by Bill Jahnel


Experience, as the old axiom goes, is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted. An error crept into my last Tools of the Trade, and unfortunately it appears to have made it to the print version. In the last issue discussing Update Agent, the following sentence started the second paragraph:

"Version Master proved on two test computers to be rapid, accurate, and very good at finding updates and upgrades."

What I had meant, of course, was "UPDATE AGENT proved on two test computers to be rapid, accurate, and very good at finding updates and upgrades." My regrets go to the folks at Insider Software for causing them a noggin-scratching moment.

However, this set up an excellent pose to examine in the next Tools of the Trade. It would be a good idea to look at how Version Master 1.5 compares with Update Agent 3.0 and to see if the new features being tested in the beta of Version 2.0 of Version Master compare favorably to Update Agent’s current set of features. Both are valuable tools, but each has its own unique character. In addition, we’ll take a tour of GoLive’s Cyberstudio 3.1 Pro.


Duking it out: VM 2.0 vs. Update Agent 3.0

Version Master has been around before Update Agent. Version Master also has the advantage of having more of its functions be offered for free. And while both programs attempt to help you update your Macintosh programs with ease, the approach each uses makes the experience of working with each very different. I remind readers that the test is only in the first round, since many of the comparisons are based off of Version Master 1.5, although I will note where changes in Version Master 2.0 may positively add to that program’s strengths.

In terms of ease of use, Update Agent has it hands and feet over either version of Version Master. Update Agent, as mentioned in last issue, is a simple matter of two buttons and your new versions of software have not only been ascertained but also set to download for you into a designated folder. Version Master is a little more complicated. It approaches updating by creating a listed database of your application’s names and the version you have installed. From that database of files it then goes forth and downloads the version numbers from its online database and compares them to the version you have installed. Version Master also thoughtfully color-codes your software to show which titles need updates or upgrades and which appear current. When VM has a link to where an update or upgrade is available, you can click there and your web browser will be invoked. New with 2.0 is a Shaman-like pay service that will thoughtfully email you reminders when new versions of the software you have is available. You can test to see how convenient this is right now: A free demonstration of this service is available during the beta test.

The difference in these approaches also illuminates the strengths and weaknesses of each program. Update Agent is by far the better program for people who need updates and upgrade information on their most current and popular programs and they do not want to spend a lot of time web-hunting. All updates are downloaded for you, stored into one folder, and upgrade information is sent in documents labeling the upgrade version available. In addition, Update Agent veritably speeds through your hard drive scans and information retrieval about three to five times faster than Version Master. Version Master still has some unique areas where its unique features shine.

The "list-everything" database approach from Version Master overcomes one of my main concerns with Update Agent. Update Agent shields the user from seeing how it does its work, like a magician jealous of his tricks. As a result, I have no idea which files UA had update information on and which files it didn’t offer any updates to simply because it had never heard of the title and had no data on its current version. This is particularly true with older software, shareware, and some entertainment titles where UA did not offer me any version information although Version Master clearly had seen there were updates to be found. Update Agent, however, dutifully found upgrades for some newer game titles, in particular the 1.1 update for Sierra FX’s Dragonfire. Version Master, in its thoroughness, also allows you to see how many installed copies you have of each program across a number of drives, which can aid you in finding and eliminating multiple copies of ubiquitous installation includes such as Simpletext.

This same strength also proves to be Version Master’s weakness when you have to deal with upgrades. Version master will dutifully report only the highest-known version number of a title and does not differentiate between that which is a free update and that which is a paid upgrade. So, if you had the original version of Photoshop 4.0 on your drives, Version Master would let you know that the most current version is 5.02, but if you did not want to pay for upgrading to 5.0 you would have no idea that there was a 4.01 updater to your current 4.0 software. I would love to see Version master create a second column it its display and intelligently report the difference between updates and upgrades. Version Master has two other weaknesses it seems to derive from its approach: literalness and lack of speed. VM has a weakness for not recognizing self-running read me files from DocMaker or self-executing media projects from Macromedia. This creates odd results where you will see that if shareware authors used an older version of Peter Lewis’ registration program to create their self-running registration routine, VM will flag "Registration" as a program "being needed to be upgraded" when it clearly doesn’t. While Version Master’s 2.0 beta is now offering some filters for scanning files on your drive, these do not currently include filters by file creator types, though you may hand-exclude certain programs from VM’s attention by hand-removing them from your VM database list.

I also mentioned speed as a problem with Version Master; in at least two areas VM is dreadfully slow. VM seems to take forever to glean the information of all of your applications from your hard drives, and both 1.5 and 2.0 had a tendency to run out of memory in their default settings for someone like myself who has a lot of hard drive space. Another serious problem with Version Master’s approach comes when you have to re-examine your hard drive. Say you just added three new programs last week and need to update your document containing Version Master’s database of your files. Version Master seems to want to recatalog every program on your entire disks rather than look only for new modification dates. Make sure that you have other things to do while it engages this process. Sadly, VM 2.0’s beta does not seem to be any faster than its 1.5 version at downloading and comparing your version information.

So which deserves the place on your hard drive? Quite frankly, I can’t live without either of them. In terms of price, you can’t beat Version Master being free. And considering how much it does, Version Master is an outstanding an amazing tool. But if you look to the difference in paying a $20 a year subscription service for VM’s new email update information or a little over double that for a year of Update Agent 3.0, Update Agent come across as the clear winner. Update Agent is the tool of choice among busy people, professionals, and those who love convenience. But Version Master, for all its pokiness, has a depth, thoroughness, and level of user control that appeals to the ultra-geek in all of us. Grab them both: They are well worth using.


Going Live!

There is a postscript to this discussion that will be appended as a prequel: I work with most of these utilities for over a month, and in the case of complex tools, well over two months, before I feel comfortable in going to discuss their feature sets. I have been having the extreme pleasure of working with GoLive Cyberstudios’ 3.1 professional version for a while, and I can tell you that it is one of the single most amazing design tools for webmasters available. During the time of my evaluation GoLive was acquired by Adobe Systems and the fate of Cyberstudio and Pagemill seemed somewhat in disarray. However, I am happy to report that even as we go to press, Adobe is announcing a new 4.0 version to Cyberstudio, though the areas they improved in this excellent program will be interesting to see, since 3.1 is a powerhouse in and of itself.

I have discussed before the need for small gaming companies to represent themselves on the web well: Cyberstudio 3.1 allows you to not only create complex and interesting websites, but it has the ability to give easy access to powerful JAVA and DHTML effects. In some ways, it owes a nod of thanks to some of its interface conventions to Adobe’s Pagemill: it uses a tabbed inspector palette to investigate and assign functions to web elements. While Cyberstudio supports all the basic functions one expects of a modern visual web design program (including drag and drop linking support and site management tools) it shines in its ease of use for drag and drop elements for advanced web creation features. Whether you want to create rollover buttons in DHTML with mouseover commands or you want to support the upcoming HTML 4.0’s commands for keyboard navigation in forms, Cyberstudio makes the creation of advanced features accessible without sacrificing power. Another important feature: WebObject support, which is all the more crucial with OS X coming around the corner.

Many web programs on the Mac have generally set high standards in their manuals. GoLive Cyberstudio particularly shines here: Its manuals, though slightly intimidating because of their size, are clear, thorough, and accessible to novice and professional alike. Should you be new to javascripting, not only does Cyberstudio offer clear instructions on implementation, it also suggests some excellent websites for tutorials and examples.

There are powerful tools for those who wish precision in their page design as well: Cyberstudio allows guidelines and rules for aligning images and text, making advanced design in Cyberstudio a bit more akin to working in PageMaker or Quark than a standard web design program. Also of note is the use of the palette "Master Components" for creating you own set of presets, such as continually-used imbedded elements like a frameset or navigation bar.

There is little to admonish and much to praise in Cyberstudio 3.1 Pro: Quite frankly, it has become my web creation tool of choice. The web amateur can approach Cyberstudio and find themselves rewarded with clear manus and ease of use. The organizer of a large corporate site will find ftp tools, web site management, and customizable recurring elements using their "Master Components" to create navigation bars on multiple pages. The graphic designer will find the ability to use rules and cascading html a boon to creating powerful visual effects that were once out of the reach of web designers. Hand coders will find the exhaustive searchable database of html codes a joy, the ability to check html grammar, the ability to turn on and off colour coding of html tags (similar to BBEdit’s much-lauded features among web creation coders) and the ability to check syntax against different browsers all extremely powerful features. The price for the professional edition may be too steep for the casual html dabbler: But for anyone who has any serious need for a powerful web design tool, this is it. It well deserves that most infamous of awards I give, the Burning Nun Award.



Rating the Tools

Though I don’t do a formal rating of each of the titles mentioned in this article, I can’t help but feel I need to classify the following tools according to my own, idiosyncratic rating system. That said, I present a series of categories (ranked from highest to lowest) and list the tools that fall into those categories after it. The most coveted honor is to receive the "Burning Nun" Award.

GET THESE TOOLS, EVEN IF IT MEANS SETTING FIRE TO A NUN:

Update Agent 3.0 (Received the Award last issue)

GoLive CyberStudio Professional 3.1

Great Tool, and Can’t beat the Price:

Version Master 1.5 (2.0 in Beta)


Product Information Index:

SPECIAL UPDATE ON GOLIVE CYBERSTUDIO:
As this issue was going to press Adobe announced it was releasing the 4.0 version of Cyberstudio, not calling it Adobe Golive 4.0. This is a $99 upgrade or $299 direct purchase, and at most major mail order companies the old stocks of Golive Processional 3.1 have been purged and are unobtainable. I hope to get my hands on 4.0 soon to report its new features. In the meantime, you can check recent developments at Adobe’s Website at: http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/golive/main.html/

Title: Update Agent 3.0
Author: Insider Software
Cost: Free for OS updates. $12.50 for a single use to update all the software on your system for one day. $49.95 for a one-year unlimited use subscription CD-ROM (network administration) package $90 for a single CD-ROM or $249.95 for quarterly upgrades for one year.
Phone: (800) 700-6340
Website: http://www.insidersoftware.com/iutop.html

Title: Version Master 1.5 (2.0 in Beta)
Author: Symmetry Software
Cost: Free for most important uses. $19.95 a year subscription for daily or weekly email updates on upgrades.
Website: http://www.versionmaster.com