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TextExpander 4 adds features, leaves Mac App Store
#2
redswill 
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Posted 21 June 2012 - 06:31 AM
Or you could just get DashExpander, which is only $9.99 (lower even than the upgrade price from TextExpander 3 to 4), and has a lot better way of filling in snippet placeholders (http://kapeli.com/wp.../08/dashE12.png)
#3
redswill
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Posted 21 June 2012 - 06:40 AM
Link for convenience: http://kapeli.com/wp.../08/dashE12.png
#4
JesseBacon
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Posted 21 June 2012 - 06:48 AM
redswill, on 21 June 2012 - 06:31 AM, said:
Or you could just get DashExpander, which is only $9.99 (lower even than the upgrade price from TextExpander 3 to 4), and has a lot better way of filling in snippet placeholders (http://kapeli.com/wp.../08/dashE12.png)
I'd also highly recommend CodeBox - http://www.shpakovski.com/codebox/ Similar expansion features including tab completion and a very slick "quick search" menu bar item.
This post has been edited by JesseBacon: 21 June 2012 - 06:50 AM
#6
Martian
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Posted 21 June 2012 - 07:36 AM
mojo66, on 21 June 2012 - 07:12 AM, said:
"Because TextExpander must observe your keystrokes anywhere on your Mac "
Oh, you mean a keylogger? Yeah, I see why Apple won't allow it in the store.
Oh, you mean a keylogger? Yeah, I see why Apple won't allow it in the store.
Without putting a spin on this, do these apps — TextExpander, DashExpander (as touted above) — all run the risk of being keyloggers or spywear?
This post has been edited by Martian: 21 June 2012 - 07:38 AM
#7
PeterDeep
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Posted 21 June 2012 - 07:55 AM
Martian, on 21 June 2012 - 07:36 AM, said:
mojo66, on 21 June 2012 - 07:12 AM, said:
"Because TextExpander must observe your keystrokes anywhere on your Mac "
Oh, you mean a keylogger? Yeah, I see why Apple won't allow it in the store.
Oh, you mean a keylogger? Yeah, I see why Apple won't allow it in the store.
Without putting a spin on this, do these apps — TextExpander, DashExpander (as touted above) — all run the risk of being keyloggers or spywear?
I can only speak for TextExpander because I have been using it for years now, and I can tell you that it does not record your keystrokes. It responds to them. How do I know this? TextExpander is a well-known program from a well-known manufacturer and if it did indeed record and save keystrokes, we would have heard about it. Do you really think that something that important would have gone undetected? Of course not.
#8
mojo66
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Posted 21 June 2012 - 09:54 AM
PeterDeep, on 21 June 2012 - 07:55 AM, said:
Martian, on 21 June 2012 - 07:36 AM, said:
mojo66, on 21 June 2012 - 07:12 AM, said:
"Because TextExpander must observe your keystrokes anywhere on your Mac "
Oh, you mean a keylogger? Yeah, I see why Apple won't allow it in the store.
Oh, you mean a keylogger? Yeah, I see why Apple won't allow it in the store.
Without putting a spin on this, do these apps — TextExpander, DashExpander (as touted above) — all run the risk of being keyloggers or spywear?
I can only speak for TextExpander because I have been using it for years now, and I can tell you that it does not record your keystrokes. It responds to them. How do I know this? TextExpander is a well-known program from a well-known manufacturer and if it did indeed record and save keystrokes, we would have heard about it. Do you really think that something that important would have gone undetected? Of course not.
That's not knowing, that's trusting.
#9
hayesk
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Posted 21 June 2012 - 10:15 AM
redswill, on 21 June 2012 - 06:40 AM, said:
Link for convenience: http://kapeli.com/wp.../08/dashE12.png
That looks less capable and less convenient than TextExpander.
#10
hayesk
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Posted 21 June 2012 - 10:20 AM
mojo66, on 21 June 2012 - 09:54 AM, said:
That's not knowing, that's trusting.
Wrong. The tools are there to know. Use lsof to see what files TextExpander writes to. Use any file editor to see what is saved. Use Little Snitch and a packet inspector to see if it sends anything over the net. Just because you don't know how to confirm it, does not mean it can't be confirmed.
Bottom line is TextExpander is not a key-logger (also explained in their FAQ). It comes from a talented and trustworthy developer. If you don't believe them that's your problem, but you'd still be wrong.
TextExpander is a fantastic utility, outshining others on the market. It will save you lots of time and will pay for itself many times over.
#11
hayesk
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Posted 21 June 2012 - 10:24 AM
Martian, on 21 June 2012 - 07:36 AM, said:
mojo66, on 21 June 2012 - 07:12 AM, said:
"Because TextExpander must observe your keystrokes anywhere on your Mac "
Oh, you mean a keylogger? Yeah, I see why Apple won't allow it in the store.
Oh, you mean a keylogger? Yeah, I see why Apple won't allow it in the store.
Without putting a spin on this, do these apps — TextExpander, DashExpander (as touted above) — all run the risk of being keyloggers or spywear?
1. Any software runs the risk of being a keylogger or spyware. Technically speaking, Word or Photoshop could be spyware or run keyloggers.
2. For someone with a modest amount of computing skills, it's trivial to see if a utility is a keylogger or spyware. MacOS X has commands to see what files a utility has open (so you can see if your keystrokes are stored in a file) and there are utilities to see what is sent over the network (Little Snitch, various packet inspectors). Simply use these utilities on any piece of software and you'll be able to tell if it is logging to a file, or sending data over the net.
#12
rsmac
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Posted 21 June 2012 - 10:56 AM
The old version of TE would often stop responding to keystrokes until you woke it up again by clicking on the menu bar icon. It would also cause problems in any text field by deferring the first character typed until you paused slightly, then the first character would be inserted resulting in garbled text that had to be retyped. According to others, that's a long-standing problem.
Have those problems been corrected?
Have those problems been corrected?
#13
lymond
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Posted 21 June 2012 - 11:51 AM
mojo66, on 21 June 2012 - 09:54 AM, said:
PeterDeep, on 21 June 2012 - 07:55 AM, said:
Martian, on 21 June 2012 - 07:36 AM, said:
mojo66, on 21 June 2012 - 07:12 AM, said:
"Because TextExpander must observe your keystrokes anywhere on your Mac "
Oh, you mean a keylogger? Yeah, I see why Apple won't allow it in the store.
Oh, you mean a keylogger? Yeah, I see why Apple won't allow it in the store.
Without putting a spin on this, do these apps — TextExpander, DashExpander (as touted above) — all run the risk of being keyloggers or spywear?
I can only speak for TextExpander because I have been using it for years now, and I can tell you that it does not record your keystrokes. It responds to them. How do I know this? TextExpander is a well-known program from a well-known manufacturer and if it did indeed record and save keystrokes, we would have heard about it. Do you really think that something that important would have gone undetected? Of course not.
That's not knowing, that's trusting.
The logging the TextExpander does is only to a small data structure in memory, and that structure gets cleared out every time you move the insertion point. That's why you can disable an abbreviation expansion by partially typing an abbreviation, pressing the left-arrow and then right-arrow key, and continuing to type the abbreviation. Because you've moved the insertion point, the queue is emptied and so TextExpander doesn't see the abbreviation you typed and the snippet expansion of that abbreviation doesn't take place.
#14
leicaman
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Posted 21 June 2012 - 12:55 PM
mojo66, on 21 June 2012 - 07:12 AM, said:
"Because TextExpander must observe your keystrokes anywhere on your Mac "
Oh, you mean a keylogger? Yeah, I see why Apple won't allow it in the store.
Oh, you mean a keylogger? Yeah, I see why Apple won't allow it in the store.
No. Apple's restrictions for the Mac App Store are way out of line. If all apps were required to be sandboxed, I would quit using Macs.
Eric
Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. - Martin Luther King, Jr.
