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Advanced SearchUser Name Gene van Troyer
Member Since 2002-07-23
Total number of Feedback Posts: 185
Total number of comments: 8
Last 10 Feedback Posts by Gene van Troyer [ Search for All ]
iTunify 1.7.6 (Mac OS X)
This set of scripts does what the developer claims, he updates them as the need arises, and he only asks for a modest fee. [alert admin]
Wednesday, December 26 2007 @ 01:56 AM PST
Dramatica Pro 4.1.33 (Mac OS X)
It seems that the publishers are so paranoid that they will lose market share to pirated versions, they have actually created an update path that leads nowhere. The Interlok anti-pitacy plugin required for the application to even run, and the Phone Home registration number check required to activate this beast, aren't enough. They have to make it maze challenge game on the order of a MMORG adventure, and when you finally get to the prize at the last tier, your prize is...Go back to the beginning and try again. This is ridiculous. Don't waste your money on this over-priced monstrosity. Try instead one of the following: Avenir (Mariner Software) -- $30.00 Jer's Novel Writer -- $25.00 Mariner Software will also be coming out with a more comprehensive story and novel plotting application, StoryMIll 3.0, in another month. [alert admin]
Post a comment | More Info | 1 of 1 users found this helpful
Friday, November 09 2007 @ 02:05 PM PST
SoundConverter 20071012 (Mac OS X)
I've been using SoundConverter for maybe three years but when I get a new Mac I won't be renewing it. I appreciate that the developer needs to make a living, but making the license machine-specific only discourages people from continuing to use the product, and perhaps encourages those who know how to crack the app and start giving the cracks away. When this app stops working because it says the license is no longer valid, I'll toss the app. I've already done that with a few that follow the same type of machine-specific scheme. New machine new license? Phooey. That's why I've dropped my rating for this app to one star and recommend that users not get this, and find something with a more civil licensing scheme. [alert admin]
Read Comments (1) | More Info | 1 of 3 users found this helpful
Saturday, October 13 2007 @ 12:06 AM PDT
Jisho 2.1 (Mac OS X)
I can't think of anything better for the Mac that JEDict, but as noted by the previous poster, JEDict is rather complex. Jisho offers a quick reference alternative that is probably more convenient. For myself, I tend to gravitate towards Tensei for quick reference, and JEDict for more technical reference--when I'm not plumbing the depths of Atok or Mac-Transer Pro (very pricey and 100% Japanese interface). [alert admin]
Post a comment | More Info | 3 of 3 users found this helpful
Tuesday, September 18 2007 @ 02:13 AM PDT
Art Text 1.2.2 (Mac OS X)
I had been waiting for an OS X version of TypeStyler, but I'm afraid that Art Text will likely displace it as my preferred text-effects application. You can do some amazing things with this at a price that beats other packages. [alert admin]
Post a comment | More Info | 1 of 1 users found this helpful
Tuesday, August 28 2007 @ 09:04 PM PDT
iProcrastinate 53 (Mac OS X)
Procrastinate, that is? The problem with procrastinators is, they'll get on it Real Soon Now, like, "Pretty soon, I'll learn how to use this simple little task and project organizer. Tomorrow, I think..." :-) Maybe the developer needs a more proactive name for his project. [alert admin]
Post a comment | More Info | 1 of 6 users found this helpful
Friday, July 27 2007 @ 03:42 PM PDT
Prairie CalendarMaker 5.0 (Mac OS X)
Metis International has Desktop Calendar Pro, which does essentially the same thing for a lower price. Likewise, if you have Printshop or Print Explosion, you can do the same kinds of calendars. I have the old version of CalendarMaker, the last released for OS 9, and it works fine in the Classic OS environment. Version 5.0 for OS X really doesn't seem to be such a great improvement, at least not one that merits the nearly $60 price tag. [alert admin]
Post a comment | More Info | 1 of 1 users found this helpful
Thursday, July 26 2007 @ 10:26 PM PDT
TechTool Pro 4.5.2 (Mac OS X)
Be careful when you use the boot DVD on your main CD/DVD drive. Somehow, the stripped down OS on the DVD got switched to start-up drive on my iMac Flat Panel (the Lamp), and I wound up in a loop. There was no way to get the DVD to eject using any of the usual keyboard command procedures for ejecting recalcitrant disks. Since my iMac's SuperDrive happens to one that has no manual eject hole immediately under the tray, I had to open the case to get at the manual eject lever to open the drive tray and remove the DVD. I wrote Micromat about my problem, suggesting that they include the Mac OS X Start-up Drive utility as part of their boot DVD as a way to get out of such loops. Their only reply was that they recommended using the "C" key to boot from the DVD (which is what I had done). They did not recommend using the Start-up Drive utility as that might lead to being trapped in a loop. More generally, I recommend that NO ONE use applications like these unless they have a very good idea of what they're doing. [alert admin]
Read Comments (4) | More Info | 2 of 5 users found this helpful
Tuesday, July 24 2007 @ 08:42 PM PDT
Qir'at Quran Reciter 1.04 (Mac OS X)
The quirks I noted previously have been fixed in this implementation. Scrolling in the translations list now works. Thanks also for clarifying the various English versions. It is a big help; I'm sure many potential users would not have been aware of them otherwise. I have noticed that the loading time for surahs when you switch from one to another takes a lot of time. It occurs so slowly in some cases that users might mistakenly think that the application has locked up. That almosted happened to me: I was about to force quit after a minute or so of no apparent activity when suddenly the action completed. I realize this is a Java characteristic (at least it seems to be in OS X), and I've noticed a similar slowness of loading time in other Java-based applications such as NeoOffice. You may be limited in what you are able to do about enhancing the speed of switching between surahs given the complexities of the texts involved. [alert admin]
Read Comments (1) | More Info | 2 of 4 users found this helpful
Sunday, June 24 2007 @ 05:36 PM PDT
Qir'at Quran Reciter 1.03 (Mac OS X)
I'm happy to see a resource like this. It works as a fine complement to MacSword and Britannica's Profiles of World Religions. The application itself, though, is a little quirky. In the languages list I couldn't find a listing for English, but selecting the term "Pickthal" in the list brought up an English crib (albeit archaic English, as if the literary influence is the King James version of the Christian Bible). Why isn't English on the list as just "English"? Also, the scrolling arrows for the translations list do not seem to work very well, nor do the arrow keys on the keyboard (they just raise or lower volume). You have to use the mouse to select and drag the selection up and down the list, which is rather awkward. You should be able to navigate the list with the arrow keys, and the scroll bar should work. These are all problem with the Java implementation and I trust the developer will fix them in a later version. [alert admin]
Read Comments (3) | More Info | 4 of 4 users found this helpful
Friday, June 22 2007 @ 07:57 PM PDT
Last 10 Comments by Gene van Troyer [ Search for All ]
Thanks. I'm not such a scholar of religious texts, and I wouldn't have realized that Pickthal referred to the name of a translator.
Original feedback item : Read More
Sunday, June 24 2007 @ 04:26 PM PDT
There's a Windows version? Good. The more crossplatform software there is, the better! I wish more developers over on the Windows side of the fence would create Mac versions of their software!
Original feedback item : Read More
Monday, April 30 2007 @ 07:28 PM PDT
Yep. About the only use for this is as a single word look-up. Rest assured, you will be screwed if you try using it for phrases of two or more words. It is rather shocking that these outfits haven't figured out that they need large glossaries of set phrases and idiomatic expressions. Even more amusing is that anyone with OSX already has this built in, in Sherlock, where it has thes same level of unreliability.
Original feedback item : Read More
Tuesday, July 18 2006 @ 02:17 AM PDT
Charging for every update is un-cool 
Thanks for the alert. I was thinking about maybe getting this, but have decided to steer clear. The are a couple of other apps I've bought that do this, and I finally tossed them. While they were good utilities, they weren't anything I could live without.
Original feedback item : Read More
Thursday, April 20 2006 @ 02:06 AM PDT
There are any number of ways to copy your protected stuff, whether it is produced electronically or issued in print. Copyright does not (and was never intended to) protect anything from being COPIED. It merely protects you from others profiting from your work without giving you compensation by making it possible for you to sue the violator(s) for damages.
Original feedback item : Read More
Sunday, March 26 2006 @ 10:55 PM PST
I've been using the freeware version (2.2.1) for sometime now, and it7s anything but crap. In fact, it's pretty good. Since the developer decided to charge for it, the demo version may be crap because it's too crippled to do its thing. That should be a hint to the developer: Uncripple EasyWMA and make it fully functional for a week or a set number of launches. I haven't upgraded because I have other free/shareware converters to handle…
Original feedback item : Read More(1 words)
Saturday, January 14 2006 @ 12:39 PM PST
Cannot download = Firefox issue?
Firefox opens a PHP encoded page for what apparently should be a zip.gz compressed file. Use Safari, which handles it just fine.
Original feedback item : Read More
Tuesday, December 27 2005 @ 06:45 AM PST
Let me amend my comment above, which got sent before I had completed it: This app will serve as a useful supplement to the Sig Software product. There is one thing it does that neither Table Text nor E-mail Effects does: it allows you to do Textboxes for multiple columns of text in an e-mail, or blocks of text positioned wherever you want them. Hence I cecommend it as a suplement to any other ASCII…
Original feedback item : Read More(1 words)
Wednesday, April 20 2005 @ 10:46 AM PDT
