Tagamac

Nifty Box, a quirky alternative to some of the more popular file system tagging solutions, has been updated to 1.3; the main new feature is an enhanced ability to relocate moved files. As long as your files stay on the same hard drive, Nifty Box should no longer lose them (if you migrate to a new hard drive, it may still need a little help).

Sadly, Nifty Box has reached the end of the line. The developer has decided to pursue his true passion of working in the space industry, and Nifty Box will no longer be updated. The positive side of this is that the software is now available for free. For more information about the switch to freeware and how to transition your data out of Nifty Box, see the 1.3 blog announcement.

Tags, my favorite solution for file system tagging, is currently on sale at MUPromo for 45% today, June 26, 2009 only.

Tags is compatible with OpenMeta tagging apps like Leap, Default Folder X, or the newly released Punakea and is my favorite solution for tagging files after the fact (Default Folder X being the best option for tagging them as you first save them). Of course, you should be aware of the downsides to OpenMeta; as powerful as Tags and similar programs are, they aren’t something you should use without being aware of how they’re accomplishing their magic.

After one of the longest public beta periods I’ve experienced outside of Google, Punakea has finally been released. Priced at $25, Punakea 1.0 brings numerous enhancements over previous versions. The biggest difference is that Punakea now uses OpenMeta for its tag storage instead of fantastically convoluted Spolight comments. Additional improvements include the ability to Quick Look your results when browsing through tagged files, a HUD-style tagger, a global hotkey for accessing said tagger from the Finder or your web browser, and numerous bugfixes.

For more information about Punakea’s 1.0 release and subsequent move from free to shareware, see the blog posts on the first 1.0 release candidate, final pricing, and the 1.0 announcement. Release notes are also available.