Just Sayin’ More Words

Reviews, Redux

I’ve reviewed a couple of products and services since starting this blog and I thought it was time to provide an update now that I’ve had a chance to use (or not use) them regularly.

Dispatch (original review)
I originally blogged about Dispatch to get a free license so you may disregard this if you have a problem with that. However, I would have eventually paid for Dispatch. I use it every single day. The integration with Visual Studio is near perfect. It really is the FTP client that should have been built in with VS from the start. Current Status: Highly recommended. Download it now.

SonicFileFinder (original review)
This is a well-executed and useful piece of software that for one reason or another, I just don’t use. I still have it installed but I’m not sure what the barrier is to regular use. Maybe the shortcut key I have assigned (Ctrl-Shift-Y) is too cumbersome. Maybe it doesn’t save me that much time over hunting down files in the Solution Explorer. Either way, I’m going to keep it installed for now and see if I can find a better keybinding. Current Status: Jury is still out.

Refactor! for ASP.NET (original review)
The first version of Refactor! for ASP.NET I tried out was a beta and didn’t work for me very well. It was slow, didn’t play nice with Master Pages and didn’t really save me enough time to inspire me to come back to it again and again. Since then Developer Express has released a couple updates. I installed the most recent version but I still don’t find myself using it. In fact, I can’t actually remember seeing the smart tag pop up at all. It looks like a useful piece of software but I guess looks can be deceiving. Current Status: Recycle Bin

MailBuild
I didn’t really review MailBuild in detail, but it’s a great service and worth checking out. I stand by what I said before; it is the best web application I have ever used.