Existing users, 
User Name ~Antonio
Member Since 2005-06-29
Total number of Feedback Posts: 12
Total number of comments: 7
Last 10 Feedback Posts by ~Antonio [ Search for All ]
VirtualBox 3.0.8 (Mac OS X)
Perfect solution for Windows testing in OS X 
Out of the gate, I'll mention taking a star off for the Linux issues. They're common, and I hear about them all the time. Otherwise, this has been a very fast, very stable, very useful solution to me a web developer. I currently run several versions of Internet Explorer withing Windows XP using VirtualBox, as well as the debugging and coding tools which come with Office, and am very pleased with my experiences. The Guest Additions for switching between OS X and the host environment via hover state are excellent and also work quite well. Make this work with Linux, and it'll be a winner. Considering Sun is now owned by Oracle, who seems to love Linux, I'm surprised it hasn't happened already. [alert admin]
Post a comment | More Info | 4 of 4 users found this helpful
Tuesday, October 06 2009 @ 12:54 PM PDT
LiteSwitch X 2.6 (Mac OS X)
Finally, a SIngle Application Mode option that works in 10.6!
I've tried, with many utilities, to enable a Single Application Mode (autohide background apps), to keep my workspace tidy, and all have failed. I use Quicksilver, for many of it's features, but the Autohide Background Apps option hasn't worked since 10.4. AutoHide is a PowerPC app. As I don't have any other PowerPC apps, installing additional packages in OS X for a one-trick-pony is a no-go. Enter: LiteSwitch X, which works well in 10.6; better than did QS in 10.4, and much better than did AutoHide on PPC. To correct the previous reviewer's statement, you do not need Rosetta to install or run LiteSwitch X in Snow Leopard. [alert admin]
Wednesday, September 16 2009 @ 10:49 AM PDT
HideItControl 1.25 (Mac OS X)
This is one of the most useful utilities I have found for OS X, and I wish I had found it sooner. Since updating to Leopard (and now Snow Leopard), Quicksilver, another useful utility which I still use, has been unable to hide background applications. Enter HideItControl, which does the job, not only nicely, but much more quickly than Quicksilver did. As mentioned in a previous review, there is an option to hide all background apps, and that is the single application mode. With HideItControl's single application mode, application window clutter is now a thing of the past on my machine. Thanks much! [alert admin]
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Sunday, September 06 2009 @ 01:24 AM PDT
Contactizer Pro 3.7 (Mac OS X)
I tried the 30-day trial, and it looks like a great app, but worth $119? I'm not so sure... [alert admin]
Post a comment | More Info | 0 of 4 users found this helpful
Tuesday, March 03 2009 @ 12:33 PM PST
Poser 7.0.2.132 (Mac OS X)
Very good price point and they've made improvements to the interface and stability
Version 7 is definitely a step up for Poser. I had issues with the stability up through version 6 on fairly high-end PowerPC hardware, in the past. It would crash while executing fairly simple tasks. I'm currently working on an Intel C2D, and it's running without a hiccup. I'm not sure if that makes a difference, or even if it should, considering, if software is released for a platform, it really ought to perform as reliably on that platform as it does on the others for which it is released. I can't really judge how the current version performs on PPC architecture, though maybe I'll fire up my PPC tower and find out. While I do wish they'd overhaul the camera view controls (which are anything but intuitive and really need a redesign), there have been some decent tweaks made to the rest of the interface. Things feel a little less clumsy. Along with the camera views, the editing tools along the top are my primary interface options. It would be nice if these stood out more, if the icons were a tad more representative in some cases of the intended use, and if, maybe, these were even something different completely from the web 2.0-style buttons they now seem to mimic. Come to think of it, representation is the same issue with the camera views- the hands and arms really don't represent the tools well, though the trackball comes close. An odd comparison though it may be, the trackball might be a bit better if it were something akin to the gradient angle control in Freehand, or something which moves like a desktop USB trackball, and is a simple color sphere with a focal dot which moves with the camera angle. come to think of it, something similar could replace at least three of the current camera view tools. It would seem much more straight-forward (just because we're working with the human figure doesn't mean we have to have tools modeled after human parts, especially if it only serves to obfuscate their purpose). And then there are the weird, plain white dots for scale, focal length, and roll (a shame, considering how well the tools themselves work). Why there is such a striking disparateness between certain portions of the interface and others is bewildering. I sometimes think it was designed by several different UI designers, each with his or her own agenda. The only tool which makes direct sense is the light controls tool: primary light source, core shadow, reflected light, each which are manipulated around a globe for direction, amount, and angle -simple enough and quite well done. The saving grace to all of this is that there is text annotation for each tool as you hover over, and it's large, crisp easily read text which happens immediately and in the same spot just over the icons. (as compared to other software which uses tiny little popups). Also worthy of positive note are the tabs at the top and the folding library, which snaps into existence with a click and is gone just as easily, allowing Poser to include as many features as it does and still keep them well organized and from becoming as intrusive as so many features could be when they're all accessible at the same time. I can't comment on any animation features Poser may have, as I use it primarily as a tool for figure modeling for illustration and the like, which it works quite well for. And, I think, I've written enough for now ;o) [alert admin]
Thursday, January 08 2009 @ 12:41 PM PST
Poser 7.0.2.135 (Mac OS X)
Very good price point and they've made improvements to the interface and stability
Version 7 is definitely a step up for Poser. I had issues with the stability up through version 6 on fairly high-end PowerPC hardware, in the past. It would crash while executing fairly simple tasks. I'm currently working on an Intel C2D, and it's running without a hiccup. I'm not sure if that makes a difference, or even if it should, considering, if software is released for a platform, it really ought to perform as reliably on that platform as it does on the others for which it is released. I can't really judge how the current version performs on PPC architecture, though maybe I'll fire up my PPC tower and find out. While I do wish they'd overhaul the camera view controls (which are anything but intuitive and really need a redesign), there have been some decent tweaks made to the rest of the interface. Things feel a little less clumsy. Along with the camera views, the editing tools along the top are my primary interface options. It would be nice if these stood out more, if the icons were a tad more representative in some cases of the intended use, and if, maybe, these were even something different completely from the web 2.0-style buttons they now seem to mimic. Come to think of it, representation is the same issue with the camera views- the hands and arms really don't represent the tools well, though the trackball comes close. An odd comparison though it may be, the trackball might be a bit better if it were something akin to the gradient angle control in Freehand, or something which moves like a desktop USB trackball, and is a simple color sphere with a focal dot which moves with the camera angle. come to think of it, something similar could replace at least three of the current camera view tools. It would seem much more straight-forward (just because we're working with the human figure doesn't mean we have to have tools modeled after human parts, especially if it only serves to obfuscate their purpose). And then there are the weird, plain white dots for scale, focal length, and roll (a shame, considering how well the tools themselves work). Why there is such a striking disparateness between certain portions of the interface and others is bewildering. I sometimes think it was designed by several different UI designers, each with his or her own agenda. The only tool which makes direct sense is the light controls tool: primary light source, core shadow, reflected light, each which are manipulated around a globe for direction, amount, and angle -simple enough and quite well done. The saving grace to all of this is that there is text annotation for each tool as you hover over, and it's large, crisp easily read text which happens immediately and in the same spot just over the icons. (as compared to other software which uses tiny little popups). Also worthy of positive note are the tabs at the top and the folding library, which snaps into existence with a click and is gone just as easily, allowing Poser to include as many features as it does and still keep them well organized and from becoming as intrusive as so many features could be when they're all accessible at the same time. I can't comment on any animation features Poser may have, as I use it primarily as a tool for figure modeling for illustration and the like, which it works quite well for. And, I think, I've written enough for now ;o) [alert admin]
Wednesday, December 03 2008 @ 10:45 AM PST
Core2 CRM 1.0.8.0 (Mac OS X)
So, it's $499.95 AND you need FileMaker Pro? For a shareware license? Yeah.Good luck with that. Especially with all the higher quality, better known, and much less expensive options on the market. [alert admin]
Post a comment | More Info | 1 of 2 users found this helpful
Wednesday, December 03 2008 @ 09:47 AM PST
VirtualBox 2.0.0 (Mac OS X)
Still buggy, support forum wonky, admin email link at forum broken
The app crashes when I try to create a virtual disk of any sort for the guest OS. I created an account on the support forums, which mentions similar issues, but the account doesn't work after activation. To add insult to injury, the only email link to the forum's administrators results in a bounced email (delivery failure). I keep reading about what few resources this app uses, and that it's faster in some respects than Parallels, and that switching between the guest and host OS are quicker than in other solutions, but until I can't get it to work at all, or even get into the support forum. I'm on a 2.2Ghz MacBook Pro with 4Gb of RAM, and a pretty standard OS X install. [alert admin]
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Monday, September 08 2008 @ 02:29 AM PDT
CinePaint 0.21-2 (Mac OS X)
Make it work or just can the damn project!
After many,many years, this software still crashes if you create anything more than a normal layer; you can create multiple layers, but forget giving it any attribute other than normal, because Cinepaint will stall and die! Now, they've released an Aqua native version, but it won't even launch. The software has so many dependencies that compiling one of the 'Nix versions on X is a chore. With the dependencies installed, I still get Make errors. And,they've only been stalling the Glasgow release for, what, the past two years? You guys need to seriously get it together. Make a Mac version which works or just stop. Folks, pass on this piece of garbage and use Gimp. [alert admin]
Saturday, November 11 2006 @ 12:42 PM PST
Aqua Scribus 1.3.3.2 (Mac OS X)
I am greatly enjoying this application. As an Indesign user who also enjoys working with open source/GNU stuff and compiling in Unix with GCC, this app is a lot of fun. And, I'd wager to say it could definitely be used for professional-quality work, though I would like to see some things streamlined, such as proportionally scaling images, as is neatly streamlined with a keyboard shortcut in both Indesign and Quark. Also, I don't have print preview or EPS import, as Scribus won't recognise my Ghostscript framework. -Yes, Ghostscript is installed correctly, in the Frameworks folder. I even compiled and installed Ghostscript via Darwin, and still, Scribus fails to see it. Other than that, the app works really well with robust and professional-level features, including collection for output, for which I configured a custom keyboard shortcut from within the preferences. An online wiki is available for the regular Scribus, and much of the info is applicable to the Aqua version. Fix the few bugs and keep up the good work! [alert admin]
Read Comments (1) | More Info | 3 of 3 users found this helpful
Saturday, November 11 2006 @ 12:31 PM PST
Last 10 Comments by ~Antonio [ Search for All ]
Ah, maybe I spoke too soon.... It worked fine for a while, then started getting real flaky. So, I am now going to try LiteSwitch X for a while, and see how that goes.
Original feedback item : Read More
Monday, September 14 2009 @ 11:03 AM PDT
Sept, 09: LiteSwitch works with Snow Leopard!
That's odd. I don't have Rosetta installed with my Snow Leopard installation, and the preference pane is working just as it should, which is normal, considering this is made for Intel. Are you sure you downloaded/installed the correct version?
Original feedback item : Read More
Monday, September 14 2009 @ 11:00 AM PDT
UPDATE 2: Runs quite well after you get through the hiccups...
After working around the entire crashing while setting up the virtual disk scenario, I found this app actually works quite well. In fact, as mentioned by some others, comparable to Parallels, and even better in some respects. Time will tell, however, if there are more bugs to reveal which are on level with the drive setup crash. I'd like to think that's the only serious bug I'll find, and that they didn't just make a speedy…
Original feedback item : Read More(1 words)
Monday, September 08 2008 @ 03:46 PM PDT
Good product with a great price!
Ah, but this is about version '2', unless the rest of us missed something.
Original feedback item : Read More
Monday, September 08 2008 @ 03:34 PM PDT
There are other open-source options available to the PPC community, such as Q. Not all virtualization solutions have to or even should support both PPC and Intel.
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Monday, September 08 2008 @ 03:16 AM PDT
UPDATE: Still buggy, support forum wonky, admin email link at forum broken
Okay, it crashes when I attempt its own recommended 10Gb partition, as well as with 5, but seems okay with 4 or 6. This is weird. If they really want to compete with the big boys, like Parallels and VMWare, these are the sorts of things they need to fix.
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Monday, September 08 2008 @ 02:49 AM PDT
Agreed. Why should someone pay to test software? Normally, it's the other way around.
Original feedback item : Read More
Saturday, November 11 2006 @ 01:19 PM PST
