on to my awareness!

One of the great things about Mac OS X is an application such as CoverSutra. Take an excellent media player, iTunes, and add visually sophisticated and functional amenities! Not available elsewhere! A great app!

I must have missed this on MacHeist....

I've tried a bunch, but the launchers (QuickSilver, LaunchBar, Butler, etc.) do the basics, which is enough for me.

I love this app, from the cool Jewel Case, to the Last.fm integration, to the growl notifications, I can consolidate all the apps I use for this stuff into one. Primo.

I bought this gorgeous application minutes after trying it for the first time. I'm also a registered user of Synergy but have decided to abbandon it in favor of CoverSutra which has a better interface and is more intuitive. Fariborz AMIRSHAHI - Verona (Italy)

I like my YouControl app, but this looks pretty decent.

a very nice app, well integrated with iTunes and has replaced Synergy for me. lacks just a few features but nothing I can't live without

not bad, hard to beat quicksilver though

sounds like a good chance to upgrade my MacHeist copy....

im using this since macheist and looks great, only thing i miss is a minicontroller on status bar.