Existing users, 
User Name Bill Cerniuk
Member Since 2004-08-08
Total number of Feedback Posts: 9
Total number of comments: 2
Last 10 Feedback Posts by Bill Cerniuk [ Search for All ]
Forty-Two DVD-VX Plus 2.4 (Mac OS X)
Friends Don't Let Friends Do Command Lines 
My initial intent was to simply move a video out of wmv to QuickTime. In loading Fourty-Two DVD-VX Plus, I was dismayed by the number of pieces which were being assembled to do such a basic operation. While the developer has gone to great lengths to wrap a bunch of command line junk with a Mac GUI, the fact remains that the GUI is just a thin veneer and unfortunately the command line EXEs poke through. It is ironic but this is considered 'normal' in the typical UNIX world where to complete any task, a pile of command line tools are required. For the typical Mac user, 'dismay' is what occurs and they move on to a more professional solution. To make a good application, the code needs to be extracted from the command line utilities and put into an honest to goodness graphical application built in Cocoa or Carbon. One or 1 CODECs, 1 application, no 1970's throwback command line hacks. Short of this, there is no possibility of any elegance as the interface between GUI and command line tool is problematic at best. +*** for effort, -** for execution. For DVD processing to QuickTime, highly recommend "OpenShiiva" found here in VT. Also recommend using the QuickTime "operating system" to provide any of 80+ output formats including DVI and MPEG-4. [alert admin]
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Saturday, January 22 2005 @ 10:52 AM PST
Spell Catcher X 10.1.3 (Mac OS X)
I have used Spell Catcher since it was Thunder and have found it indispensable. While it is useful to have resources on the web like dictionary.com, etc. there are many instances where a handy functional reference and tool at my fingertips is preferred. Spell Catcher has saved me from myself numerous times and allowed me to become a significantly faster typist as I worry about corrections less and getting the message across more. While Spell Catcher's interface can be somewhat overwhelming, the power of this tool excuses any complexity of the interface, especially for the price. An outstanding tool at an outstanding value. Some interface cleanup and integration to the contextual menu system would make this tool near perfect. There seems to be some integration with the system dictionary which has grown since version 1.0; very encouraging. [alert admin]
Monday, December 20 2004 @ 05:59 PM PST
LiveStage Pro 4.0.1 (Mac OS 9, Mac OS X)
Expensive Embarrassing Defective
We initially purchased LiveStage Pro to produce a menu picking system for QuickTime which allows for dynamic iTunes style operations. There is every indication that the software can do this... but. When we installed it, it called home. This was difficult as our environment is in the DoD and such actions are considered a breech of security. We worked around that. Next as we test pre-releases of Mac OS, our machines (especially mine) are rebuilt frequently. Second, when I go into the office, my 17" PB occasionally turns into a desktop hard drive when I work in a dual processor machine. Both of the aforementioned actions requires multiple installs due to the copy protection mechanism employed by TotallyHip (the app only ever existed on my 17"s HD). Both of these actions helped reduce our license count to 0 before I managed to get the project completed. I found this out late on a Friday nite before a Monday deadline. Missed the deadline (coincided with a large event) and it was "game over". Complete waste of money. Now I have a CD which is useless, an install that refuses to run and a bunch of egg on my face. Conclusion: Copy protection and application crashes make this an application to avoid. If you want to waste $600, LiveStage Pro is the perfect application. [alert admin]
Sunday, December 05 2004 @ 07:36 AM PST
Tunnel 1.0 (Mac OS X)
Would make sense to implement as visualizer for iTunes. [alert admin]
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Sunday, November 07 2004 @ 07:54 AM PST
Salling Clicker 2.2 (Mac OS X)
A bluetooth AppleEvent gateway for your phone with extended management interfaces at both the phone and the Mac. The interface is reminiscent of the old Font-DA mover approach which is fairly Spartan but also straight forward by nature. The features are expansive as Mac applications can respond to many AppleEvents from AppleScripts, thus adding to the potential functionality of Clicker. Clicker alone comes with a wealth of scripts already embedded which allow control of the popular i-apps and provides links to third party scripts as well. Unfortunately Achilles heal of this application is its method of copy protection. While I would never begrudge the author his $20 (and paid it gladly), I anticipate having problems when ever I rebuild my system or move to Tiger which, for the wise, involves a clean install and migration. All system finger printing mechanisms of copy protection are similarly flawed. Had I known this was employed by before made it all the way through the purchase, I would have canceled. I wasted $55 on MacAnalysis similarly and rarely have it running on my system due to its fingerprinting copy protection. When copy protection becomes arduous or causes expense for the paying customer, it is done wrong. Just getting registered was a hassle. [alert admin]
Read Comments (1) | More Info | 4 of 8 users found this helpful
Wednesday, October 27 2004 @ 11:46 AM PDT
Apple Remote Desktop 2.0 (Mac OS X)
This version started out able to run but after applying some security updates to my laptop, it does nothing but crash. Sometimes it displays a list of machines, other times it crashes right upon launch. The crash is always the result of it trying to access memory outside of its address space. On the other hand, Timbuktu has been a solid performer since 1986 and works across both high speed and lower speed lines. I was not impressed when this product was called Apple Network Assistant on Mac OS 9 and I am less impressed on Mac OS X now. [alert admin]
Post a comment | More Info | 0 of 1 users found this helpful
Tuesday, September 14 2004 @ 05:13 AM PDT
FileMaker2iCal 1.0v2 (Mac OS X)
Great starter example. Thanks for putting it together. Will be working on round trip calendar publishing and updating to XML for FMP7 Server Advanced. [alert admin]
Saturday, September 04 2004 @ 09:27 AM PDT
LFT 2.2 (Mac OS X)
Thanks for the effort. Works but as any CLI, but as <b>all</b> CLI's go, butter (inter)face is damn ugly. Would rather pay for one with a clean interface (like NetBarrier's interface) than use free CLI stuff. Don't mean to disparage effort ... using your tool and appreciative of your work as this functionality is essential to my endeavors... but will throw money at the first clean version which is not done in or relies directly on darwin. [alert admin]
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Friday, September 03 2004 @ 12:54 PM PDT
NmapFE 0.81 (Mac OS X)
This interface is very reminiscent of the old Macintosh Programmer's Workshop approach called "Commando" wish assisted users in building command lines for all command line tools in this unix style development system under Mac OS 9. With that said, Apple should be ashamed if itself for not providing precisely this kind of interface for command line tools in UNIX. This is exactly the way a command line tool should be 'macified', nicely done! The action of the tool produces a thread of nmap execution in a separate window with the equivalent command line as part of the window frame. This is handy as there are times when performing the same scan two weeks later or even from an AppleScript tool (using the doscript verb) might be the objective. In this regard NmapFE allows the user to refine the execution of Nmap painlessly until the exact command line is developed and stored. [alert admin]
Post a comment | More Info | 2 of 2 users found this helpful
Wednesday, August 25 2004 @ 08:11 AM PDT
Last 10 Comments by Bill Cerniuk [ Search for All ]
OpenShiiva does a great job. It pulls DVD video into MPEG-4 file format cleanly. The interface has some quirks.
Original feedback item : Read More
Saturday, January 22 2005 @ 10:33 AM PST
Apple Remote Desktop 2 is a step forward AND back
Recommend Timbuktu. It can manage Mac OS X, Mac OS 9, 8, 7 and all versions of Windows. ARD is theoretically compatible with VNC which opens the door for UNIX... but in all reality, who cares? Netopia/Farallon never saw a market in making a UNIX version of their tool yet Apple does nothing but. Seems that Apple may be a tad out of touch on this one.
Original feedback item : Read More
Tuesday, September 14 2004 @ 05:16 AM PDT
