Messages

1

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: Mini Review: Espresso

« on: July 07, 2008, 12:15 AM »

Thanks!!! great review.

If it would not be such a hassle to switch email clients.   Do you know if Espresso uses the mbox format for storage?

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Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: MiniReview of Linkman URL Organizer and Search Tool

« on: March 21, 2008, 07:33 PM »

Thanks for the review and the pointer to Linkman ! 
You are a very skilled writer.

I would have two questions for which I could not find an quick answer at the outertech site:
Does Linkman provide an option to synchronize bookmarks between two PCs - perhaps with an online option?
Does it run from an USB stick?
One license seems to be only good for a single PC  - presumably the answers to the previous questions are NO.

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General Software Discussion / Re: JabRef: Nice Open Source Bibliography Tool (like EndNote)

« on: March 17, 2008, 08:44 PM »

Thomson/Endnote is the most inept monopoly project that I know of   - no, I never wanted to organize images with Endnote, just easy ways to get the references into it and a big library of reference styles easily applied. New versions of Endnote could be doing more than merely introducing new database formats.
All the best to JabRef !

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General Software Discussion / Re: Easy photo editor

« on: January 19, 2008, 09:25 PM »

Easy photo editor  ?

My recommendation is Helicon Filter.  In contrast to most of the previous suggestions it is actually an image editor (and not mainly a browser) and it is specialized on photo optimization.
What makes it easy? It is the fantastic user interface and the layer-less workflow.  There is very little to learn. As a beginner just follow the "filter" tabs from left to right,  adjusting the image if needed.

http://www.heliconso...m/heliconfilter.html

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Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: Quick Web Creations - Professional 2.0 Images

« on: January 19, 2008, 09:12 PM »

Daleus,
I would suggest that "Web 2.0" images or graphics do not exist as any specific style or in any specific relationship to the "Web 2.0" idea.  It is just Blah, blah and likely means web graphics currently "en vogue":
shiny, glossy, gel-ly, translucent and saturated colors

Daleus are you still stuck with "Generation X" images ????    Too bad. 

Gah, I hate this as I will reveal to all, my apparent ignorance.  None the less, I plunge forward with daring and courage.

Ahem, what exactly is a "Web 2.0" image?

Thanks for not throwing rotten tomatoes

-Daleus (January 18, 2008, 09:42 AM)

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General Review Discussion / Re: Best spreadsheet - iWork Numbers

« on: January 04, 2008, 06:15 PM »

OK, I have never used Apple's iWork Numbers and usually avoid MACs. But I know that this is how spreadsheets should look like and that they had some cool usability ideas.

http://www.apple.com/iwork/numbers/

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Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: authorPOINT Lite Reviewed

« on: November 25, 2007, 05:12 PM »

Thanks Dhuser for the informative review.

Fist I misunderstood the pricing (but the reviewed version is free) - now that makes it even more interesting.

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Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: XYplorer File Manager

« on: November 20, 2007, 01:38 PM »

Just another example of the somewhat absurd nature of this "debate". One side attempts to provide arguments - the other contents "one just does not understand"  ( again without providing any hints of what exactly could there be to understand anyhow? ).  Perhaps, SP is just a "certain way of life"?; these posts make it look like a mysterious cult.

Anyhow, looks like we can close this part of the debate soon.

-luc (November 20, 2007, 11:38 AM)

Oh, really? Do you have some insider information we all others don't have?

Come on, luc, just stop your whining and buy Directory Opus or some other DP clone. There are so much choices, where is your problem?   

Or buy both fruits and make lemonade! 

You don't seem to understand that DP is far more than just adding a second pane. The whole program is build around the SP approach...

-boxstar (November 20, 2007, 12:41 PM)

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Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: XYplorer File Manager

« on: November 20, 2007, 11:38 AM »

Actually, I believe I was wrong before - Most likely the majority of people would prefer to have both fruits.

The curious thing is, that so many people here are writing of philosophical or conceptual differences between SP and DP file managers; I do not buy it. What philosophy could it be (discussion and arguments are usually involved in philosophy)?   I have not found an attempt at a rational argument for the exclusion of a DP option other than mysterious unspecified philosophy or dogma (breaking a program in an unspecified way ?,....).  Perhaps there is an unspecified incredible value somewhere in just being different ?? - that would be comparatively rational.
This strangeness of the discussion makes the whole topic somewhat provocative.
On the other hand, many posts here have delivered real world arguments for the usefulness of DP (and apparently people in the XY forums have used external scripting tools to re-create a DP there).
Anyhow, looks like we can close this part of the debate soon.

Some people are happy with apples only and some with oranges only - and some would prefer to have both.

-luc (November 19, 2007, 07:03 PM)

Yes, that's why I don't know if it is really a good idea to make the apple (XYplorer) look more like an orange. If I prefer DP there are so many great file managers out there but if I want a good single pane file manager there is only XYplorer. If Don can find a way to implement "both worlds" without sacrificing the things which make XY so special then all users (SP and DP fans) would be happy. But I think that's not an easy task...

-ad-min (November 20, 2007, 01:13 AM)

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Mini-Reviews by Members / not exactly

« on: November 19, 2007, 07:03 PM »

....So what Luc is saying is: "This apple has a severe problem: it does not taste like an orange."

-DonL (November 19, 2007, 02:33 AM)

No, that is not what I was writing.  I did write: "There are many other file managers available which are more suitable for visually and mouse oriented users". I did not say the others are better in general. As it is also confirmed by several responses here, a dual pane mode is a non-negotiable requirement for quite a lot of people. Perhaps mentally more flexible people can do without; some of us will not. Nothing new. Some people are happy with apples only and some with oranges only - and some would prefer to have both.

11

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: XYplorer File Manager

« on: November 18, 2007, 03:28 PM »

Hi Don,

somehow you might want to try to re-calibrate your judgements.  First your are implicitely describing a dual pane mode in a file manager as "buzz feature" (it was introduced 15 years ago, or even earlier?) and then you are calling the following a hate review:
"A very powerful and fast file manager with plenty of helpful inventions enhancing file management. It is multi-tabbed and you can open several instances; However, what is missing completely is a straightforward classic dual-pane mode, the easiest way to manage files visually. Thus I can recommend this tool only for people planning to deal with a steeper learning curve to master a powerful tool. There are many other file managers available which are more suitable for visually and mouse oriented users."  So, where exactly is hate expressed in there?

Unfortunately,you do not seem to have attempted a single rationale argument in this discussion and prefer to  write about "buzz features of the day" and "hate reviews".   People have different demands regarding filemanagers and might be wired differently.  For example I am not the only who would be driven crazy if I would have to use a MAC for more than an hour; only because of its file management approach.
( BTW, nobody who has visited the XYplorer forum will realistically expect the implementation of the buzz feature, as it has apparently been requested often and already long ago and your aversion to it is pretty obvious).  You cannot stand a dual pane mode for an unknown reason; that is fine, as XY is obviously your personal creation.  Pseudo arguments will not help potential customers.

A dual pane layout is, in my eyes at least, not exactly a buzz feature. ...

-luc (November 14, 2007, 08:33 PM)

Thanks for the hate review at snapfiles. It won't increase the chance for DP in XY, but you probably feel better now.

(If you are not luc0815: ignore this post.)

-DonL (November 18, 2007, 11:00 AM)

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Mini-Reviews by Members / dual pane - buzz feature ???

« on: November 14, 2007, 08:33 PM »

A dual pane layout is, in my eyes at least, not exactly a buzz feature. Has been around for quite a while - and not just by accident.
It is bit hard to understand how the option of a second pane would destroy a good file manager (despite many, many posts on XY's own board) - and nobody could force the author to actually use it himself.   
Anyhow, there are sooo many good file managers out there and necessarily they all have their own idiosyncrasies; some have larger ones (the lack of the buzz feature for example) and the others have many smaller idiosyncrasies. Still looking for the perfect one for me, though.

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Mini-Reviews by Members / dual pane mode ??? -- Re: XYplorer File Manager

« on: November 03, 2007, 02:16 PM »

XY Explorer might just be the king of the hill if Donald would not be too proud (because somebody else invented it ??) to implement a dual pane mode. I cannot imagine working without the great overview over files one gets with dual panes - despite all the other enticing developments seen with XY explorer.

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Mini-Reviews by Members / PhotoFiltre - still some pieces missing

« on: November 03, 2007, 01:39 PM »

Inspired by your interesting review I gave PhotoFiltre a try and I agree with you on the very pleasant speed of this application and its ease of use.

However, it has been mentioned in several times in this thread that Photofiltre would be somehow equivalent to the likes of PaintShopPro.  I disagree here because several very important tools are still missing from PF Studio 9. For example white balance, tone curves and a denoising tool seem to be missing.  The tone adjustments are restricted to gamma and levels (under a misleading name) and "more shadows"  "more highlights" commands. The sharpening options are also very reduced (sharpen, sharpen more) with the reinforce tool (likely an USM version) producing not so impressive results.
Somehow there seem to be some masking options implemented but there seems to be no straightforward way to use them as masking layers.

My impression is that the best argument for photofiltre is indeed speed and user friendliness as long as one wants to restrict oneself to comparatively simple editing operations. A comparison with PaintShop Pro, Photoline 32 or PhotoImpact is still a bit far fetched.  It compares well with the free Paint.Net because of plugin support and speed, but Paint.net seems to develop faster.