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MaxMenus - A powerful menu creation tool Pick of the Week
MaxMenus iconThe macosxhints Rating:
10 of 10
[0 to 10 lights; 10 = perfect!]
I published a review of MaxMenus back in March, but I had sort of lost track of it after a few system upgrades. This weekend, I had some reasons to dig it out and start using it again, and I'd forgotten just how amazing this little preference panel is. Although older versions had some problems with Jaguar, version 1.2 was recently release with full Jaguar compatibility.

Since there's a full review online, I won't go into a ton of detail, but MaxMenus provides a set of four (actually 20, as each one can display different items for each of four modifier keys) pop-up menus, one at each corner of your screen. Each of these menus is fully customizable regarding the items in the menu, whether or not it has submenus, seaparators, text labels, and much more. When MaxMenus is active, you'll see a small color splotch in each corner of your screen; click on the color to activate a pop-up menu.

Although this behavior by itself is pretty impressive, what really makes MaxMenus stand out is the ability to create your own menus and assign them hot keys that work in any application. For example, I have defined a menu with Control-D that simply lists all my drives in a navigable pop-up. So now to file an item anywhere on my system, I click and hold on the item, hit Control-D, and then drag it into the pop-up menu that appeared right next to it. There is no expansion limit on sub-folders, so you can drill down through your entire system.

I have a second menu defined on Control-E that contains one item - my "QuickLaunch" alias folder from the Finder. This folder contains a number of sub-folders called Browsers, Apps, Utils, Games, Graphics, and Documents. Each of these folders contains aliases to key programs and documents on my system. Now when I need to get something going, I just hit Control-E whereever I happen to be, navigate to the item, and open it. No added mouse movements required, it doesn't matter what window is active, etc. Just what I want to use when I want to use it. I use these menus so often that I've actually turned off the corner menus; I can get everything I need with a hotkey at the current mouse position.

MaxMenus has a ton more features than I've covered here, and it has a free 30 day trial, so there's no excuse not to at least try it out. The interface is just a bit daunting at first, given the complexity of everything you can do, but it's worth the learning curve. In short, it's one of the most useful utilities I've tried in the last six months or so...
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  You rated: 3 / 5 (9 votes cast)
 
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Drag and Drop
Authored by: bluehz on Dec 16, '02 12:49:52PM

The ability to drag and drop items into, pull items, move items, delete items, alias items, etc. within menus has been a Godsend to me missing some very comfortable navigation features of Mac OS 9. This is one of those utilities I find that should be standard equipment on any OS X box!



[ Reply to This | # ]
MaxMenus rocks
Authored by: boysimple on Dec 16, '02 02:33:58PM

I've been using this utility since it first arrived, and quite frankly, it rules.

The ability to drag files though the directory hierarchy is a usability lifesaver for OS X, and the ability to send items to the trash (press 't' twice while the item is higlighted) makes housecleaning a breeze. For me, MaxMenus makes OS X that much better as I don't have to use the finder for routine tasks.

As an old school 'switcher' - it saved the OS X 'experience' for me. Apple should really package it with their systems (or massively improve the finder...).

E



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MaxMenus may harbor spyware
Authored by: icday on Dec 17, '02 09:04:04AM
On the 18th of September 2002 there were a number of posts of usenet saying Proteron had sent them threatening emails for illegal use of MaxMenus. Let me say first up that I do not condone copyright infringement , and if someone obtains software illegally they cannot expect the vendor to threat them with kid gloves. Nevertheless there are some points of concern-

First, more than one person said that they had received and email when they had not supplied that information to Proteron, so that apparently MaxMenus harvests this from the OS X configuration files.

Secondly,I stand to be corrected but , if the software requires administrative privileges on install then appareneltly all security is lost that that time; The installer can read / write /delete the systems most important files.

Thirdly, shareware vendors have a rough road to travel, but even so, the threat to get the offender fired from their job, in the posting below is, if correct, disturbing.
From: Nikita <nikita2019@aol.com>
Newsgroups: alt.binaries.mac.serial.numbers
Subject: A-holes at Proteron: MaxMenus is spyware
NNTP-Posting-Host: 68.6.138.200
X-Complaints-To: abuse@cox.net
X-Trace: news2.west.cox.net 1032400584 68.6.138.200 (Wed, 18 Sep 2002 21:56:24 EDT)
NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 18 Sep 2002 21:56:24 EDT

After Jag was released, I switched to X full time. I downloaded a bunch
of OS X utilities that provided OS 9 features to try them out, using
serials from Serial Box. MaxMenus was one of them. I registered the
product with a fake name, fake email address, and pirated serial. That
was on or after August 24.

About a week ago, I turned off MaxMenus in System Prefs because I wasn't
using it. I didn't delete it, though.

Today, in my *real* mailbox, not the phony address I typed in when I
installed MaxMenus, I received this gem:

>Subject: your use of an illegitimate MaxMenus serial number
>
> It has come to our attention that you are using an illegally obtained serial
> number for MaxMenus in direct violation of our license agreement.
>
> We'd like to know why you think you're allowed to do this.
>
> The 30-day trial lets you use our software without limitations. You should
> already be aware that no additional features are unlocked by the serial
> number, only the time limit registration reminders are removed. We made the
> decision early in the development process to allow you to test-drive every
> part of the software, without limitations, that is, until a complete month
> goes by. By that time, we theorized, you should be ready to purchase the
> product, or remove it, at your choice. You chose to do neither.
>
> You have not purchased MaxMenus.
> You have been using it for longer than the 30 day trial.
> But that's not all.
>
> You are receiving this note because we are disappointed that you have chosen
> to seek out an illegitimate serial number to register the software without
> paying for it, in an obvious and direct violation of our license agreement.
> If you are an enterprise or institutional user, we plan to notify your
> employer that you violated our license agreement. They will likely take no
> comfort in this information as your actions expose them to civil liability.
>
> Allow us to be as clear as possible here:
>
> Proteron makes absolutely no warranties about what our software will or won't
> do when unlocked with an illegitimate or stolen serial number. On the other
> hand, Proteron absolutely respects the privacy of paid users and will warrant
> that the software will respect their privacy. If you refuse to abide by the
> license terms (to which you agreed when you installed the software) by
> entering a stolen serial number and effectively insist upon stealing the use
> of this software from us, then we cannot guarantee that your privacy will be
> be respected. To reiterate, the privacy of Proteron's customers and users
> who are legitimately taking the software out for a test-drive is absolutely
> guaranteed. However, we are in no position to protect the privacy of anyone
> stealing serial numbers, licenses, or our software.
>
> Many late nights and long hours have been put into the development of
> Proteron's products. Every now and then it is a good idea to state the
> obvious: your purchase of our products provides incentive for us to continue
> to develop neat things for you to enjoy. We have a long history of providing
> innovative software, both in interface enhancement and in the audio encoding
> area. Proteron brought the task bar to Mac OS 9, and brought MP3 encoding to
> the Macintosh long before Napster and iTunes came along. We're currently
> engaged in various efforts to produce new works for Mac OS X. We want to
> keep doing it. But your insistence upon not paying for our software is
> inconsistent with our efforts and our vision to produce the software that you
> want to use.
>
> Straighten up and fly right. You'll be glad you did, and we will too.
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
>
> Software Development Team
> Proteron LLC

Yeah, I tried out their software with a pirated serial. Guilty as
charged. But they swiped my personal info off my computer and sent it
to their server *without my knowledge or consent*, and that pisses me
off.

So you know what I did?

I deleted MaxMenus off my drive, then went to www.unsanity.com and
purchased serials for FruitMenu, WindowShade, and Xounds, then donated
$10 to Frank Vercruesse for ASM 2.0.3. In total, I gave $29 to
Proteron's COMPETITORS.

I'll never bother with another Proteron product again.

-nikita
[Editor's note: I put the post inside the blockquote to separate it from the comment itself...]

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Interesting...
Authored by: robg on Dec 17, '02 10:11:15AM

I just sent a rather detailed note to a number of contacts at Proteron asking for more information. As soon as (if?) I hear anything, I will definitely report the results.

Thanks for the heads-up!

-rob.



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Interesting...
Authored by: boysimple on Dec 17, '02 03:35:58PM

Rob - I would be very interested to hear the results of your investigation.

Too often people get all agitated for being persecuted for actual crimes, thinking that because it's on their computer they are 'innocent'. The poster even said 'guilty as charged'. So what's her beef? If the email address used is stored in a global area so that it can be accessed by any program, than the issue is with OS X design. However, if Proteron is going into mail/entourage specific files - that is over the line. Depite the lazy ethics of the poster, Proteron shouldn't get down in the mud with them.

However, with even less investigation, they could probably contact her ISP and haver her connection turned off. and I would imagine that would be worse convienience-wise than sending a threatening email. So in sum, I'm very curious.

E



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Response received...
Authored by: robg on Dec 18, '02 12:25:36AM
I received an email response from Sam Caughron, Proteron's President, today, and now firmly believe that Proteron is doing nothing about which I need to be concerned. According to Sam, in both his email and during a relatively long follow-up phone conversation, MaxMenus does not send any personal information on an immediate or scheduled basis when you install the trial version and/or register the program with a valid serial number (it sends the registration information, obviously, but even that is encrypted before being sent).

Proteron has taken some necessary steps to protect themselves from piracy, and Sam shared all of those details with me during our conversation. In the interest of not making it any easier for the pirates to get around those security protections, I will not share the details here. But I know enough about what Proteron has put in place to assure you that any information sent regarding a pirated serial number system is only that information which is available to any program, any time, through Apple's published APIs (and without requiring root access).

Sam's willingness to answer my questions, both in email and on the phone, as well as the level of detail that he provided on MaxMenus anti-piracy measures, are signs that Proteron is trying to do the right thing for its customers while also trying to stay in business by reducing piracy. I respect that approach, as if you're going to upset anyone with your policies, it might as well be the ones trying to steal the product as opposed to those buying it!

I have no qualms about continuing to use MaxMenus or any other Proteron product that meets my needs - I am confident that none of my personal information is being transmitted. I even ran etherpeek (a TCP packet sniffer) for a couple hours tonight just to see what was going out ... lots of stuff, but nothing related to Proteron that I could see. Registered users and trial mode users (30 days of full use, and then after that, only occasional "nag" reminders, so why would anyone even need to enter a pirated serial number to "test" the program?) should feel comfortable installing and using this cool tool; there's no "Dark Side" at work behind the scenes!

-rob.

[ Reply to This | # ]
Response received...
Authored by: icday on Dec 18, '02 12:17:38PM

Thanks Rob. Much obliged for your follow up, and relieved on the subject of 10.2 security. I dont have sympathy for people using illegally obtained anthing (although I agree with the arguments of RMS for not using the world "pirate"). Shareware vendors find it tough enough to get a return on their work without duplicate serial numbers gumming the pitch.

Thanks again for your investigation



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Response received...
Authored by: boysimple on Dec 18, '02 12:32:17PM

Rob,

Thanks for the investigation, glad to hear that Proteron is on the up and up (and is defending themselves agressively).

E



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Still Unethical
Authored by: MasterUltan on Dec 22, '02 01:42:07AM

I do NOT intend to condone software piracy, but something more insidious is going on here. Let me give you a real world analogy. If you steal something of mine and I KNOW you stole it, do I have the right to break into your home, search your belongings, and take back my property? No, I do not. That is taking the law into one's own hands; that is vigilante-ism. Proteron is NOT justified in stealing user's personal information whether they broke the law or not. This is a matter for the police. I do not accept the idea and am very concerned about the precedent that private interests can be defended by going beyond the law. Is there anything in Proteron's License agreement which alerts the user to the fact that his/her personal information is offered in the case the license agreement is violated? If so, is this a legal form of contract? People interested in preserving the values of freedom which exist on the Internet and in the world should be VERY concerned about this.



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Still Unethical
Authored by: DrRobert on Dec 22, '02 06:58:35PM

Amen Brother Ultan. Vigilantism must not be tolerated. This is a good piece of software to boycott. The thought by the company that the innocent have nothing to fear is perverse. Only legal process can determine guilt.



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Difference of opinion...
Authored by: robg on Dec 22, '02 07:58:10PM

I feel that accessing information stored in publicly available fields is a far cry from breaking in -- a better analogy, in my opinion, is that I know you stole something, so I used the information in the Yellow Pages to locate you.

But everyone must determine their own level of comfort with their own privacy; I've decided that MM is doing nothing that I need be overly concerned about.

-rob.



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Publicly Available?
Authored by: MasterUltan on Dec 23, '02 10:36:11AM

Nothing on my computer is "publicly available". If I go to my bank and withdraw all of my money in cash, then leave that cash on my front door step, you have still committed a crime by taking it. I may have been foolish in leaving it there, but you have no right to it. Any information available to programs through OS X API's is for programmers to facilitate MY use of that information. I have agreed to NO contract which allows that information to be accessed by companies and/or programmers.
In addition, DrRobert makes an excellent point regarding the comment about "innocence". I believe this phrase was used a great deal by Joe McCarthy and is, ironically, quite Un-American.



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Difference of opinion...
Authored by: DrRobert on Dec 23, '02 12:24:36PM

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the accessing of publicly available information; however, the is nothing that assumes that a program's author may use that information. The insidious thing here is that that information is LEAVING my machine without my consent. It should be clear to a purchaser what a program is doing on his machine. The analogy is not using a phone book to look up a number, the analogy is digging through a person's personal papers that he left on his front porch to obtain an unlisted phone number. If he really only wants to stop piracy then he should clearly state that he will harvest this information so that we may choose not to use his software. I should never be denied of the choice to not distribute my personal information. I always pay for shareware and never pirate software, but I never register either. Once I buy a piece of software the seller has no right to know what I do with it.



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Difference of opinion...
Authored by: DrKwan666 on Dec 29, '02 01:28:34AM

Publicly stored? I don't know what you consider "public", but the contents of my computer, whether protected from intrusion or not, are nobody's business. The fact that this software retrieves ANY data from my computer that I did not explicitly authorize is a clear invasion of privacy regardless of the reason it is done.

I don't use this software, but given this revelation I very definitely won't ever use it or any product from this company. I think consumers have every right to expect that any software they install will, at very least, explicitly state what data will be gathered as a result of installation.

No one condones piracy, but unethical behavior is unethical behavior no matter what the reason. The ends do not justify the means.



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Difference of opinion...
Authored by: VicF on Jan 05, '03 12:25:31PM

In my opinion, this would be a legitimate difference of opinion if, when one downloads MaxMenus, they are explicitly told up front that the software includes spyware that sends identifying information to the developer in the event that an inappropriate serial number is entered. Then I as a software user have the option of downloading the software on that basis. Does MaxMenus include such a warning? If not, why not? That warning would actually prevent people from using the inappropriate serial number, which is the only laudable objective that the developer should have. On the other hand, explicitly concealing that the software includes spyware serves the additional goal of 'busting' people that use an illegal serial. THAT's the difference between "protecting ones interest" (warning users, so that the illegal serial is never used in the first place) and "vigilante-ism" (busting them).

FWIW, I downloaded and tried MaxMenus (without the knowledge that it included spyware). I liked it. It's even worth $20. But promoting further encroachment of software users' rights is not worth any price. I've therefore deleted the offending (and offensive) program from my hard drive.



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MaxMenus may harbor spyware
Authored by: robfm on Dec 18, '02 09:44:19PM

I would love to know what personal information is available to any trial-ware software program that I install. Does any one know the details? Thanks.



[ Reply to This | # ]
Specific or general?
Authored by: robg on Dec 18, '02 11:04:24PM

Are you asking in general for a tool to find such data, or in particular about MaxMenus? If it's about MaxMenus, no data gets sent when you use the trial.

In general, install etherpeek using Fink or run tcpdump and capture the packets. Not much fun, and there's tons of stuff to dig through, but you can see where stuff goes. If it's encrypted, you may not be able to see WHAT went, though.

-rob.



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