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User Name iamdorian2
Member Since 2002-11-15
Total number of Feedback Posts: 91
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Last 10 Feedback Posts by iamdorian2 [ Search for All ]
Adobe Digital Editions 1.7 (Mac OS X)
I know that Adobe no longer pushes this software on Versiontracker (or the competition's software site), and for good reason. The list of things one could say about this - in the negative - continue to move away from software performance issues, and into the realm of fascism. No matter what version you have, in order to even open this product Adobe forces you to submit to reloading their "latest" software version. Is this invasive, I am sure it is. Perhaps a programmer (who understands the FireWalls and other issues can tell us), but knowing Adobe's more recent pension for snooping, I'd say it is. Additionally, what's the point of all this digital "convenience" of digital, if you can't even print or copy text from a book (this feature is turned on by more paranoid/reedy publishers of popular books to keep people from digitizing them - the Kolbrin comes to ind here). Might as well buy a REAL book, and scan what you want. It's time to do for digital books, what is being done for music encryption - eliminate it and trust to a small loss in revenues for making this planet a nicer, friendlier planet. (What ever happened to that HitchHiker's Guide to the G_ entry, "Mostly Harmless?") I suppose the next worse thing is the hardware-only solution of that jungle-named company, but that's another story... Adobe, best of luck on everything . . . but this sort of software. Here's to ya! [alert admin]
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Tuesday, March 24 2009 @ 08:11 AM PDT
Adobe Digital Editions 1.7 (Mac OS X)
I can recall when the PDF file first made its appearance and it looked like the true paperless world was at hand. No more! What good is software which is designed to restrict every sort of usage possible. You can't even copy and paste a line of text. This makes research with Digital Editions pointless. The program demands you go online every time you use it and re-download a new version. This is just a variant of MS-style spyware, When Adobe began this with CS2, and then took it all the way to the absurd with CS3 I didn't think they could promote a more invasive and noisome approach to limiting usage, but they've apparently outdone themselves. I recently opted for purchasing an online PDF of the fabulous ancient esoteric scripture the Kolbrin "bible." The owners of the Kolbrin copyrights made sure you can do nothing more than read this book through Digital Editions. This is practically useless. Adobe Digital Editions enables this sort of fascist copyright policy. Well, if this is the shape of the future, I think we'll see paper libraries coming back into vogue! I haven't had many crashes (well only when trying to quit out), but Adobe's MANDATORY reinstalling process – which must be performed EVERY time I want to read this book, is so absurd that I can only hope that this program fails miserably in the area of democratization, which, after all, is what the world wide web was originally meant to achieve. In this regard Adobe Digital Editions is a giant step backwards. This should be called Dodo publishing software! Perhaps their R&D department might stop trying to figure out how to squeeze every last penny out of their software solutions, and start figuring out how to give the paying user SOMETHING for their money. I am one sorry customer. [alert admin]
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Monday, February 09 2009 @ 12:03 AM PST
DxO Optics Pro 5.1 (Mac OS X)
A small addendum to v.5.1. The problem – which appeared in the beta using the latest Apple Leopard OSX - is still with us. It did not seem to be a problem before about a month prior to the release date of the final Mac version of 5.1 (hope this helps?). I use this application for time-lapse, primarily. This means loading 300-1500 images (usually only JPEGs) into the processing set-up window. After the last few OSX upgrades, the time to move the images into the pre-process que (for stacking) now takes about 20 minutes+ for 500 images. At 600+ images times ran into an hour or more. This is only half the problem. After running the first batch, if I try loading a set of images, Pro Elite fails. Throw away all plist files and reset permissions and I got one more batch to run. Then, crash on the next, and so on. What gives? As it is - at least for people like me with a large batch to run - this is close to unusable. Time to get this fixed! And what's up with the lack of controls over the famous DxO lens softness. It seems ... disabled using JPEGs. This was one of DxO's best features. In fact, sometimes the split mode - side-by-side before-and-after corrections more – seems unable to show any changes made in some modules. In one case, lens softening filter disabled, I tried unsharp masking and the effect appeared to be in both windows, when it should have only showed up in the right window. VERY confusing. After messing around for 5 minutes, the preview mode (as bad as it was) crashed the program. Between photo load times and general instabilities, DxO's once famous reputation is looking questionable. And this is really a shame. After all, we all stand to loose when good programs falter. In this field - Professional Photography – there are large communities of well-funded users. Most Mac users I know actually pay for software. And most of us are knowledgeable, educated, and somewhat intolerant of BS. There have been times when companies like Ado _ _ started putting out unstable versions of their flagship photo program. Many people began looking around for alternatives. I know I did. NO software is sacrosanct. DxO's fine product is a MUST HAVE ... IF AND WHEN it works correctly. Perhaps they took on too many goals and there are simply not enough competent programmers in house to handle their growth. I think they owe their user base some serious answers and rapid fixes. I am a great supporter, and have backed them in the past when others were complaining and whining. I even put up with the VERY slow response to upgrading their Mac version. Heck, we all want a good independent developer to succeed, this is, after all, a Mac community, not a windoze buy-whatever-they-throw-at-you group. But come on... I already bought the 5.1 (hmm...no 5.0)?) upgrade, so I am a numbered among the "faithful." However, I am starting to wonder if I made a mistake. Maybe I should have waited for 5.2? Version 4 was pretty solid, so what gives? I hope the DxO gnomes are busy fixing all these -should-have-been-fixed-in-beta issues? I am using an 8-processor Mac Pro with 16Gb of RAM and virtually unlimited hard drive space. [alert admin]
Saturday, June 28 2008 @ 04:36 AM PDT
Safe Sphere 1.2.1 (Mac OS X)
Great package, nice update to Be_Safe!
Great package, and as has been mentioned, the developer is responsive. My request is that the "groups" category could be reordered so that groups could be restructured to accommodate new additions in an orderly fashion. I am hopeing this coule be modified by a drag-and-drop graphical reordering approach. This would really top off the features of this great application. Keep up the good work! [alert admin]
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Friday, April 07 2006 @ 11:05 PM PDT
ViewIt 2.9.0 (Mac OS X)
Excellent..for photographers. How about video? 
I've been using this app for almost two years now. It has grown into one of the most useful digital imaging utlilties I have. It is simple and stright forward, as well as pretty fast. However, this app still desparately needs ONE MORE feature - the ability vary thumbnails image sizes. I am surprised more people haven't begged the developer for this? And this brings me to a major point. How about us video guys?! A very useful thing would be a simple and modifiable cropping ruler\guides settings for displaying (and cropping) video frames. Some basic SD and HDV standard frame sizes would be nifty, like 640x480 (perhaps also 648x486), 720x480, 1980x1080, etc... Adding the capabilities for previewing animation would allow us to use this app for previewing time-lapse, stop-motion animation, etc. All we'd need is a fast\robust RAM preview, like After Effects. This would bypass the need to set up an AE project in order to see the result of multiple frames as an animation. ViewIt! would then be more useful for those moving into dynamic media. Certainly this can be crudely accomplished now by scrubbing the preview slider back and forth in the normal view mode, but with the addition of a RAM Preview (or at leat the ability to use a RAM Caching option for the same purpose) movie previews could be automated as well. Hey...you might even be able to call it "Pro" and charge some additional money to recoup your work! I'd pay! [alert admin]
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Thursday, June 23 2005 @ 02:27 PM PDT
KnotPlot 19May05 (Mac OS X)
This is a brilliant program, and it produces great 3D knots. The fact that it is free, is wonderfl. I may be wrong, but I believe, that for commercial purposes there author will require some fees, so check with the author. I, for one, and very happy to see on-going development on this application. Some of the greatest gifts are those that are KNOT expected. This Mac user salutes you! My thanks to the developer. [alert admin]
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Tuesday, May 24 2005 @ 01:08 PM PDT
EOS Image Manager 1.0 (Mac OS X)
I thought on this obviously uninformed comment: "I am submitting just one question: Who gave the author permission to use Canon's proprietary name for their Electronic Operating System in their cameras?" ...very naive. There are only 26 letters in our alphabet. EOS could stand for many things. IBM, for example (could stand for Inertial Braking Mechanism), cannot be copyrighted, but IBM© as a specialized, colored, designed (etc) logo, can. This ID must be described in detail (as defined per specs of the US Patent Office), submitted and granted official copyrights for a period of years. All a company can then do is sue for any loss of income (that can be priven in a court) due the unauthorized use of the ID, and or losses (that can be priven in a court) due to misuse, etc. Then only TREBLE DAMAGES can be awarded for such a registered ID. This company would have to be selling computers or computer related peripherals (like the International Bussiness Machines, corporation does, or derriving profits from the use for the ID, for which royalties are not being paid) and then the copyright holder would haev to show to wht level this was delibeerate and not possibly done in ignorance, and also that the company in question did not reply to a cease and desist order, etc. NOTE: The letters themselves cannot be copyright protected, and more than DOG or GOD can. Try doing some reasearch before you get all politically correct and beliigerant. BTW, I am in no way affiliated with this developer, but I am getting sick and tired of people marching along like sheep to the beating drum of greed being prepetuated by greedy stockholders of monopolies. There needs to be a quick about face in this arena or soon you won't be able to sneeze without someone taking us to court because the sound of sneezing is a copyrighted jingle owned by the Kleenex© Corporation! Think about it. [alert admin]
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Monday, December 06 2004 @ 02:14 AM PST
Vidi 0.4.4d9 (Mac OS X)
Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! It's been rruufff rruufff rruufff without an updated application to run my (not nearly so) old Formac. I've had a real bone to pick with those Formac guys. But now I know there really is a dog! : ) Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! [alert admin]
Saturday, December 04 2004 @ 04:18 PM PST
CD Jacquet 1.5.6 (Mac OS X)
...if this app os ever going to move from its present stage as a "work-iniprogress" to a fully realized solution . • Text controls - 1) There is a real need for baseline shifting, or the ability on unlock the text for a drag-reposition. 2) Changing fonts sometimes hangs, and changing fonts is a bit "clutsy." 3) Font effects need to be added (hmmmm...waiting for Tiger "text units?" : ). 4) The "line space" re-sizer dial is a cute idea, but hardly functional. A larger wheel (more movement for less change) and/or a dialog box for numberic entry is needed. Corrected, wheels could work for text paragraph width and sizing too. 5) Major ommission, a curve/warp/radius tool for text flow. 6) Obvious ommission...text kerning! 7) As many elements as possible should be transferrable to a disc-label layout • Image Controls - 1) On the image list tool on the top right, the monad switching tool is a poor implementation. A pop-up menu should be used so that any image could appear in any window, or perhaps a browser window a la PS. 2) The tiling idea is good, but needs more flexibility, including a warping tool for radiusing and arcing (and more?) 3) Basic imaging filteers needs to be added (Tiger again?). 4) An image warping and cropping tools need to be added. • DISC LAYOUT and PRINT CONTROLS Goods start, but this tool needs lots of Tender Loving Care and Finessing. I've paid my money, here's my feedback. This tool fills a niche. I hope it continues to improve, because we could really use this in the Mac. Thanks [alert admin]
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Friday, November 19 2004 @ 10:06 AM PST
HimmelBar 2.0b1 (Mac OS X)
This is one of those totally useful little apps that make me proud to be a long term Mac enthusiast. Still, I can't understand why - in this politically correct universe - only Mac developers are not afraid of the socially inhospitable climate? I mean seriously... HIMmelBar? Why not HERrelBar? Or at least ITtelBar? Iam ONLY KIDDING! : ) [alert admin]
Friday, November 12 2004 @ 01:29 PM PST
Last 10 Comments by iamdorian2 [ Search for All ]
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