Responses and Thanks from Developer - Jerry Krinock

Thanks for taking the time to do such a detailed review. Sorry it slipped under my radar until today. I actually spend most of my time writing code and don't get to VersionTracker as often as I should. Let me respond to your points.

"The windows could use a cleanup. There’s too much unnecessary info and controls on them. Data like “Bookdog version 4.2.11” should not be displayed in a bookmarks window. It has no function, it’s just visual pollution. Most of the controls on the side bar could be in menus, a collapsible control bar, or in a preferences pane. They just take screen space and divert attention from the bookmarks. Most of them are redundant anyway since they are already in the contextual menu."

Actually, I agree with all of that. The buttons came first, and I've been considering removing them now that the contextual menu and menu can do just about all that they do. The only reason it's never made it to the top of my to-do list is that they seem to be appreciated by more novice Mac users, particularly, it seems, if they are as old as me. But as more of these people become more familiar with their Macs, they're going to agree with you.

"The same goes for the window with the validation results. It looks like a spreadsheet and, although informational, one doesn’t need all that text after using the software the first time. The explanations would be better placed in the help files keeping the windows as clean as possible."

Yes, except the Help files are not localized. But, I just realized that tooltips would be in order here.

"The animated validation process is not necessary either. Basically there’s nothing the user can do with the hundreds of flashing URLs being validated, other than have a seizure! A simple progress bar on the main window would suffice. The throttle for bandwidth consumption could be in a preference or somewhere less conspicuous."

I don't know about this. People have told me that they think it's cool, like much instrumentation, it's there more for troubleshooting than for focus. I guess maybe that's your point. I'll think about how to make it less annoying.

"The operation could be streamlined too. There are too many confirmation requests, information windows, etc. Some of it could be dealt with a few preferences. For example, one could have a preference to move the unreachable URLs to a “trash” folder instead of going though the list validating them manually (they could be resurrected later, or permanently removed). URL Manager Pro does that, but I couldn’t find such an option in Bookdog."

When designing this, my over-arching fear was that, someday, somewhere, Bookdog would delete or change a bookmark someone that someone needed, without giving them proper warning. But I understand your feeling that this could be streamlined.

"The multiple bookmark windows could also be improved by using a single tabbed window. One tab for Safari, one for Omniweb, etc. With the exception of moving links between browsers manually, one rarely needs to have more than one list available at a time and having a second window open would be fine as an option, but not as the default."

That's a damned good idea. You know, actually you need them for moving between browsers manually either, because either the contextual menu items "Copy to..." and "Move to...", or the old-fashioned clipboard Copy and Paste features were added a few months ago.

"The menu items could be reorganized too. “Quit Bookwatchdog“ should come before “Quit Bookdog”. I find myself quitting the background process by mistake as the standard behavior for the application menu is to have “quit application” as the last item."

I'll research that.

"I would suggest also to use color sparingly. The violet-colored entry fields only decrease text contrast and make the application disagree with the rest of the computing environment. My other applications are angry! I would change the background of the help files to the standard white and text formatting for the same reason."

Hey, I'm glad you didn't review the app when they were red and green. Maybe I should turn off the colors altogether, since the icons show whether folders are sorted or unsorted.

"The trial period (just 5 days) is also a little short. I haven’t had a chance to test the Google integration yet, and I wonder how difficult it would be to have the same for del.icio.us."

Well, that's a business decision, you know. At least I don't nag you during the trial period. Actually, the trial period for more reticent users is 10 days. If you click the "Demo" button after 5 days, our server will give you a second 5-day trial (but not a third).

"And, before I forget, what’s with the application icon? I love dogs, but that icon is making me reconsider. I’ll make an enlargement of it to scare the neighborhood kids asking for candy next Halloween."

Yes, I know it's time for a new icon.

Thanks again for such a thoughtful review. You'll see many of your suggestions implemented in future versions. If you haven't purchased a Bookdog license yet, contact me and I'll give you a huge discount.

Sincerely,

Jerry Krinock
developer

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Monday, August 27 2007 @ 11:08 AM PDT

Responses and Thanks from Developer - wavenumber

Thanks for your detailed reply. It's good to see that some interface improvements are planned for coming versions.

>> "Well, that's a business decision, you know. At least I don't nag you during the trial period. Actually, the trial period for more reticent users is 10 days. If you click the "Demo" button after 5 days, our server will give you a second 5-day trial (but not a third)."

I found out about the extension to the trial period after a few days of testing. It was sufficient to give it a good test drive. My original complaint was in the context that some people (myself included) test new software on weekends and, between installation and actually testing, the 5 days seemed a bit short.

>> "Thanks again for such a thoughtful review. You'll see many of your suggestions implemented in future versions. If you haven't purchased a Bookdog license yet, contact me and I'll give you a huge discount."

As a matter of fact, I liked it so much I registered before the trial was over. Thanks for the discount offer though. I'm enjoying it very much and I think it's worth the full price. :-)

I'll be looking forward for the new improvements. Thanks again for taking the time to write such a detailed explanation!

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Tuesday, September 11 2007 @ 03:19 PM PDT