Advanced SearchUser Name Ken Gruberman
Member Since 2000-06-26
Total number of Feedback Posts: 10
Total number of comments: 2
Last 10 Feedback Posts by Ken Gruberman [ Search for All ]
FileMaker Pro 9.0v3 (Mac OS X)
There IS an alternative to FileMaker Pro!
While I have no real complaints about FileMaker -- they don't charge any more or less (or more often) for upgrades than Adobe or M$ does -- I want to challenge the assertion that "there is no alternative to FileMaker" for Mac users. There is PANORAMA from ProVue Development. Jim Rea is a dyed-in-the-wool Macaholic, whose excellent database software has been around since the inception of the Mac itself. ProVue just released version 5.5 about a week ago, and it completely rocks. Ultra-fast, ultra-flexible, Panorama is a complete solution and gives FileMaker a good run for its money. I do not work for Jim or ProVue, but I do know him and respect him; he has presented at our user group many times over the years. And I use and like Panorama -- so check it out: http://www.provue.com/Panorama/index.html [alert admin]
Post a comment | More Info | 8 of 11 users found this helpful
Tuesday, December 04 2007 @ 03:08 PM PST
File Buddy 9.0b13 (Mac OS X)
Beta expiration was an accident
As usual, a few whiners here at VersionTracker are giving everyone else a bad impression of a great product. I have used and depended on FB for YEARS and give it 5 stars. Yes, Beta 13 is giving an "expired" message -- but as soon as I saw it I went to the developer's web page, clicked on the CONTACT US button, and actually called Laurence Harris on the phone ... and he answered! (Gee, what a concept; his number is right there on the page.) He called me back within 5 minutes to profusely apologize over the mixup. Someone else at his company handles web uploads, and they somehow got a hold of a much-older version. Of course it's Sunday and the guy isn't around, but Laurence is working on fixing it himself in just a few minutes. And that should say something right there about the kind of service you get with this product, and the kind of person who created it. [alert admin]
Read Comments (3) | More Info | 1 of 3 users found this helpful
Sunday, October 22 2006 @ 10:25 AM PDT
Delicious Library 1.0.6 (Mac OS X)
Nice interface, but there are real problems here 
I haven't tried version 1.1 yet, but reading the bug fixes doesn't address the problems I've experienced with DL. It looks great, yes, but it's got some major deficiencies for a program of this type. What's worse, I've sent 4 emails to their Tech Support, plus 1 to the Press department, and even an email to the 2 co-founders -- and after almost 2 weeks I've received ZERO replies from anyone. This may be due to the run-up to MacWorld, or it might be due to the fact that everyone there is scrambling to fix this thing. I don't know, but deafening silence from a company that hyped itself as much as these people did is troubling to me. Anyway, in a nutshell, here are my concerns with DL 1.0.6 -- I'm using a dual 2.5gHz G5 tower with 2.5GB of RAM and OS 10.3.7: • Selecting the "Send bugs and feedback" item in the Help menu, filling out the form, then clicking on the SEND button resulted in the app immediately crashing. • There seems to be no manual of any kind, not even a built-in Help file. No tutorial, no web-based help -- nothing! Just an FAQ page, even though it's a very entertaining one. I think the product could use more documentation. • Command-F doesn't work (no Find window appears when selecting the Find item in the menu or hitting the keystroke), although the Search field at the bottom of each window does work. This means there's no way to do complex searches. And yes, I've re-installed the software after cleaning out every vestige of it, and the problem re-occurs. • I can't figure out if there's a way to add custom fields, or easily customize information that will then always be present in a particular database. For example, I want to be able to denote whether a DVD has DTS sound, or whether a CD is in SACD format. • Bookshelves sort themselves by the Director's name in Videos instead of the movie's title, or by the first name of a composer instead of by last name in Music. Neither of these are acceptable. • There's no way I can see to batch-scan items using a USB barcode scanner, which is what I use (it's a Pelican and works fine in DL). It looks like I have to remember to hit Command-N each time I want to add a book, CD or DVD, which is cumbersome and annoying. There should either be a list window to quickly add a bunch of items at once, or DL should recognize the scanner signal and auto create a new record when the trigger is pressed and a barcode is successfully scanned. On the other hand, the Easter Egg involving Star Wars is VERY cool, and works on the soundtrack CD as well as the DVD. Easter Eggs, however, are no substitute for on-the-ball and responsive tech support. That said, I'm still giving it 3 stars overall because of the POTENTIAL this program has to be great. [alert admin]
Read Comments (1) | More Info | 3 of 3 users found this helpful
Monday, January 10 2005 @ 08:45 AM PST
Greeting Card Factory 1.0.2 (Mac OS X)
We hosted an appearance by Nova at our user group meeting a couple of months ago. The question came up of why use GCF when Print Explosion already does greeting cards -- the presenter's answer was that GCF's main thrust was Greeting Cards and, as such, has far more complex and sophisticated graphics and designs than Print Explosion. He said they'd licensed about 3000 images created by professional card design firms and houses, and after the demo we agreed with that assessment. The cards made by GCF simply look better and more "real" than Print Explosion's cards. [alert admin]
Post a comment | More Info | 1 of 1 users found this helpful
Friday, December 12 2003 @ 03:51 PM PST
Linksys 1-4 port cable/dsl router 1.45.7 (Mac OS 9, Mac OS X)
"...I d'l-ed the 1.45.7 firmware update for the original model, applied it, and it worked perfectly!" What I didn't state was that I did this on a Windows PC here at the house, and everything worked on IT perfectly. Too bad the Macs were still offline! :( How's that for weird? The PC works great but the Macs can't access the web or email, yet the OS X Software Update feature still works. Once again, going back to Firmware 1.44.2 brought harmony back to the house and all computers worked as they did before. This one really makes my head hurt . . . [alert admin]
Post a comment | More Info | 1 of 1 users found this helpful
Tuesday, September 23 2003 @ 07:52 PM PDT
Linksys 1-4 port cable/dsl router 1.45.7 (Mac OS 9, Mac OS X)
I couldn't get the last couple of updates to work. "Belpowerslave" suggested I reset everything to factory defaults first, then try the firmware update. THAT didn't work either. On a whim, I decided to click over to the Linksys site itself and download the 1.45.7 update directly from the page -- you never know, right? I went to www.linksys.com/downloads and what should I see in the drop-down menu of Linksys products to choose from? The fact that there are TWO different models of the Linksys BEFSR41 4-port Etherfast Router: an "original" and a "version 3." I didn't know there even was a "version 3" of this venerable piece of hardware, although I guess it makes sense. I d'l-ed the 1.45.7 firmware update for the original model, applied it, and it worked perfectly! [alert admin]
Post a comment | More Info | 1 of 1 users found this helpful
Tuesday, September 23 2003 @ 05:42 PM PDT
Linksys 1-4 port cable/dsl router 1.45.7 (Mac OS 9, Mac OS X)
… and neither did 1.45.6 -- in both cases I had to go back to 1.44.2 and things worked again. Using both 1.45.6 and now 1.45.7, and with all the same router settings, Internet access simply disappears on my Linksys BEFSR41. Why is this happening to me? [alert admin]
Tuesday, September 23 2003 @ 11:27 AM PDT
FAXstf X Pro 10.1.2 (Mac OS X)
To marsdencartoons -- use Page Sender and you'll dump this turkey faster than J-Lo dumps husbands! You only think FAXstf is fine because you've not tried anything better . . . the contempt Smith Micro has for the Macintosh is evident in every shoddy release they let escape from the factory. The fact that FAXstf Pro, up until now, actually cut off the contents of received faxes should tell you something! [alert admin]
Read Comments (1) | More Info | 0 of 2 users found this helpful
Saturday, May 31 2003 @ 06:00 AM PDT
()
what Kaesau is smoking, but MSIE 5 supports Mac Runtime for Java while Netscape still doesn't. As far as being "behind the Windoze" version? Are you crazy? It's AHEAD! Even the new MSIE 6 for Windoze doesn't have the Auction Manager, true Print Preview, the Explorer bar with Scrapbook (what the heck is the "links" bar anywayj?) and so much more. Don't believe this guy: MSIE 5 for Mac is simply great -- and from Microsoft this is shocking. [alert admin]
Wednesday, October 24 2001 @ 12:15 PM PDT
TransType 2.0.1 (Mac OS 9)
installer refused to install for me as well, and this was AFTER I paid the $97 for the full version (which you get by downloading ANOTHER app to use on the Demo installer.) I finally got the Demo installer to work by restarting with the shift key down so that no extensions were running, which is usually a good idea anyway when it comes to installers. I informed FontLab of this, and also told them to check out versiontracker.com and see how many others were having problems and complaining about the price. I like the product but $97? What planet are these people living on? I had to buy it because of my clientele, but I recommend finding a cheaper alternative if possible. [alert admin]
Monday, October 08 2001 @ 12:57 PM PDT
Last 10 Comments by Ken Gruberman [ Search for All ]
While I have no real complaints about FileMaker -- they don't charge any more or less (or more often) for upgrades than Adobe or M$ does -- I want to challenge the assertion that "there is no alternative to FileMaker" for Mac users. There is PANORAMA from ProVue Development. Jim Rea is a dyed-in-the-wool Macaholic, whose excellent database software has been around since the inception of the Mac itself. ProVue just released version 5.5 about a…
Original feedback item : Read More(1 words)
Tuesday, December 04 2007 @ 03:04 PM PST
To marsdencartoons -- use Page Sender and you'll dump this turkey faster than J-Lo dumps husbands! You only think FAXstf is fine because you've not tried anything better . . . the contempt Smith Micro has for the Macintosh is evident in every shoddy release they let escape from the factory. The fact that FAXstf Pro, up until now, actually cut off the contents of received faxes should tell you something!
Original feedback item : Read More
Saturday, May 31 2003 @ 05:57 AM PDT
