Review – Hazel

If you would like to listen to this review, you can hear my dulcet tones on MacreviewCast #136
I’ve been getting deeper into automation lately. In this regard, I’ve discovered a very handy little application called Hazel. Hazel, published by Noodlesoft.com, is an appropriately named application that does the housekeeping on your Mac. It is a preference pane that allows you to make a series of rules as to how to handle certain files on your system. Hazel then, either automatically or at your command, goes off and executes the rules you create. I think perhaps the easiest way to describe it is to give a few examples of some of my Hazel rules:

* Hazel empties my trash every few days

* Hazel empties my downloads folder and puts the movies in my movies folder, pictures in my picture folder, and music in my iTunes library.
* Hazel clears out my media-heavy temporary files such as soundtrack and movie temp files once a week.
* I have one folder on a password encrypted sparse image drive that is the recipient of my scanned documents. When I ask Hazel to clean that folder, it takes each pdf and moves it to a sub folder organized by month and year. If it needs too, Hazel will create a new monthly folder.

I’ve really only scratched the surface with my usage so far. Hazel can also set color labels and add Spotlight comments. It can even rename your files. It integrates with the iLife library allowing you to send files into iPhoto and iTunes. If you are trying to break yourself of the habit of accumulating files on your desktop, Hazel can lend a hand.
These are just a few examples of what Hazel can do. Lately, whenever I catch myself doing repetitive file management tasks, I end up making a Hazel rule to get that bit of drudgery out of my life.
If you don’t already have a program to delete applications, like AppZapper, Hazel has a feature called AppSweap that sniffs out related files when you go to delete an application.
I exchanged email with Hazel’s developer, Paul Kim. Paul explained that he developed Hazel out of frustration with keeping his desktop clean and his observation about what a good job smart folders did of keeping his mail organized. Paul says he is looking into adding a few Leopard specific features but also intends to continue supporting Tiger
I really enjoy using my Mac. I want to spend that time, however, getting my work done or having fun making music or working on the MacSparky blog. Hazel helps you cut down on the time spent doing computer housekeeping and more time for the fun stuff.
My review was of version 2.1.1 which is universal binary. Hazel can be downloaded at Noodlesoft.com for a free 14-day trial. A full license will cost you $21.95. However, Paul agreed to give a 10% discount to MacReviewCast listeners and MacSparky readers for the week of December 1-8, 2007. Just enter the coupon code MACSPARKY. Now is your chance!

Continue reading →

Review – FileChute

If you would like to listen to this review, I recorded and published is as part of the MacReviewCast #135.
Like a lot of computer users I am constantly sending files around. It is easy enough with small files but what happens when the files get too big for an email. I send family movies to relatives in London and the Philippines. I send Keynote Quicktime movies to clients and judges. I even send the occasional AIF file to my good friend Tim at the Macreviewcast.
Well, up until recently I always did this through Pando or some other ubiquitous online service that agreed to be my middle man in large file transfers. This works well enough but if the file sizes get too large, those options start costing money. Furthermore, it always requires the participation of the other side. Sure I can tell my brother-in-law in London to get a Pando account, but can I really say that to a client or judge?
Well once again the excellent Mac developer community has come to the rescue. Yellow Mug Software’s $17.95 FileChute does the trick. This little application puts a box on your screen with a … well … chute. You then drag any file or group of files you want into the chute and the application prompts you to send it as-is or archived in dmg, zip, or tar formats. You can password the archive (or not) and then FileChute uploads it to your internet location of choice.

I’ve got a .mac account and it works flawlessly. I also uploaded some files to the MacSparky server space and it works just as well. The first time you do this you need to tell FileChute where to send your file but after that there is no more fiddling required. I found the set up with a .Mac account ridiculously easy. On my own server I had to give it a bit more information but it still only took a few minutes to configure.

Once the file is uploaded, FileChute gives you a link that you can put in an email, read over the phone, or tie to the leg of a pigeon. Your recipient just needs to click the link and the file downloads. No more do your recipients need to sign up for an “account” somewhere. No more is retrieving files such a chore. Click and download. It doesn’t matter if the recipient is on a Mac, Windows, or Linux. This really is FileChute’s greatest feature. The recipient does not have to be tech savvy to get your files. Suddenly, it is possible for me to send files to people who would otherwise have no clue as to how to retrieve them.
FileChute also cleans up after itself. You can set an expiration for the files to self delete in a certain number of days or you can tell it to delete the file immediately.
I tested FileChute retrieving files on both Macs and PCs and I never had any problems. I’m sure there could be some issues if your router or firewall is particularly grumpy but that wouldn’t really be the fault of FileChute.
This review is of version 3.01 which I ran in Leopard on my MacBook Pro. It is universal binary. You can buy a license for FileChute for $17.95 at yellowmug.com. I’ve written the developer however, and Yellow Mug has agreed to offer 25% off that price if you use the coupon code MACSPARKY so now is your chance. They also have a free trial and a 60-day, money back guarantee, and free upgrades. If you find yourself routinely sending files that won’t fit in an email, you can’t go wrong with FileChute.

Continue reading →

Review – Inspiration 8

You can hear this review on the MacReviewCast Episode 134. This week I thought I would take a look at an excellent software package my daughter has been using on her iMac, Inspiration 8 from Inspiration Software.
 When school started this fall, my 6th grade daughter, Sam, came home bragging about this program she was using at school that sounded a lot like a kid friendly mindmap program. Now I know you must be thinking, how could an 11 year old be excited about such a thing but, indeed, the kids are. That is because the folks at Inspiration have figured out a way to make these tools fun and easy to work with. 
 Inspiration has both outline and diagram views that allow the kids to work in a linear or more free-form basis. It is loaded with education friendly templates. Nevermind the obligatory organization chart: This thing has important stuff like history reports and science projects. The built in dictionary and thesauras even help them step up thier writing skills.
 It helps you gather, sort, and analyze information and then organize it for presentation or report. Man do I wish I learned those skills when I was 11. 
 The application is useful for planning and organizational skills, critical thinking, communicating clearly, and analytical skills. If the kids have fun while they do it, they won’t have any idea just how much good it is doing them. You’ve heard enough from me though. I have a guest reviewer who wants to share her thoughts on the program.
Allow me to introduce Samantha Sparks
****Samantha
Hi, my name is Samantha and I am doing my review on a program called Inspiration 8. It was released in February of this year. You can build diagrams, graphic organizers, and concept maps. You can add pictures and arrows. It features 65 templates to get you started. You can also add media.
I found out about it at school when we had to do a family tree on it. It was pretty easy once you know about two of the main buttons. I recommend using rapid-fire which is a button for brainstorming. It is a lot faster. Overall the program is very easy to catch onto.
I use it still for school purposes. I just recently did a report that required a family tree. My Social Studies teacher gave us a handout of a template of the tree. I started and then realized that I could make it a lot easier and better on Inspiration. I have the ability to start it at school in lab and import my unfinished copy onto my thumb-drive. I can then just finish it at home. It makes it a lot easier.
As I said before, it comes with a lot of templates already so I usually pick one of those. You can make bubbles different shapes, colors, and sizes. You can also insert hyperlinks. It can be on a mac or a PC. The program overall just is so easy and it makes projects look quite nice.
The one thing that I don’t quite like the fact that when insert a new bubble, the arrow automatically shows up with two points on each end. You can’t just set a setting for the arrows and just apply it to them all. I have to manually highlight each arrow and change them.
I would highly recommend this program to people who make diagrams or concept maps a lot. You can do something very similar to this on word but I think it is worth it to buy and use this one instead.
*****David
A license for Inspiration will cost $69. I know that is pretty high but teaching my daughter the skills this program offers makes it a bargain in my book.

Continue reading →

Review – SageTV Media Center

As our computers get more powerful and our entertainment media gets more digital there is a natural progression to computers serving as our media hub. I think we are in the very begining stages of this shift but there is no shortage of products available to accomplish this. One such product is SageTV’s media center.
SageTV is a computer-centric solution for digital PVR solutions. It has versions for Windows, Linux, and OS X. The Mac install process is quick and painless walking you through a series of menu options to configure the various options available to you. You can pull media from your drive, the internet or a TV signal if you have one going into your Mac.
Once you have everything set up you are free to go on a content preference rampage. Telling your Mac what to record and when. The software can also make suggestions to you. Searching by category I found several interesting shows that I didn’t even know exist.
In addition to regular television programming, you can access google video and your own media. Like any DVR, it also gives you the ability to play, fast-forward, or pause when life gets in the way or you just want to get past the commercials.
I thought the personal media features were nice allowing me to put together slideshows of photos and some of my favorite John Coletrane music. SageTV brings it all together in a pleasant user interface.
SageTV isn’t content to just sit on your computer though. It easily converts your media to AppleTV and iPod formats. Also, using the the additional Placeshifter software you can watch your programming across the network or across the country. Using a high speed internet connection you can watch your access your stored media from just about anywhere.
One note to be wary of is hard drive space. Downloading video media takes a lot of hard drive space. The program has some built in preferences that allows you to limit the space but it is amazing how quickly you can fill up your drive. If you get serious about a Mac based home media center you probably need to get get some large hard drives.
The point that strikes me after using SageTV is just how easy it is to coordinate media on your computer. In addition to the home media center crowd, I think the SageTV software is also good for people like college students who don’t have much room for a TV and routinely watch television on their Macs. It essentially gives you TIVO style functionality along with several more bells and whistles. I think it is also good for road warriors. If you set it up right and have a high speed internet connection you can phone home and plug into your recording library from a hotel.
You can pick up SageTV and Placeholder together for $99 at SageTV.com. For an additional $100 you can also get the MyTVPVR device to get a TV signal into your Mac.

Continue reading →

Leopard Review

Now I know everyone who has a lick of common sense understands you never load up a new operating system until all the kinks are worked out. Right?
Well, I must admit I just could not help myself. I found myself in line Friday night and going home with my shiny new Leopard disc. I ran one last SuperDuper clone and in went the Leopard DVD. I did a simple “upgrade” type of install and about an hour later my MacBook Pro had all sorts of shiny new baubles to play with.
I know that a lot of the improvements to Leopard are under-the-hood with Core Animation and a host of other new goodies for code jockies. I thought for today however, I would just discuss some of the new user features and my initial experiences with them.
The upgrade to Apple Mail is fantastic. Now we can easily read email and pull out notes, to-dos, and other information all in one application. If you are using IMAP, these items also pop onto your iPhone or web mail client. As an aside this is not the native iPhone task list manager we are waiting for but it is a start. Leopard Mail’s ability to pull data out of an email for your address book and calendar is really impressive. I reconnected this week with an old friend in Seattle. He sent me his various new addresses and numbers and with one click I had it all in my address book. No more endless copy and paste. I know some people hate html email but I like it when not overdone. I don’t see myself sending all email out on the new mail stationary but I definitely will be using it. I’ve already found excuses to do so.
One of the features that I’ve quickly become reliant upon is Spaces. Because I work exclusively on a laptop it isn’t convenient or practical for me to hook up to an addition external monitor very often. Spaces allows you to create up to 16 virtual desktops that you can navigate using the control and arrow keys. I have four virtual screens on my machine in a grid of two by two. One screen keeps my iCal and OmniFocus windows. Another window holds my mail and iChat window and a third window keeps my other internet applications and browsers. The last screen is used for whatever else I need. I’ve configured it so I always know which virtual space my key applications will open in. It is much more efficient for me to bounce around virtual screens than drill through multiple windows and minimize buttons to get to what I need. Spaces has surprised me in just how helpful it is.
Time Machine’s best feature is its simplicity. You plug in a drive. Leopard says, “do you want to back up?” and you click “yes”. If you don’t have the discipline or desire to have a detailed backup system, get yourself an external drive and have at it. I’ve actually got enough space on one of my external drives to make a SuperDuper clone and have a Time Machine partition. Because I am constantly overwriting my SuperDuper backup, I never have data on it much older than a few days. With Time Machine, if I realize I goofed something up last month, I can recover it. I really view Time Machine as complimentary to SuperDuper and not necessarily a replacement. That being said, for my wife, who is not nearly as anal about backing up as I am, Time Machine is a godsend. It would be nice for us laptop folks if we could have our Time Machine backups on the AirPort drives. I understand that was in the beta at one point and hopefully it will find its way back in.
There is a bit of controversy about Leopard’s translucent menu bar and drops downs. I actually like them. They really don’t bother me at all and they aren’t so translucent as to get in the way. I put a few screen grabs up at MacSparky. Likewise I don’t find the reflective dock all that troublesome either. I think this is a personal preference thing and you really need to decide that for yourself. Regardless, I think I understand Apple’s desire to make things look different.
The changes in Finder are also a welcome improvement. I was with a PC friend recently and we were flipping though finder in the cover flow view and pulling photos up with Quick Look. I think he is about ready to switch on that feature alone. Quick Look is one of those features that, once you try, it would be really hard going without. I would like to see its use expanded throughout the OS like the open/save dialogue and any other place you are presented with an icon.
I know Automator also received some beefy upgrades. While I’ve blogged a few Automator scripts, the addition of the recording feature has raised it to a new level. I think it is about time for me to dive neck deep into Automator.
Networking and sharing also got a lot easier. I can now plug into my office windows network for the first time. I never could manage the connection with my Tiger rig and my office’s IT guys were clueless on all things Apple. It also finds and discards network connections with much more grace than Tiger did. No longer do I get that long beach ball in the morning when booting up from the office after forgetting to manually disconnect Tiger from my AirPort drive at home.
My kids are really enjoying the new Photo Booth and iChat backgrounds. They’ve already made home movies of themselves in front of the Eiffel Tower and walking on the moon. They have also figured out how to pull backgrounds from their favorite telephone shows and movies and “walk through”. The effectiveness of these backgrounds depends a lot on how noisy the actual background is. On this your mileage may vary.
My transition into Leopard has been very easy. When I first booted up Leopard, I had an issue where the Search window kept randomly appearing and I was getting worried Tim would be able to give me the old “I told you so” speach until I realized I was sitting on my mouse. Doh! It is now installed on all the Macs in my house and we have not had any issues. The only two applications that I am missing from Tiger are Mail Act-On and SuperDuper but both developers are saying their Leopard releases are imminent. With the user improvements and the very substantial system and programming improvements I don’t think it will be long before most people that would read this review are using Leopard. It retails for $129 or you can get a family pack of five for $199.

Continue reading →

Review – ConceptDraw’s MindMap Pro

If you would like to hear my dulcet tones, you can listen to this review on the MacReviewCast Epsisode 131.
Mind Map … what a strange word. It makes me think of something ominous in a science fiction movie. I first heard of mind mapping a few years ago. Since I’m always looking for an edge and I am, admittedly, a productivity junky, I immediately went online to see what all the fuss was about. I found a few articles and applications that were supposed to help me be creative, think “outside the box”, and a host of other popular euphemisms. What I discovered was that mind maps are, essentially, a way of diagraming concepts visually as opposed to simple text lists. If done correctly, they allow you to move things around and look for relationships and concepts that don’t usually jump right out at you. In attempting to put this theory into practice on a computer it was my initial survey of mind mapping applications generally got in the way of doing anything creative. I abandoned mind mapping and stuck with my faithful OmniOutliner.
So it was with a certain degree of scepticism that I agreed to review ConceptDraw’s MindMap Pro. This application is a simple to use but refined application for creating mind maps. Like all mind mapping applications, the program presents you with a clean slate and a variety of tools to draw shapes and connectors. ConceptDraw’s MindMap actually excels at this by giving you a variety of tools to change the graphics and pointers to suit different types of relationships. It has a built in library of very useful clipart. They are categorized but not searchable. It also includes a feature that allows you to import images from elsewhere on your Mac.
The process of creating shapes and lines in ConcepDraw’s MindMap Pro is very intuitive. I was making mind map diagrams before I even cracked the manual. The application offers a variety of ways to create the diagram depending on whether you are a keyboard or a mouse person and the it does most of the work for you in terms of spacing and organization. You can drag a point around on the screen and more often than not the application will figure out what you are up to. One caveat is that you are pretty much stuck with the tools the program provides you. It does not allow you to freehand draw shapes. I’m not so sure I would need this for mind mapping but it may be a necessity for some users.
This program comes with several good looking samples that can be easily adapted to suit your needs for both business and personal use. Likewise, it comes with several pre-built templates that also kick start your mind mapping process.
Where ConceptDraw really excelled in my opinion was the process of mind mapping. It has an excellent “brainstorming” mode that allows you to get a lot of ideas on the screen quickly and then easily move them around the screen and draw relationships between them. This is a process that I’ve been doing analog for years and for the first time was easier to do on a computer for me. Because its so easy, I’m actually using it.
ConceptDraw also does a good job of allowing you to share your work when it is done. You can export the final mind map to a variety of sources including PowerPoint, Microsoft Project, HTML, PNG, and text among others. It even lets you put the images on your iPod. It does not, unfortunately, export to Keynote.
I found ConceptDraw’s MindMap Pro the first application in this genre that I actually used for its intended purpose. When I first wrote this review I had several complaints about the interface. Specifically, I thought it suffered too much from being multiplatform. Wouldn’t you know that halfway through writing the review screenshots of the soon to be released version 5.2 got leaked and it looks much nicer and more Mac-like. Like all good software, after you learn to use ConceptDraw’s MindMap Pro, it gets out of your way and allows you to be productive. I will continue to use this application in my work. I would like to see future releases give me a bit more flexibility with respect to the shapes. I would also like to see it export to Keynote.
The developer for ConceptDraw’s MindMap is in the Ukraine and I found them very supportive while I worked through this application. That is a big plus especially if you are new to this type of software. MindMap Pro will run you $199. It includes a license for both Mac and Windows which is great if you have to work on multiple platforms (like me). If you don’t need quite so much horsepower you can go with the personal edition which costs $119 but does not have the same degree of integration with Microsoft and other ConceptDraw applications. You can download a demonstration at www.conceptdraw.com.

Continue reading →

Review – Default Folder X

One problem I used to have with my Mac was the universal save dialogue box. It looks pretty, but often I found myself making lots of clicks just to get a file in the right place. I wanted it to be more intuitive and less work. I looked around and eventually found Default Folder X. I’ve been using it about four months now and, frankly, I couldn’t imagine not having it.
Default Folder X rewires the OS X save dialogue with some very nice extra features. Once you install Default Folder X, you have a new save dialogue box that includes a series of buttons down the right side. The first button is the default folder icon which allows you to specify a directory for saving items that is customizable by application. Gone are the days of starting in the “Documents” folder and drilling to fine your ultimate destination. Default Folder does the work for you. The button below that roughly equates to the “my computer” icon in the windows save box. It gives you a global view of everything on your system. Since this is duplicated in the left column, this is the button I use least often.
Next are buttons for favorites and recent locations which are very helpful. For instance I have a “review” folder saved as one of my favorites. As I write reviews I can then get them saved much faster. Likewise the recent folders icon is helpful when I’ve got my head down on one project. For instance, I spent several days this week putting together a keynote presentation for a case I’m working on. I had pdf, image, and document folders I was accessing constantly. The recent folders button kept me right on track.
Also, there is a “Finder” button that allows you to save documents to open finder windows. This again is really helpful. Quite often I have a finder window open related to whatever I am doing. Rather than drilling for it, Default Folder gets you there in one click.
On the bottom of the Default Folder save dialogue is a spotlight comment field that gives me no excuse to not start using spotlight comments more often except, of course, inherent laziness.
In addition to the new save dialogue, default folders installs menu bar and dock icons. I’m a doc minimalist so I didn’t keep Default Folder X there but my menu bar is loaded up and one more icon just makes the party bigger. This icon gives me access to the Default Folder shortcuts outside the save dialogue along with preference setting that can include multiple favorite sets and keyboard shortcuts.
At $34.95, Default Folder X is not cheap. When I first downloaded the 30 day trial, I wasn’t sure that I would end up keeping it. However, before the trial period was over, I knew I’d be paying for this one. Give it a test run yourself but be warned, you will probably end buying it. You can find out more about Default Folder X at their website.
You can listen to this review right here and see my screencast of Default Folder X right here.

Technorati Tags:
default folder x

Continue reading →

Review – GarageSale

GarageSale is the premiere eBay selling application for the Macintosh platform. The application gives you an easy interface to collect the data you need for your eBay sales and allows you to avoid the drudgery of crawling through the eBay web sale process. Frankly, being able to set all of your eBay sale preferences with familiar Mac-friendly menus and checkboxes alone probably makes this $29.99 application worth it but it actually gives you quite a bit more.
If your auctions include several photos you can host up to ten through GarageSale’s free image hosting service. If you really want to go crazy, the program will interface with your own web server or .Mac account. Either way, you can say goodbye to eBay image hosting fees. Speaking of photos, the program looks right into your iPhoto library making the incorporation of your photos seamless and much less painful than eBay’s upload system. In a pinch, you could even use your iSight camera.
Likewise, you can also set custom start times for your auctions and again GarageSale will perform a function that eBay would otherwise charge you for. If you run an eBay store, the application also allows for direct uploads. I did not, however, test that feature.
Perhaps my favorite feature is the built in listing templates. There are at least a hundred different customizable templates that can give your auction exactly the “look” you want. I liked the “spotlight” template and used it to good effect. Once you get your templates set you can re-use them for future sales. This is really convenient if you are selling similar items.
GarageSale doesn’t stop after you make your listing however. After your auction starts, the application also assists you in communicating with prospective and eventual buyers. Again it uses customizable templates to allow you to get the job done with very little trouble. Although the pre-built templates are very god, make sure to read them carefully before using them. I needed to change a few of them for my selling preferences. Thankfully, GarageSale remembered my changes.
There is a user group to assist you in using the application. I’ve had some experience selling on eBay and using GarageSale was really easy. If you are a new seller you would need to take your time the first few times through the system, but I still think it would be easier to learn how to sale on eBay through GarageSale than through the eBay site.
This application is very convenient and makes the selling process much easier and the fantastic templates give your product more zip. I think it is worth trying for anyone that is a regular eBay seller.
You can find GarageSale at iwascoding.com. A single user license will run you $29.99 and a family license will cost $49.99. You can download an unlicensed copy that will allow you to upload 3 auctions. If you do any amount of selling on eBay, I would recommend this application. It brings the Mac experience to one more piece of your online world.

Technorati Tags:
MacSparky

Continue reading →

Review – TaDaList.com

At work I manage many different projects and have a very good system for keeping track of what needs to get done. I’m using the OmniFocus beta and very pleased with it. There are two weaknesses with this systems however: Capture and simple lists. By “capture”, I’m talking about getting tasks from your brain into your system and by “simple lists”, I’m talking about that day to day flotsom and jetsom. Those little lists that remind me to pick up a certain book at the library, or spicy carrots at Trader Joe’s. It would help if the iPhone had a task list manager but frankly, I’m not sure I want my spicy carrots getting mixed in with all of my work tasks. Anyway, I stumbled upon a great little web 2.0 app solves both of these problems, www.tadalist.com.
This web application from 37 Signals is a simple to do list with a very clean interface. Each list is just a name (like “Trader Joe’s”) and a group of items (like “Carrots”) They have an Edge-friendly iPhone interface and you can both add new items and check off items from anywhere. It also has a memory for items you have already checked off so the next time I need more carrots, I can simply uncheck rather than create a new entry.
While these tools are great for shopping, I also use them for other recurring lists. I’ve got the business trip list, the “giving a presentation” list, the beach list, and a variety of others. The nice thing is I can change, delete, add, check, and uncheck items from any computer plugged into the internet, including the iPhone in my pocket.
For capturing tasks on the go I have a list called OmniFocus. If I think of something that needs to be tracked and I’m not near my Mac I put it in the OmniFocus Tada list and code it into OmniFocus later.
This is not the high powered stuff you are going to get from iGTD or the soon to be released OmniFocus. Neither is it robust as the feature set found at todoist.com as recently reviewed by Darren Rolfe. However, for a system to keep simple repeating lists and capture tasks while on the go, it really scratches the itch.

Technorati Tags:
MacSparky, web 2.0, tadalist

Continue reading →

Review – 1Passwd

My password habits, until recently, have been very lazy and unsecure. I had just a few passwords that I used repeatedly and whenever I forgot one, it was a hit and miss affair. One of my standard passwords actually was “password”. I can laugh at myself about this because I know I am not alone.
Realizing the error of my ways I’ve been making a concerted effort to be more secure with my passwords. Getting serious about security however also requires a reliable system to keep track of all of these new passwords. It was with this mindset that I began using 1Passwd. This application supercharges the keychain, but that is just the beginning.
When you are on a website that requires you to generate a password, 1Passwd, creates it for you with the degree of security (and digits) you require. It even will exclude confusingly similar characters like “0” and “O” if you tell it to. Once 1Passwd makes the password for you, it also remembers it.
1Passwd just doesn’t remember your user name and passwords however, you can set up an entire identity with all of the common fields such as address, credit card and just about everything else you can think of a website may require. You can than click on the 1Passwd “Fill with Identity” button and it does the work for you. Usually it gets them all right. A few times it put the wrong data i, but generally was right on. An interesting point about the auto form filling in 1Passwd is that it only works on domains it remembers. So if you get sucked into a fake PayPal website it will not fill in your name and password. Indeed it may help you catch a phishing attempt when 1Passwd doesn’t autofill. Another side benefit is when you fill in passwords and credit cards with mouse clicks, key loggers will not capture your data.
The program integrates effortlessly into all the major Mac browsers: Firefox, Camino, Safari, OmniWeb, DEVONagent, and Flock. It drops a little button right into your browser’s bar that allows you to access all of its features with one or two clicks. It also pulled a bunch of my already saved security settings into it when I first set it up. This is also nice for all those users who like to jump around browsers. For instance, you can save a password in Safari and later use it in Camino.
If you run multiple Macs it also syncs through .mac. I did not use this feature extensively but I did test it out and it seemed to work just fine.
The developers are really hands on and eager to make this application better. They are in getting close to rolling out a new feature that stores your information online behind security that is supposed to rival that used by financial institutions. If it works, it would be great for my iPhone. I am definitely going to need some convincing however before I agree to put my important data “out there”. I am very interested, however, in seeing how this pans out.
Licensing 1Passwd will set you back $29.95. I think it is worth it just in saved time and improved security. They have a limited demonstration available at their website so take a look for yourself.

Technorati Tags:
MacSparky

Continue reading →