Bent Corner

This nice little free program automatically monitors any folder you tell it to for new music files.  It then automatically adds any new music tracks to your iTunes library.

Download iTunes Folder Watch for Windows [1.0.33]

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There is a new version of the Comic Collector, the database software for keeping track of a comic book collection. I wrote a review of version 3. I like the software and can’t recommend it enough. I was about to pay for the $20 upgrade when I noticed the this blurb on the Comic Collector website:

If you purchased Comic Collector for Windows before November 14 2006, you are entitled to a free upgrade to version 4 (because of the EULA effective before that date). Please contact us to request your new license key:

http://www.collectorz.com/comic/support.php

I’m glad I read this before I sent them another $20. Not that I’m against the folks that make this software making as much money as they can. They have not only created a fantastic piece of software for managing a comic book collection, they have constantly worked on making it even better. I contacted them and quickly received my free upgrade key.

That’s something the makers of ComicBase seemingly haven’t been willing to do. I’m not a big fan of ComicBase. I believe my review of ComicBase Express reflects this.

I haven’t used the new version yet other then to upgrade it. I haven’t added any new issues to my collection. It looks quite spiffy.

Download Comic Collector 4.0

I thought I would follow up my review of the comic book software that is touted at the world’s #1 comic book collecting software with a review of the program that actually deserves the distinction.

It’s Comic Collector produced by Collectorz.com. It is hands down the best piece of comic book collecting software I have ever used. Though it doesn’t (as of yet) support a barcode scanner for adding comics to your collection, it does allow you to make entries automatically. Enter the series name and then select the specific issues you want to add. Comic Collector will then download all of that comic’s data, including the cover images from the extensive Collectorz.com Comic Database.

If you don’t want to go that route, you can still add comics the old fashioned way. Add one comic at a time or add an entire series. The choice is yours.

You can also edit the information you have for your comics. You can either edit the information for one single comic or edit multiple comics all at the same time. For instance, you can highlight all of the comics stored in a single long or short box and then do a group edit changing the location of these comics. That’s something you cannot do with ComicBase.

You can also view your collection any way you want to. The possibilities are limitless. You can view your collection by series, genre, publisher, location, or even by inker or colorist. Once again, you cannot do this with ComicBase.

You can also print very detailed and robust reports with Comic Collector. You can print reports showing comics you want to purchase or ones you already have or anything else you want a report of. It’s up to you.

My favorite feature and the thing that makes this software such a killer app is the ability to export your entire comic collection to your iPod. I made use of this the last time I went to a comic book convention and was able to pick up a lot of comics I did not have. I exported my entire collection to my iPod before I left for the con. All I had to do to access my collection was to click on Extras>Notes>Comic Collector and I would see a list of every comic title I owned. I would then scroll down to the specific title I wanted and select it. I would then see a list of the issues I owned. I was able to fill a lot of holes in my The Walking Dead collection by using this and I didn’t mistakenly purchase comics I already owned.

Not only can you export to an iPod, but to a PDA or Pocket PC. I’ve never tried this feature, but its there for people that want to use it.

You can download a fully functional trial version of this program to try. The only restriction is that you are limited to 100 comics. If you decide to buy the program, you have up to 30 days to change your mind. If it turns out that you don’t like it and wish you hadn’t spend the money on it, you can get a full refund.

When you compare Comic Collector to ComicBase, it’s really hard to figure out why ComicBase is the world’s #1 software for managing comic book collections.

Last year I purchased ComicBase Express. It is a comic book collection database program published by Human Computing. ComicBase has been out for years. I was always interested in owning it, but the price was always too rich for my blood. With the release of the ComicBase “express” version, owning the software was finally a possibility for me.

This from the official ComicBase website:

ComicBase Express is the ideal program for the budget-conscious collector. It comes with a massive, built-in database for over 275,000 comics, all with current pricing from the Comic Buyer’s Guide. It also sports over 5,000 cover images; a year of free, downloadable price updates; and the sleek, easy-to-use interface that ComicBase is famous for.

Unlike its Pro and Archive counterparts, ComicBase Express is compact enough to download, but still offers everything a collector needs to manage a serious collection.

I should point out that even though it is labeled as being for the “budget-conscious collector” it still sells for $49.95.

One of the reasons I wanted to purchase ComicBase was because it supports the use of a handheld barcode scanner. You can scan the UPC code on the cover of the comic and it will add that comic to your collection. Human Computing releases a download update file every week that contains the UPC codes for that week’s comics.

My initial reaction to the software was not good. The overall look of the interface left a lot to be desired. To say that it looked dated is putting it mildly. It looked like a computer program from 1994. It was also extremely slow and clunky. It took a very long time to load up and took even longer to close.

My real problem with the software was not how painfully slow it was or how ancient the interface looked. My main criticism was one of basic functionality. Even though it was advertised as having everything a collector needs to manage a serious collection, it would not allow me to enter a comic book’s actual physical location.

Unless your comic book collection is very small, you most likely have your comic books in more then just one location. I have comics in long boxes and short boxes. I have boxes on shelves and in closets. I wanted a way of keeping track of what box each comic was located.

I initially thought I was doing something wrong. It never occurred to me that a comic book inventory program would not have the capability to keep track of where a comic book was being kept. I went to the ComicBase forum and asked.

The response I got on the forum surprised me. I was told that my budget-conscious collector version of ComicBase didn’t allow me to use the location feature. I was told that if I wanted to actually keep track of a comic’s actual location, I would need to upgrade to the Professional version of ComicBase. The price for upgrading would be another $99.99.

I decided to stop using ComicBase and I went back to using my other comic book collecting program. It didn’t support the use of a barcode scanner, but at least I could easily enter where the comic was being stored.

I honestly don’t know how Human Computing can claim that ComicBase is the #1 comic book collecting software. Just because it’s the most expensive comic book collecting software doesn’t mean it’s the best.

Something I didn’t realize when I purchased the software was that the weekly updates are only free for the first year. After a one year, you must purchase a one-year subscription for $49.99 to continue downloading the updates. It is actually cheaper to buy a new copy of the software every year. The downloadable version of ComicBase Express is $44.99 and it includes a free one-year subscription to their weekly updates.

That’s just nutty.

I was looking for software that would allow me to hover my mouse pointer over an area of the screen and give me the hexadecimal code for that specific color. I used to have a small program that did this, but a computer crash a while back caused it to go the place where ones and zeros go when they die. I didn’t have it backed up and I couldn’t remember the name of it. It was just something I clicked on my desktop to find the color of something.

I looked on Google for something like it, but I never found anything that fit the bill. I was fairly picky in my requirements. I wanted it to be free, easy to use, and I wanted it to give me the hexadecimal code in a format that I could cut and paste. I finally found what I was looking for. It’s called Color Cop.

Normally I don’t want anything to do with anything with the word “cop” in it. For this software, I will make an exception.

Give it a try if you are looking for something like this.