User Profile for Billsey

TGTools 2.43b (Mac OS X)

Is it really worth the Asking Price?  

At a price of $100 it would be appreciated if there was more detail provided than "It's better than Finale by itself". For example, does it make it easy-peasy to translate old Finale compositions from the original Finale instruments to the Kontakt instruments, or does one still need to squeeze through 10,000 needle's eyes to get there even with your plug-in? Don't get me wrong. I use Finale and I love Finale, though it does have its short-comings. However, an asking price of $100 for some anonymous plug-in is not going to encourage me to download that plug-in. More information on the version tracker page, please! [alert admin]

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Sunday, February 25 2007 @ 04:18 AM PST

WriteRoom 2.1 (Mac OS X)

Doing the Unpopular  

Having read about the product, seen the screen shot provided, and read some of the comments I thought it might be good to write.

A visit to my own web site (http://billsey-christian.net ) should reveal that I am no stranger to writing, saying, or holding to the unpopular. In the past, reaction to my own efforts has even ranged to death threat. So, I am no stranger to what the developer seems to be experiencing. That said, I have not seen comments claiming that the developer is evil, but possibly unwise, or complaining about what the review writer has experienced. They would do well to read the developer's own comments regarding the pricing strategy before they write.

Not having used the product in any version, I would simply wonder about the need for the product. That there is a perceived need for the product is testified to by the buyer response. However, In a market place that includes scribus free of charge, OpenOffice.org free of charge, and TextWrangler free of charge, how is it that anyone sees a need for this particular approach? The retro approach of a green screen text editor does not appeal to me, as I much prefer a "text-on-paper" sort of approach, i. e. black on white. Be that as it may, there are obviously those who prefer to pay for the priviledge of using WriteRoom, and the developer should remain confident to supply that need.

Not knowing the chosen philosophy of the developer or those writing reviews, this might fall upon unwilling ears, so to speak, but it might help. I have had a good reaction to the March issue of my newsletter, the St. Louis Amigan (http://billsey-christian.net/St-LouisAmigan070315.pdf ). I hope that it will be taken as encouragement, and that those writing reviews based solely on their own perceptions might restrict themselves to writing about their own perceptions instead of assuming motives that they do not truly know.

Thank you for your time, and keep writing, sir. [alert admin]

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Wednesday, February 21 2007 @ 04:54 AM PST

Adobe Soundbooth 1.0b2 (Mac OS X)

Motivations  

I would have more than one question, but not all for Adobe. It is quite clear to me that more people are considering jumping to Mac now that the new ones are on Intel. Having an Intel build is a no-brainer for one of the companies that encouraged the move to Intel processors in the first place: they are encouraging more people to buy Intel Macs, and they want more current users to "upgrade" to the Intel systems. My problem is that I can't afford it. Perhaps others here can but are simply being stubborn about such a move. What rankles me about it is that there is no PPC build and (probably therefore) no build for 10.3.9. Not having 10.4.anything, I don't really know what the draw would be for an audio app to cut off 10.3.9. According to my recollection, the big upgrade of the OS in 10.4 was graphics tools, was it not? Because of this, it makes zero sense to me for an audio app to cut off support for 10.3.9 (unless, of course, they've programmed in useless graphics eye-candy that needs 10.4). For my own part, I have two PPC Macs here: a 9600 that I run OS 9.1 on (and therefore the classic apps that I use), and a G4 Sawtooth running OSX 10.3.9. For my audio recording/editing (of which I do a fair amount) I use Pro-Tools Free on the 9600 to record, and usually to do mix-down. For editing, noise reduction, and effects coloration I use Peak LE 5.2 in conjunction with Sound Soap 2 from BIAS on the G4 under OSX 10.3.9. I do occasionally use Audacity as well for some of its mixing and volume control capabilities. In conclusion, Adobe is going to need far, far, far more than their name (and they can forget about eye-candy in audio apps) for me to even think about purchasing their product for an adobe-centric price to do a job that can be done using software that in total costs less than $200 US. [alert admin]

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Thursday, December 28 2006 @ 06:04 AM PST

Aqua Scribus 1.3.3.2 (Mac OS X)

Aqua Scribus On the Right Road  

I have used the Aqua port of Scribus for over a year and when I saw the rating of one star I just had to write. Whoever rated it at one star out of five either hasn't used it recently, or hasn't bothered to change the rating given. It isn't all the way down the road yet, but then no software ever is. Still, Scribus is on the right road and has dedicated people pushing it along that road. I would far rather use Scribus than any of the far over-priced, "Professional" DTP apps out there. I have used Scribus in the publishing of two books, and I hope to have more available in the future. There is no way that I would pay money to use PageMaker, In Design, or Quark Express because they are way, way, way over-priced. Scribus is a free app—and it is a quality app. It is an app that deserves you to give it a try. [alert admin]

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Saturday, September 30 2006 @ 10:26 AM PDT

Doing the Unpopular  

That would go against the author's own experience, which has been that the income has more than significantly increased as the price of their software has been raised. There certainly is the view (a legitimate one) that there SHOULD be more SALES with lower unit price, but that does not necessarily translate to higher overall profits. In addition, there is the perception of value that a given asking price can grant. Some people will not…

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Wednesday, February 21 2007 @ 08:09 PM PST

Doing the Unpopular  

That would go against the author's own experience, which has been that the income has more than significantly increased as the price of their software has been raised. There certainly is the view (a legitimate one) that there SHOULD be more SALES with lower unit price, but that does not necessarily translate to higher overall profits. In addition, there is the perception of value that a given asking price can grant. Some people will not…

Original feedback item : Read More(1 words)

Wednesday, February 21 2007 @ 08:04 PM PST

The end begins  

Not everyone can afford to spend hundreds, if not in fact thousands, of dollars on a new machine when the one they have works just fine. Believe it or not, most people—even in the United States—do not make management/executive level wages. Probably more than 90% do not. Some people actually have to watch what they spend, because they aren't playing with monopoly money. Ridiculing them will neither change their status nor make you look any…

Original feedback item : Read More(1 words)

Thursday, December 28 2006 @ 06:19 AM PST

A TeX Approach to Notation?!?! No Thanks!  

So, the coders try to attract professional engravers by telling you, “Don’t listen to that Professional Engraver!” How curious! Now, according to them, in order to print out the best sheet music you not only need to be a professional engraver, you also need to ignore, perhaps even ridicule, the advice of professional engravers, be an accomplished programmer, and put up with a GUI that is deficient enough that others try to replace it by…

Original feedback item : Read More(1 words)

Sunday, November 12 2006 @ 05:01 AM PST