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Gross -- what happened to VersionTracker?
#11688 09/07/10 09:54 PM
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Looks like the plunge to the darkside is complete... both MFI and VT are but mere memories.

Guess i'll switch over to MacUpdate now. <sigh> [actually, they're not that bad there]


EDIT: um, cNet's equivalent of VT appears to have this URL (for now)
http://download.cnet.com/mac/3151-20_4-0.html


Last edited by Hal Itosis; 09/07/10 10:02 PM.
Re: Gross -- what happened to VersionTracker?
Hal Itosis #11689 09/07/10 10:04 PM
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Originally Posted By: Hal Itosis
Guess i'll switch over to MacUpdate now. <sigh> [actually, they're not that bad there]

I use both of them, and will continue doing so until the overlap is complete and only one will suffice, should that ever happen. Meanwhile, I like the MU specials. tongue


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Re: Gross -- what happened to VersionTracker?
Hal Itosis #11691 09/08/10 06:40 AM
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I've got a long list of VT URLs; I wonder how long they'll be cross-honored, i.e. redirected?


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: Gross -- what happened to VersionTracker?
artie505 #11692 09/08/10 10:41 AM
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How long a list? Sounds like a script just waiting to be written: "Batch Update Bookmarks of Redirected URLs."



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Re: Gross -- what happened to VersionTracker?
dkmarsh #11693 09/08/10 11:32 AM
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Originally Posted By: dkmarsh

How long a list? Sounds like a script just waiting to be written: "Batch Update Bookmarks of Redirected URLs."

Without counting I'll say 200-300, but if a script is feasible it'll have to be somebody else's job; I haven't got the wherewithal.

(They're not bookmarks, though; just a list in a TextEdit doc.)


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: Gross -- what happened to VersionTracker?
artie505 #11695 09/08/10 02:43 PM
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Originally Posted By: artie505

I've got a long list of VT URLs; I wonder how long they'll be cross-honored, i.e. redirected?

------ and in another post ---------

Without counting I'll say 200-300, but if a script is feasible it'll have to be somebody else's job; I haven't got the wherewithal.

(They're not bookmarks, though; just a list in a TextEdit doc.)

Your situation is exactly why I have never bothered to track VersionTracker or Macupdate URLs. Instead I store the Developer's URL. A VT or MU reference might (or in the case of VT is likely) to go away, but if the Developer's URL disappears it likely means the product has gone too. I keep all this stored in Yojimbo which keeps them organized and accessible in a variety of ways.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Gross -- what happened to VersionTracker?
joemikeb #11696 09/08/10 03:01 PM
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The app update widget works decently, although it's not perfect. I find it to be helpful.


Jon

macOS 11.7.10, iMac Retina 5K 27-inch, late 2014, 3.5 GHz Intel Core i5, 1 TB fusion drive, 16 GB RAM, Epson SureColor P600, Photoshop CC, Lightroom CC, MS Office 365
Re: Gross -- what happened to VersionTracker?
jchuzi #11699 09/08/10 04:15 PM
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Given the growing number of apps that automatically check for updates when they are launched it seems to me that feature of VT and MU is becoming less and less necessary. Certainly all my major apps and possibly a majority of the minor ones do this now.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Gross -- what happened to VersionTracker?
joemikeb #11700 09/08/10 05:35 PM
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I find versiontracker to still be very useful, when I'm in a hurry and need to download something someone needs and don't feel like wading through google to find the most current version of the app. (especially good for lesser apps that don't even necessarily have a home page, or a home page you'd rather not wade through to find the update, like say oh... ms office)


I work for the Department of Redundancy Department
Re: Gross -- what happened to VersionTracker?
joemikeb #11717 09/10/10 10:02 AM
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Originally Posted By: joemikeb
Your situation is exactly why I have never bothered to track VersionTracker or Macupdate URLs. Instead I store the Developer's URL. A VT or MU reference might (or in the case of VT is likely) to go away, but if the Developer's URL disappears it likely means the product has gone too. I keep all this stored in Yojimbo which keeps them organized and accessible in a variety of ways.

I've archived VT URLs because they provide both feedback and links to developers' websites, and if/when CNET stops "cross-honoring" those URLs I'll employ Google and update my archive.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: Gross -- what happened to VersionTracker?
jchuzi #11718 09/10/10 10:14 AM
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Originally Posted By: jchuzi
The app update widget works decently, although it's not perfect. I find it to be helpful.

VT's/CNET's app is useless to me, because it can't be configured to track apps that aren't stored in /Applications.

Is MacUpdate's widget more functional, and, if so, is there an app too?


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: Gross -- what happened to VersionTracker?
artie505 #11719 09/10/10 11:16 AM
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App Update is not a MacUpdate product; it's a third-party widget which, as Jon's linked description indicates, " supports Apple’s software directory, MacUpdate and Version Tracker."

There is not an application version. You can specify multiple directories to be searched.



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Re: Gross -- what happened to VersionTracker?
dkmarsh #11720 09/10/10 11:33 AM
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Thanks for the clarification. (App Update's logo is reeeally similar to MacUpdate's, so...)

I'll live without it, though; I don't use Dashboard.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: Gross -- what happened to VersionTracker?
joemikeb #11721 09/10/10 11:34 AM
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Originally Posted By: joemikeb
Given the growing number of apps that automatically check for updates when they are launched it seems to me that feature of VT and MU is becoming less and less necessary. Certainly all my major apps and possibly a majority of the minor ones do this now.

But how do you feel about those that only offer to update and don't give you the option to d/l and archive?


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: Gross -- what happened to VersionTracker?
artie505 #11727 09/10/10 03:37 PM
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Originally Posted By: artie505
But how do you feel about those that only offer to update and don't give you the option to d/l and archive?

That doesn't bother me one bit. If I need to revert to a previous version there is always Time Machine. Even if there is a complete disk failure, Time Machine will enable me to recover. As far as that goes, if there is an application I want to be double or triple sure of recovering, Clean App does a decent job of identifying all the various bits parts and pieces associated with the app after it is installed and will neatly archive the app without deleting it.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Gross -- what happened to VersionTracker?
joemikeb #11750 09/11/10 05:28 AM
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Originally Posted By: joemikeb
Originally Posted By: artie505
But how do you feel about those that only offer to update and don't give you the option to d/l and archive?

That doesn't bother me one bit. If I need to revert to a previous version there is always Time Machine. Even if there is a complete disk failure, Time Machine will enable me to recover. As far as that goes, if there is an application I want to be double or triple sure of recovering, Clean App does a decent job of identifying all the various bits parts and pieces associated with the app after it is installed and will neatly archive the app without deleting it.

When I run into an app that offers to update rather than d/l I d/l the update from either an update website or the developer's; I feel more comfortable with an archive than I'd feel with only a backstop.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: Gross -- what happened to VersionTracker?
artie505 #11756 09/11/10 08:10 PM
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I have always been an early adopter of hardware and software. I have spent many hours standing in line for an Apple launch event and I install every update or upgrade usually within the first few hours after its release and I can count the number of times I have been bitten nipped by this practice on the fingers of one hand.

For many years I kept every installer and every update to every app on CD-RWs and later a DVD-RWs until I realized I had a collection of software going back to OS 8 the vast bulk of which would neither install or run on anything I had. That made me consider how much time and effort I had expended keeping all that up to date and how long it had been since I had actually used any of those archives. I recalled the last time I had tried to use one of those archived installers, the DVD-RW media it was on was not compatible with the drive in my new Mac. mad

Now when I purchase a major (a.k.a. expensive) piece of software, such as Filemaker 11, or Adobe Acrobat Pro 9, as an electronic download I will burn a CD/DVD of the downloaded image, burn the registration number on the disc with Lightscribe and put it on the shelf in case it is ever needed and cull those at least once a year to get rid of the out of date titles. Other than that, I rely on Time Machine and an occasional clone of the boot drive. So far so good. I have had one total drive failure and between Time Machine and MobileMe I was able to completely recover from the backups I had without much difficulty other than having my stomach in a knot until everything was back up and running.

I use up a lot less storage space for my backup discs than I used to, and I spend a very small fraction of the time managing all that stuff than I used to.
Whether I have become more sanguine about the risks or re-calculated the risk/benefit analysis is arguable. I am not saying my approach is better or worse than yours, just different.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Gross -- what happened to VersionTracker?
Hal Itosis #11873 09/18/10 02:27 PM
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I just saw the new page. To me, CNET destroyed Version Tracker (like they have other sites), which I used frequently for downloads or for finding out the latest releases. Macintouch does a pretty good job at handling these tasks for me. I suppose I might use MacUpdate some time.

I'm filled with disgust.


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