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	<title>Software Battle! &#187; Shareware</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.softwarebattle.com/category/apple/apple-shareware/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.softwarebattle.com</link>
	<description>Waging the war against bad software.</description>
	<pubDate>Fri, 23 May 2008 00:39:12 +0000</pubDate>
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		<title>Mac OS X App Remover Shootout: 7 Uninstallers</title>
		<link>http://www.softwarebattle.com/2008/03/27/mac-os-x-app-remover-shootout-7-great-utilities/</link>
		<comments>http://www.softwarebattle.com/2008/03/27/mac-os-x-app-remover-shootout-7-great-utilities/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 27 Mar 2008 19:25:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>EAN</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Freeware]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Mac OS X]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Shareware]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[AppCleaner]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[AppDelete]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[AppTrap]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[AppZapper]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[CleanApp]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Uninstaller]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Yank]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.softwarebattle.com/2008/03/27/mac-os-x-app-remover-shootout-7-great-utilities/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Mac OS X is missing an important utility. An application remover. Yes, you're supposed to scrap an app by depositing it in the round file, but what about all the crap that's left behind to clog up your system? I'm talking about the .plist file, the application support folder, and so on. That stuff isn't going away on its own.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div align="center"><img src='http://www.softwarebattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/mac-os-x-app-removers.png' alt='Mac OS X App Removers' /></div>
<p>Mac OS X is missing an important utility. An application remover. Yes, you&#8217;re supposed to scrap an app by depositing it in the round file, but what about all the crap that&#8217;s left behind to clog up your system? I&#8217;m talking about the .plist file, the application support folder, and so on. That stuff isn&#8217;t going away on its own.</p>
<p>The reason for the app deletion market: Apple forgot to include a suitable uninstaller. But its not all bad news. There are plenty of apps out there to do the job. Finding the right one, however, can be a bit of a chore. Here&#8217;s a shootout featuring 7 programs to scrap everything you&#8217;ve been installing on your Apple. Hell, they can even help you keep using trial software for as long as you like&#8211;if you&#8217;re into ripping off developers.</p>
<p>All of these apps were tested using <a href="http://www.softwarebattle.com/2007/09/26/pixelmator-review/">Pixelmator</a> as the app to be removed and <a href="http://www.mamp.info/en/index.php" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.mamp.info');">MAMP</a> as the folder with an app inside to be removed.</p>
<ul>
<li><img src='http://www.softwarebattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/appcleaner-icon.png' alt='AppCleaner Icon' align="right" /><strong>AppCleaner</strong>: <a href="http://www.freemacsoft.net/AppCleaner/" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.freemacsoft.net');">AppCleaner</a> is a free, simple and lightweight app remover that can operate under two modes. The drag and drop ability that is built into most Mac app removers is here, along with a mode that lets the user select which program to remove from a list from the Applications, Widgets, Plugins, Pref Panes and more. Apps can also be drug into the program to be protected from removal. A nice feature of AppCleaner was the ability to remove only selected files if you so choose, leaving the rest intact.
</li>
<p></p>
<li><img src='http://www.softwarebattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/appdelete-icon.png' alt='AppDelete Icon' align="right" /><strong>AppDelete</strong>: Forsaking the GUI, the free program <a href="http://reggie.ashworth.googlepages.com/appdelete" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/reggie.ashworth.googlepages.com');">AppDelete</a> requires users to drag apps to the dock icon. A window pops up asking if you&#8217;d like to delete that app, followed by another window which asks if you&#8217;d like to delete associated files. It&#8217;s not a very elegant solution, but it gets the job done. On the positive side, AppDelete allows you to undo files you sent to the trash. The memory footprint is small, but deleting a larger program takes several seconds. And the popup windows can get to be annoying.
</li>
<p></p>
<li><strong>AppTrap</strong>: Unlike the other apps in the list, <a href="http://konstochvanligasaker.se/apptrap/" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/konstochvanligasaker.se');">AppTrap</a> inserts itself right into the operating system. It&#8217;s more like a folder action than a real program. Whenever an app is dragged to the trash, AppTrap pops up a window asking if you want to delete the associated files as well. The response time is excellent, but, as was the case with AppDelete, the popups can be annoying. However, it&#8217;s nice not to have to think about opening another program each time you want to delete an app&#8211;and it&#8217;s free.
</li>
<p></p>
<li><img src='http://www.softwarebattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/appzapper-icon.png' alt='AppZapper Icon' align="right" /><strong>AppZapper</strong>: Think of <a href="http://www.appzapper.com/" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.appzapper.com');">AppZapper</a> as the $12.95 version of AppCleaner. It provides all of the same functionality, in a larger package (3.9MB vs. 1.6MB), with a high cost. You do get to hear a cool sound, though, every time you zap an app. And you get free updates for life. AppZapper does itemize associated files by type, which is a nice feature if you&#8217;re deleting big programs. Unfortunately, for nearly $13, AppZapper needs to provide more features to stand out from the crowd.
</li>
<p></p>
<li><img src='http://www.softwarebattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/cleanapp-icon.png' alt='CleanApp Icon' align="right" /><strong>CleanApp</strong>: <a href="http://www.synium.de/products/cleanapp/index.html" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.synium.de');">CleanApp</a> is easily the mother of all app removers. With slick animations, a wide array of features, and an easy to use interface, it really feels like it&#8217;s going to get the job done right. The asking price of $10 feels right, as you&#8217;re getting so many features. There&#8217;s the traditional drag and drop interface, an Applications list, a System Accessories list, you can pull PPC or Intel files from Universal Binaries, remove Language packs, and it will even make a list of your least used files. And it will even log which files were installed along with an app so it can completely remove an app later. Unfortunately, CleanApp is missing a protection feature to prevent accidental removal, although it will archive and store deleted files for restoration if necessary.
</li>
<p></p>
<li><img src='http://www.softwarebattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/uninstaller-icon.png' alt='Uninstaller Icon' align="right" /><strong>Uninstaller</strong>: Up until this point, all of the applications have been simple and to the point. Drag an app, hit &#8216;OK&#8217; and watch the file and its associated be tossed to the trash. <a href="http://macmagna.free.fr/Uninstaller/" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/macmagna.free.fr');">Uninstaller</a>, however, is more complex than that. It maintains snapshots of your disk to learn when new files have been created and how they are associated with your applications. Using Uninstaller is not particularly easy, and it requires that you continue to scan and save your disk before and after you install anything. It&#8217;s also the most expensive app here, running $25. However, Uninstaller is the only app remover that finds absolutely <em>everything</em>.
</li>
<p></p>
<li><img src='http://www.softwarebattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/yank-icon.png' alt='Yank Icon' align="right" /><strong>Yank</strong>: <a href="http://www.matterform.com/mac_software/uninstaller/index.html" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.matterform.com');">Yank</a> is another unique type of app remover. It requires you to install an app using Yank, so that it can install it using “Yank protection” which takes note of which files were added to the disk at the time of installation. Unfortunately, that function doesn&#8217;t always work as advertised, sometimes missing files. Furthermore, Yank can&#8217;t keep track of changes made after a program was installed. Even if it did work as advertised, the $20 price tag is too high when there are free apps out there that do essentially the same thing.
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Which One Should You Download?</strong></p>
<p>After using each one of these, I wondered why in the world anyone would want to <em>pay</em> for an app remover. What a waste of money. All of the apps found exactly the same associated files with both Pixelmator and MAMP. Uninstaller, of course, has the ability to find a lot more files than the rest&#8211;but a significant cost and a lot of wasted time if you have a 100GB+ hard disk. In other words, go with Uninstaller only if you have some kind of clean freak&#8211;like Martha Stewart.</p>
<p>There is no be all and end all app remover for the Mac&#8211;though they&#8217;re all more effective than simply dragging an app to the Trash. They all do pretty much the same thing. If you find that you do want to actually <em>pay</em>, then CleanApp is currently the best app remover. It has more features than the rest of the drag and drop style uninstallers.</p>
<p>My recommendation, though, is to go with AppCleaner. It&#8217;s free and it does a good enough job of cleaning out remaining files.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>MacHeist Bundle Revealed</title>
		<link>http://www.softwarebattle.com/2008/01/08/macheist-bundle-revealed/</link>
		<comments>http://www.softwarebattle.com/2008/01/08/macheist-bundle-revealed/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 09 Jan 2008 01:23:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>EAN</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Mac OS X]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Shareware]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Art]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Design]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Finance]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[GTD]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Productivity]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.softwarebattle.com/?p=236</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[MacHeist has announced which shareware apps will be in its $50 bundle this year.
The first 3 apps were all apps that were given away as freebies last year. They were so successful that the devs decided to step things up a notch this year and sell full licenses
Without further ado, here&#8217;s the list.

1Password (Also includes [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.macheist.com/buy/invite/31398" title="MacHeist" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.macheist.com');"><img src="http://www.softwarebattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/macheistlogo.png" title="MacHeist" alt="MacHeist" align="left" /></a><a href="https://www.macheist.com/buy/invite/31398" title="MacHeist" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.macheist.com');">MacHeist</a> has announced which shareware apps will be in its $50 bundle this year.</p>
<p>The first 3 apps were all apps that were given away as freebies last year. They were so successful that the devs decided to step things up a notch this year and sell full licenses</p>
<p>Without further ado, here&#8217;s the list.</p>
<ol>
<li><a href="http://1passwd.com/" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/1passwd.com');">1Password</a> (Also includes access to the new <a href="https://my.1password.com/" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/my.1password.com');">my.1password.com</a> service)</li>
<li><a href="http://coversutra.com/" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/coversutra.com');">CoverSutra</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.midnightapps.com/" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.midnightapps.com');">Cha-Ching</a></li>
<li><a href="http://boinx.com/istopmotion/overview/" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/boinx.com');">iStopMotion</a></li>
<li><a href="http://embraceware.com/software/awaken/" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/embraceware.com');">Awaken</a></li>
<li><a href="http://hogbaysoftware.com/products/taskpaper" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/hogbaysoftware.com');">TaskPaper</a></li>
<li><a href="http://appzapper.com/" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/appzapper.com');">AppZapper</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.macrabbit.com/cssedit/" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.macrabbit.com');">CSSEdit</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ambrosiasw.com/utilities/snapzprox/" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.ambrosiasw.com');">Snapz Pro X</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.pixelmator.com/" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.pixelmator.com');">Pixelmator</a></li>
</ol>
]]></content:encoded>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>OmniFocus Your Life</title>
		<link>http://www.softwarebattle.com/2008/01/08/omnifocus-your-life/</link>
		<comments>http://www.softwarebattle.com/2008/01/08/omnifocus-your-life/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 09 Jan 2008 01:20:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>EAN</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Awesome]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Mac OS X]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Shareware]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[GTD]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Productivity]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.softwarebattle.com/?p=235</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<a href="http://www.omnigroup.com/" title="The Omni Group">The Omni Group</a> have been purveyors of fine software for OS X for years. Who'd have thought that you could actually get people to <em>pay</em> for a <a href="http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omniweb/" title="OmniWeb">web browser</a>? Business practices aside, today they released a brand new, if not boringly named, Getting Things Done program, <a href="http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnifocus/" title="OmniFocus">OmniFocus</a>. Don't let the company's obsession with the word "Omni" dissuade you--this one fantastic piece of software.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.softwarebattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/omnifocus.png" title="OmniFocus Logo" alt="OmniFocus Logo" align="left" />Developers: <a href="http://www.omnigroup.com/" title="The Omni Group" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.omnigroup.com');">The Omni Group</a><br />
Version: 1.0<br />
Price: $79.95 (Standard) // $49.95 (Educational)<br />
Operating System: Mac OS X<br />
<a href="http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnifocus/" title="OmniFocus" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.omnigroup.com');"> Download OmniFocus</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.omnigroup.com/" title="The Omni Group" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.omnigroup.com');">The Omni Group</a> have been purveyors of fine software for OS X for years. Who&#8217;d have thought that you could actually get people to <em>pay</em> for a <a href="http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omniweb/" title="OmniWeb" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.omnigroup.com');">web browser</a>? Business practices aside, today they released a brand new, if not boringly named, Getting Things Done program, <a href="http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnifocus/" title="OmniFocus" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.omnigroup.com');">OmniFocus</a>. Don&#8217;t let the company&#8217;s obsession with the word &#8220;Omni&#8221; dissuade you&#8211;this one fantastic piece of software.</p>
<p>I&#8217;m starting to think that developers are having a competition to see how many GTD programs they can make for the Mac. There are dozens to choose from, so anyone who wants to enter the life organization arena really has to bring their best game forward. And The Omni Group have obviously pulled out all the stops with their well crafted contestant. This is the kind of program that makes me glad I&#8217;m an Apple user. OmniFocus is a case study in usability and design. It&#8217;s practically perfect. Except the price. But more on that later.</p>
<p align="center"><img src="http://www.softwarebattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/omnifocusscreenshot.png" alt="OmniFocus Screenshot" /></p>
<p>So what makes OmniFocus so good? Let&#8217;s start with the interface. OmniFocus is exactly what an OS X program should be. Streamlined and snazzy. You can tell the designers obviously took some time developing the look and feel of this program, as nearly everything is laid out where it should be. And if you happen to hate the default layout, you can customize it easily much like you can in nearly any other Mac program. Even the use of purple (lavender?), a color that I&#8217;m not too fond of, is used tastefully enough. I wish I could change it to a nice shade of blue, though.</p>
<p>While OmniFocus&#8217; interface is impressive, the usability is where this program really shines. There are few programs I come across that feel completely intuitive&#8211;and OmniFocus is one of those programs. To help new users get acclimated to the GTD lifestyle, The Omni Group provides a few tasks to help you learn more about Getting Things Done and they even feature a nice video and Quick Reference PDF file to help their customers get up to speed with their program. The video was somewhat helpful, but I found the PDF file to be more of an asset.</p>
<p align="center"><img src="http://www.softwarebattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/omnifocusscreenshot2.png" alt="OmniFocus Screenshot 2" /></p>
<p>Easily the strongest point of OmniFocus is the ease at which it can interact with the rest of your programs. The integration list isn&#8217;t quite as long as other OS X GTD programs, like <a href="http://bargiel.home.pl/iGTD/index.html" title="iGTD" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/bargiel.home.pl');">iGTD</a> [<a href="http://www.softwarebattle.com/2008/01/04/igtd-the-way-gtd-should-be/" title="iGTD Review">review</a>], but The Omni Group fully integrates with the programs you want&#8211;almost as though OmniFocus was included with every brand new Mac. Through such thorough integration, users can search for entries with Spotlight, clip tasks in Mail with the cleverly named Mail Clip-O-Tron 3000, and synchronize tasks to iCal. It all works seamlessly and flawlessly.</p>
<p>Another feature that I found was absolutely indispensable was Quick Entry. Just press a user defined keyboard shortcut and up pops a box you can use to enter in a new task. While I&#8217;d love to see the Quick Entry window explode onto the screen with the panache of <a href="http://www.blacktree.com/" title="Quicksilver" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.blacktree.com');">Quicksilver</a> [<a href="http://www.softwarebattle.com/2007/08/08/quicksilver-a-unique-app-with-a-plethora-of-possibilities/" title="Quicksilver Review">review</a>], just popping up is enough to get the job done.</p>
<p>Overall, I found that OmniFocus is a really great program&#8211;but it&#8217;s not without its faults. A more comprehensive program integration list would be great, I&#8217;d love to see some Growl notifications, more customization options are always welcome, and I&#8217;d like to have a bit more flexibility. Yes, this is a GTD program, but the option to break out of David Allen&#8217;s mold from time to time should be there. And then there&#8217;s the price. Forking over $80 for this program is ridiculous. I absolutely adore this program, but it&#8217;s not worth it at the current price. Even the academic discount is pretty steep. But then again, OmniFocus is made by the same company who wants you to pay for a web browser.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Picture Switcher: Pricy But Pleasurable</title>
		<link>http://www.softwarebattle.com/2007/10/09/picture-switcher-review/</link>
		<comments>http://www.softwarebattle.com/2007/10/09/picture-switcher-review/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 09 Oct 2007 23:36:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>EAN</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Mac OS X]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Shareware]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Customization]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Photography]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Utilities]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.softwarebattle.com/?p=195</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ Developer: Night Productions
Version: 2.0.2
Price: $30 USD
Operating System: Mac OS X
 Click here to give Picture Switcher a try.
Fun? Yes.  Necessary? Of Course Not.
During my first year in college, my dorm-mate introduced me to program for Windows that automatically changed my desktop background.  I had this huge collection of wallpapers that I had [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.softwarebattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/pictureswitcher.png" title="pictureswitcher.png" alt="pictureswitcher.png" align="left" /> Developer: <a href="http://www.nightproductions.net/" title="Night Productions" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.nightproductions.net');">Night Productions</a><br />
Version: 2.0.2<br />
Price: $30 USD<br />
Operating System: Mac OS X<br />
<a href="http://www.nightproductions.net/picswitch.html" title="Picture Switcher" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.nightproductions.net');"> Click here to give Picture Switcher a try.</a></p>
<p><strong>Fun? Yes.  Necessary? Of Course Not.</strong></p>
<p>During my first year in college, my dorm-mate introduced me to program for Windows that automatically changed my desktop background.  I had this huge collection of wallpapers that I had amassed, so it was really cool to see the pictures change at a predefined interval.  Six years later, apparently changing the desktop background is now some sort of premium task that we&#8217;re supposed to shell out lots of cash for.  And this is where <a href="http://www.nightproductions.net/picswitch.html" title="Picture Switcher" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.nightproductions.net');">Picture Switcher</a> for Mac OS X comes in.</p>
<p align="center"><a href="http://www.softwarebattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/pictureswitcherscreenshot4.png" title="pictureswitcherscreenshot4.png"><img src="http://www.softwarebattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/pictureswitcherscreenshot4.thumbnail.png" alt="pictureswitcherscreenshot4.png" /></a></p>
<p>Now, I&#8217;m not going to judge Picture Switcher on its price (which I happen to think is outrageous for what is essentially a background changer) because I think the program deserves better than that.  Picture Switcher is a damn fine program.  Looks great, operates well, eats processing power for breakfast.  That&#8217;s right.  If you&#8217;re using a MacBook like me, you don&#8217;t want to set Picture Switcher to change the wallpaper too often or you&#8217;d better prepare yourself for lag city.  I&#8217;m sure it works great on other Macs, but the Intel GMA 950 video card just can&#8217;t handle the strain.</p>
<p align="center"><a href="http://www.softwarebattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/pictureswitcherscreenshot3.png" title="pictureswitcherscreenshot3.png"><img src="http://www.softwarebattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/pictureswitcherscreenshot3.thumbnail.png" alt="pictureswitcherscreenshot3.png" /></a></p>
<p>OK, so Picture Switcher costs a lot and makes your computer drag.  What&#8217;s so good about it?  It&#8217;s fun and it looks damn sharp.  I could watch that Core Image powered ripple effect over and over again - but then I wouldn&#8217;t get any work done.  Tweak the program galore.  Set up your own times for how long between background changes.  Modify the transition effects.  You can even warp the hell out of your background.  Don&#8217;t ask my why you&#8217;d want to - but the option is there.  Picture Switcher even supports Apple Script and keyboard shortcuts.  It&#8217;s great to see so much room for tweaking in a program that&#8217;s basically an overgrown preference pane.</p>
<p align="center"><a href="http://www.softwarebattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/pictureswitcherscreenshot2.png" title="pictureswitcherscreenshot2.png"><img src="http://www.softwarebattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/pictureswitcherscreenshot2.png" title="pictureswitcherscreenshot2.png" alt="pictureswitcherscreenshot2.png" align="right" /></a></p>
<p align="left">Another spiffy feature of Picture Switcher is a built in image viewer.  The program corrals all of the pictures in your specified folders and dumps them into one big image viewer.  Almost like iPhoto lite (very lite), this image viewer comes in real handy when deciding which backgrounds to use.  iPhoto, which came with your computer for free, also comes with this feature, of course.  But it&#8217;s a nice inclusion anyway.</p>
<p>Alright, so the final verdict.  Picture Switcher is a great, fun to use, highly customizable program that I highly recommend - if it were $5 - $10.  But the current $30 price tag is just way too much.  My advice: watch sites like <a href="http://www.maczot.com" title="MacZOT" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.maczot.com');">MacZOT</a> and <a href="http://mupromo.com/" title="MacUpdate Promo" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/mupromo.com');">MacUpdate Promo</a> for this to go on sale and then snatch it up when you can.  In the meantime, give it spin during its 30 day trial.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nightproductions.net/picswitch.html" title="Picture Switcher" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.nightproductions.net');">Click here to check out Picture Switcher</a></p>
<p>- Eric Norton</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.softwarebattle.com/2007/10/09/picture-switcher-review/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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		<title>Pixelmator: The Perfect Complement to Photoshop</title>
		<link>http://www.softwarebattle.com/2007/09/26/pixelmator-review/</link>
		<comments>http://www.softwarebattle.com/2007/09/26/pixelmator-review/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 26 Sep 2007 22:47:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>EAN</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Mac OS X]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Shareware]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Art]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Design]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Media]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Photography]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.softwarebattle.com/?p=156</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ Developer: The Pixelmator Team
Version: 1.0
Price: $59
Operating System: Mac OS X
Click here to try Pixelmator.
Photoshop Replacement?  Not Quite.

I&#8217;ve been dying to put pen to paper for a review of Pixelmator since I downloaded the first beta over a month ago.  The program has gotten better and better throughout the two betas, and the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.softwarebattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/pixelmatoricon.png" title="Pixelmator Icon"><img src="http://www.softwarebattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/pixelmatoricon.png" title="Pixelmator Icon" alt="Pixelmator Icon" align="left" /></a> Developer: <a href="http://www.pixelmator.com" title="Pixelmator" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.pixelmator.com');">The Pixelmator Team</a><br />
Version: 1.0<br />
Price: $59<br />
Operating System: Mac OS X<br />
<a href="http://www.pixelmator.com" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.pixelmator.com');">Click here to try Pixelmator.</a></p>
<p><strong>Photoshop Replacement?  Not Quite.<br />
</strong><br />
I&#8217;ve been dying to put pen to paper for a review of <a href="http://www.pixelmator.com" title="Pixelmator" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.pixelmator.com');">Pixelmator</a> since I downloaded the first beta over a month ago.  The program has gotten better and better throughout the two betas, and the full version, 1.0, is a pleasure to use.  From Pixelmator&#8217;s aesthetics to its performance, the designers really opted for a no holds barred, give the people what they want, kind of attitude - and it shows in every aspect of this hot new raster image editor for Mac OS X.</p>
<p align="center"><span id="more-156"></span></p>
<p align="center"> <a href="http://www.softwarebattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/pixelmatorscreenshot.png" title="pixelmatorscreenshot.png"><img src="http://www.softwarebattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/pixelmatorscreenshot.png" alt="pixelmatorscreenshot.png" /></a></p>
<p align="left">Pixelmator is an interesting specimen of a program.  There are very few pieces of software out there where I can look at a screenshot and instantly tell that this is a program that I can see myself falling in love with.  There was just something about those initial screenshots that enticed me, called to me, wanted me to take the program for a spin.  When I finally got the chance to, I realized what it was that those screenshots had been trying to tell me all along - Pixelmator was a program that really does look every bit as good as it performs.</p>
<p align="center"><a href="http://www.softwarebattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/pixelmatorscreenshot1.png" title="pixelmatorscreenshot1.png"><img src="http://www.softwarebattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/pixelmatorscreenshot1.png" alt="pixelmatorscreenshot1.png" /></a></p>
<p align="left">Now, if you&#8217;ve been a loyal reader, you&#8217;ve heard me say this before.  Pixelmator does a great job of filling a niche.  Normally, I would follow that up with something along the lines of: &#8220;but was it a niche that actually needed to be filled in the first place.&#8221;  But not this time.  Despite being the computer for artsy individuals, Apple has been in desperate need of some more image editors and art programs.  Look at the art programs for Windows, for example.  There&#8217;s <a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/index.html" title="Photoshop CS3" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.adobe.com');">Photoshop</a> [<a href="http://www.softwarebattle.com/2007/08/13/photoshop-the-king-of-image-editors/" title="Photoshop Review">review</a>] and the Adobe suite of programs, <a href="http://www.getpaint.net/" title="Paint.NET" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.getpaint.net');">Paint.NET</a>, the <a href="http://www.gimp.org/" title="GIMP" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.gimp.org');">GIMP</a> [<a href="http://www.softwarebattle.com/2007/08/14/the-gimp-a-decent-photoshop-replacement/" title="GIMP Review">review</a>], and a few other lesser known Photoshop replacements.  Nevertheless, they&#8217;re all pretty good.  On the other hand, looking at the Mac selection of Photoshop replacements, there seems to be a drought.  GIMP makes an appearance, as does <a href="http://seashore.sourceforge.net/index.php" title="Seashore" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/seashore.sourceforge.net');">Seashore</a> [<a href="http://www.softwarebattle.com/2007/08/17/seashore-native-gimp-for-the-mac/" title="Seashore Review">review</a>] - but GIMP is terribly slow on OS X, Seashore is far too basic, and most of the other, lesser known Photoshop replacements don&#8217;t even run on natively on Intel processors.  See the problem?</p>
<p align="center"><a href="http://www.softwarebattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/pixelmatorscreenshot2.png" title="pixelmatorscreenshot2.png"><img src="http://www.softwarebattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/pixelmatorscreenshot2.png" alt="pixelmatorscreenshot2.png" /></a></p>
<p align="left">Pixelmator takes advantage of this scarcity by offering a &#8220;Photoshop replacement&#8221; that was never really designed to replace Photoshop in the first place.  Instead, it contains a vast array of tools that are commonly used in Photoshop and none of that other stuff that most people never touch anyway.  This creates a responsive and lightweight program that runs complex filters and Core Image effects faster than a cheetah on meth.</p>
<p align="left">But the speed of the program is not all that Pixelmator has going for it.  Far from it.  There are tons of features packed into this 70MB application.  It has support for practically every graphic filetype, it uses layers, it integrates with Core Image, it has a unique selection of filters, it can use levels to modify photos, PNGs can be exported by dragging layers to the desktop, it integrates with the iSight cameras, it can use Automator actions, it will edit a photo&#8217;s metadata.  And <a href="http://www.pixelmator.com/specs/" title="Pixelmator Specs" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.pixelmator.com');">the list goes on</a> at the Pixelmator website.</p>
<p align="center"><a href="http://www.softwarebattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/pixelmatorscreenshot3.png" title="pixelmatorscreenshot3.png"><img src="http://www.softwarebattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/pixelmatorscreenshot3.png" alt="pixelmatorscreenshot3.png" /></a></p>
<p align="left">While this review may be sounding like a lovefest for Pixelmator at this point, there are a few missing features and issues that I have with this Cocoa based image editor.  The first is the lack of a curves feature.  I don&#8217;t know about any of you, but I stopped using levels to edit images a long time ago.  While levels work, curves would just be that much better.</p>
<p align="left">Another problem with the program is the gimmicky aspect of some of the features.  Some would say that the transparent windows are a gimmick, but I think they add a lot to the program.  Instead, I&#8217;m talking about the string that connects some filters to the image.  They&#8217;re a waste of resources and contribute nothing. A simple target or icon of some sort would have done just fine.</p>
<p align="center"><a href="http://www.softwarebattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/pixelmatorscreenshot4.png" title="pixelmatorscreenshot4.png"><img src="http://www.softwarebattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/pixelmatorscreenshot4.png" alt="pixelmatorscreenshot4.png" /></a></p>
<p align="left">Despite these issues, I highly recommend Pixelmator.  This program packs an extremely impressive assortment of features and some of the functions make otherwise tedious tasks fun again.  I can&#8217;t wait to see how the Pixelmator team will integrate various Leopard technologies into this already amazing program.  It should be incredible, and I am going to wait to purchase this particular piece of software until sometime after OS 10.5 is finally released.   Do yourself a favor and download the demo right now.</p>
<p align="left"><a href="http://www.pixelmator.com" title="Pixelmator" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.pixelmator.com');">Click here</a> to try Pixelmator for yourself.</p>
<p align="left">- Eric Norton</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.softwarebattle.com/2007/09/26/pixelmator-review/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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		<title>Dreamweaver: Why It&#8217;s the Standard in WYSIWYG Web Design</title>
		<link>http://www.softwarebattle.com/2007/09/07/dreamweaver-why-its-the-standard-in-wysiwyg-web-design/</link>
		<comments>http://www.softwarebattle.com/2007/09/07/dreamweaver-why-its-the-standard-in-wysiwyg-web-design/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 07 Sep 2007 21:43:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>EAN</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Mac OS X]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Shareware]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Web (2.0)]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Windows]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Art]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Design]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Media]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Web Design]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.softwarebattle.com/?p=135</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Developer: Adobe (formerly Macromedia)
Version: CS3 (9.0)
Price: $399
Operating Systems: Mac OS X, Windows
Download Dreamweaver Here.
Now if it Only Had Some More Competition
After experimenting with, and reviewing, four different What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) style web design programs over the past week, I&#8217;ve come away with a new respect for Adobe&#8217;s Dreamweaver.  It [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4f/Dreamweaver_cs3.png" title="Dreamweaver Logo" alt="Dreamweaver Logo" align="left" height="128" width="128" />Developer: <a href="http://www.adobe.com" title="Adobe" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.adobe.com');">Adobe</a> (formerly <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macromedia" title="Macromedia" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/en.wikipedia.org');">Macromedia</a>)<br />
Version: CS3 (9.0)<br />
Price: $399<br />
Operating Systems: Mac OS X, Windows<br />
<a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/dreamweaver/" title="Dreamweaver" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.adobe.com');">Download Dreamweaver Here.</a></p>
<p><strong>Now if it Only Had Some More Competition</strong></p>
<p>After experimenting with, and reviewing, four different What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) style web design programs over the past week, I&#8217;ve come away with a new respect for Adobe&#8217;s <a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/dreamweaver/" title="Dreamweaver" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.adobe.com');">Dreamweaver</a>.  It is such a fantastically designed piece of software that I totally understand now why so many people in the web design world use it.</p>
<p align="center"><span id="more-135"></span><br />
<a href="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/09/dreamweaverscreenshot.png" title="dreamweaverscreenshot.png" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/softwarebattle.wordpress.com');"><img src="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/09/dreamweaverscreenshot.png" alt="dreamweaverscreenshot.png" /></a></p>
<p>We will begin with the program&#8217;s layout.  Although Adobe tweaked the interface quite a bit for the CS3 versions of their programs, the basic layout is still the same, easy to get used to, Dreamweaver interface that it has always been.  Buttons are easy to find, menus coherently arranged, and toolbars in the places they should be.  I first began to experiment with Dreamweaver back with MX 2004 when it was still owned by Macromedia.  Dreamweaver was as easy to learn back then as it is now - a real benefit for a program that can be used by web designers and developers of all skill levels.</p>
<p align="center"> <a href="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/09/dreamweaverscreenshot1.png" title="dreamweaverscreenshot1.png" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/softwarebattle.wordpress.com');"><img src="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/09/dreamweaverscreenshot1.png" alt="dreamweaverscreenshot1.png" /></a></p>
<p>This brings us to the complexity of the program.  While other programs I reviewed this week, like <a href="http://www.sandvox.com" title="Sandvox" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.sandvox.com');">Sandvox</a> [<a href="http://www.softwarebattle.com/2007/09/03/sandvox-a-fantastic-web-designer-for-beginners/" title="Sandvox Review">review</a>] and <a href="http://www.freewebs.com" title="Freewebs" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.freewebs.com');">Freewebs</a> [<a href="http://www.softwarebattle.com/2007/09/06/freewebs-a-great-web-designer-for-the-90s/" title="Freewebs Review">review</a>] were striving to meet the needs of only the most amateurish web designers, Dreamweaver has enrolled in the same camp as programs like <a href="http://www.nvu.com" title="Nvu" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.nvu.com');">Nvu</a>/<a href="http://kompozer.net/" title="Kompozer" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/kompozer.net');">KompoZer</a> [<a href="http://www.softwarebattle.com/2007/09/05/nvukompozer-can-a-free-web-design-program-hold-its-own/" title="Nvu and Kompozer Review">review</a>] and <a href="http://www.weebly.com" title="Weebly" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.weebly.com');">Weebly</a> [<a href="http://www.softwarebattle.com/2007/09/04/weebly-create-a-website-using-the-web/" title="Weebly Review">review</a>].  These programs are easy to get used to and come stock with various features that make it a snap for a beginner web designer to make his own website - they also offer a variety of tools that are aimed at those who like to do the coding of their sites by hand.  Dreamweaver reaches to both of these web design camps and does so well with press of a button style layouts and enough syntax highlighting on all of the most popular web languages to make even the pickiest developer proud.</p>
<p align="center"> <a href="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/09/dreamweaverscreenshot2.png" title="dreamweaverscreenshot2.png" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/softwarebattle.wordpress.com');"><img src="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/09/dreamweaverscreenshot2.png" alt="dreamweaverscreenshot2.png" /></a></p>
<p>Like some of the other desktop web design programs, Dreamweaver also comes stock with some tools to help users interact with their web hosts.  A built in FTP client is, in most cases, one of the most used features of the program.  While it can be slow at times, and unstable at others, it does work well on the whole.  Another cool feature of Dreamweaver is its ability to access MySQL and Access databases with the click of a button - making the mundane task just a little easier and less time consuming.  Finally, much like other WYSIWYG HTML editors, Dreamweaver also includes a very easy to use CSS editor that can save a lot of time in many situations - especially for those with little experience with CSS.  And, if there is not an extension available for something in particular that you&#8217;re looking for, you can probably download it in the <a href="http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/exchange/index.cfm?from=1&amp;event=productHome&amp;s=3&amp;o=desc&amp;exc=3" title="Dreamweaver Extensions" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.adobe.com');">Dreamweaver extension directory</a>.</p>
<p align="center"> <a href="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/09/dreamweaverscreenshot3.png" title="dreamweaverscreenshot3.png" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/softwarebattle.wordpress.com');"><img src="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/09/dreamweaverscreenshot3.png" alt="dreamweaverscreenshot3.png" /></a></p>
<p>Because Dreamweaver is an Adobe program, it also has one extra benefit that none of the other HTML editors can provide.  Dreamweaver can integrate directly with other Adobe products like Photoshop, Illustrator, and Flash.  I&#8217;ve found that my productivity increases dramatically with this integration, making Dreamweaver a must have program for those working professionally with web design.</p>
<p align="center"> <a href="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/09/dreamweaverscreenshot4.png" title="dreamweaverscreenshot4.png" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/softwarebattle.wordpress.com');"><img src="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/09/dreamweaverscreenshot4.png" alt="dreamweaverscreenshot4.png" /></a></p>
<p>All in all, it&#8217;s easy to understand why Dreamweaver is so highly regarded.  It really is a fantastic program that is designed for everyone.  Although the price is prohibitive for many, there is a free trial that is totally worth your while.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/dreamweaver/" title="Dreamweaver" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.adobe.com');">Try Dreamweaver for Yourself.</a></p>
<p>- Eric Norton</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Freewebs: A Great Web Designer - For the &#8217;90s</title>
		<link>http://www.softwarebattle.com/2007/09/06/freewebs-a-great-web-designer-for-the-90s/</link>
		<comments>http://www.softwarebattle.com/2007/09/06/freewebs-a-great-web-designer-for-the-90s/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 07 Sep 2007 00:26:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>EAN</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Freeware]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Linux]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Mac OS X]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Shareware]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Web (2.0)]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Windows]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Media]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Web Design]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.softwarebattle.com/?p=133</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Developers: The Mokhtarzada Brothers
Version: N/A
Price: Free, Depending on Level of Service
Operating Systems: Linux, Mac OS X, Windows
Check out Freewebs Here.
Brings Back Bad Memories of Geocities and Homestead
Online web designers seem to be the hot new Web 2.0 applications.  Maybe it&#8217;s because people are growing tired of social networking sites like Myspace and Facebook - [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/43/Freewebs_logonew.png/180px-Freewebs_logonew.png" title="Freewebs Logo" alt="Freewebs Logo" align="left" height="72" width="180" />Developers: The Mokhtarzada Brothers<br />
Version: N/A<br />
Price: Free, Depending on Level of Service<br />
Operating Systems: Linux, Mac OS X, Windows<br />
<a href="http://www.freewebs.com" title="Freewebs" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.freewebs.com');">Check out Freewebs Here.</a></p>
<p><strong>Brings Back Bad Memories of Geocities and Homestead</strong></p>
<p>Online web designers seem to be the hot new Web 2.0 applications.  Maybe it&#8217;s because people are growing tired of social networking sites like <a href="http://www.myspace.com" title="Myspace" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.myspace.com');">Myspace</a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com" title="Facebook" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.facebook.com');">Facebook</a> - and they want their own full fledged websites.  Or perhaps it&#8217;s just a fad, a craze, or some Silicon Valley millionaire&#8217;s idea to increase his profits.  Whatever it is, one of the biggest online web designers is <a href="http://www.freewebs.com" title="Freewebs" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.freewebs.com');">Freewebs</a>.  But just because it&#8217;s the biggest - does it mean it&#8217;s the best?  You&#8217;ll find out soon.</p>
<p align="center"><span id="more-133"></span><br />
<a href="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/09/freewebsscreenshot.png" title="freewebsscreenshot.png" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/softwarebattle.wordpress.com');"><img src="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/09/freewebsscreenshot.png" alt="freewebsscreenshot.png" /></a></p>
<p>Freewebs offers it&#8217;s users free, easy to use website building tools to build practically any site they can think of.  However, those tools are not nearly as easy as some of the competition offers.  While they can piece together a pretty good site, they take some getting used to and may be difficult for people to jump right in for the first time.  However, after getting used to them, they become second nature and work pretty well.  I would never recommend using them on anything slower than DSL internet connection speeds though, as many of the site building tools have significant loading times.</p>
<p align="center"> <a href="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/09/freewebsscreenshot1.png" title="freewebsscreenshot1.png" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/softwarebattle.wordpress.com');"><img src="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/09/freewebsscreenshot1.png" alt="freewebsscreenshot1.png" /></a></p>
<p>Along the lines of building sites on Freewebs, let&#8217;s talk about the templates.  There are quite a few, although most are simply derivatives of other templates with header picture changes or slightly modified colors.  That&#8217;s fine, so long as I can modify my theme&#8217;s CSS.  So off to modify the CSS I go - only to be horrified to find that only one theme allows CSS modification!  If you want a free website that looks original, Freewebs is not the place to go.  There is a major lack of variety unless you put in a lot of work.  And apparently you have to &#8220;downgrade&#8221; your account if you want to edit any HTML too.</p>
<p align="center"> <a href="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/09/freewebsscreenshot2.png" title="freewebsscreenshot2.png" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/softwarebattle.wordpress.com');"><img src="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/09/freewebsscreenshot2.png" alt="freewebsscreenshot2.png" /></a></p>
<p>The large amount of options available through Freewebs&#8217; site builder is what really keeps the site strong.  I haven&#8217;t come across too many free services that automatically add a blog, a forum, various forms, and image slideshows at the click of a button.  And I&#8217;ve certainly never seen a free web design site that has multiple file upload capabilities.  These are some pretty cool features - but they&#8217;re not enough to make me rate Freewebs highly.</p>
<p align="center"> <a href="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/09/freewebsscreenshot3.png" title="freewebsscreenshot3.png" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/softwarebattle.wordpress.com');"><img src="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/09/freewebsscreenshot3.png" alt="freewebsscreenshot3.png" /></a></p>
<p>In essence, Freewebs reminds me of the old days.  The days when <a href="http://geocities.yahoo.com/" title="Geocities" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/geocities.yahoo.com');">Geocities</a> and <a href="http://www.homestead.com/" title="Homestead" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.homestead.com');">Homestead</a> (remember those) were the biggest free website brands.  Other online web building tools like <a href="http://www.weebly.com" title="Weebly" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.weebly.com');">Weebly</a> [<a href="http://www.softwarebattle.com/2007/09/04/weebly-create-a-website-using-the-web/" title="Weebly Review">review</a>] have grown out of the &#8217;90s - but Freewebs seems trapped there.  They&#8217;ve got decent tools, but there is not enough customization ability behind them to make them of use to anyone with even a slight knowledge of HTML, CSS or the other web coding languages.</p>
<p>Compatibility is also a problem with Freewebs.  While it works on every browser I tried, there were functional issues, especially with the paragraph editor, in Webkit based browsers and <a href="http://www.opera.com" title="Opera" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.opera.com');">Opera</a> [<a href="http://www.softwarebattle.com/2007/08/06/opera-a-damn-good-browser-that-nobody-uses/" title="Opera Review">review</a>].</p>
<p align="center"> <a href="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/09/freewebsscreenshot4.png" title="freewebsscreenshot4.png" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/softwarebattle.wordpress.com');"><img src="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/09/freewebsscreenshot4.png" alt="freewebsscreenshot4.png" /></a></p>
<p>I can&#8217;t end this review without discussing Freewebs&#8217; ridiculously obscene prices for &#8220;premium services&#8221;.  Taking a look at &#8220;Best Value&#8221; Enhanced Package, for $8.33 per month, you get a whopping 750 MB of storage, 25 GB bandwidth, a domain name, and five email addresses.  Give me a break.  There are plenty of web hosts that give out 300 GB storage, 3000 GB bandwidth, 2500 email addresses, and a free domain name - for a buck and a half less.  Who cares if you get free web building tools from Freewebs with the deal?  There are better free programs, like <a href="http://www.nvu.com" title="Nvu" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.nvu.com');">Nvu</a>/<a href="http://kompozer.net/" title="Kompozer" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/kompozer.net');">KompoZer</a> [<a href="http://www.softwarebattle.com/2007/09/05/nvukompozer-can-a-free-web-design-program-hold-its-own/" title="Nvu and Kompozer Review">review</a>], out there.</p>
<p>To answer the question I posed at the start of this review, no, Freewebs is certainly not the best online web design platform.  It&#8217;s not even close to it.  Do yourself a favor and forget about Freewebs if you have the hankering to build your own website using web based tools.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.freewebs.com" title="Freewebs" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.freewebs.com');">Check out Freewebs Here.</a></p>
<p>- Eric Norton</p>
<p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/SoftwareBattle" rel="alternate" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/feeds.feedburner.com');">If you liked this review, please consider subscribing to the free Software Battle! feed.</a></p>
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		<item>
		<title>Sandvox: A Fantastic Web Designer for Beginners</title>
		<link>http://www.softwarebattle.com/2007/09/03/sandvox-a-fantastic-web-designer-for-beginners/</link>
		<comments>http://www.softwarebattle.com/2007/09/03/sandvox-a-fantastic-web-designer-for-beginners/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 03 Sep 2007 21:40:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>EAN</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Mac OS X]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Shareware]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Web (2.0)]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Art]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Design]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Web Design]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.softwarebattle.com/?p=127</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Developer: Karelia Software
Version: 1.2.1
Price: $49 Regular, $79 Pro
Operating Systems: Mac OS X
Download Sandvox Here.
But Not for Anybody Else
The first time I ever tried my hand at web design, it was for a college class I was taking.  It was a fantastic class - but the quality of education is beside the point.  During [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/da/Sandvox.png" title="Sandvox Logo" alt="Sandvox Logo" align="left" height="128" width="128" />Developer: <a href="http://www.karelia.com/" title="Karelia Software" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.karelia.com');">Karelia Software</a><br />
Version: 1.2.1<br />
Price: $49 Regular, $79 Pro<br />
Operating Systems: Mac OS X<br />
<a href="http://www.sandvox.com/" title="Sandvox" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.sandvox.com');">Download Sandvox Here.</a></p>
<p><strong>But Not for Anybody Else</strong></p>
<p>The first time I ever tried my hand at web design, it was for a college class I was taking.  It was a fantastic class - but the quality of education is beside the point.  During the semester, I took it upon myself to experiment with a huge variety of different web design programs and I found that each one really is designed to cater to a specific audience.  Software like <a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/dreamweaver/" title="Dreamweaver" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.adobe.com');">Dreamweaver</a> [<a href="http://www.softwarebattle.com/2007/09/07/dreamweaver-why-its-the-standard-in-wysiwyg-web-design/" title="Dreamweaver Review">review</a>] is designed for intermediate to advanced designers while <a href="http://macromates.com/" title="TextMate" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/macromates.com');">TextMate</a> and <a href="http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/" title="Notepad ++" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/notepad-plus.sourceforge.net');">Notepad ++</a> are only for the experienced.  On the other hand, there were also those programs like <a href="http://www.sandvox.com/" title="Sandvox" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.sandvox.com');">Sandvox</a> which are perfect for people who could never tell the difference between HTML, CSS, XML, and Java.</p>
<p align="center"><span id="more-127"></span><br />
<a href="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/09/sandvoxscreenshot.png" title="sandvoxscreenshot.png" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/softwarebattle.wordpress.com');"><img src="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/09/sandvoxscreenshot.png" alt="sandvoxscreenshot.png" /></a></p>
<p>Because Sandvox is obviously for the beginner crowd, I&#8217;m not going to judge it based on how advanced it is.  In other words, don&#8217;t expect to write any code here - the base version doesn&#8217;t allow for HTML editing.  The Pro version does, but only minimally.  So don&#8217;t go picking up Sandvox if you were hoping for a Dreamweaveresque program for a tenth of the price.</p>
<p align="center"><a href="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/09/sandvoxscreenshot1.png" title="sandvoxscreenshot1.png" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/softwarebattle.wordpress.com');"><img src="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/09/sandvoxscreenshot1.png" alt="sandvoxscreenshot1.png" /></a></p>
<p>That being said, Sandvox is great at what it does.  The program produces high quality web pages that can compete with just about anything an amateur or intermediate web designer could produce on more costly programs in twice the time.  However, this ease of use is a double edged sword, as it is very easy to get caught up with the different themes without making any changes at all.  If enough people were using Sandvox we could end up with a number of cloned websites with each site&#8217;s content the only way to tell them apart.</p>
<p align="center"><a href="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/09/sandvoxscreenshot3.png" title="sandvoxscreenshot3.png" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/softwarebattle.wordpress.com');"><img src="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/09/sandvoxscreenshot3.png" alt="sandvoxscreenshot3.png" /></a></p>
<p>But, since Sandvox is still such a small time program, the themes can still be used generously without any major tweaking.  That&#8217;s great, as some of the themes here are really well done.  Sometimes when you see these kinds of programs, the themes are absolute garbage - but not here.  It really feels like a lot of time was spent crafting the majority of these themes, further adding to the pile of features that makes this program so great for first time web designers.</p>
<p align="center"><a href="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/09/sandvoxscreenshot4.png" title="sandvoxscreenshot4.png" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/softwarebattle.wordpress.com');"><img src="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/09/sandvoxscreenshot4.png" alt="sandvoxscreenshot4.png" /></a></p>
<p>Although the themes are all well and good, the real heart of your website is what kind of content you add to it, and Sandvox makes it just as easy to add your own stuff as it is to create the site template in the first place.  Highlight text and change it how you choose.  Click on plus signs to create new areas.  Use &#8220;pagelets&#8221; (like widgets) to add pictures, RSS feeds, and other goodies to the site&#8217;s sidebar.  There are quite a few options that can be changed with the press of a buttons.  Fantastically easy.</p>
<p align="center"><a href="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/09/sandvoxscreenshot5.png" title="sandvoxscreenshot5.png" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/softwarebattle.wordpress.com');"><img src="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/09/sandvoxscreenshot5.png" alt="sandvoxscreenshot5.png" /></a></p>
<p>Sandvox is not perfect, however.  Right off the bat, I noticed a major problem.  A lot of the text is difficult to manipulate and cumbersome or impossible to move.  This cripples Sandvox and really limits its functionality to crafting only blogs or personal, family visited websites.  Also, Sandvox saves in it&#8217;s own format, so don&#8217;t expect to be able to edit the website without this program at hand.</p>
<p>Like I said earlier, I can&#8217;t picture anyone with any web design experience finding anything of use (aside from design inspiration) from this program.   But that doesn&#8217;t mean it&#8217;s a bad program.  Far from it, in fact.  Beginning designers and bloggers should give Sandvox a download.  It&#8217;s a smaller file and even if you don&#8217;t find it useful, you&#8217;ll be impressed by the classy animated theme transitions.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.sandvox.com/" title="Sandvox" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.sandvox.com');">Try Sandvox for Yourself.</a></p>
<p>- Eric Norton</p>
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		<item>
		<title>Nisus Writer Pro: One Powerful Word Processor</title>
		<link>http://www.softwarebattle.com/2007/08/30/nisus-writer-pro-one-powerful-word-processor-3/</link>
		<comments>http://www.softwarebattle.com/2007/08/30/nisus-writer-pro-one-powerful-word-processor-3/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 30 Aug 2007 21:10:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>EAN</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Mac OS X]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Shareware]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Office]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Text Editors]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Word Processors]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.softwarebattle.com/?p=120</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Developer: Nisus Software, Inc.
Version: 1.0
Price: $79 Download, $89 CD
Operating Systems: Mac OS X
Download Nisus Writer Pro Here.
Could it Be as Good as Microsoft Word?
Nisus Writer Pro is one of those killer programs for Mac OS X that packs in a hell of a lot of features and makes you wonder why you weren’t using an [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/08/nisuswriterpro.png" title="nisuswriterpro.png" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/softwarebattle.wordpress.com');"><img src="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/08/nisuswriterpro.png" title="nisuswriterpro.png" alt="nisuswriterpro.png" align="left" /></a>Developer: <a href="http://www.nisus.com" title="Nisus" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.nisus.com');">Nisus Software, Inc.</a><br />
Version: 1.0<br />
Price: $79 Download, $89 CD<br />
Operating Systems: Mac OS X<br />
<a href="http://www.nisus.com/pro/" title="Nisus Writer Pro" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.nisus.com');">Download Nisus Writer Pro Here.</a></p>
<p><strong>Could it Be as Good as Microsoft Word?</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.nisus.com/pro/" title="Nisus Writer Pro" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.nisus.com');">Nisus Writer Pro</a> is one of those killer programs for Mac OS X that packs in a hell of a lot of features and makes you wonder why you weren’t using an Apple sooner.  Designed to let Mac users forget that there is a famous word processor developed by Microsoft that they could be using instead, Nisus Writer Pro is one incredible product and a very good competitor to <a href="http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/default.aspx" title="Microsoft Word" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/office.microsoft.com');">Microsoft Word</a>.</p>
<p align="center"><span id="more-120"></span><br />
<a href="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/08/nwpscreenshot.png" title="nwpscreenshot.png" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/softwarebattle.wordpress.com');"><img src="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/08/nwpscreenshot.png" alt="nwpscreenshot.png" /></a></p>
<p>Aside from Word, I’ve never seen such a full featured word processor on any platform - and I’ve used quite a few different programs.  Online and off.  Nisus Writer Pro is one of the most impressive word processors that I’ve come across, mostly because of it’s immense list of features, but also because it’s as easy to use as I want it to be.</p>
<p align="center"><a href="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/08/nwpscreenshot3.png" title="nwpscreenshot3.png" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/softwarebattle.wordpress.com');"><img src="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/08/nwpscreenshot3.png" alt="nwpscreenshot3.png" /></a></p>
<p align="center">&nbsp;</p>
<p>Today I’ve decided to just sit down and start writing this review - but there is so much more that I could use Nisus Writer Pro for if I wanted to.  Tons of formating features, table creation, language switching, indexing, table of contents creation, and line numbering are just a few of the additions that Nisus has embedded into it’s impressive feature list.  Hell, there’s even an automated thesaurus and live spell checker right to the side of where I’m typing this review.  Nisus even included a live word count and instantaneous spelling correction.  Many thanks, Nisus.</p>
<p>Despite the <a href="http://www.nisus.com/pro/gallery1.php" title="Nisus Writer Pro Features" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.nisus.com');">laundry list of features</a> mentioned on their website, Nisus Writer Pro is still missing a grammar check.</p>
<p align="center"><a href="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/08/nwpscreenshot1.png" title="nwpscreenshot1.png" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/softwarebattle.wordpress.com');"><img src="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/08/nwpscreenshot1.thumbnail.png" alt="nwpscreenshot1.png" /></a></p>
<p>Because there is just so much good stuff here for long or difficult projects, I would highly recommend this program to anyone who is working on their dissertation, drafting a novel, writing short stories, or those who make their living by writing copy for websites or companies.  All of the features listed above could come in real handy with any of those tasks.</p>
<p align="center"><a href="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/08/nwpscreenshot2.png" title="nwpscreenshot2.png" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/softwarebattle.wordpress.com');"><img src="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/08/nwpscreenshot2.png" alt="nwpscreenshot2.png" /></a></p>
<p>But is Nisus Writer Pro a good program for the every man?  The person who has to type up a document or two every once in awhile.  I have to say no.  The price of the program is much too costly for occasional users and the depth of the program may prove to be too much for the amateur typist.  Furthermore, although Nisus Writer Pro supports saving and opening .doc files, it does have a few compatibility issues so the documents will not look quite right when transferred back and forth to Microsoft Word.</p>
<p align="center"><a href="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/08/nwpscreenshot4.png" title="nwpscreenshot4.png" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/softwarebattle.wordpress.com');"><img src="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/08/nwpscreenshot4.png" alt="nwpscreenshot4.png" /></a></p>
<p align="center">&nbsp;</p>
<p>Nevertheless, Nisus Writer Pro is a superb program - but it’s pro features and somewhat high price tag may alienate quite a few people.  I love it’s fast response times, the program’s layout, and the unique features that are much more difficult to find in other word processors.  For those of you looking for a professional writing tool, this is the program.  Novelists and other creative writers should scoop up this program as soon as possible.  Alternatively, occasional writers should look to Nisus Writer Express (expect a review soon), one of the <a href="http://www.softwarebattle.com/reviews/" title="Software Battle Reviews">free word processors for OS X</a>, or an online solution like <a href="http://writer.zoho.com/" title="Zoho Writer" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/writer.zoho.com');">Zoho Writer</a> [<a href="http://www.softwarebattle.com/2007/08/22/zoho-writer-taking-web-20-to-a-new-level/" title="Zoho Writer Review">review</a>].</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nisus.com/pro/" title="Nisus Writer Pro" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.nisus.com');">Try Nisus Writer Pro for Yourself.</a></p>
<p>- Eric Norton</p>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Money: An Accounting Program for Everyone</title>
		<link>http://www.softwarebattle.com/2007/08/28/money-an-accounting-program-for-everyone/</link>
		<comments>http://www.softwarebattle.com/2007/08/28/money-an-accounting-program-for-everyone/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 28 Aug 2007 21:52:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>EAN</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Mac OS X]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Shareware]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Finance]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Productivity]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.softwarebattle.com/?p=116</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Developer: Jumsoft
Version: 2.3
Price: $39 or $10 upgrade from 1.x
Operating Systems: Mac OS X
Download Money Here.
We All Need Money - But Do We All Need this Program?
The appropriately named Money is a financial management application for Apple&#8217;s Mac OS X which does exactly what you would expect it to - manage your money.  However, Money [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/08/moneyicon.png" title="moneyicon.png" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/softwarebattle.wordpress.com');"><img src="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/08/moneyicon.png" title="moneyicon.png" alt="moneyicon.png" align="left" /></a>Developer: <a href="http://www.jumsoft.com" title="Jumsoft" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.jumsoft.com');">Jumsoft</a><br />
Version: 2.3<br />
Price: $39 or $10 upgrade from 1.x<br />
Operating Systems: Mac OS X<a href="http://www.jumsoft.com/money/" title="Money"><br />
Download Money Here.</a></p>
<p><strong>We All Need Money - But Do We All Need this Program?</strong></p>
<p>The appropriately named <a href="http://www.jumsoft.com/money/" title="Money" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.jumsoft.com');">Money</a> is a financial management application for Apple&#8217;s Mac OS X which does exactly what you would expect it to - manage your money.  However, Money goes beyond just your simple adding and subtracting tasks and really aims to take money management to a whole new level.  Does it actually succeed in accomplishing its task?  Yes, although it leaves out some features that would turn this program into one of those &#8220;must haves&#8221; for Apple users.</p>
<p align="center"><span id="more-116"></span><br />
<a href="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/08/moneyscreenshot.png" title="moneyscreenshot.png" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/softwarebattle.wordpress.com');"><img src="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/08/moneyscreenshot.png" alt="moneyscreenshot.png" /></a></p>
<p>I&#8217;d like to say that the goal of Money is to provide its users with a money management tool that is easy to use, makes money management fun, and looks great while doing it.  And it reaches or exceeds each of those goals with ease.  Money is one of those programs that&#8217;s as attractive to look at as it is useful, much like so many other Apple programs on the market, and I can really only see this program getting better with time.</p>
<p align="center"><a href="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/08/moneyscreenshot1.png" title="moneyscreenshot1.png" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/softwarebattle.wordpress.com');"><img src="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/08/moneyscreenshot1.png" alt="moneyscreenshot1.png" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.jumsoft.com" title="Jumsoft" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.jumsoft.com');">Jumsoft</a>&#8217;s Money has carved itself a nice little niche.  It&#8217;s easy to pick up and use without any lengthy instructions and it is powerful enough for even small business owners who need to track lots of financial transactions.  A great mix that few money management programs are really able to get right.</p>
<p align="center"><a href="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/08/moneyscreenshot2.png" title="moneyscreenshot2.png" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/softwarebattle.wordpress.com');"><img src="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/08/moneyscreenshot2.png" alt="moneyscreenshot2.png" /></a></p>
<p>There are features packed upon features in Money.  Everything from managing multiple accounts to creating smart accounts based on criteria that you set for yourself, Money is financial management Nirvana.  You can schedule transactions, visit online banks, create transaction reports and charts, convert currency, and password protect your data.  And that&#8217;s just the tip of the iceberg.</p>
<p align="center"><a href="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/08/moneyscreenshot3.png" title="moneyscreenshot3.png" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/softwarebattle.wordpress.com');"><img src="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/08/moneyscreenshot3.png" alt="moneyscreenshot3.png" /></a></p>
<p>Despite all of the cool features, there was one annoying problem I stumbled across when entering some sample account information for my screenshots (no, none of those accounts are real).  The layout of the transaction entry form is somewhat cumbersome to use and should be reorganized with the transaction amount first, followed by the date and the rest of the categorizing tools.  It would make entering in bulk amounts of transactions a much faster process.</p>
<p align="center"><a href="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/08/moneyscreenshot4.png" title="moneyscreenshot4.png" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/softwarebattle.wordpress.com');"><img src="http://softwarebattle.wordpress.com/files/2007/08/moneyscreenshot4.png" alt="moneyscreenshot4.png" /></a></p>
<p>For the price, the Jumsoft team may also want to look into some other features that allows Money to interact with online banks and other financial software.  It can already manage QIF and OFX files but it would be great if Money could somehow access my online accounts and directly download account information.  Another feature that would be handy is file encryption in addition to the password protection that is already offered.</p>
<p>Despite the lack of those extra features, Money really is a fantastic program.  Certainly one of the best financial management programs I&#8217;ve ever used.  While it might be a bit too powerful for the average consumer, this is an excellent product for anyone in the small or home business arena.  Well worth the price, but test out the trial period before you make a purchase.  It&#8217;s a shame there&#8217;s no Windows or Linux version.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.jumsoft.com/money/" title="Money" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview ('/outbound/www.jumsoft.com');">Try Money for Yourself.</a></p>
<p>- Eric Norton</p>
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