Geek Speak: Random Mac Stuff You Need to Know
http://www.macfanatic.net/blog/Copyright © 2006 Matt Brewer
TechTracker Interview
by Matt Brewer
Let me start this off by saying that I wasn't sure what to expect when I met up with the guys from TechTracker this past month. I've heard of one of the sites, Version Tracker, and use it to find new and interesting software to play with. I'm one of the odd ones out there who subscribes to the RSS feeds and that's about the end of my experience with the company. However, the company has a few other products up their sleeve.
The people that bring you Version Tracker also happen to provide a Pro solution that acts as a wonderful solution for those out there that want an easy way to keep their system and all the software on it up-to-date and that's what we'll be talking about more here in just a second. I also just wanted to mention that the company also brings you MacFixIt as well and I would have never made the connection. This is a website that offers all kinds of tips and fixes for Mac problems and is a useful resource.
Version Tracker Pro
If you are anything like me, I'm very skeptical about anything that has the word "Pro" in it. I always feel like the company is trying to find a way to suck more money out of consumers by making them think that they are getting a far superior product when in reality they are shipping something that is very little different from a regular version. In this case however, Pro does mean Pro.
First off, you can use the Version Tracker website for free. There is no charge and it's a great resource. You can find updates and new software all the time. However, it's a mess to sort through unless you know exactly what you're searching for and it won't alert you when there is a newer version of a piece of software for you. So this is where the Pro version comes in.
The Pro version is an actual Mac OS X Universal app that resides on your system, so that it knows all about the software that you have installed and can therefore alert you to updates that pertain just to the software that you have. This is a very nice feature that you will soon wonder how you ever lived without. The software is a solid app with nice features and a decent interface. You can easily see updates to software you have installed as it will be shown in red. You can also easily search through all the software on Version Tracker.com simply by searching the site within the program, and you get all the information you need, including other Mac users's experiences and comments, so that you can make an informed decision.
This isn't what I would rate as the next killer app, and I don't find myself using it either as I'm usually doing beta testing and bug reports for the software that I really care about, so I already know more about the software that Version Tracker does. However, if you're just wanting an easy way to keep your software up to date and like the fact that you can get other user's comments and thoughts on the software (very handy if a certain Mac Office update breaks something, you'll know before you install it....) this is a nice piece of software for you.
Visit VersionTracker.com here.
Contact Info
You can always send me an email at mbrewer@maccompanion.comor visit my website at http://www.macfanatic.net/blog/for more information about me and my ramblings. I also produce a weekly audio podcast taking an in-depth review of cool and new Mac applications, along with tips and the occasional tutorial.
