Thank you. I'll be passing this along.

Thanks. I especially want to see Menu Master back again, since the OS built in way of assigning menu shortcuts doesn't work on some important menus, like Send in Mail for some reason -- I can assign a shortcut but it will fail 50% of the time in actual use. Incidentally, I for one am not against paying an upgrade fee since you guys have to work so hard to keep your tools compatible, and I'm sure most users would agree. Just my two cents.

Oops, I don't see Menu Master in the list above there. Please make sure you give it proper attention, as well as Labels X (since those color bubbles are just horrible).

I have thought for this sometime. I invite you guys to sue the Anti-APE camp, at least the most popular one for spreading false information about a commercial product resulting loss of business.

Stop being nice and polite hackers. Sue them for $1 and let this horrible FUD end. I am afraid the Input Manager trojan is also somehow connected to this anti-APE camp. In fact I have fairly nice idea about who their connections may be. They already show themselves publically partying about the FUD about APE made it way to Leopard.

You will somehow ship Leopard version of APE and this very same camp who even dares to code a trojan horse to prove their point and DICTATE Apple Inc. what to put to their OS will start again.

Be pro-active and sue them really. I am horrified about such degree of attack to any commercial or free software. If anyone did like 1% of this to Adobe Systems, they would lose down to their pants. Playing around with false information and even developing a trojan horse to prove their point shouldn't be that easy. I shouln't be running VirusBarrier because their junk may exist some random place on web.

Slava, think about this and keep coding to set us free of the only fascistic, single GUI on the planet.

u.n.s.a.n.i.t.y. rules!

For the products I lead on, the order will be as follows: Application Enhancer 2.5, >>>>

I understand the work you guys have done in creating a very useful tool, however I purchased the Product Shape Shifter 2.5 just 10 days ago, does this entitles me to received the upgraded version at no cost, since I am quite fond of your intricate Shape Shifter, you can bring up that it may entail a cost which is very understandable, but within reason of some you have just bought paid sealed and delivered within a indicated period for refund and wish no refund, it ought to be given complimentary, for it speaks volumes to many that you honour the values and respect your clients.
Thanks for such a innovative creation, you have my support, words of mouth gains more in positive feedback and a slap across the back of the head, LOL.
thanks for all the good work

Betas?

Menu Master!!! Menu Master!!! Menu Master!!! Menu Master!!! Menu Master!!! Menu Master!!! Menu Master!!! Menu Master!!!

ASAP! please:)

Menu Master!!! Menu Master!!! Menu Master!!! Menu Master!!! Menu Master!!! Menu Master!!! Menu Master!!! Menu Master!!!

ASAP! please:)

Menu Master!!! Menu Master!!! Menu Master!!! Menu Master!!! Menu Master!!! Menu Master!!! Menu Master!!! Menu Master!!!

ASAP! please:)

This is the second time a major OS upgrade has been fucked by Unsanity. You lose, guys.

People always want to find something to gripe about, kind of pathetic really. The moral of this story is simply that if you have a heavily modified operating system and are planning on installing a major OS upgrade, uninstall the modifications or at the very least make sure the modifications are the most up to date version. If you get screwed by a compatibility issue Leopard has with a piece of software that was coded when Panther was still the current OS, you have no one else to blame but yourself really...

New OS upgrade time is a perfect opportunity to Archive & Install and clean out some of the gunk in your system anyway.

I find it hard to believe that the authors couldn't have been coding/tweaking all along, as the pre-release builds were provided to them, leaving them now, post-release, with just a few tweaks to do. It really sounds as though they're starting from the ground up with ShapeShifter *now*. Did the Leopard UI change that that "drastically" between the most recent pre-release build and the GR build? Something's terribly wrong here in the Apple software world. Either Unsanity didn't work, code, and keep up with things all through the release cycle, or Apple's suddenly dumping lots of new, un-tested code, into the final build. While Apple *could* have done that, it sounds pretty unlikely, and scary at the same time.

"Sincere apologies"? Perhaps it's time your colleague Rosyna did some apologizing too, for denying all over the forums that the problems could possibly have anything to do with your software. Turns out she was wrong, huh?
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=5665698#5665698
http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=200710261517596#comments

Mark -- do you really expect Unsanity to spend time working and coding to find out the final release changes and breaks everything they did? The builds of Leopard changed radically throughout the development, and Unsanity is smart enough to know that anything they did could (and would likely) change. This is proven by the GM of Leopard. Apple never even seeded this build to developers, and it included changes that caused a bunch of apps that were supposedly working perfectly with the last build that was seeded.



Unless you're a programmer and truly understand all the details of how Apple treats its developers and more importantly, how code is an ever-changing thing, you really shouldn't make suppositions that imply that Unsanity is lazy or inexperienced. It's not fair to them, and it certainly is incorrect information.

Glad to hear it - I've been using Unsanity products for ever. Hope the new Xounds will allow the empty trash to actually work with custom sounds. The developer has traditionally has a huge (18 months in one case) time lag in implementing the fix and the latest version has been broken for several months. However, lets get the show on the road and worry about that later as Unsanity is the onoy thing holding up my upgrade to Leopard.

Thanks slava for keeping us in the loop. Much appreciated.

I fully agree with your order of preference, Application Enhancer and WindowShade are such important tools that they should come first. Of course, I totally love ShapeShifter (and ClearDock), but I'm also sure for a lot of people, WindowShade is essential. It is for me!

BTW, similar to what a previous poster said, I wouldn't mind paying for an upgrade, if this speeds things up.

Thanks for the update. I was beginning to think you had all given up since there hadn't been any posts from you on your blog recently. I am glad you made the most recent version of application enhancer able to turn itself off. It made the upgrade to 10.5 painless. Looking forward to all my favorite haxies working again.

The problem is... Unsanity products are installed on a lot of users' systems without them even knowing about as part of Logitech Control Center. I for one never new I had Application Enhancer installed on my system until someone point out the fact that it was installed alongside Logitech Control Center!!

Glad I didn't upgrade to Leopard before learning about this..

You guys really should build in a feature so that haxies can disable themselves on an untried build of the OS (user overridable as well so people can test the haxie for the author).

Maintain a plist with an array of OS builds that the haxie is known to work with; the haxie automatically enables itself.

Probably hook into iusethis.com since the authors can't test the builds themselves.

This is good to hear. I can't wait until APE and FruitMenu are back.

What's the word on Menu Extra Enabler? I still hate how Apple locks out third party menu Extras.

I also have Logitech Control Center APE module installed and have been using it throughout 10.4.x. I performed a test install of Leopard on a Firewire drive and migrated everything from my internal Tiger drive. It works perfectly. All of the special mouse buttons still do what they did previously. I decided to install Leopard to my main partition and I've been enjoying it a lot.

Why was I lucky? I'm not exactly sure...

Go back to developing MacAmp.

I'm rather appalled by Ilgaz naive rant. Face the truth: unsanity and mail/safari hacks all exploit a legitimate feature -- Input Managers which were intended, as the name implies, for providing different methods of user input. Does that sound like what the haxies are doing?

Let's see how the author of SIMBL describes his app for Input Managers:
"I built a small wrapper InputManager that allows you to load bundles for specific applications. This is basically for abusing the InputManager as a code infection vector for making your own modifications to a Cocoa app. The wrapper is called SIMBL. You can read more and download the source from my website. http://culater.net/software/SIMBL/SIMBL.php -- MikeSolomon"

Input Managers are a serious security risk since nefarious code can be injected into ALL apps. They could be used to create keystroke loggers, capture passwords and relay them back to a remote site, trojans that wait for an app to acquire root privileges at which point it has ABSOLUTE control over your machine, etc.

Now one can see why Apple was originally planning to eliminate Input Managers in 10.5. Input Managers represent a massive chink in the armor of OS X's security. I'm sad they were re-enabled just prior to release, since it's only a matter of time until they are heavily abused by malware.

Labels man - love Labels!

I have thought for this sometime. I invite you guys to sue the Anti-APE camp, at least the most popular one for spreading false information about a commercial product resulting loss of business.

Stop being nice and polite hackers. Sue them for $1 and let this horrible FUD end.

Wow, there's a whole lot of nuts in this bowl. Put down the huffing bag, and step away from the keyboard, man.

Frankly, I think Apple should refund your ADC membership, and ban you from WWDC and all Apple developer programs. Your product destabilizes the platform, and has just caused enormous damage to Apple's reputation, since most of the people seeing the BSOD have no idea that it was caused by you and Logitech.

Why don't you go and write windows apps? The people in that market have never expected stability in the first place, so they wouldn't be disappointed.

-jcr

"I invite you guys to sue the Anti-APE camp, at least the most popular one for spreading false information about a commercial product resulting loss of business."

Ilgaz, you ignorant prat. Does the phrase "truth is a complete defense" mean anything to you? If not, ask a lawyer to explain it to you.

If Unsanity wants to sue me, you'd better be prepared to meet all of my legal costs and the award I'd win on the cross-complaint. Try it, and I might very well end up owning all the assets of your LLC.

-jcr

Man some of you guys are harsh. No one is forcing you to use APE in any way shape or form. Personally I love FruitMenu, I don't think I could live without it now. I am aware that haxies greatly depend on the internals of the operating system so I've been checking on the compatibility page the last couple days to see if theres been any movement. I appreciate the notification of the plans for APE, WSX, FM and so on. Personally I'd like to see FruitMenu before WindowShade X, but thats just me.

Again thanks for the heads up and look forward to updates for APE and FruitMenu.

I don't see the apology that you owe Apple. You claimed on ComputerWorld that there was no way that your product could cause problems and it was all Apple's fault.

I certainly don't have any problem with your software being incomatible with an OS that was not out when you released your software. But I DO have a problem with you claiming that Apple was at fault when it was actually your problem.

I don't see the apology that you owe Apple. You claimed on ComputerWorld that there was no way that your product could cause problems and it was all Apple's fault.

I certainly don't have any problem with your software being incomatible with an OS that was not out when you released your software. But I DO have a problem with you claiming that Apple was at fault when it was actually your problem.

"No one is forcing you to use APE in any way shape or form."

That depends on whether you consider fraud to be a kind of force. Logitech made no mention of their malware installation when I ran their installer. If they'd said that they used APE, I would have stopped right there and returned the product.

Voluntarily installing a hack to do tricks like windowshade are one thing, but slipping me malware disguised as a mouse driver and prefs pane is something else altogether. I'm astounded that a company like Logitech could be so irresponsible.

Apple DTS has made it crystal clear *all along* that APE is an unsupported hack, and I personally warned Unsanity and others that it would probably break with future software updates. Now we have a chorus of wintrolls saying "ha ha, Apple sucks", and most of the users affected by this bug have no idea that it's Unsanity and Logitech's fault.

Make no mistake, I am furious about this. This is the first malware of any kind that I've had on any machine I own since I switched to NeXTSTEP in 1989.

-jcr

"Unless you're a programmer ... shouldn't make suppositions that imply that Unsanity is lazy or inexperienced. "

I am a programmer, and I have been on both sides of that relationship, as an Apple employee in developer relations, and now as an outside developer with products that involve code from the kernel to the GUI.

I don't claim that Unsanity are either lazy or inexperienced. I do say that they are IRRESPONSIBLE. They knew exactly what they were doing; that they shouldn't do it; and what the consequences could be at the next software update.

Now, if they want to sell a product that destabilizes the OS to customers who are fully informed, that's fine and dandy: anyone who likes windowshades can run it at their own risk. It's when this hack gets snuck into apps like the Logitech Control Center without any mention to the customers that I say they're out of line.

-jcr

Facts:
If you have the latest version of APE, you don't blue screen.
The latest version of APE (2.0.3) was released over 6 months ago.
2.0.2 has the same fix that prevents APE from executing on Leopard, it was released almost a year ago.
2.0.1 is the last version of APE that can cause this problem. It was released even further back, June 06. It is included with Logitech's 2.1.1 drivers released in Sept 06.

So unless your running software that is over a year and a half old, you don't see the blue screen Leopard launch. If you can't be bothered to update your software, ESPECIALLY as your updating your operating system, to ensure that your running on the latest version, then to some degree IMHO, you deserve to have random failures.

If Logitech had implemented their mouse driver as a KEXT instead of an APE and had a Leopard compatibility issue, but only if you were running the software version that was over a year old, then would they be getting raked over the coals like this? I doubt it.

Fact is, software incompatibilities happen, and this one was just as preventable as so many others. But Unsanity can't be held liable for people that refused to install the most up to date software that they could get.

As stated in the updated computerworld article, the commands everyone has listed don't work and may lead to unexpected data loss due to typos. (always check your input when you are running rm -rf as root). Luckily, a lot of people have forgotten to mount their hard drive as read/write and the destructive commands do not do anything as they lack write privs.

You can actually see this in the forum from people that complain the commands give a privs error when deleting the plist. This is because their HD is mounted read only and the plist is the only one that actually exists.

Apple's kbase article also had one of these typos.

Do not run the rm -rf commands listed.

Josh, this is what APE does.

Daryn, what do InputManagers have to do with APE?

APE exploits Input Managers to do its code injection into all apps.

Daryn, hmm? Uhm, APE has nothing to do with InputManagers. At all. They are unrelated. Completely unrelated.

Any reason why JCR's comments are being deleted/censored? I find his posts more accurate than most here.

I use most of Unsanity's haxies, and I miss them in Leopard. Having said that, perhaps Unsanity could have sent you a mass email saying that they weren't sure that APE and the rest would work reliably with 10.5 and had not been tested yet, and ask that all users disable all Unsanity hazies until testing was complete. I don't think that would have been that difficult, and then the onus of problems due to old versions of APE causing installation headache would have fallen on the enduser, not on Unsanity. Just my two cents.

Sorry for the typos.

I use most of Unsanity's haxies, and I miss them in Leopard. Having said that, perhaps Unsanity could have sent out a mass email saying that they weren't sure that APE and the rest would work reliably with 10.5, had not been tested yet, and ask that all users disable all Unsanity haxies until internal testing was complete. I don't think that would have been that difficult, and then the onus of problems due to old versions of APE causing installation headaches would have fallen on the enduser, not on Unsanity. Just my two cents...again.

First off I'd like to say "Welcome Back!". I was getting a little worried about the lack of posts.

Secondly, I am amazed at the level of vitriol posted here. Some people really need to get a hobby. BTW - Whining on blogs is NOT a hobby!

Calling APE "malware" goes way too far. I use a number of Unsanity products on about 50 systems and have NEVER had APE cause ONE crash.

The complaints about Apple not giving developers are totally valid. I am a developer as well and it's impossible to guarantee a product will work on release day when we don't have the GM. Hell, we didn't have anything close to GM.

I get the impression that people think that the developer builds all work 100% and the only thing that changes are the graphics and the UI. That's not true. Sometimes entire chunks of the API don't work. The seed notes say so. If a product relies on those API's then there is no way it could be tested or function properly.

This is far from a new complaint. I remember writing something similar when Panther came out. The Tiger seeds were much more frequent and the last seed was much closer to GM (if memory serves). This is still no excuse. Apple froze 10.5 at least two weeks ago. They certainly could have posted it for developers that pay a lot of money to get access to these seeds.

For people complaining about APE not disabling itself for new OS versions, well, it does!!! And has since March. Didn't you read Slava's response?

If you don't like the Unsanity products don't use them. Simple enough.

If you think that the way APE is implemented is bad the alternative is worse. The only other way to load into every program is a kernel extension. A mistake in a kernel extension really can bring down the entire system.

Cocoatroll said: "But Unsanity can't be held liable for people that refused to install the most up to date software that they could get."

Well, you may be the killer sysadmin, but some of us don't have time to check every application - especially us casual users who either had it installed for us or tried it out a while ago. Yes, even 2 years ago.

I don't want to hold them liable, but how about they post a suggestion as to how to disable so Leopard can be successfully installed? Apple discussions has a thread, but it doesn't seem to be working for everyone (like me).

Bob, we did post a suggestion, in multiple places and forums and we sent it to our email list, "Upgrade to APE 2.0.3".

I'll vouch for that. I got that email Saturday, 10/27/07 at 6:38 pm. I never upgrade an OS until .1 or later is released, so it's plenty warning for me (I already had 2.0.3 installed anyway)

One of many similar comments on Leopard compatibility that I am reading:

"Due to reports on developer preview releases of Mac OS X Leopard in Internet forums, Apple has denied access to the final version of 10.5 to all software developers. Even companies which paid Apple thousands of dollars for the right to get advance information before the official release date did not receive any data about the final version of Leopard before October 26, 2007 16:00 UTC. The final version is known to be different from the preview versions.

For this reason, reputable vendors have been forced to wait for the official release of Mac OS X 10.5, testing their software products against this version after October 26th. To publish software "blindly" for an unknown operating system does not match our quality standards and will therefore not be possible. Only this way we can deliver the level of quality you expect from us." --Marcel Bresink, makers of Tinker Tool

Don't you anti Apers think that Unsanity wants to be on top of things? Of course they do. I received their email, paid attention and all is well, except that I miss my haxies right now.

With all the trouble in our world and country, you guys are talking about lawsuits over version incompatibility? Get a grip! Write your own haxies.

Unsanity, you guys are awesome. Many thanks and looking forward.

Fool me once: Shame on you. Fool me twice: Shame on ME.

For what it's worth, you've got my support, Unsanity.

When this is all over, help yourselves to some hot cocoa and a seat by a crackling fireplace. Or something.

If Windowshade is going to be a free update, could you please at least add the donation sheet again for when you first install it (like it was with the last major update). I'd love the opportunity to keep supporting WS!

"Upgrade to APE 2.0.3"

Sorry, not good enough. Unless you enjoy an unstable computer, remove APE and all software products that depend on it.

APE remains an UNSUPPORTED hack. Even if you tweak it to work with 9A581, if it breaks with the next software update from Apple, it will still be YOUR fault.

God damn it, I told you this kind of thing could happen.

-jcr

Thing to do is, ignore all the FUD which may be resulting from it and implement a perfectly open, plain text "auto check for updates" mechanism inside APE Framework. APE needs it much more than the trivial junk coded by so called ex-NeXT developers.

They are posting FUD anyway, no worries if some lifeless Unix nerds who couldn't find a job or product at Appleland uses auto update as a new excuse to hit Unsanity.

It should be plain text secured via ordinary https.

Daryn you forgot (!) something which SIMBL developer or any sane developer (including Unsanity) says... It is a SHAME to do such hack just to get that basic functionality on any OS or Application.

Safari has no plugin architecture, OS X has no themes architecture.

I kinda know who you people are, I have been into your private forums cheering for every kind of security issue Mac users live calling them "Beige box idiots" or "gays", I have seen posts mentioning next day MOAB shipment and you know what? I am one step behind sharing the information with authories. I have already shared the information leaked with Apple security team almost live.

I know your issue with APE or anything, it is this:
Shapeshifter Downloads (all versions): 81,299

What is your utility download numbers if it exists?

As a final side note, one of the very critical disk utilities which is run in professional environments lived horrible lag on Leopard inviting Macfixit like FUD mongering sites whining about possible compatibility problems.

The utility is written on Cocoa framework using the system built in Frameworks including Quicktime, it uses standard Unix tools coming with OS to write blocks to the disk. It is so stable coded that it doesn't need update until next major version of OS ships.

Apple had 7 months to test the software which is not "Theme" or "Hack", instead it is a very critical software which is in use in every professional environment you can imagine.

Thank God the software doesn't have any actual issue, it is cosmetically waiting 2-3 mins before it inits.

Which OS vendor, including the chaotic Linux scene these days does not test a new OS with the most critical disk utilities warning developer about possible issues?

MS could ship Vista months earlier if they didn't test it with the popular windows software and work with the application developers to fix possible issues.

It is easier to hit small Texas software vendors or small shareware vendors rather than Apple of course. How many of these anti-APE developers are looking forward to get contracted by Apple?

Running a MacBook Pro, new in June. Leopard provided blue screen of death. Unsanity is not the problem.

Honestly, as both a developer and user, I find this kind of internecine backbiting very disheartening. The APE guys have been attacked for so long, and lumped into the same camp as the SIMBL/InputManagers guys that Slava and Rosyna do a "gasp!" "don't mention InputManagers to us!" thing in a kind of knee-jerk dance every time the topic comes up. I can understand the chip on their shoulders--they're outlaws, after all, unsupported (thwarted?) by Apple and frowned upon by "official" Mac bloggers, who seem to feel they are the only legitimate Apple evangelists out there. Those guys have never blessed APE, so APE is bad.

Bull****. Their ire is equally great at InputManagers and SIMBL. Those who are actually coders will also rant about the dangers of code-posing and method swizzling. Can APEs, InputManagers, and other "outlaw" enhancements to Mac OS X be used for malware?

APE is probably the most secure of the bunch, since all third-party APEs must adhere to Unsanity's carefully developed API, and they plug in to the APE framework. One of the best things about that framework from a user perspective is the ease with which you can turn the whole bunch off when trying to identify a system problem. Equally great is how easy it is to disable an APE in a given application. And this functioinality comes with the framework... it's not something an APE developer need worry about.

InputManagers are definitely rogue fellows. They adhere to a loose, old Apple API that was intended more for uses like TextExtras than Inquisitor. However, what they provide--and the reason why I as a user love them--is some serious, across-the-board enhancements to my Cocoa applications that I'm not getting from Apple.

By the way, SIMBL is an API that attempts to bring some order to InputManagers by providing a common framework and unifying some commonly used methods. However, to both users and "gasp! SIMBL!" writers it can appear mostly confusing. (Is it an InputManager, or not?) The guy who developed SIMBL had a great idea, and initially there was some good adoption of SIMBL. But it probably needed continued development and more support to become the "APE" of InputManager-dom.

In that sense, they arise from the same impulse that drives Unsanity's haxies... and it's why the two types of "system add-ons" are lumped together. The guys who develop InputManagers (or SIMBL plugins) are trying to provide system-level functionality that will work in all applications. There is no other way to do this than through APE or InputManager that I know of. Well... you could go below APE and use "mach inject", which is what APE does below the surface. That is, it injects code at the mach level, whereas InputManagers inject code at the Cocoa level. One of the biggest differences, functionally, between the two methods is that InputManagers have no effect on Carbon-based apps like Finder, iTunes, or Photoshop, because only Cocoa apps are able to load them.

One thing I find amusing about the whole anti-InputManager crowd (including Unsanity) is that there's a lot of similarity between InputManagers and two other system-level add-ons that you don't hear folks worrying about from a security perspective: Contextual Menu Items, and PreferencePanes.

Actually, what I said earlier about there being no way other than InputManagers or APE to add system-level functionality to applications on OS X was incorrect. Both Contextual Menu Items and PreferencePanes share with InputManagers the fundamental Cocoa building block known as NSBundle. These are all bits of code that get loaded into the Cocoa framework in order to do things. The main differences are that

1. CMs must use a context menu interface. But they aren't limited to that functionality.


2. Preference Panes have a defined API and user visibility that the other two types of NSBundles do not. Typically, preference pane apps can be turned on and off, just like regular apps. But they aren't regular apps beneath the hood.


3. Unlike the other two types, InputManagers can show up pretty much wherever the developer chooses in the interface. Typically, they appear in the main menubar or a submenu, but some, like Inquisitor, are restricted to run only in a given application. I suspect that the relative "invisibility" of InputManagers makes them more likely targets for the "anti-system-add-on" evangelists.

With respect to security, Apple has indeed made InputManagers more secure this time around, but I think they can and should go further... without destroying the positive virtues of InputManagers and other system enhancements. In Leopard, InputManagers must be installed at the system level folder, with strict permissions that only allow write access by the root user. This alone helps ensure that none gets installed without the user's permission.

One thing that never gets said in these discussions, however, is that if a malware writer wanted to wreak havoc among helpless Mac users, it would be a simple matter to write a badly formed Cocoa application, put up a pretty website, and invite users to try it out. The app could do all sorts of nasty things before the bad code consumed all your memory and crashed the system. On rebooting, you don't necessarily restart the app, but it's installed a daemon process that runs automatically, again leading to a system meltdown in 10-15 minutes.

This is purely hypothetical, but very feasible. Ultimately, your system security depends on the user applying some common sense and on the developer community having rational, realistic discussions with Apple about some of the risk factors.

No one wants to destroy the creativity that drives people to the Apple platform--developers as well as users. Make the platform too locked up, and it won't be any fun to develop on. But make it too thin, and it's dangerous for everyone.

Both APEs and InputManagers/ContextualMenuItems/PreferencePanes have their place at this table, and I for one hope the backbiting stops. No, APEs aren't InputManagers. We get that. But their purposes have a lot in common, and the purposes of both are good.

If I were to propose an improvement for InputManagers to Apple, I'd suggest they add features to the System Preferences API. I think it would be a big improvement if InputManagers could be turned on and off in a System Preference pane, which gets installed with much user visibility. I'd support taking away the InputManagers folder if as a developer I could provide the same functionality through a System preference pane. The key difference, as I understand it, is that as an InputManager, I get to load into every application that passes by, actually becoming part of them. It's understandable that some developers would find that notion a bit quease-producing... if you're prone to anthropomorphizing your apps anyway.

So why bother defending the evil InputManager? Here's a list of 'em I couldn't live without... nearly all of them are free, by the way:

1. Inquisitor (an enhancement for Safari's web search field)


2. SafariBlock (an ad blocker for Safari)


3. TextExtras (adds a slew of useful text-input options)


4. StepMenus (enables tear-off menus for your application's main menu, and is an example of an InputManager that has a System Preference pane as well!)


5. HotService (puts the Services Menu in your main menubar)


6. OCSmartHacks (many functions, but I use it mainly for popping up main menus in apps that don't have them, and for easily resizing and dragging windows)


7. MenuExtraEnabler (lets me use menu extras like MenuMeters)


8. Edit in WriteRoom (if you use WriteRoom, you know how useful this is... it adds a menu item so you can switch to WriteRoom from any app where you're entering text)


9. SafariStand (the best Swiss-Armyknife for Safari that exists.(Saft? bah!) and Stand is free, too)


10. SetAlphaValue (lets you customize window transparency uniquely for any app)... I'm currently morphing that code into CrystalClear Interface, which does the transparency thing and a lot more besides


11. Visor (from Blacktree, it's just a way-cool interface to your Terminal window. Runs as a SIMBL plugin)


12. MegaZoomer (a freebie SIMBL plugin that lets you zoom the entire window if you want)

Those are the ones I currently have active. Others (including ones in the SIMBL family) that I've used in the past and enjoy are:

1. CocoaSuite (many useful enhancements, but it isn't free)


2. Creammonkey (lets you run some Greasemonkey scripts in Safari)


3. SafariScript (lets you run AppleScripts within Safari)


4. MaxiMice (a nice add-on that enhances your mouse, but it's not free)


5. TabExpose (an add-on to Safari that lets you see all tabs, Expose style, as Shiira does)


6. SIMBL (of course, if you want to run any SIMBL plugins)


7. SafariTidy (a terrific add-on that runs Tidy on any web page source code)


8. AcidSearch (a SIMBL plugin that I was in love with until it was abandoned and then Inquisitor came along...)


9. Graffiti (a SIMBL plugin simply too cool for words... and a great parlor trick. It lets you flip your windows over and write on them. You can even save what you write before quitting the app.)

And those are just some of the ones I know about.

There... now I've written my next blog entry. :-)
Leland

October 28, 2007 12:23 PM Poster:

First, thanks for your civil reply to my post. You said:

> Mark -- do you really expect Unsanity to spend time working
> and coding to find out the final release changes and breaks
> everything they did?

I would have expected them to be working and coding all through the release cycle, so that they'd be as close as possible to at least a public beta when Leopard hit GR. They may have done so, but based on the way their original post was written, it didn't appear to me that they did.

> The builds of Leopard changed radically throughout the'
> development, and Unsanity is smart enough to know that
> anything they did could (and would likely) change.

Yes, I would expect plenty of changes through all the pre-release builds, and as frustrating as it is, yes, I owuld have expected them to code for each, so that again, they'd be that much closer when GR hit.

> This is proven by the GM of Leopard. Apple never even
> seeded this build to developers, and it included changes that
> caused a bunch of apps that were supposedly working
> perfectly with the last build that was seeded.

I was not aware of that, and appreciate the insight. I assumed incorrectly that the last build that Apple would have given to developers would have been essentially the GR release, for one final review. It makes absolutely no sense that Apple would "drop a bomb" on developers at the last minute.

So, based on your explanation/info, I can understand them *wanting* to wait, but I think it would have been best to accept the frustration and re-work the code for each release. I certainly didn't mean to imply they were lazy, but it did seem to me that they weren't as proactive as they could have been. Again, just my opinion, based on how I read their original status post.

Mark

Leland Creammonkey is now GreaseKit ;)

Both Mike Solomon (SIMBL), and the entire Unsanity crew have been nothing but generous and responsive to me...I respectfully extend my utmost gratitude, and admiration, to all of them.

If you screw around with system files you get what you deserve.

Glad the updates are coming soon. Miss WindowShade especially. I didn't know the anti-APE crowd was so vocal. I've just been happily, though not naively, using this stuff for years without issue. Silly me.

Ok, I'm confused. If I have the latest version of application enhancer (and I can't tell what version I have) I can install leopard with no problem?

Or would I be better off uninstalling application enhancer?

I can confirm that I had a current copy of APE (installed directly from the website less than a month ago) and I too saw the blue screen issue. I'm not bitching, just wanted to pass on the info for testing purposes. I've used ClearDock for quite some time and like Jason Fox above, I knew exactly what I was getting into. Archive and Install = All Better. No real harm done.

"If you screw around with system files you get what you deserve."

This statement (and it's many variation expressed above) doesn't make you smart. It makes you an asshole. Please go away.

I had a current copy of APE and I too saw the blue screen issue.

Which means your issue was one of the many issues unrelated to APE. You can view some of these in the Apple discussion thread. look for those that say "I never had APE installed" or "The commands didn't work for me" or "Removing APE did not prevent the problem".

Please ignore the asshats who troll here after every OS update, blaming APE for everything bad.

Apple's FileVault was cause for much more serious problems than APE could ever be.

Out of curiosity, what proportion of users who install haxies used Macs before switching to OS X?

"If you screw around with system files you get what you deserve."

APE and SIMBL exists for the single reason: NOT TO MESS WITH SYSTEM FILES.

Slava/Rosyna level of Developers or Solomon can do things 50x faster and easier via overwriting system files. They choose the harder and safer way and users generously use them. Trolls who produced nothing popular, successful get jealous of course.

Now go back to your OS X Trojan writing theories. Next time I see a single mention of Input Manager black hat junk, I am not contacting Apple or anyone else, I am forwarding it to FBI.

I shouldn't be running Virusbarrier on a HD Video Workstation. Personal firewall developers shouldn't write thousands of lines just to set their app free of lame code injection tactics, Unsanity shouldn't waste time trying to stop your gang like FUD on various sites.

Ilgaz,

Get back on your medication. Seriously.

-jcr

Well, I don't know how you do it slava, but every single problem about flaky stability in Mac OS X always has APE involved.

Coincidence? Not at all, I'm not drinking your Kool-aid anymore dude.

Great news! I'm looking forward to having WindowShade again. :-) Thanks for all your efforts.

Of course, it is regrettable that an old, obsolete version of APE caused some people a great deal of trouble. I wished it had never happened. But people need to realise that with some of Unsanity's products, they are installing serious System extensions, which require a compatible OS to work properly. This is really not a mystery. Un-installing incompatible software before upgrading the OS is only common sense - right?

More of a concern is that Logitech doesn't inform their customers of the installation of APE as part of their CC, which apparently caught a lot of people by surprise. That's bad business practice.

Anyway, I am looking forward to updated versions of WindowShade, ShapeShifter and ClearDock. I wouldn't want to be without any of them, they are essential to the way I work. Best regards.

Anything that works through PrefPanes is clearly interfacing with the system more than an everyday application, so I know there are risks. That's my choice. If I am spending money on a new version of the system, I'll take care to ensure that the system is as standard as possible - I can reinstall the add-ons later. All I know is that ever since there were Macs, there have been people doing things with the System (why on earth did Apple create ResEdit). And I cannot operate the way I want without FruitMenu, Silk and WindowShade.

Anything that works through PrefPanes is clearly interfacing with the system more than an everyday application, so I know there are risks. That's my choice. If I am spending money on a new version of the system, I'll take care to ensure that the system is as standard as possible - I can reinstall the add-ons later. All I know is that ever since there were Macs, there have been people doing things with the System (why on earth did Apple create ResEdit). And I cannot operate the way I want without FruitMenu, Silk and WindowShade. And I've never had flaky stability with any system as a result of APE.

I just opened an old Logitech installer, 2.2.2. It clearly states in the ReadMe file from within the installer that APE will be installed. So, Logitech did inform their customers, and I need to retract my earlier statement.

Thanks for the update, looking forward to leopard and shapeshifter!

To everyone hating on the ol' ape. ... There is no one with a gun to your head making you use it, so calm down. A little headache once in a while is perfectly fine with me for all the aesthetic beauty of silk and shapeshifter and the great options all unsanity's products provide.

I did a clean install of leopard on my intel imac. I down loaded the recomendend software for my mouse. Logitech.

I have the blue screen, and I get it when I try to boot from the leopard disk. So, I am stuck. Cannot boot from my drive or the install disk. I've booted into single user mode and deleted logitechs ape files, but my system is still hosed. I am at a loss. Installed leopard 3 days ago and it worked fine till now.

Rob, thanks for posting an example of a 10.5 problem unrelated to APE.

Oddly enough, I accidentally installed Leopard on one of my other internal drives (so it was a completely fresh install) and I got the dreaded BSOD. Nothing was working.

Then, I installed on the correct drive (my system drive that was running Tiger and probably too many haxies for my own good) and it went off without a hitch.

Odd business. And to think Apple's technote says the only solution is to "rm" all your stuff. Ridiculous.

I can't understand what most posts are doing here, since they clearly are unrelated to Leopard/Haxial. I've been using Unsanity stuff since it became Unsanity and I must say that the apps I have neen using have been good to me. First, of course, Windowshade. Then FruitMenu, then LabelsX.
People, complain all you want, but I have never been able to single out a haxie, or APE, as the culprit behind any crash. As a matter of fact, my computers hardly ever crash. You people should know that even if APE is mentioned in the crashreport, it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with APE. There has been times when I've had oddball stability problems, and like the good old user I've been, i've disabled extras and externals in the elimination process. I can't think of a single event where the unstability has been related to a haxie. (Btw, I've had more 10.5 crashes - without any extras installed! - in the past few days than I've had with unsanity haxies during the 10.4 span). And if an app from Logitech that use outdated software causes crashes, who's to fault? Logitech or Unsanity? The answer should be pretty clear.

As for how Apple's relation to developers is, I can't speak, but it *is* kind of telling that neither Filemaker, nor Adobe has managed to release solid ports before or right after the 10.5 release. If two of the major software publishers for the mac has problems, how can you honestly expect Unsanity to release on-time new versions?

At any rate, I may for the first time consider using Shapeshifter (once it's out), if only to get rid of the translucent menu bar. Right now it's mint green, and even though Mint was a nice little app, I dislike the colour on a menu bar...

> Rob, thanks for posting an example of a 10.5 problem unrelated to APE.

How do you figure? His problems started when he installed Logitech's drivers, which, surprisingly enough, use APE.

CharlesS, because they did not disappear when he removed APE. Nor can he boot from the install disc. And I'm pretty sure APE has never been installed on his install disc...

Well, it seems somewhat unlikely to me considering that 1. the problem started when he installed APE, and 2. the problem is *exactly* the same problem that a billion people have been reporting as a result of installing APE.

What I find much more likely is:

1. He has not removed APE properly. Given that a command-line solution on a popular site is broken (non-escaped spaces in the path), it's not too hard to figure out how this would happen.

2. He is continuing to boot from the hard drive even though he thinks he's booting from the install disc. There are several cases I've seen which can cause the system to boot from the hard drive even if you're holding down the "C" key. Rob should try holding down the Option key at startup instead to get the boot loader screen and be certain that he actually *is* booting from the install disc.

CharlesS, or the far more likely reason, he has a bad hardware device. Such as a bad USB device or cheap hub.

You're assuming his failure was based on user error. Not that he made just one user error (that he doesn't know how to remove APE), but you assume he made two (that he doesn't know how to boot of the install disc, despite having done it before to install 10.5 the first time).

And that would make sense, if the issue he was having weren't a known issue with APE.

CharlesS, not being able to boot off a read only DVD is not a known issue with APE.

It seems like you're saying he's not telling the truth on two items (removing APE and trying to boot off the disc) but that he is about having the failure after the Logitech install. Which also means you're claiming he made a third user error and didn't install the latest version of the Logitech software (despite him having said he downloaded it).

I do not understand why those who are so against APE, Unsanity, and haxies, repeatedly post negative posts here. You would think if they want nothing to do with the above that they would not waste their time hanging around?

I am either a developer's dream, or their worst nightmare as I run systems so loaded with software that is either alpha's, beta's or the like, and I have yet to crash because of APE. When there used to be INITs my friends would laugh at my Mac's startup as virtually the entire screen would march along with INITs loading one by one. Apple has been no saint in the OS crashing department as earlier Apple systems crashed with regularity; it wasn't until Tiger that the Mac OS achieved some balance.

My first Mac was purchased in 1984...I've been through many Apple operating systems.

> CharlesS, not being able to boot off a read only DVD is not a
> known issue with APE.

Getting the "blue screen" problem on Leopard certainly is a known issue with APE. It would seem to be *quite* the coincidence that he encountered this problem *just* after installing APE, wouldn't you?

> It seems like you're saying he's not telling the truth on two
> items (removing APE and trying to boot off the disc) but that
> he is about having the failure after the Logitech install.

No, I'm saying that I'd bet money that he tried the command line fix that have been posted at MacFixIt, Slashdot, and elsewhere - you know, the one that has unescaped spaces in each command line and thus wouldn't actually do anything? I seem to recall reading something by someone who was attesting to the ineffectiveness of that fix - oh wait, it was you (http://kevinsmith.wordpress.com/2007/10/28/unsanity-v-macfixit-and-the-little-guy-in-the-middle/). So you know exactly what I'm talking about here. He's not lying - in fact, it's not even his fault, because how is an ordinary guy supposed to know that those command lines are faulty? It's the fault of whoever wrote those instructions, really - but bottom line, I can pretty much guarantee you that APE is still on his hard drive.

As for the DVD issue, I used to work with boot CDs all the time, and I can tell you that sometimes, the "C" key trick doesn't work. In those cases, you should fall back on using the Option key to get into the bootloader.

> Which also means you're claiming he made a third user error
> and didn't install the latest version of the Logitech software
> (despite him having said he downloaded it).

I do not share your faith in the ability of the latest version of APE not to cause problems.

Love Labels and Window Shade. Of the two, Labels is the more important. Why Apple doesn't enable us to color files and folders (instead of their names) is beyond me! Please fix Labels! And thanks for all your good work over the years!!

After ensuring that I had the latest version of APE, I went ahead and upgraded to 10.5 today.

v2.0.3 does, and did, in fact, disable itself. I have had zero issues.

I've been using Unsanity haxies for years now (FruitMenu, ShapeShifter, ClearDock), and have NEVER had an APE-related problem. Admittedly, I am a bit obsessive about keeping things up-to-date, but you get my point.

Be afraid if you want to, but don't try to convince me that my own experience is meaningless.

Ditto what Doug said. APE then WindowShade matches my priority order. Please hurry, it's too bright in my office.

Well, I can't believe my eyes. I would never have believed it, but it really seems useful now to write a couple of lines just to support the Unsanity team: "Yes, I have been able to update to Leopard and didn't encounter any problem - no blue screen, nothing"

I've been running APE and different Unsanity software for years, and I'm looking forward to have my FruitMenu back ;-)

I miss WindowShade SO much. I develop and optimize websites, and WindowShade saves me massive amounts of time while working on many web pages, photoshop imaging, internet research, answering mail, etc., all at the same time. I'd gladly PAY to have this compatible with Leopard!!! Please know how appreciated your are for developing this little bit of software heaven. THANKS SO MUCH!!!

I didnt read all those comments (this discussion APE/InputManager evil or not is kinda pointless)

Anyways, all I'd like to say is _I_ love haxies and sorely miss FruitMenu and MenuMaster. Like the second poster I'd think an upgrade fee would only be fair. (I wont go into details and start a new discussion ;))

IMHO, Leopard is not ready until it can run my haxies. Period. I would gladly pay for an upgrade having used the haxies everyday since 10.2

I use WSX, MM & FM, not to mention AHP & other APE apps.

Please get it done soon, best wishes.

FontCard, FontCard, FontCard. Please don't make us wait forever for FontCard. I will not upgrade to Leopard without FontCard. Especially like how you got FontCard working in the Apple Font Panel. The Font Panel is now usable with FontCard in my opinion.

I don't have the technical expertise to comment on APE. I've of course read the debate for years and am aware of the issues in how it may be affecting Leopard and OS X in general. In my case I have never had a problem which I could attribute to the haxie architecture, and I obviously love all of my purchased products... and I now miss them!

I do know that my 10.5 install went fine, and it turns out that I did have APE 2.03. But, I probably have the latest because a haxie had updated itself recently and installed the current APE version???

I am wondering why APE itself does not have an auto-update function? Perhaps it does and I just never noticed. But if not, it certainly would have been a prudent thing to push upgrades prior to a new OS release so as to avoid the reported problems.

I am trying to positive here, but I am also a customer (lots of products) and want to provide some feedback... I am surprised that there is only one product in the line which is 10.5 compatible?

I've read Slava's explanation, which I will not take issue with, but I miss my utilities! At least FruitMenu and WindowShade seem to be on the immediate radar.

My favorite is Labels X as I actually use labels for productivity and identification of files in my workflow. My eyes are again being assaulted because of Apples's horrendous implementation.

My concern is the time-frame for when these products will actually be updated. I was a tester for Labels X in Tiger and I know that it was a VERY long time before it actually got updated. Labels X always seem to be the last product updated, and I can only speculate about the reason for this?

But I am hoping this will not be the case for 10.5.

I too would echo the comments of a couple of others above... If my purchased products were available at an OS release date (or shortly thereafter), I would more than be willing to pay an update fee (or whatever). This may not be popular considering that your products are very low-cost, but here is one customer willing to spend the money to obtain your utilities... which I think many of are essential.

Just meant as feedback from a satisfied customer, but one who would be happier if my utilities were now available :-)

Can't wait to see Shapeshifter back up and running on Leopard, but I do have one question for you guys at Unsanity. What's going on with Resexcellence? I know you guys having something to do with it. When are you gonna actually do something with it?

Than you for the info about getting us Leopard users back with your products.

Unlike some of the whiners, I'll be happy when a 10.5 compatible version of my favourites are ready!

And as for the dim wits that claim your products killed their OS, they must be on crack, Windowshade, ShapeShifter, Mighty Mouse and APE 2.0.3 all simple stopped working once I did an "Archive & Install" of 10.5.

So I'll await the updates patiently and say thanks for the great products!!!

So, I hear Logitech Control Center installs the Application Enhance app. You would think Apple would have tested at least one system with a Logitech mouse, wouldn't you? Or is Apple so arrogant they think all Mac users still use a one-button mouse?

For my part, I did see pretty much all over the Mac-focused websites that APE had to be updated to 2.0.3 before I upgraded to Leopard, so it wasn't a big problem for me. I do hope, however, that Silk gets some lovin' pretty soon. I have never cared for Lucida Grande, in part because it's too grande and in part because it's too ugly, and I'd like to get my menus and iTunes interface back to something civilized like Cronos or Myriad.

Get me my Windowshades back. Expose is crappy substitute for the simplicity of Windowshades and minimize in place. : )

how the heck am i supposed to start my macbook you fools!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dave, Apple checks nothing while rolling system upgrades. That is why AVID phone lines get overhelmed by million dollar studios when Apple updates OS X. People call AVID whether to update or not.

Sadly because of that basic reason, many studios (especially Audio) are stuck on OS X 10.2.8.

I may be called naive but how hard is to use their own statistics (apple downloads site) or versiontracker to pick 20 most popular Apps, install them (Developer may even send original) and see what happens? At least for 10.5 like major upgrade ?

If it is "developers job", they should stop bittorrent paranoia and ship Leopard final at least 1 week before from public.

Also if this leak is reason of this amateur like shipped OS X upgrade, they should look elsewhere.E.g. their own staff. I don't think one pro developer paying $1000 or more to see early OS releases would sit and leak a very strict NDA OS to bittorrent, that insecure thing.

I didn't like the amount of misinformation, FUD and very serious sounding mistakes of coding so I won't pay $200 to be beta tester yet. I cancelled my order. I don't like companies who doesn't give a heck to small scale developers trusting their FUD mongering fanatics.

I better repeat, if MS didn't test the popular/high end software before shipping Vista, they would release it way too earlier. Apple way is "release it and let developers fix OUR problems".

If something built on standard XCode with standard Apple Frameworks, you wouldn't expect it to fail when OS upgrade ships yes? That is what happens on many programs. Unfortunately, they get the blame and lose users as result.

"how the heck am i supposed to start my macbook you fools!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Push the power button!

Thank you for updating us on the state of all things Unsanity. I am using a bunch of your Mods and so I eagerly await thier return. I am about to install Leopard and will miss my many haxies. Thank you again for letting us in on what's going on.

I simply refuse to upgrade to Leopard until I can use all of my Unsanity products. Period. I do not have a "Mac" without them. And I have full faith that Unsanity will deliver the goods. They always have. I have never, ever had a problem with APE or any Unsanity product in the many, many years I have been using them. Not once. If it takes awhile for the products to be Leopard-ready, so be it. It will be well worth the wait.

I'm with Timothy James (and many others) here. A Mac does not become My Mac until my haxies (and DragThing) are up and rolling. If I wanted a GUI exactly like everyone else's, I might as well be running Windoze. :::koff-koff:::

People who upgrade their system software without checking for specific, third-party-software/driver compatibility info - or disabling/removing such add-ons *before* the OS install - might as well be walking down the middle of the virtual highway with big ol' KICK ME! signs on their backs. That's been true since the very first classic Mac OS and its potential INIT/extension conflicts, and it will ever be so. It's "the nature of the beast" as the saying goes.

Kudos - and a heap of gratitude - to Rosyna, Slava, and everyone else involved with Unsanity's development. I'll be installing Leopard as soon as it has sauntered its way to me from Amazon, but on a second partition. 10.5 will not become My OS until at least FruitMenu and WindowShade are ready. Trying to run without 'em would drive me insane. (And I don't need the help. (-:)

Rosyna & Slava,
How is APE 2.5 coming along? Do you have a timeline or projected release date? Or even a beta for public testing?
Keep up the good work.

Hi Guys

I want to use my new mac book pro sooooooo much, I have had everything else working fine for two weeks now, but how I am going to make it through a day without window shade. I wish you every success in cracking it soon, I have to have it back whatever the cost! Can you post us patient users out here an update on progress?

Hello, I'm anxiously awaiting upgrading to Leopard as well, but I won't until I have Windowshade, when I upgraded before and didn't have Windowshade, I was driven insane waiting for the most useful feature ever taken out of an OS. Please let us know that you're working on it and if you could give a totally bogus complete guess of a release date (1 week, 1 month, 1 year..) it'd be greatly appreciated. At least we'd all know that you were working on it. Thanks.

Mark

"We have a build internally that works with Mac OS X 10.5... so it's a matter of days for the compatibility update."

we're now waiting for 10 days if i'm counting correctly...

wassup ?

Unfortunately I was someone who got the dreaded "blue wall" when I tried to install Leopard, caused by the APE, and wished I had read your info before I installed. AppleCare helped me out of it (in 2 hours on the phone).
Regardless, I love your products and await the compatible version of Windowshade.
Thank you for your extensive and thoughtful explanations.

any updates on when APE, Windowshade will be ready?

I too am waiting with baited breath for an update to Windowshade. Why Apple doesn't just add this invaluable feature we had in OS 9 is beyond me.

guys, come on, please!
I can imagine, that there's a lot of work to do - but:
can you please just inform us, when we will get back our much loved windowshade and shapeshifter!

yeah, good job, unsanity. keep on laggin'...

all can you do is blame others for your lack of expertise and incompetence.
you have no business being in software development industry.

Joining the chorus: it is really difficult to work without WS!

Looking forward

While I'm thinking about it, is there any way that you could add a nice little feature to Silk, in which the size of the menubar font could be changed? I was just thinking back to the good old days of Kaleidoscope on Mac OS 9, which offered that functionality. Ah, memories.

I need menu master to work! Pages drives med absolute nuts with is insane key layout! PuhleeasE!!

menu master

menu master!

Amazing. Another upgrade another delay. Why did I buy this software?

David Taylor, if you haven't noticed there are many developers working on compatible Leopard upgrades. Even Apple is having to work on Leopard's compatibility!

i keep trying to access files with the contextual menu in leopard!
i miss fruitmenu the most (my fave unsanity app since 10.3).
mightymouse and shapeshifter will be nice to have again too.

especially with stacks and it's (so far) mediocre implementation, fruitmenu is essential.

I think Unsanity has handled this issue in a terrible manner, issuing non-denial denials the like. Such as in the MacWorld article where you make the claim that it's not your fault because the most recent version doesn't break anything...

http://www.macworld.co.uk/macsoftware/news/index.cfm?newsid=19505

That's not the point! Your response clouded the issue and made it more difficult for users to figure out what to do about their problems. The correct response would have been to own up with the issues with the earlier builds, publish a specific critical Leopard warning prominently on your site to anyone who might have older versions installed and publicise the fix in an easy-to-link manner, which I see you still haven't done.

This happened to a friend's system, and I came here looking for a fix that involves removing your software. I didn't find one; instead I found a suggestion to upgrade to the latest version (what, so that it could deactivate itself immediately upon Leopard's launch? -- that's a bass-ackwards uninstall procedure if I've ever seen one, and you can't do it if your system is already borked). I had to go elsewhere to find the command-line instructions to uninstall -- and they worked. I find that to be a pretty unacceptable situation, that you decided not to even post the most direct fix right here on your site.

Basically, you chose to put your self-interest of keeping your software installed and not openly providing specific instructions for removal, above the interests of users being able to start up their systems.

DBL, if you have read Apple's very own Software License Agreement for Mac OS X, in the Welcome to Leopard booklet you will learn what Apple has stated all along, and that it they guarantee no third-party software working with their own software. Not only that Apple really guarantees very little in the way of their own software. Only a bloody fool would have tread into uncharted waters without reflection—as Unsanity clearly stated for obvious reasons. Really, there are people who should neither own nor be allowed next to a computer.

Thanks for the link to the Macworld article as I have contacted MacWorld to cancel my subscription based on their shoot-from-the-hip article.

In closing, I have dealt with the Unsanity crew for several years now, and your insipid remark of "Basically, you chose to put your self-interest of keeping your software installed..." could not be further for the truth, but then again you obviously have not dealt with the Unsanity crew for very long.

I'm postponing my final transition to Leopard until FruitMenu is compatible. I am, as well, prepared to pay for an upgrade for both my FruitMenu and Menu Master licenses in consideration of the certain difficulties you face.

Aside from the above encouragement, may I request that you consider methods of implementing FruitMenu without involving the frontmost application. As it seems currently, when the frontmost application is busy, FruitMenu's items are at times dimmed and unavailable, requiring a switch to another app to access what ideally should be a system menu unencumbered by any application's availability (particularly so when FruitMenu is being called upon to simply launch another app). As an example of the desired behavior, the Spotlight menu seems to have global availability.

While I am nonetheless grateful for your efforts, I am hopeful your work with Leopard will reveal a solution to this minor issue (for the several 'switchers' I routinely assist as well as me).

You guys are not only unprofessional, you are also a bunch of cowards. You removed my comment with a valid criticism towards your company.

cowards. cowards. cowards.

Thank you, I now have a bricked MacBook and 1 million comments to read unrelated to MacBook unbricking.

Unsanity rule #1: If you don't know who to blame, blame Apple.
Unsanity rule #2: Ignore your paying customers needs and complain about Apple.
Unsanity rule #3: Go to rule #1 and start over.

Unsanity rule #1: If you don't know who to blame, blame Apple.
Unsanity rule #2: Ignore your paying customers needs and complain about Apple.
Unsanity rule #3: Go to rule #1 and start over.

Unsanity rule #1: If you don't know who to blame, blame Apple.
Unsanity rule #2: Ignore your paying customers needs and complain about Apple.
Unsanity rule #3: Go to rule #1 and start over.

Stop the nasty complaints! $10 for life is dirt cheap. How far do you think $10 can go? There's only 2 or 3 people working here. I like FruitMenu so much, I'd gladly pay another $10. That said, please hurry!

@hater,

The product you've bought relies on an unsupported hack, which Unsanity was repeatedly warned, by myself and others, not to use. The upshot is that it's far more difficult for them to update their products than it is for developers who actually follow the recommendations given in Apple's developer documentation.

As for calling them cowards, I don't really see how bravery enters into it. They're irresponsible, sure, but cowards? How do you figure that?

-jcr

Any news about when the APE is going to be released? I have bought leopard but dont install it waiting for the update of APE...

I am a long time user of Shapeshifter and follow Unsanity closely. They have many useful products and the one I am actually looking for the most is Cleardock. I have had a dark blue background for the dock since 10.3 and with Leopard I really miss it. I haven't seen this haxie mentioned at all, but I just wanted to let you know I will be checking Unsanity every day until the updated version is released. I know it is far down the list, but please don't forget it. Thanks.

Umm ... not to point out the obvious, but it's 2007 - haven't you WindowShade users tried out Spaces?

I mean, isn't the point of WindowShade to get windows out of the way to see other windows, even if just temporarily? If you used Spaces, you could just group your windows according to task (or just to keep large windows spatially/geographically separated, so they don't overlap), and you'd never have this issue.

I've been using Desktop Manager with Tiger (Spaces is better) and 6 workspaces on a 30" Cinema HD Display. I never even think about needing something like WindowShade :)

@Riot Nrrrd™,
Spaces is a benefit, but nothing close to the functionality provided by WindowShade. Not even remotely.

Thanks for getting the Leopard compatibility done a.s.a.p., your efforts are appreciate. I miss Windowshade dearly, it is such an essential haxie.

QUOTE:
We have a build internally that works with Mac OS X 10.5... so it's a matter of days for the compatibility update.

REPLY:
I guess "a matter of days" means many different things to many people. :) It sure seems like it's overdue, but on the other hand, I realize that niggling little problems can and due crop up.

I wish we could have some timetable to see when you are expecting to have the APE ready.... During this week, during this month?

Spaces is certainly nifty.. but Windowshade is utterly essential. I think the two together will make my mac so very happy. Unsanity you rock.

Spaces v Windowshade, you are obviously not using your Mac in front line production, Windowshade is essential for users needing lots of windows open who work faster visually using this tool, Spaces just slows you down to remember what's going on in all these 'spaces'. Maybe that's fine for some but not me. Come on team get Windowshade back out here for us real mac users with deadlines to meet.

Hey unsanity.

I think it would be a nice sign to alot of your customers who are currently unable to use ANY of your software right now to offer some sort of incentive when you get the ball rolling.

How about a free app for paid customers?

I think a free 10$ app would be a nice show of appreciation to all your fans.

Some, myself included up until about 2 weeks ago, actually have a leopard dvd sitting in their office without even opening it, since 10.4 is the only way to use app enhancers.

Just a thought.

Thanks guys.

"Some, myself included up until about 2 weeks ago, actually have a leopard dvd sitting in their office without even opening it, since 10.4 is the only way to use app enhancers."

I installed Leopard, but would have waited until 10.5.1 knowing what I know now as 10.5 needs help in many areas. Hopefully, that update will appear soon.

10.5.1 is there today. The only question is whether the new code delays APE, FruitMenu, Windowshade any further. I don't expect any goodwill gesture from Unsanity, but if Rosyna has time to write a long piece on bug issues in 10.5.0, would a short little piece on how the upgrades are going be too much to ask?

Well, I am also waiting and waiting and even after 2 weeks, none of the applications have entered Beta testing. Can you guys just give a a little update on how are you doing? I am also waiting with Leopard installation, but if you are still like 1-2 months behind, I am not waiting.

There were some ugly posts up there, but for those who did support you, status on how you are doing with possible release calendar would make us all happy.

Geez, guys, got Leopard on an external disk using it just for Time Machine: been waiting for APE support...
I'd even pay for the upgrade.

Please say something about your progress, ANYTHING.

yeah please just throw a stab in the dark timeframe at us, it feels like we are being ignored. its obvious you are struggling however it would be more favourable to your customers to hear you at least say that and just let us know where you are.

i've only installed leopard on one of my machines as i am waiting on you guys.

ROUGHLY how long should i wait?

i think if there is no mention on this within the week, we should start fighting for refunds.

obviously we hope for the best, basically a little resect for your customers.

I don't know if this whole "refunds" thing is quite right, unless you just bought the haxies. I don't think it took this long for Unsanity to get their stuff ready for Tiger, but then, Tiger wasn't nearly as much of an upgrade as Leopard has been. Who knows how much changed from Tiger to Leopard that, whether accidentally or maliciously, served to break the haxies?

I'd like an update on the work, of course, but I think we can still be patient. If you really need the haxies, stick with Tiger. Leopard can wait.

hey, just want to say i support you guys and desperately want windowshade and windowdragon and practically everything you guys make. sadly i upgraded to leopard without owning a tiger cd or making a back up.
please let us know if we have to wait more than a few weeks. if we do ill go through the trouble of downloading and installing tiger.

love all my Unsanity Haxies..Never had a problem with any of them. 10.5 installed without a hitch.

for those that can't keep thier apps updated, try Appupdater widget, it does a great job.

oooopps the wiget is called App updater on the apple widget site.

Hope I can use DesktopSweeper on Leopard, when APE becomes 10.5.x compatible.

Thanks for creating the APE interface!

Does anyone reading/contributing to this thread personally know (as in face-to-face) the people behind Unsanity? If so, perhaps they could post a word letting us know if Unsanity is still a going concern. If the hundreds of us who are waiting for APE etc. don't soon hear otherwise from either Unsanity themselves or someone with direct personal knowledge, I think it's safe to assume (in spite of this post's initial ray of hope) that Unsanity is no more, and that APE etc will not be made public for 10.5.

The "compatibility" page at http://www.unsanity.com/products/compatibility spells it out pretty clearly and makes no mention of any forthcoming upgrades. It's sad that this post had to get all our hopes up. I know I'm not alone when I express great appreciation for all the hard work Unsanity did indeed do (both to create the software in the first place, and to try to update it). Here's hoping their future endeavors won't be thwarted as this seems to have been.

If indeed anyone reading this does have personal contact with Unsanity, please pass on our best wishes, and let them know that if ever in the future they do go back into business, they should send out a word to their email list (and post to the regular forums) letting folks know that they are once again up and running.

So long Unsanity and thanks anyway,

~ your long time customers and fans

Unsanity is old news and dying software. It has been 2 years since I have used any of their haxies, and I am much happier. That bitter Rosyna person only remembers to badmouth X when a new version comes out and it takes Unsanity 3 months to produce updates.
Why would anyone rely on haxies that make the Mac slower and less reliable? Give it up people, you screwed enough people with APE so far, especially in the upgrading phase to Leopard.
Go and do something else, be a Microsoft specialist or whatever.

I just want to have an idea when you think APE will ready to use for Leopard? or you don't have plan?

I would have to agree with the sentiments of the above posts. I love these apps and have gladly paid for many of them. An update to the website or beta versions of the software would be amazing. Don't keep us waiting so long! It's evil!

totally,

even if it was a humble "we are having a lot of problems but are working on it" message to say that they were still there, but, it just looks grim.

such a dissapointment really, i love the apps so much i am thinking about removing leopar from the only one machine i have installed it o to revert back to tiger, as great as leopard can be, without these apps any new benifits feel like i'v sacrifised a lot of the stuff i loved most about my macs.

i wish unsanity would see how well they are being complemented here, and just give us the courtesy of "yes we are still here".

it feels like that way a friend avoids you when you've lent them money.

Yep... looks like I picked the right time to skip upgrading to the latest OS.

Hi, I just upgraded to Leopard and as you know my Windowshade stopped working. Can I be put on your email list so I can find out when it will be working again. Thanks.

Mi,e.

What in the name of all that is holy is going on here?!?

A month later, from a company that's consider a premiere third part "Holy Grail", after a major system release, and there's nobody "answering the phone"?

This is bizarre, and appalling.

APE Enhancer is a life saver for people who want productivity from their machine. While I do believe you're trying hard, a few "we're having some difficulties with the new build" messages would go down far more easy than ignoring the rank-and-file.

C'mon, guys. Get your act together. You're making a polished product like like Amateur Night in Dixie.

Hi all,

Just to say, I'm waiting for Window Shade to be compatible with Leopard before I upgrade, I can't live without my Window Shade !

Please put me on your email list to be firest imformed as when Window Shade is back for Leopard

Oh and yes, why free ?

I would be glad to pay quite a few bucks for such a great haxie upgrade after soooo many years of rock solid service.

Regards

Tycho

Here's my pickle_ I recently bought a couple of Haxies within the last few months and I either stay on Tiger until they get updated or I migrate to Leopard and have a useless product_

It would be a little different "feeling" if I had bought them a year ago - 2 years ago_ But right now it's feeling more like a "new purchase" that will break if I upgrade [akin to the whole iPhone / JailBreak non-sense]_ Except there's no "hacking" involved_

I looked up the history on when Haxie Updates were made to adapt to the new system in contrast to when a new OS was released [including the Intel Switch] to get some sort of barometer - but that didn't seem to work much as it ranged from Haxies released 2 days before a launch to a few days after a launch to almost 11 months after a launch_

But yeah - as for those like me who just bought some Haxies and would probably feel like a waste of money if we upgrade - total appreciation would go out if UNSANITY did not act like Apple and keep folks in the dark until after the last minute_

No one probably cares about the nit-picky day to day of coding software - but it's like a little kid riding in a car and wanting to peek out over the ledge of the window to "see" what's going on outside of the car_

A monthly update or somehting would do good - "Hey guys - we can see the light at the end of the tunnel" or "Apple did some really funky shit with this last round of an OS build and we'll get thru it - but we're stumped at the moment"_ You know - something - just throw us a bone_

Well, whats the status right now?
A short notice about the dev.status would be great.

Hey everyone, I sent Unsanity an email and got this not so promising response:

Hi,

We are hard at work getting Application Enhancer and our haxies compatible with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. We've been so delayed because APE didn't even run until we received the shipping version of Leopard. We currently have a working internal build of APE, so it's only a matter of days until we release APE 2.5, and updated versions of our haxies shortly thereafter.

Please keep an eye on our official lines of communication (website - http://www.unsanity.com, blog - http://www.unsanity.org, newsletters - http://www.unsanity.com/list, etc.) for more information on compatibility releases, calls for beta testers, and other updates, and watch our compatibility page at http://www.unsanity.com/products/compatibility.

I have it figured.

Unsanity are waiting.

For System 11...

Unsanity is the only company I know of that appears to be "surprised" by an Apple update and waits until it hits the streets to do any work on updating their products.

Unsanity should be ashamed of their work ethic. Regardless of pricing, unsanity should be working on new versions with every development seed of a new OS. That way when the retail hits shelves it's a minor thing to correct for the few minor changes in the retail version.

Customer service should be paramount. As it stands it obviously is not.

Guys, I love Windowshade. At this point, I'd even pay to have it work in 10.5.

But all you have to do to keep the natives happy is to make a short post like:

"Making things work is harder than we thought due to some last minute changes Apple made in the code. Maybe 2, possible three weeks. We hope...."

I tried Launchbar from obdev as an alternative to Fruitmenu and it's a great product wih tons of more functionality.

http://www.obdev.at/products/launchbar/

It also works great on Leopard, is actively supported and doesn't need an app-enhancer or whatever.

Okay, I hate to pile on here but WTF? You post an 'update' on 10/27 and that's it? I mean, I'm lost without FruitMenu but you folks don't appear to be interested in letting anyone know what's going with your updating process. Is it close? Have you revised to Leopard compatibility road map? I'm using QuickSilver right now and yeah, it's 'aight' but it's not what I want. And if this is a case of money, charge for the update or whatever: just get the software working or let us know when! Please!?

great!

any other alternative suggestions form anyone, i must admit mighty mouse and shapeshifter are pretty high on my misslist

If anyone has an alternate for the indispensible "MenuFela", I can get onto Leopard and forget again about having to use an Unsanity product.

For those who really believe that Unsanity have died, I thought I'd mention that Panic's Candybar is still incompatible with Leopard, which offers icon substitution similar to (and a bit more advanced than) Shapeshifter. It doesn't prove anything, but it does suggest that interface-altering programs may be more broken than normal stuff.

Still, I'd like an update on Unsanity's work.

Glad you are hard at work on the upgrades. If you need a beta tester for windowshade, please put me on the list. I am having a meltdown here without it. I hate it when I minimize windows and they go to the dock. I LOVE windowshade and wish it had been part of the OS as it used to be many OX's ago. I AM COUNTING ON YOU!!! Please Hurry! Thanks.

Classic Menu is a good replacement for fruitmenu and it works with Leopard now.

I like everyone most others just want to know when we get our windowshade back. I have been forced to learn how to use spaces, its handy to leave open windows ready to use, but requires a brain expansion module to remember what the **** you have opened up in all the different desktops.

I don't like it, but it works.... APPLE 1 UNSANITY 0 come on guys get back in the game and tell us what's going on.

Developers should take notes on how NOT to behave from these guys. anyone know of any replacement app for windowshade? I'm ready to move on...

I believe that users need to get real...how long did Apple delay Leopard's release? Apple did developers no favors with Leopard's late release; add to that the holidays. I enjoy spending time with friends and family in this season more than have concerns about software upgrades.

Wow. i have to say it's a bit disturbing to see all these comments and not one reply from Unsanity. It's been a month now and no update on progress? Surely someone could spare a few minutes to let us all know what the deal is, especially if the truth is not promising.

I too am suffering through Leopard without WindowShade functionality and wish there was an alternative. The closest I've found is Sticky Windows (http://www.donelleschi.com/stickywindows/) which appears to be a smaller operation than Unsanity, and they've got it to be Leopard compatible.

Come on Unsanity, just be honest and give us an update, please?

CandyBar for Leopard was just released today... but no word on even a single haxie upgrade from our favorite developers? Something tells me we're in trouble...

Have patience. Software development can be tricky and from what I understand it's especially difficult on the Mac.

My vote goes to WindowShade.

October 27 - November 27

Not good enough, guys.

Let me just say you guys run a horrible business.
I made the mistake of actually paying for one of your haxies. As stated earlier other developers have successfully (without whining)updated their apps for the current OS version.
All we get from you are gripes about apple and bizarre pictures of you wives.
I want a refund so I can go back to pirating your software (once you actually realeas it). Hopefully before 10.6 goes developers.

You guys truly suck.

PLEASE BRING RESEXCELLENCE BACK!

what is the deal with resexcellence? it seems as if you guys are just avoiding the issue entirely. People aren't asking for much, just a post on the resexcellence page. i mean come on, is it that hard to take 5 minutes out of your day to at say whether you've given up on the project or if you put it on the back burner or what i going on? i mean right now the site is at 1,520 comments and you haven't responded one bit.

Sorry, no leopard update.

Slava,

No leopard update yet or no update coming?

Thanks! Roland

Wow, I posted a comment about Resexcellence the other day. It was polite and non-threatening ad it got erased. Well now I am going to post here everyday until a response of some kind is given, whether it be a blog post here or something on the actual resex site or an e-mail. I'm going to post this on the resex wall as well and encourage everyone else to do the same. you can try and block my e-mail but i have about a dozen and can create more. also i have numerous ip addresses so please send a response of some kind. thanks

re: slava: Sorry, no leopard update.

does this mean that technical hurdles preclude any future version of APE? I have a touchscreen that I use with WindowDragon and SmartScroll X, and life *will not* be the same without them, or without APE in general.

I'm a well-rounded coder, and i don't give two tugs of a dead dogs cock about the negativity i see some people have here, you are doing the right thing by making this happen; without APE we are all beholden to the Lowest Common Denominator of what apple thinks will get it the least trouble UI wise. Commendable, if and ONLY if there are alternatives.

Much love and support where we can,
.j (and the legions like me)

Slava:
Wow! What a freakin' update that was! Way to come through dude! But seriously, would it have hurt you to add some detail? Or maybe even a complete sentence? And maybe even answer Roland's question which I though was pretty spot on...

To be fair to slava and not ahem, "slava", above.. that could be a fake posting. i reckon so.

jamesr: if it was a fake post, that's really not all that much better, since that would suggest that all of these posts are simply being ignored as of late.

no, gentlemen, the posts are not getting ignored. they're being actively monitored and deleted by cowards from Unsanity.

I sincerely hope that there will be an update soon. Leopard really sucks without APE working. It looks like Tiger will be my main OS for quite some time I'm afraid.

I love Unsanity and their products, but 30+ days and counting from the release of the OS update is a bit silly. I understand that they had to wait to get the GM, but come on folks.

Macs being machines for creative individuals, clearly Slava is pledging his loyal support to the Writer's Guild, delaying the release of APE to the Producers' Conglomerates' capitulation...

Yes, it is avery annoying that details about the haxie compatibility with Leopard have been very shallow. Yes, Unsanity can do more to inform their loyal customers.

However, let me say that if you expect Unsanity to act in a professional way, being unprofessional about it is not the way to go. You are being a hypocrite.

Have any of you tried to hack the UI beside changing icons or scrollbars? I have, and many things in the UI are unsolved mysteries. Just try changing the traffic lights at the top of the window. It would be far more productive if instead of complaining about Unsanity that we either help figure out some of Leopard's mysteries or we develop new products. The beautiful thing about free market systems is if you don't like how something is done, then do it yourself. If you don't know how to program, then this is a good reason to start.

psh...only 50 something posts...you guys here have a long way to go to catch up with our 1535 in a single post count asking the same question, "when will there be an update?" keep plugging away guys and gals ;)

It's too bad that Unsanity hasn't been able to provide Leopard compatible versions of their software, but in the long run, it is Unsanity and not the end user that will suffer most. I hear those people saying that it isn't worth moving to 10.5 because they can't live without WindowShade, for example. Get real! I've used Unsanity products since moving from OS 9 to X. I miss WindowShade (and to a lesser extent FruitMenus) but I'm coping just fine and so can you.

This isn't a matter of being of lover or a hater, it's about having tools or not having tools. For me, the additional features in Leopard far outweigh the loss of a couple Unsanity products. I still have my 3rd party UI, like DragThing and ASM and frankly, I've always used those more anyway.

I'll continue to check back from time to time and would even consider paying for Leopard versions of the tools I've lost. What I won't do elevate this problem to anything more than a minor inconvenience.

Good luck to Unsanity, good luck to the users, but if anyone knows of a WindowShade alternative, I'd love to hear about it! :)

I understand the frustration of upgrading to Leopard compatibility and I hope that things are going well for those at Unsanity, however I hope that we could at least be given an update, an ETA or something that would give us an idea as to when APE will be ready. Im lost without FruitMenu... lol... Best of luck to those working on this problem and I hope to hear from you soon. If anyone actually reads this that has some sway, please email me, I would really appreciate it

All I know is that if Unsanity doesnt get on the ball here, someone else eventually will. And they will lose their monopoly on the customization market. Which is a good thing I guess, competition brings out the best in everyone. I suggest Unsanity heeds this warning. There are many independant developers out there that would, or maybe -are, looking to provide a free of charge app to replace shapeshifter and others.

I finally caved in and upgraded to Leopard.
I need a low-maintanance backup system, and Time Machine does the job.
By doing so I lost Fruitmenu, LabelsX, FontCard, ShapeShifter and Windowshade.
I depended on unsanity products for my workflow for many years, and I supported you as much as I could, because in spite of few flaws there is really no alternative for your solutions (I blame apple for that).
I understand an upgrade to Leopard may be challenging, but I do not understand your reticence to post a response to the many loyal users of your products: all of us who depended on your products needs to know what's your plans so we can make ours. That's all.
So far all we got is a criptic one liner that raise more questions and answer none.
I'm appalled how you are ignoring these posts on the board you created.
I'm checking this board every day, but I'm getting tired.
A sugegstion: if you can't follow up with maintaining your software, let someone do it: open source your software, so we will not witness another deadware.

30+ days an no update or even a word about an update? Truly sad...

30+ days an no update or even a word about an update? Truly sad...

What is interesting also is that Unsanity seems to be corresponding with other developers and have told them that MEE works in Leopard. See the following from my other broken program (Now up to date).

Post subject: Re: NUDC 5.3.2 beta (26NOV2007) and LeopardPosted: Yesterday, 9:54 pm

Joined: Tue, April 3, 2007 12:19 pm
Posts: 475
Location: Columbus, Ohio
John Wallace wrote:
Hikerdave wrote:
I don't understand this, unsanity, the makers of Menu Extra Enabler, says that MEE does not work in 10.5.X. Why are you having your software install other software that is known not to work?

When Leopard came out, I corresponded directly with the author of MEE and was told the following:

Quote:
The current version actually works [with Leopard]. It just needs to have special perms...[rules omitted]...As long as MEE follows those rules, it works great.

I'm not sure why their website hasn't been updated to reflect the above. I've got an email into them to make sure that what they told me when Leopard was released is still valid.

I received confirmation from Unsanity that MEE works with Leopard as long as developers follow new rules (which our 5.3.2 beta does). Their latest email to me read:

Quote:
I've not seen any other reports of it not working [on Leopard]. Some third party developers are shipping MEE now with their menu extras, and I haven't heard reports of anything from them (good or bad).

We will be releasing an updated version, once Smart Crash Reports is ready for 10.5, but that will have the same exact binary (with different version info) for MEE itself and an installer that sets the perms correctly.

_________________
John Wallace
NightHawk Tech Lead
President, Now Software, Inc.
http://forum.nowsoftware.com/content/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=731&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=40

this even further proves that unsanity are bunch of cowards who do not give two shits about their paying customers

looks like my messages here mysteriously "self-destruct"

way to go, unsanity.

I finally upgraded to Leopard 2 days ago, I am very happy about it, except a few applications aren't working on it yet, which includes Shapeshifter, Menu Master and WindowShade.

I am currently OK with all those missing applications.. for now.. before I get tired of the Leopard default themes i guess.

I understand sometimes software development takes time, but won't it be nice if there are some sort of progress updates to let us know they are REALLY working on the fixes? Even if they are busy, they should keep their customers informed. No blog entries or news from Unsanity for almost a month, it's like Unsanity is entirely dead...

This is my 3rd or 4th post, got fed up waiting for Windowshade...
Get yourself a mouse with a middle scroll click button, load different programs in different spaces set up in system preferences ( you have 16 to choose from ) start using spaces... its actually quite good and then you don't need windowshade. Life goes on!!

All the same - until i have windowdragon and smartscrollX, my touch screen might as well as be useless. They are excellent programs and should be built into the os - that is - if anyone recognized the value (everyone is caught up with their iphones - people - we don't need multitouch!) of SmartScrollX and WindowDragon and xGestures in combination on a capacitive screen. Such overwhelming fun!!

I will dream of the day~

The wait goes on and on with no end in sight, not even a word of progress, and I'm beginning to realize that in the absence of haxies the world doesn't come to an end. For my purposes, the two most useful are Fruit Menu and Menu Master. Classic Menu is sort of an okay substitute for the first and Keyboard Maestro is a very good substitute for the second. I bet it's bad for Unsanity's business when people start noticing these things. You know that old clichee about playing the violin while Rome's burning? Or have you lost interest in Unsanity as a business enterprise?

A little perspective

For all those who are impatient about the Unsanity Leopard updates here is a something to ponder: I have a new HP 3390 AIO which worked great in Tiger, and is a hit and miss in Leopard. This is not a minor issue as I rely on this unit when working out of my residence. Here is HP's official response in the form of a PDF outlining how HP is ready for Leopard, but take a close look at page 2 of the PDF, "HP plans to release the first major update until the end of December 2007, which will be focused on All-in-One and Scanner drivers to provide scanning and faxing functionality. Until then scanning functionality is limited to certain HP products, please refer to the next pages for details." Here is the link:

http://h41140.www4.hp.com/mac_connect/pdf/Mac_OS_launch_special.pdf

Unsanity, from what I know, does not have the personnel resources that HP has and yet HP has not released direly needed updates that allow my peripheral to function properly. I can also state, from past experience, that I will have to use File Buddy to weed out all the older files that might cause problems with the update as I doubt HP’s installer will delete them. So the wait for Unsanity’s updates is not that big a deal—at least for me.

.... and messages are continuing to mysteriously "self-destruct", which means this blog is being religiously monitored by Unsanity, however, they are just being too cool to respond to us, simple people.....

.... and messages are continuing to mysteriously "self-destruct", which means this blog is being religiously monitored by Unsanity, however, they are just being too cool to respond to us, simple people.....

keep deleting my comments and i will keep posting. block my IPs all you want, i will login from different ones. LOSERS.

you don't have enough decency to provide updates to your loyal customers. if you don't know what cowardliness is, you are a prime example of it. burn in hell, unsanity.

October: You make this post.
October: I upgrade to Leopard.
November: I get tired of waiting for updates so I post.
...
December now and still no updates or posts from you. What is going on? Are you guys working on this or should I just give up all hope. :(

I'm reminded of the old Steve Miller song:

"Go on, take the Money and run......."

pleaseguys give just a update on the progress...just a few words about every app.

You suck twice as much as last month.

Hello ?
Are you guys still there ?

I am surprised and disappointed that there still isn't a compatible update of Shapeshifter for Leopard. I have bought many Unsanity products and am kind of upset that I cant use them. I hope I see Leopard compatible product in the very near future.

Cronic03

I have no problem with your issues here. But while you're going on justifiably about Apple's bugs, you do have a large bug you should take care of (it wouldn't take more than a few minutes), and it's just copy on your home page.

While your website's home page does say "please make sure you have Application Enhancer 2.0.3 or later installed before you upgrade to Mac OS X 10.5," that is nowhere near enough. APE doesn't just need to be in there before installing Leopard. If one has installed Leopard already and then installs a preference panel app that itself installs APE, then OS X will not start up the next time it is rebooted; instead the computer will go to a blue screen and hang. APE, installed after Leopard, breaks Leopard.

You need to state this in the same place you warn about having APE 2.0.3 in before installing Leopard. The warning should also say "And if you have already installed Leopard, DO NOT INSTALL ANY PREFERENCE PANEL THAT INSTALLS APE. If you do, your computer will not be able to restart." Or something to that effect.

Apple addresses this problem in http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306857. But you should be heading it off at your home page.

To all you people screaming out into empty space about how utterly pissed off you are with no upgrades for your beloved software haxies...

keep doing it, it makes for great reading =P

To all you people screaming out into empty space about how utterly pissed off you are with no upgrades for your beloved software haxies...

well suleiman, to be fair, many of us had invested something more important then money into haxies, we've invested hope. A mac without haxies I use feels worse: less responsive, less intuitive, and less interesting then the unadorned apple software. Apple makes great software, for the least common denominator. I realize that eventually substitutes (or an update!) will come around, but until then the "state of the art" is less so, and although I'm technical enough to understand the pros and cons that have made it hard to port APE, i feel as do the less technically inclined, that APE and haxies make for something special, something that defined US and our desired computing experience. Now, Leopard is VERY nice, but it is also... a step backward. In a big way. For some of us, that is the most frustrating bit.

For instance, are you aware that if you buy a new macbook with the X3100 video card, you CANT install leopard because they've omitted a *single* driver for that card? Everything else works. What is frustrating is that I and others like me DON'T have the option to go back to tiger until this works out. For me, i am *stuck* with Leopard even though i have install CDs, Carbon Copy Cloner images, and backups up the wazoo.

So when you admonish us for feeling as we do - well yes, we've been herded, uncerimoniously and without warning - by apple, mind you, not Unsanity - into a corner in a way we associate with the "other guys". Now, i know about some security risks with SIMBL and APE, but i think I speak for the majority of us when we say fine - make us type an adminstrator password like everything else. BANNING the capability is a bad move, and we are upset.

Does that clear things up for you?

errata from above post: i mean to say that TIGER can't be installed on new macbook, not leopard as i state, meaning that Leopard is forced upon us.

i'm guessing they have gone under...

2 jamesr
well said.

Having stumbled across this forum while looking for info on the forthcoming (?) windowshade upgrade, could I just say that my main complaint is that the Unsanity site displays so little information regarding this. A list of applications that work or don't work is not enough. I would like INFORMATION on times/delays/expected release dates etc.

I posted way back on Nov. 6th but I'm posting again to say that all I want for Christmas is Windowshade. Think Unsanity could get Santa to help them out with that?

Having stumbled across this forum while looking for info on the forthcoming (?) windowshade upgrade, could I just say that my main complaint is that the Unsanity site displays so little information regarding this. A list of applications that work or don't work is not enough. I would like INFORMATION on times/delays/expected release dates etc.

Posted by: mark on December 11, 2007 3:18 AM

I think that is what we are all looking for. I think quite possibly the boys at Unsanity have packed up and gone home. I remember the delay in the Intel friendly haxies and this by far longer. Hope I'm wrong, but I think we are all kinda screwed, I don't think the programs are ever coming. Just my 2 cents

Whew, glad to know the Leopard update to WindowShade is coming out soon. I try to keep my system to a minimum, but this is one haxie I cannot live without (it just makes so much sense, it should be an option in the OS...

While I miss the functionality that fruit menu brought me, the biggest frustration is the lack of communication that we are receiving.

It would be nice to have some sort of an update - even if it is nothing more than that they have no idea of when, or if things are going to be available.

I have been very happy with unsanity's products, but their customer service leaves a lot to be desired.

Hey unsanity.......do ya need someone to buy your software company for you to respond to your customers!!!????

Please let me, and all of us know just WTF is going on with your software. We have supported you for years, bought lots of your stuff, and now are simply asking for an update.

unsanity, you're silence is driving us all insane.

SLAVA, where are you man, how can you watch this happen to you?

I just have to look away.

Please post something! Anything.

Cheers and all the best.

Oh well. Good programs for Tiger - I got my money's worth. I suggest looking into Butler (free) to replace Fruit menu.

Happy Holidays to the Unsanity team and to all! Peace.

I'm actually kind of worried about the guys at Unsanity. Are they okay?

Unsanity,

How difficult is it to type a few words regarding progress on this site?

I believe your customers not only deserve it, It seems we demand it.

Toodles!

Who cares about the haxies?!?!?!?

You bastards killed ResExcellence.

Fruit Menu:
Classic Menu from Sig Software Products.html works for me and it's free.

Menu Master:
Has anyone found a replacement yet?
Leopard doesn't work well yet.

I've been a longtime user of Unsanity products, Sorry to see it go away.

I've been with you guys since the beginning, having bought the bundle of Fruit Menu, Xsounds and Windowshade X when those were your only products.

The fact that they don't work with X.5 is the reason I've not upgraded to the "latest and greatest" version of Mac OS.

Continuing to say nothing, and apparently do nothing, regarding Leopard incompatibilities, is not winning you any points, gaining you any friends or getting you any business.

Much as it pains me to say this, if you are not going to continue development, please consider releasing your code under the GPL and letting a wider community deal with it. Better that than a silent, whimpering demise.

Or, you could surprise us with a great New Years gift and roll out updated versions of your core applications within a month.

Whatever you decide, please let us, your customers and fans *know* what's happening and may you and yours have a great holiday season.

Obviously your customers are passionate about your products...it is a shame you can't take two seconds to respond.

And really, if there is a major problem, just say so, people are very understanding.

And if you need us to pay for the re-engineering, believe me, after going a month in Leopard without windowshades, I'll pay.

But not responding to your customers is just bad form.

Sincerly,

Bryan

Nobody should be worried about whether the company is still a going concern as there is at least one person who'll respond if you send an email to one of their company email addresses. I've had a couple of exchanges with someone there who's offered up a little more detail on what's going on and who has said that he'd add an update here sooner or later (I'm thinking later at this point) and while I really dislike the absence of something (anything) concrete have stopped being pissed off as much about the whole thing. I did the Menu Master thing and while it's okay, I'm almost at the point of deleting it because while it's close to FruitMenu, FruitMenu it ain't.

"You Control" looks like it provides some functionality similar to FruitMenu:

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/13735/you-control

Still sitting here using Tiger. Not that Unsanity gives a flying **** but I'm not going to use Leopard as my main OS until APE works, period. And I also noticed that the current version of GraphicConverter (6.0.3) has an option "Use Smart Crash Reports." How is that possible? Another "permissions" issue maybe?

Dear God, Goddess, Satan, Santa, Universe, Whomever:

Please inspire the good folks at Unsanity to get on with at least just letting us know what their progress is on their most excellent haxies' upgrading to Leopard compatibility. Leopard is awesome, and applying Unsanity's programs would just make our digital lives a whole lot better.

Thanks. I'll trade you my neighbor's first born for Windowshade...(or at least pay for the upgrade)

If any one is looking for a Windowshade alternative, Sticky Windows looks interesting - am trying it out myself...

I agree with the need for windowshade. I'm still surprised everytime when the window I click is sucked down into the dock.
As a whole - unrelated - I'm disappointed in Leopard's general behaviour. It feels flaky even though I installed it on a fresh HD. Too many apps misbehave, as do 10.5 itself. Not the best .1 release by apple, I say.

PLEASE let us know if Windowshade will never work, so I will stop hoping:)

From what photos I've seen of the people who run this site, they are all young and that explains to my mind at least why they will not take responsibility to at least let us know what progress is being or not being made. I remember when I was that age. If something went wrong I usually treated the situation as a "if I ignore it, it might go away" although as we who are older know, it just compounds. My guess is that these youngsters are wayyy in over their heads and are fearful of letting on that this is the case. Inexperience and immaturity at work... ahhhh to be that young again... 45 sucks. LOL!

These people don't have time to write a response here but they have time to monitor the comments???? What's with that???

pleeeeeeeeez ... can't live without windowshade since my behaviour has been set by it ... pleeeeeeez

I loathe visiting this site now but can't stop.

You should know the rise in your page hit stats are not a reflection of the friends you are acquiring but rather the amount of angst you are accumulating from your loyal customers.

it is bad form unsanity. just bad.

Menu Master, please!

I miss window shade SO MUCH! How about new years present and get it up and going again. I don't understand why apple doesn't include it in their OS systems. I hate it when a window disappears into the dock; it is sooo inconvenient and my fingers are getting tired form retrieving those windows. PLEASE, get the program up and running asap. Thanks.

I was hoping Unsanity may have a gift from Santa for us, but here's to hoping we're not waiting for the Easter Bunny. C'mon guys , how about a little news ?

- Jay

Merry Christmas, Slava! Hope you're enjoying yourself, playing with your new computer games, hanging out with family, indulging yourself with all the season's bounties.

At least you'd better be, because we all know what you're NOT doing...

Oh, how I miss FruitMenu! I just installed Leopard on Christmas day, and not having FruitMenu is like learning to drive on the left side of the road when you've been driving on the right for your whole life! I keep going to the Apple Menu to navigate my computer, but I only find that useless excuse for a menu that Mac has by default. And every time I do that, I say "Oh yeah, tsk, tsk, no Fruit Menu in Leopard."

Though I miss FruitMenu, I probably won't bother with ShapeShifter again, cuz the new Aqua look is what I've always wanted it to be--unified, sleek, just much better looking than before. The default Aqua theme now is nearly what I had using the "Titanium" theme with ShapeShifter. BTW, I can turn off the transparent menu bar with other haxies.

But FruitMenu... I swear, if Unsanity doesn't fix it soon, I'm switching to Ubuntu, where I can have a full system menu in a menu bar if I want one.

And ClearDock... We need that one too!

HAS SOMEONE AT UNSANITY ACTUALLY DIED OR WHAT?

Boring blah-blah about Safari, nothing about getting ANY of your products to work on Leopard yet! It's been out for ages now!

If it's not going to happen then PLEASE JUST TELL US! Just say something, anything!

This continued silence is an insult to your paying customers.

so what is going on at this time?

any problems doing the the port to leo or happened something to you?

any beta out?

Don't you guys understand? These people are embarrassed over the recent debacle concerning the release of Leopard! I would be angry too if a snafu during the release of a major OS upgrade were blamed on me - especially since Apple jumped on the bandwagon! And it really wasn't Unsanity's fault since they had released a version that would disable itself during the Leopard install. So basically if you never see these people respond to your inquiries or with new software the blame lies with those irresponsible people who just throw software at their machine without care. For those who think their actions never affect anyone else................

So, any word on if any of this software I've paid for will ever work again?

I hope you're going to update Chat Transcript Manager for Leopard before too long. Apparently chats are stored differently under Leopard and CTM just doesn't see them at all now.

I 'upgraded' to 10,5, but hated it soooo much without Fruitmenu I went back to 10.4.
Is there a schedule for when 10.5 compatible versions are expected ?

Do you still working on new versions or gave it up? I like your programms, and I can wait. ;-)

Still no updates? Whats going on over there guys, I'm getting very very bored of the look of Leopard :P

Will pay for an upgrade if it arrives within a month.

What's the big deal, guys? No need to get so upset. I'd like to see Leopard compatibility, too, but I'm not yet ready to jump on the Leopard bandwagon. There are just no real compelling reasons to move over yet and still way too many problems to risk my daily Mac on 10.5. My plan has always been to wait until 10.5.1, at the very least. So at least in my case, I'm willing to give Unsanity more time. Haxies tie into the OS far more tightly than a regular application, so I can understand why it takes so long. If they're still working on it by 10.5.2 or July, whichever comes first, then I'll be upset.

Good luck with yer software in the new year, hope apple sorts out them bugs.

Im very pleased with the software and havent seen any good reason to upgrade to leopard yet.
all my software run perfectly well on Tiger.

keep up the good work and happy new year!

Sincerely C.J Thorsell, Sweden

After gently encouraging, I am now pretty bitter. After three months of patient waiting for Leopard upgrades on several Unsanity haxies, and seeing the lack of progress and particularly the lack of information to its until now faithful customers (last blog entry dated early November!!), I have turned to find alternatives. It's really a shame and somewhat inexplicable to loose one reputation like this. Make a bold statement, but don't leave customers on the hook like this.

I just upgraded to Leopard, but I should have read this before... I could ever live without FruitMenu, but bring WindowShade again, pleasseeeeeee ;-)

Hopelessly lost,
So i finally found MaxMenus which works on Leopard,
Provides, FruitMenu and Hotkey setting, better than nothing, also before that i was using OverFlow for replacement to FruitMenu, Miss WindowShade dreadfully..
Tom

Here are my replacements for Fruitmenu: Butler for the menu bar menu (thanks McD...it rocks) and Folder Glance (free, by the way) for the contextual menu. Wish I had Windowshade, Xounds and MightyMouse, but I can live without those. However, I NEED my menus.

On another note, I'd just like to comment on the customer service I received. After waiting for a month with no update on Leopard compatibility, I sent a request to Unsanity. I wasn't mean or otherwise disrespectful...just a quick note inquiring about how things were coming along. I got in return a trite response stating that there are no updates and there wouldn't be any until the updates were posted for download. I got the distinct impression that these guys really just didn't want to be bothered by their customers. Pretty disheartening considering I paid for 4 of these things.

The fact that no one has posted here in weeks, including clients, shows that faith and hope are gone.
No one believes or believes in Unsanity any longer.
They have abused the public's trust.
Unsanity is now an ex-company.
Out of business for all practical purposes.
Me? I'm currently looking for programmers to dupe most of their stuff. If they can't fix any or even leave any progress reports, they surely won't have the time or resources to sue me either.
Good bye and rest in peace Unsanity.
You were good once, but you died.

Looks like these guys are out of business.

Hmmmm...

Instead of "cookie monster" rants, how about an occasional 'hello' concerning the status of Leopard-compatibility updates for haxies...

One would wonder when the guys at Rogue Amoeba are going to get tired of waiting for Application Enhancer to be updated so that Audio HiJack Pro gets its full functionality back.

2+ months is a bit long for even a little news...

Hello?
You said that a seperate post would be issued for Shapeshifter in a few days.
Might I say again, Hello?
Please. I am dying of non-originality - and I'm desperate to get a different skin and icon set up. Please give us more news of Shapeshifter! Don't let the faith die out. It's now in your hands.

=D Joking. But more news, please?
Thanks.
- Anna

Why people stop complaining? Anyone find an alternative solution?

Wow. Looks like we've all given up.

Still nothing in the way of an update or updates for Leopard? Thanks for caring!

Coloured folders but uncoloured names used in my filing system for years. (Coloured names not only look horrible: they confuse). Couldn't upgrade from OS9 to OSX until insanity had Labels X up and running so could transfer tens of thousands of coloured folders from OS 9 - now cant move to Leopard without it - even tho Spaces & Time Machine wld be useful. So please keep working on perfecting Leopard Labels guys - they're essential!

I'm guessing that the lack of any reply means there aren't going to be any upgrades?

Really, how hard is it to communicate with your customers?

And I'm guessing that the lack of recent comments means that you are trying to censor your users rather than actually giving us a reason to stop complaining.

It is the job of the developer to ensure that his software is compatible with new operating systems. If you can't provide that, let the public know so we can stop waiting and move on.

OH MY GOD! Still no news and updates? I am deeply disappointed.

Happy new year everyone! A new year without Unsanity!

It is actually very hard. I want you to try and think about what you're asking for here Machiavelli.

From the sounds of it you're asking the Unsanity devs to:

1) visit their own website

2) open this post and scroll down past 200+ comments

3) leave a comment.

Next time you think before you set such brazen expectations sir.

R.I.P Unsanity…

Found this to replace FruitMenu since there doesn't seem to be any update coming here. Has about the same functionality through contextual menus. It's called FolderGlance. Do a google search for it and you'll find it. It's free by the way.

Unsanity. Why are you treat us like this. Is everyone went mental there? Can't you just say - we are IN we are NOT?

Looks like this company is DEAD to me.....

I have been emailing these guys for the last few months and had zero back. Whoever does their pr (if anyone) should be fired. I can't believe that having been convinced (or should that be conned ) by a good friend to use Fruit menu that unsanity has to be late with upgrades and worst of all hiding in their ivory towers until they are good and ready (as I suspect). So like others on here I am going to upgrade regardless and if anything goes wrong as a result of their software, makes as much noise online as I can.. you can clearly see that their rudeness riles me. Unsanity if you are still reading ... take a leaf out of Parallels book - communication is the way forward.

Of course the real sweet part here is that rather than letting anyone know what's going on with software or updating anything they (Unsanity) are just deleting or not permitting the posting of anything in the way of negative comments to the weblog. Really nice behavior, really nice customer service and since this thing will get picked off before it hits the big screen let me say this to Slava, Rosyna and everyone else at Unsanity, I hope you have plenty of time to bitch about Apple and everything else in your little universe when all of your customers find alternatives. No products, no customers, blog to you heart's delight...

I've just resigned myself to the obvious fact that Unsanity no longer gives a crap about us & doesn't deserve our money. After all, they can't even let us know even a one sentence blurb about what's going on. I'm going to be looking into competing products. Sad. I love FruitMenu & have used it since 1.0.

"so it's a matter of days for the compatibility update"
WTF ?

It's really sad the lack of response from Unsanity. I've emailed them repeatedly with not one response from them.

Bump. Another user desperate for a Leopard fix or just a status update.

2 months and no updates? What's the latest?

Kind of sad that there has not been any updates either to the software or to the website. Obviously people have given up and lost hope, seeing as how few posts have actually been made recently. I have to admit, I've given up too. Oh well, sorry to see you go.

Maybe they just got tired of our/Apple's s**t...

Move along. Nothing to see here.

Damn.

Maybe things at Unsanity have become like resexcellence - ancient history, gone the way of the dodo - sitting there on the web mocking every hit to the site.

Moving towards 90 days since Leopard's release and still no Unsanity products.

I've moved on to XMenu - not the prettiest app, nonetheless a substitute for FruitMenu.

Wouldn't be surprised if the lack of communication other than this Blog rant dissolves the customer base. Quite sad if it ends this way.

Wenn will you inform us about a Leopard versipn of APE and your haxies?

On October 27, 2007, you wrote "it's a matter of days for the compatibility update." And this was three months ago!

So, will there ever be a Leopard version of Fruit Menu?

(I just downgraded to Tiger!)

Greetings from Germany,

Horst

I recieved a response, rather quickly, from them when I inquired the other day: "We are hard at work getting Application Enhancer (APE) and our haxies compatible with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. We've been so delayed because APE didn't even run until we received the shipping version of Leopard. Unsanity has 9 shareware products and about 4 free products that *must* work in Leopard, and APE requires some of these other products be updated first. We will release APE when we feel it is ready and not a moment before, but we will not be posting further status updates until then."
So they are working on it and it will come....

Good news,

I emailed several folks at Unsanity and go a reply from one.

First, for some reason, he said they will not issue any "progress reports" until APE is done. Seems rather anti-customer to me....

The good news, is that he reported Unsanity is indeed working very hard on making Ape and all the connected programs compatible with Leopard.

But the shipping version of Leopard threw them a curve ball that was unexpected.

I do'nt know, if that are really good news, because i emailed with guys from unsanity one month ago and they gave me exactly the same information...

Well,I upgraded to Leopard and am Okay with it though I really miss the haxies. There are other companies out there still trying to cope with the curveball Apple threw as well. M-Audio is still in the process of updating their drivers which means no GarageBand for this boy.

I am learning patience.

Thank you Machiavelligz for the update.
I have been patiently reading all these posts for the past couple of months hoping that the Unsanity folks would release some sort of progress report.

It seems quite ODD that they are willing to communicate such news (see the post by Machiavelligz above) to individuals but not to a group of anxious and loyal former clients.

Just wanted to add my voice to the many unhappy people here and say that while it is understandable that development from scratch can take time, it is not understandable why the Unsanity folks do not just come out and say it!

Sorry but...
1) Not issuing progress reports is very anti-customer, especially when this one blog post (which is the only way for the community to express their displeasure as a group) shows so many unsatisfied customers.
2) E-Mailing them constantly for progress on their programs is not a viable alternative if this is what they are recommending by not telling us their progress on their website, which seems to me to be far easier.

It's what... going on 4 months? Hell, next time I post it would have probably been half a year since the OS was released (really not that far away)

This is ridiculous. :(

Oh, yeah... and let's not forget. How many posts are here? How many are filtered I wonder?

So UNSANITY_

It's going on 3 months now_ You all hjave not updated anything_ You all have not posted any news as to the updates_

Your website looks like it has gone stagnant_ I had purchased a couple of Haxies from you about 2 months before Leopard came out_ I have not updated to Leopard as of yet as I am still waiting for you to release updates that are compatible_ It is past time that I upgrade to Leopard_

Seeing as how you all seem to have disappeared and left your customers out to dry - I am considering making calls to your "office" and demand a refund on my purchase as when I do upgrade to Leopard - my purchase will be broken and non-functional_

It would be really nice if someone were to take 5 minutes away from your busy "coding" efforts in order to address your clientele and assure us in some manner that our money and support of your company is not being wasted_

fwiw: when 10.5 was released, I encountered the BSOD issue, but in all fairness I admit I really should've known better than to NOT check on the haxies updates prior to installing. Accordingly, I never complained because it was totally my fault...oh well. Live and learn.

more importantly (to me, at least) is to simply make mention concerning the apparent communication breakdown that is occurring here. I have been checking back every few days for months now on the status of (primarily) MenuMaster. I find it absolutely incredible that no-one has taken a moment to reply -- with either good OR bad news. Anything would be better than nothing, which is currently the case. It is very frustrating, to say the least, and should be remedied by as simple as a few sentences about the state of affairs.

Now, to everyone else who's bothered to read this far :) I present you with a simple question:

HAS ANYONE FOUND ANYTHING TO REPLACE MENUMASTER FOR LEOPARD AS OF YET?

Any responses would be greatly appreciated. Lastly, I agree with the poster who mentioned that if there are to be no further releases aimed at resolving the compatibility problem, that the code ought to be released under GPL so that someone can make it work. As noted many times here before, I would gladly pay to assist in the developement of MenuMaster, as it was a wonderful timesaver and convenience for me.

Thanks for taking the time to read this short novel. :) Any thoughts on it are welcome. Please let me know if anyone's found a decent alternative to the MenuMaster haxie. I am getting frustrated without it.

--jonathan

---
"Insanity is repeating the same thing over again, and expecting different results." -Albert Einstein

I've been waiting to upgrade for this to be done, couldn't wait any longer. Email me when it's done so my fingers don't go crazy!

So have you guys dropped off the world since Leopard's launch? Seems like none of your apps run on Leopard since APE causes it to blue screen.
I'd REALLY like to use my copy of ShapeShifter.
Really.
I'll upgrade($$) if need be, APE or SS.

What can we, as eager customers, do to help you along?

I would be very surprised if the Unsanity team weren't hard at work. I hope that 10.5.2 is released soon so that Unsanity can integrate its changes too.

I think their basic philosophy is that they write code and whatever happens outside of that is not of interest unless they feel a need to delete something for whatever. I have also received some response by email but nothing lately (I keep on asking for progress reports) and even went so far as to send them real mail (Christmas card) but nothing back. Its been what, 3 months since Leopard was released and nothing at all to report? If anyone is reading this at Unsanity give us all a crumb or something!

that's not good news. that's the same crap that's been fed for months.

Still waiting.................................................................................................................................................

Oh, thats a really good news! Thanks for posting.
I see light . . . .

Is it time to start looking for other solutions?

Could it be that it is too much trouble for (______) – insert somebody's name here – to sit down for 15 minutes more than 3 times a year to at least give SOME KIND of update concerning the progression of "haxie" development!?

Leopard has been out for 3 months and there is not one iota of information concerning a timetable for new releases for 10.5

This is far too amateurish.

Still waiting patiently for APE... Ok, not so patiently, but still waiting...

"Ever since Leopard was released, dozens of inquiries about ShapeShifter’s status have been made by forumgoers, artists, and even some of our own staff. And two months in, we have yet to get an official update from Unsanity on its status. However, the idea of simply updating ShapeShifter is a colossal effort, and fundamental changes by Apple to the way Aqua works means that, while it’s not coming soon, the new ShapeShifter will be groundbreaking for GUI customization."

Source

no WindowShade and Fruit Menu make busta something something.

go crazy?

don't mind if i do!

My God, I miss WindowShade! I need it for my work and my sanity. Please hurry!

Keep up the good work =)

Reeeeally starting to miss some of my Unsanity apps =(

For the most part, I've switched to other utilities to replace Unsanity programs (like Classic Menu), mostly because in 3 months there have been no updates, no postings to the blog, nothing. No product is that good that a lack of any communication makes it worth it.

Thanks, I'm dyin'. Mike

you guys suck worse than vista.

Been waiting forever to use my unsanity APS again. When the work is done will you be sending out the usual email notices to customers

So, um, any news on Leopard compatibility in the near future? pleeeease? :)

Been waiting forever to use my unsanity APS again. When the work is done will you be sending out the usual email notices to customers

Whats up with Logiteck these days - i love their hardware, but their software increasingly sucks.

Still waiting for another post entry -- isn't that the point of the blog? To keep customers/investors updated on what the company is responsibly doing for them by providing an inside look?

Is unsanity still working on making these products Leopard-compatible? Will it take 6 months? I'm delaying upgrading OS because I keep thinking a solution's right around the corner.

I understand the products were made to work under previous operating systems, but I'd like to think I have a future relationship with unsanity as a customer. I'm hanging on, but I don't know for how much longer.

Machiavelligz thanks. I agree that "no progress reports" is highly anti-customer. It makes me wonder if unsanity has given up and just walked away. No reports, no updates, no weblog entries since that strange one in November (what's with the women in the funeral clothing?)

Unsanity - It's time to rethink that policy of silence. TALK to us!

@Machiavelligz

Here's the thing - that's fine that they don't "let the cat out of the bag" before it's ready - so to speak_

BUT - they could at least let us know there is still a pulse at Unsanity and that we aren't holding our collective breaths for Naught_

Wow - even Microsoft is beating Unsanity to Market and including Leopard compatibility_

remember resexcellence?

i can't fix it. i stopped trying.

So um... that's it then? You've quit? Decided to punish all Mac users because Apple made you angry?
Sucks. I really loved my paid copy of WindowShadeX. :(

I am very surprised at the length of time it has taken for these programs to be updated. I hope it happens soon.

isn't it time to release some information about when/if shapeshifter is coming for Leopard soon?

WHEN WILL WE GET A WINDOWSHADE PROGRAM THAT WORKS FOR LEOPARD!!!?????????????????? COME ON ALREDY!!!

Um, good news? That the developers are working on updating their product... months after Leopard? Even SuperDuper has finally arrived, which had to deal with transition issues at least as complex, and far more reason to get it right.

Hands up anyone who gives a damn about specific bugs. Okay, now hands up people who'd like to see the three or four pieces of software they bought updated, within their lifetime.

Who wants to do the count?

Application Enhancer (APE) is a fantastic tool. We look forward to the new version for Mac OS X 10.5.1 (Leopard). Hopefully this month.

I was just wondering why there hasn't been an update on this website since November. It is now February 2008, and the nice thing would be to please give us a progress report even if there is none. Just let us know you are still there.
Thanks for listening & I really miss my Shapeshifter.

I find this interesting_

FTP Software called FETCH - fetchsoftworks.com - managed to add a .1 build to their product and have it released November 13th_ This is within 2 weeks of Leopard being released_

It is fully compatible with Leopard and also takes advantage of Leopard specific functions and whatnot_

Granted Unsanity has 15 or 20 Apps - BUT - if they were truely focused on releasing APE First - which as most software goes - is not a super complicated App - then I do not buy their story that the GM was so extremely different from the final beta that they could not have released it yet_

Now they may be trying to pull an Adobe and release ALL of their Apps at once - commendable but Unsanity is nor Adobe_

I still think there is something else going on_

Now that 10.5.2 has been released, you are finally going to release updates to all your apps, right? You were just waiting until Apple fixed a few things and now everything is right in the world and we will finally see WindowShade for Leopard.

Thanks Machiavelligz for the update. I can't wait to get this. I finally switched to Leopard at home because I needed the new version of iChat. But I refuse to switch at work until I get WindowShade. I use it too much to not have it. Hopefully they can work out whatever issues they're having soon. I also hope that the new 10.5.2 didn't break everything they've done!

OK, Leopard has now been out A LONG TIME.

How about posting at least a progress report on APE. Is that asking too much? I have four purchased haxies that are DOA now. The silence from Uninsanity since November is deafening.

After more than three months you'd think that Unsanity would be a little nearer giving us some idea when the APE will be finished. Emails have been answered with unhelpful comments such as "We will release APE when we feel it is ready and not a moment before, but we will not be posting further status updates until then." Such a high and mighty stance. Not exactly the best way to encourage folks to stay onboard. FruitMenu was part of my daily routine. I'm going to have to find an alternative.

Planning on updating your apps anytime soon?

All i know is that they better hurry up because Lucida Grande pisses me off as a main OS Font. And Grey is so damn boring. LET US KNOW WTF IS GOIN GON WITH YOUR PROGRESS ON GETTING APE TO WORK WITH LEOPARD....DAMMIT!

Don't forget Labels X

I guess the rumors are correct. Unsanity is dead (grief being expressed).

I hope everyone who used to be the creators and excellent maintainers of the best utilities ever created for Mac OS X had pleasant holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas [etc.], New Years, Chinese New Year, and now (incredibly) Valentine's Day). It seems obvious that no one is reading these comments any more, but just in case...

I installed Leopard, used it for a couple of days, and absolutely couldn't stand those horrible colored stripes that Apple inexplicably replaced the excellent icon labels with, and the annoying cluttering of my dock with "minimized" windows that replaced the elegant WindowShade functionality that I was happy to purchase third-party (Unsanity) software to replace after the arrogant Apple took it out of the OS. So I went back to Tiger, and use it to this day. But I can't wait much longer. I just wish that if Unsanity were going to abandon their tremendously loyal user base, they could have at least told us about it, with or without an explanation as to why.

What I can't figure out is why no other company has stepped in to fill the void. That loyal user base is there for the claiming. I am completely ignorant of the technical issues involved, but I have to believe that surely it can't be totally impossible for Unsanity or any other company to figure out how to restore that functionality to Leopard.

I wish you all the best. And if the real reason for your disappearance is something sinister like Apple suing you out of existence...well, I can only say the world is a much more dreary place if Apple has become some kind of MicroAppleSoft. Micro or otherwise, a soft Apple is a rotten Apple.

Sigh.

So, great. they are working on it. I work in the software business and the worst thing you can possibly do is not tell your clients what is going on. It's a recipe for losing your customer base. Most people will probably stick around cause, hell, windowshadex is indispensable. And but there are alternatives to the other titles and while i'm not 100% ecstatic about it, spaces has become my replacement for lack of windowshade.

Just give us a shout out every 2-3 weeks guys. I know having to rewrite your API is a crappy thing, but having a 'broken' product and not fully disclosing makes it 100% worse. Just look at the US gov't.

Lets just face it… Unsanity is dead…They died… R.I.P. Unsanity…

I was just curious about any new updates? I am tired of waiting for windowshade to work in leopard. i need ti badly. pretty poor on the programmers. so glad i supported them by buying their software

Another month rolls by without an update. How about at least letting us know what the problem is? It can't be that hard to communicate.

Working without Windowshade X is being a pain in the ass.

Hi Unsanity guys, I am one of the many waiting for your updates.
I am eager and willing to pay for an upgraded Leopardworthy WindowShade.
I have been able to work in Leopard without it so far and miss it every day, but my wifes whole workflow uses WindowShade and its minimize in place option so she's still stuck with Tiger.
Please make it soon, but better right and later.

Hmmm... Even though I'm not a programmer, I can accept that it might take some time for Unsanity to get their haxies updated for Leo. I can only assume they are trying hard to get APE right so that it works for all the haxies, then release the haxies one at a time after that is done...
While I'm somewhat suspicious as to why it would take 4 months (and probably more) to re-engineer APE, what I find totally Dick Cheney-esque is the complete lack of feedback from the company.
You'd think that a brief monthly progress report would not be a Herculanean task... We're not asking for a glossy 50 page Wall Street annual report here !
So c'mon guys, get real, and get courteous with your customer base ! Enough of the "Undisclosed location" routine already ! You are burninig bridges for yourselves by treating your loyal customers this way.

Congratulations! At last I can download Betas of Fruitmenu and Windowshade. I've tried both and I'm well pleased

WindowDragon now has a Leopard beta. I contacted the developer directly. Seems to work great.

Honestly, maybe - just a guess - the guys at Unsanity don't handle stress so well, or they thoughtthey could leave this planet by christmas last year - i dont know man - weird - pls - get your $**t togehter and work faster.

Alright its JUNE 2008 WHAT THE HELL.....

dammit, iv been waiting for a leopard update for months, and the top of the forum says it'll be done in days!

surely unsanity culd at least tell us how the development is going

Any joy yet on the updates?

Hey everyone, I just had to say how disappointed with Unsanity. Leopard was released on October 24th, 2007. Its July 1st 2008. What is the problem? We're on 10.5.4 now, what kind of special compatibility patch is required that hasn't been released yet? For all us loyal and long term customers, we feel like were getting shafted. Not only do we have to wait almost a year to use some of our favorite apps, we're going to have to pay for this new upgrade. That doesn't seem fair. I personally know about 50 people who use Unsanity products that arn't available using Leopard, none of which are too impressed about this issue. I hope the developers can pull through before October of 2008 or I personally will probably not buy any more of they're products in the future. Thanks for letting me express my frustration.

Cronic03

omg...... like all other ppl said.... how much longer to wait? -_-

Leopard's almost been out a year, let's get the ball rolling guys!

I can't make it much longer without shapeshifter. I hope some kind of announcement of progress is made sometime in the future. It has been a loooong time.

I had to switch to Leopard - nothing wrong with that.
But I miss my FruitMenu and MenuMaster so very much !
If money is needed for the upgrade, oh well, fair enough...

I think unsanity are good to take our money without any efforts trying to upgrade their products. If they don't want to get their shit compatible with leopard, they just have to tell us... Is that so hard to say???

It beith shame that Unsanity be persecuteth in ye manner so.
It be ye fault of ye Pussy OS Leopard being not released soonest for ye developers. That beith mine take!
In truth, APE shuddereth mine installation first, until discovereth.
BSD, WSD and multitudinous dissapointment accrued. Dragthing gotteth 'stuck' within ye Apple icons!
A clean install on ye virgin HD worketh.
From this many, very many of ye 3rd party did'st bugger-up mine Pussy!
Eventually, after Apple, presumably, transferred ye software writers from ye iPhone et-alia to remedy, mine Pussy be better.
Ye s/w gurus (presumably) hath score of 65% from ye multiple-choice questions, nay?
Pussy OS-X somewhat 'stable' yet not as good as mine Vixen's nickers!
Yet, there still beith ye clock from OS 6 appeareth and ye black-white wheel spinneth? Whereforefrom these cometh??
Many, many Developers of ye 3rd Party stuff had'st trouble.
'Twere ye fault of Apple, not Unsanity.
That be mine take, yet I only liketh Xsounds.
Keep Going, Unsanity, Apple "Still" hath decremented mine respect in issuing such an unstable, bug-ridden, Pussy-OS that I wished to deflorate and be proud and happy with ye result.

Notso, so far!!!

catweazle

:+++>

At least provide an explanation as to why shapeshifter hasn't been released for Leopard yet! Damn!

wow this sucks

Hmm... so what I gather is that the ShapeShifter for Leopard has been in development for i don't know... ABOUT A YEAR... since Leopard has been out for about a year... as a fellow application developer myself... i say that Unsanity really needs to get their act together and release ShapeShifter for Leopard ALREADY... because i'm sure that you've had enough time to develop it with the "drastically changed" GUI... and if i know apple its not "drastically changed" its more reorganized... seriously its just beyond ridiculous... i guess when it finally does release it will run immaculately... then again i could be wrong there again... god i'll be very surprised if yall get this thing out before Snow Leopard is released... not cool guys... not cool... -.-

How about shapeshifter? ... waiting about a year for it.

Getting bored looking the same skins all the time.

The lack of support for Shapeshifter at this point is completely inexcusable. No self respecting software shop takes more than a month to bring itself into compatibility with current tech (and even that is pushing it).

Just wondering if Xounds will ever be updated for Leopard, or if you've given up?

Well, from this long list of comments it's clear that people are unhappy about Unsanity's apparent ignorance of their customers' needs and inability to deliver product in a reasonable time frame. What also appears obvious is how little they give a shit about even updating people on progress. It IS inexcusable that ShapeShifter for 10.5 is not available, and even worse that there is virtually nothing coming out of Unsanity to explain the reasons behind this. I've all but given up on themes for Leopard now, and clearly the notion of actually paying for SS rather than using a pirate SN was a foolish one - I got an out of date app which is unusable on an OS that's been out for a year or so.

If only someone else would take up the mantle of developing something for Leopard which would read SS themes, but I'm not holding my breath for that....

Hurry up and update for Leopard. I wanna download the pirated copy!

Er, how about Shapeshifter for Leopard please. I'm getting a new MBP and I can't wait.

Make it a new year resolution.

Still nothing? nothin i ask thee?
wowzers. it's almost 2010

OH, it is available for leopard now. My bad

Uhm, it IS available? Where? Have I missed this?

Yeah...I wish it was here by now! I bought Shapeshifter right before Leopard came out...that was a big mistake. I'm pretty disappointed.

How hard can it be.. Leopard has been out for years now and there is STILL nothing. In the original post it says that it will be 'a matter of days'. 1.5 years later.. We are still waiting. Get your act together Unsanity. Please.