PackRat has been updated to version 1.5.4. This minor update fixes the outstanding problems with Backpack whose recent big update to include multi-user support broke the API and caused a bunch of problems for PackRat.
For more info about the update, see the 1.5.4 blog announcement.
It really is a leap day: Leap, the pseudo-file system tagging software that I asked a few questions about back in October, has at last been released. Leap is billed as an alternative Finder, and provides tagging, Spotlight searching, and more for your files. Unfortunately, it isn’t a true file system tagging solution; Leap’s tags are stored in its database, so you’ll have to use have Leap running to tag and browse your files (rather than being able to tag in the file system) (Update: a reader brought to my attention that there’s a lot more than meets to eye to Leap, so I took a second look). If file libraries are too restrictive for you and Spotlight comments tagging inadequate, then Leap may well be a useful middle ground.
Unfortunately, it costs $60 to register (or a discounted price for Yep owners). Given its comparatively high price (file libraries hover around $40, Punakea is free, and TagBot is $20) and the drawbacks of being not quite one thing and not quite another, Leap will likely be a fairly niche product. However, if you’re not happy with the available file system tagging options, Leap is well worth a trial.
When I first started using Things to organize my daily tasks, I sat down and took the time to carefully craft a list of tags that I wanted to use. I knew what what kinds of tasks I’d be tagging, so I was able with some creativity to come up with a list that was succinct yet exhaustive. Having worked with that list of tags for a few months, I’ve only added one or two tags.
This tells me my system was a good one. Aside from not needing to expand the tag cloud, most tasks I only need to assign 1-2 tags per task, and and tasks inherit one more based on which project I stick them into. My tag filter bar is clean, and small enough to be useful even in lists with lots of tasks. When I posted the list in the Things wiki I got some very positive feedback. But having used the list religiously for a couple months, I have realized something: about 80% of my tags are completely useless. [read more...]
TaskPaper, the ultra-slimmed down task management software from Hog Bay Software, is on sale today, February 25, 2008 only for $12 (down from its current introductory price of $18.95) over at MacZot.
Been a while since MacZot had anything halfway worthwhile, but TaskPaper is definitely a well-designed app. Although TaskPaper isn’t fully-featured enough for me, for some people it’s the perfect minimalist way to keep track of your tasks. Even if you don’t end up buying it, I highly recommend trying to use it for a week just to discover which features actually matter to you in a task management app and which you can happily live without.
Hot on the heels of the 4.0.1 update, St. Clair Software has delivered Default Folder X 4.0.2. This minor release includes proper behavior in Carbon apps that use sheets on windows with toolbars, corrects selection and window activation problems, and includes a hidden setting to make Finder-click available when the Finder is hidden.
For more information and to download, see the release notes. For those who haven’t tried it yet, Default Folder X expands the capabilities of the OS Save dialog in ways that not only help you roll your own tagging system (if you’re into that sort of thing), but generally make you wonder how you lived without it before.
I’ve been a fan of MarsEdit since the second version was released recently, but I was never able to use it for Tagamac for two reasons: 1) terrible tagging support, and 2) no access to the shareware icon images that I use so often in news updates. The first issue was addressed by version 2.1, which implemented a standard tagging interface. The second was a bit more difficult. Daniel Jalkut, the developer, has said that he’s planning on providing some migration mechanism to get images from a weblog into MarsEdit’s media manager, but currently if you need this you’re out of luck.
I don’t give up easily, though, and ever since I relaunched Beckism.com (which as of the relaunch is completely authored in MarsEdit) I’ve been noticing that I’m updating Beckism.com more often than Tagamac because it’s easier. It was time to do something about this, particularly because Tagamac is far more popular, so I hacked away at MarsEdit’s plist and will from here on will be authoring Tagamac using MarsEdit instead of WordPress’s web interface. For those in a similar predicament, I’ve written up a guide on migrating images into MarsEdit, published over at Beckism.com.
Yurk! I got bogged down by work last week, and so here’s a couple things that got updated that I failed to note (there’s a third, too, but OmniWeb lost one of my browser workspaces somehow and I can’t recall what it was; oh well). Hopefully next week will be calmer and more conducive to blogging.
Default Folder X has been updated to version 4.0.1, including numerous bug fixes, more options for the display (including an old-style gray option for people who don’t like the new HUD look), and more. For complete details, see the release notes. Together was updated to 2.0.7, an update that consisted mainly of bug fixes. Read more about it at the Together download page.
Although not strictly tagging software, VoodooPad has been updated to version 3.5. This update brings a large number of bug fixes, and includes several new features such as the ability to open images in an external editor (such as Flying Meat’s own Acorn), the ability to edit pages and sort results in the search window, and several improvements to the web export for both the standard and pro versions.
For details, see the release notes. VoodooPad is a desktop wiki program that offers a very powerful way to take notes and jot down ideas while having them silently and automatically link themselves to one another. It also offers tagging, although the feature is not particularly well-integrated into the program.
StoryMill, the creative writer’s workshop once called Avenir, has been updated to 3.0.1. This minor update introduces some new features, including the ability to edit scene text in the scene editing window (previously you could only edit the scene’s notes), and fixes several bugs including some problems with the new timeline view.
The update is available via the in-program auto-updating or from Mariner Software’s download page. Unfortunately, release notes are only available via the ReadMe bundled with the download.
Yojimbo, one of my three favorite file libraries, has been updated to version 1.5.1. This maintenance update contains no new features, but fixes a number of bugs including column widths forgetting their width under Leopard, numerous problems with PDFs, and issues with the Quick Start Movie command and Adobe Illustrator files.
For more information, see the current release notes.