Buds Biased Utils Report, 28

Bud's Biased Utils Report #28 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Well it's been a while since I picked up my "pen" and went to work on the report. I debated what to do about the weeks missed... and laziness and schedule conflicts resolved the issue for me. So it's the current week I'll be reviewing, and the rest are lost... Except for a few things I think are worth noting. First, RBS released one of the most useful generic protection scheme cracks in their FlexLM license generator, and showed a lot of class in allowing other groups to use it (when credit is given to RBS anyways, but give credit where credit is due). Also earlier this month, LND lost a bunch of top CAD/CAM titles... Cimatron IT 10, which went to PWA, congrats to them on an excellent crack... also the Solid View series (newest versions) to Scum, which they win for the second month in a row. On a sad note, Rise has basically died... still a few members idling, but Toth left for PWA, and other members jumped ship as well. Sad to see a great group go. Gza announced the group was officially disbanded, changed his mind and decided to wait for Kiterith... the premiere of Paragon (another offspring of SGE) was a non-event... and on an upswing we have DOD, putting out its first REAL challenge in some time. Lots of other stuff, plenty of other good apps but.... :P Disclaimer: It's BIASED moron. My opinion. So don't send me a bunch of mail & messages bitching about this or that. If you don't like it... SCREW YOU =] Rankings: Groups get a score out of 10. Points are given for amount of releases, but QUALITY titles will give a group a much higher score. Nukes for duping, broken releases and just plain CRAP will lower a groups score. However on the occasion that a title is nuked which I don't feel should have been, MY OWN JUDGEMENT TAKES PRECEDENCE. Cuz I'm writing this. Groups can also get points for any other reason I see fit. Week: Week is based from 07/20/99 to 07/26/99. I'm in the EST time zone so dates/times run according to it. Groups: (In no particular order) ▄ ▀▀██▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▀█▄ ▀█▌▀█▄ ▐ ▄█▀ ▄▄██▌ A Group ▐█▌ ▐▌ ▐█ █▌▐█▌ ▄█▀ █ That Gives ▄██▌▄▀ ▄██▌▀██▌ ██ ▐▌ Slightly ▀███ ▀███ ▀█ ▐███▄▄ █ Less Than ▐█▌ ▐█▌ ▐▌ ▀██▀ ▀▄ A Fuck. ▀ ▀ ▀ ▀ -XeN PIRATES WITH ATTITUDE: Releases: Autodesk.AutoCAD.Architectural.Desktop.v2.0-PWA AV.Stumpfl.Wings.Pro.4.0-PWA Lotus.CC.Mail.Mobile.6.23-PWA Lotus.Domino.Server.WinNT.5.0.1-PWA Lotus.Notes.Designer.And.Administrator.5.0.1.Win9x.NT-PWA Avery.Media.Software.v1.14-PWA CAYMAN.POWER.CG.RFS.V4.1.PLUG-INS-REPACK-PWA Envox.CT.Studio.3.0.2-PWA Funeral.Management.9000.v2.2-PWA Lotus.Notes.Client.5.0.1-PWA DM.Stars.Field.Effect.v1.0.Xtra.for.Macromedia.Director-PWA DM.Transition.Pack.1.v1.3.5.Xtra.for.Macromedia.Director-PWA DM.Transition.Pack.2.v1.3.5.Xtra.for.Macromedia.Director-PWA DM.Waves.Effects.v1.0.Xtra.for.Micromedia.Director-PWA DM.XTreme.Transitions.v1.0.Xtra.for.Micromedia.Director-PWA Lotus.cc.Mail.Administrative.Utilities.Release.8.5-PWA Lotus.cc.Mail.V8.41-PWA Lotus.Domino.Doc.2.5.Final-PWA CAYMAN.POWER.CG.PLUS.V4.1.STANDALONE.VERSION-PWA SatSpy.v3.02-PWA Cayman.Power.Cg.Rfs.V4.1.Standalone-PWA ENERCALC.STRUCTURAL.ENGINEERING.LIBRARY.v5.1.2-PWA MultiSimplex.2.0-PWA XAOS.TOOLS.SEGMATION.V1.0.FOR.PHOTOSHOP-PWA PWA continues to be the strongest group in the pack, benefiting from all the earlier member pickups. It's great to see an incredible team of old infused with some new blood and once again slaughtering the competition. Definately the top group of July. A few other groups picked up the top titles of the week, but for all around quality and consistancy it was PWA... what a change from a few months ago. Total: 9/10 ▄───── ▄▄▄ ────────── ▄▄█▓▄ ─── ▄ ─ ▄▓▄ ░ ▀ ▄█████▓ ▄▄███▄ ▄▀▀████▌ ▄█████▄ ▀ ▓███▀ ▀▄██████▄▀█▌ ▐████▐▓▀ ▀███▓ ▓███▌ ▐▓█▀ ▀██▌▐▓ ▀ ▀▓▀▓▌ ▐███▌ ▐█████▄▄▀ ▀█▄ ▄▓█▓ █▓▄ █▌▀▄▄████▓ ▀██▓▀▀ ▀ ▀▀▀▀ ▀ ■▄ ▐▓ ▀▀▓█▀ ■▄──────+ The Corporation +─ ▀▄ ─gas!─■ THE CORPORATION: Releases: Dragon.Naturally.Speaking.Professional.v3.52-CORP MICROSOFT.BACKOFFICE.SERVER.V4.5.DEV.EDITION.CLIENTS.ADDON-CORP MICROSOFT.BACKOFFICE.SERVER.V4.5.DEVELOPER.EDITION-CORP Object.Studio.V6.2-CORP MICROSOFT.PLATFORM.SDK.WIN2K.2000.RC1.EDITION.ADDON-CORP MICROSOFT.PLATFORM.SDK.WINDOWS.2000.RC1.EDITION.FINAL-CORP Yosemite.Technologies.TapeWare.V.6.1.Universal.Edition-CORP Metacreations.KPT.Gel.V1.0.Final.for.Photoshop-CORP Netdive.CallSite.Studio.MultiUser.V3.0.Win9x.NT-CORP Netdive.EZChat.MultiUser.V2.0.Win9x.NT-CORP Obsydian.V3.0.Final.Unlimited.User.License-CORP Corp continues to move along, not quite as strong as past weeks, but some good releases anyways. Backoffice Dev. Edition sticks out... as does the new Metacreations plugin, KPT GEL, for Photoshop. They ended the week with a nice releasein Naturally Speaking Pro. Total: 8/10 . )\_______)\__)\_______)\_______ . . __/ __ _/ _/ ____/ ___/ . . \__ / _\ \_____ \ ___/__ : . :/ \ \ / \ / \| : |\___/ /___/_____ /___ /| : | \_/_____/\____ /_____/___/_____/ | :...`---\_____\/----/_flr_/---/_p^D_/--' RISE: Releases: N/A Total: N/A ──────────────────────────────────[XX/XX]─ ▄██ ▄▄▄ ░ ▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄ █▓█ █▓█ ▒ ██▀ █▓█ █ █▓█ ██ █▓█ █ ███ ██ █▓ █▒█ █▒█ █░█ ▀▀ ▄█ █▒█ ██ █▒█ █ ▄▄▄ ██▄▄ ▄██▀██▄ ▀ █▒█▀▀▀ ██ █░█ ██ ▄▄█ █▓█ ██ ▄▄ █▒█ █▓█ ▓ █▓█ ░ █▓█ █░█ ██ ░ █▓█ █▒█ ██ █▓ ███ █▒█ ▒ ███ ▬▀█████▀▄██ ▒ ▀█████▀ ▀████ ─── ██▀ ░ ──────────────── ▓ ───── sikos ─ X-FORCE: Releases: METROWERKS_CODEWARRIOR_PRO_R5_ADDON-XFORCE BETTERSTATE_V5.1.1.-XFORCE METROWERKS_CODEWARRIOR_PRO_R5-XFORCE STATECAD_V5.01_STATEBENCH_V1.01-XFORCE LOGISCOPE-XFORCE MATRIXX_V6.1-3-XFORCE REALVIZ_MATCHMOVERFULL_V1.0-XFORCE SIDEFX_HOUDINI_V3.1-XFORCE NEMETSCHEK_ALLPLAN_ALLPLOT_FT_V15.1-XFORCE A couple of notables from XF this week. CodeWarrior Pro 5, without a doubt XF's best of the week, and also Houdini 3.1, a decent art/design app. Finally, Allplan/Allplot 15.1, which they ISO'd as well (consider the full package if your on a high speed connection). Total: 7/10 /\______/| ___/\_ _/ ______ :|; . __/\ ____/\ __| // %%%\____ \ |__:_\__ \/ ~~ :\_ | __/%%%% iii_/ :| \\_ \ ;| \_ |____/ \iiiii :::\__ ; _/ | \\_ : // | \\_ | \\_::: \____/---|____/____/_______/-|____/kaz SHOCK: Releases: Ulead.Plug-in.Madness.II.for.Cool.3D.2X-SHOCK HABERDASH.v2.1.0-SHOCK Embarcadero.ER.Studio.v3.5.RC-SHOCK Illuminatus.v4.50.RETAIL-SHOCK SiteEater.v2.31.for.Java-SHOCK SiteEater.v2.31.for.Windows9xNT-SHOCK Pretty quiet here this week... one notable in Illuminatus, and now for some explanations... two groups released the program, 2KAD and SHOCK. The 2KAD release came first, and was a crack of the demo, while SHOCK's was a CD rip of the full retail version. While 2KAD's release came first, they don't really get credit, for while they removed the time limit on the demo, it was missing features present only in the full retail version... a crippled program with the time trial removed is still basically a demo. Total: 6/10 . ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ .▀████▀▀▀██▄ ████▀▀██▌▐██▀▀▀▀ --- .------. : ████ ███ ▐███ ███ . | ████ ▐███ ███▀ ███ : | ████ ███ ▐███ ▄███ ███▄ . : | ████▀▀▀▀▀ ██▓█ ▀███▄▄██▓▀ . .▄▓███▄ ▀███▌ ▀▀ PRESENTS : | : : [xx/xx]. '---.-------PENTIUM FORCE TEAM-- ---- - -' PENTIUM FORCE TEAM: Releases: FRx.Financial.Reporting.v5.50-PFT Remedy.HelpDesk.v4.0.for.WinNT-PFT Cactus.WorkBench.v3.82.for.Win9xNT-PFT Excalibur.RetrievalWare.v6.7.for.WinNT-PFT LoadRunner.Analysis.v7.0-PFT Peregrine.AssetCenter.v3.01.for.Win9xNT-PFT Solomon.IV.Tools.For.VB.v4.20-PFT Solomon.IV.v4.20.for.Win9xNT-PFT SpeechWorks.5.0.for.WinNT-PFT PFT continue to stick to high end web apps, notable this week is Excalibur RetrievalWare. Ok that's it, I'm lazy as usual. Total: 7/10 ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄▄▓▀▀ ▄ ▄▄█▀▀██▓▄ ▄▄▄█▀▀▓▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓▌ ▄▄▄▄ ▐█▓█ ▐▓██▌ ▐▓██▌ ███▓ ▓██▌ ███▓ ▓██ ▓▄ ▓██▌ ███▓ ▓██▌ ▐██▓▌ ▐██▓ ▐█▓▌▐██▓ ██▓▌▐███▓ ████▓ ▀▀▀▀ ███▓ ██▓ ▐█▓█ ▀▀▀▀▀ ▄██▓▀ mg ▀ ▀▀▀▀████▓▌ ▀▀ ██▓▀ ▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▓▀ ▀ ▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀ :: <LEGENDS NEVER DiE> ::: <o4 * 2880> :: ▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄ LEGENDS NEVER DIE: Releases: SMARTCAM_V11.5-LND One app from LND over the past seven days, possibly feeling the heat of increased competition from PWA/SCUM. Still they pick up a high end, good quality title in SmartCAM. Total: 4/10 .__________. [xx/xx/98] \_ ___ ) Da ToP oF Da LiNe! .___. ===/ _/ /=======================/ /===== .:/ _____/__./(___.____/\.______./ /_____. :/ /__/ . ) . )____ ) _ ) / __ ) /__/ / / / / // __ / /__/ / /___/: .:/ /__/__/__/__/(______\____ /__/_____ /MO =/__/========================\/========\/=== = THE PINNACLES OF RELEASING (C) PNC 95-98 = PINNACLE: Releases: ReSet2000.v3.0-PNC Remote.Worx.v3.0-PNC Timeclock.99.v4.42.Plus-PNC Compaq.Commerce.Court.Professional.v3.2-PNC Summit.Pro.2000-PNC Onmark.2000.Assess.v4.0-PNC PNC are in a grove of sorts, lack of store titles and commercial software is hurting their chances of really pulling in a great title, but they continue to get some decent web stuff out. Not quite as decent as PFT at times... Compaq Commerce Court is a so-so ecommerce site design package, not exactly a favorite of mine due to a poor interface (imo). Total: 6/10 ─ ▄▄ ── ▄▄▄ ─────────░──────────── ─── ── ─ ░▀ ▀█▄ ▀▀ ▀▌ ▀ ■ ▐▄ ■ ▄ ▀ ■ ▀ ▀ ▄▄▄ ▀ █ ▐█▌█ ▀ █▄▀▄ █▀█▄▀██ █ █▄▀▄ ▀▀ ▄▌ █▄▀▄ ▐█▌▄█▀▐█▌ ▐█▌▄ ▐█▌▐█▌▐█▌▐█▌▐█▌▄ █ ▐▀▀▐█▌▄ ▀▓▓ ▀▓▓ ▀▓▓ ▄▀▓▓ ▀ ▓▀ ▀▓▄▀▓█ ▄▐▓▌ ▀▓▓ ▄ ── ▀ ─── ▀ ─ ▀▀ ── ▀ ▀ ──── ▀ ▀▀ ▄▀▀ ─░─ ▀▀ PREMiERE 1998 RELEASES WITH STYLE [xx/xx/98] ──────────────────────────────────────────── PREMIERE: Releases: CyberSpyder.Link.Test.v2.16-PREMiERE These guys are still alive? Wow! Total: 1/10 _______________ ____________ ____________ \_ ___ \_ ___ \ ___ \_ _/ l/ / l/ / l/ / \______ / / / /____ / /| ======\________/\__________/[om]\________/== d(*)d D r i n k O r D i e 1 9 9 8 d(*)d ===================== [ DOD * xx-xxx-98 ] == DRINK OR DIE: Releases: 3D_Studio_MAX_R3_Full_Addons-DOD ATI_DVD_Player_v3.10_Win9x-DOD Character_Studio_for_3DS_MAX_R3_FINAL-DOD 3DS_MAX_R3_Win9xNT_REAL_FINAL-DOD Command_Antivirus_v4.57c1_for_Networks-DOD Command_Antivirus_v4.57c1_for_NTws-DOD Command_Antivirus_v4.57c1_for_Win9x-DOD Command_Antivirus_v4.57c1_for_Win31-DOD Last week it was Vet AV, this week it's Command AV... hurah! If you expected 3DSMAX 3 from XF or PWA, think again... DOD picks up the top release of the week after SGM releases something kind of fucked up... however DOD's release needed a fix as well, thoughtfully provided by Harvest. On top, the addon package is over 100 megs, a pain for analog users. Still, no one can deny the importance of this tool in the animation field. Keep in mind this program is a H-O-G on system resources, low-end systems don't have a prayer. Total: 8/10 _______________________________[xx/xx] \_ _ \_ ____/_ _ \_ ____/ |_\ ___/ / _/ ___)/ _/ ___) | \___ \ / | \_ | \ | \ | \ : \ : \ \___| /___ \____ \___ \___ \___ \ ====|__/===\__/===\__/==\__/==\__/==\__/ REBELS: WE MAKE ALL DAYS PARTY DAYS >> RELEASING WITHOUT PERMISSION << REBELS: Releases: NetTools_Sniffer_Pro_v3.0-RBS Shiva_Access_Manager_v4.5p1_Cracked-RBS BCL_Magellan_v4.1_for_Acrobat_4-RBS ABEL_PLD_DESIGNER_V7.0_LICENSED-RBS Graphics_Workshop_Pro_V2.0a_P11_Keymaker-RBS HotDocs.Professional.v5.1.RC3-RBS Swift_View_V4.2.4_Licensed-RBS SYNARIO_BOARD_DESIGNER_V4.11_LICENSED-RBS VANTIS_DESIGN_DIRECT_CPLD_V1.1_LICENSED-RBS HotDocs.v5.1.RC3-RBS Talking.NT.SQL.Online.Credit.Card.Module-RBS Mathematica.v4.0-RBS Mathematica.v4.0.DIZFIX-RBS NAT32.v6.4.5.Build.1066-RBS RBS finally gets a good titles in Mathematica 4, in a step away from obscure niche apps... they also put out the latest Release Candidate of HotDocs and HotDocs Pro. BCL's Magellan is a decent plugin for Acrobat from the makers of Freebird and Jade. Total: 7/10 _____ ____________ ____ __________ / __/_ ___/\_ \ ___\_/ __/\ ___\_ \ \ / _/ /_ /___ / \ ___ / \___/\_____/___\ ____/______/_____/pn \_/ VERSUS: Releases: JDESIGNER.PRO.V3.5.ENTEPRISE.EDITION-VERSUS Alexsys.Team.98.v6.0-VERSUS Two decent releases from VRS, who have been extremely quiet this month... hope to see more action out of them soon. Total: 3/10 ..._______________________.___ ____.____... ::/ _______/ ____/ | \/ | \:: _/\____ \/ /___/ | \ \: \ > \ \ \/ \ \ :\__________/\________/_________/|_____|___/ ::.. .:[ SCUM ]:. .:[SCUM]:. .:[SCUM]:. ..:: ```````````````````````````````````````````` SCUM: Releases: NoEsys.Plus.IDL.v.2.0-SCuM TurboCAD.Professional.v6.2.38.1-SCuM Silk.Test.v5.0-SCuM DataStage.Client.Server.v3.5r2-SCuM Solid.View.IGES.v3.31-SCuM Solid.View.RP.Master.v3.31-SCuM Solid.View.v3.31-SCuM Scum takes Solid View again this month,as well as Segue's Silk Test 5, and a minor build of IMSI's TurboCAD Pro, one of the weaker CAD packages out there (although it is aimed at a more mainstream userbase). Total: 7/10 Only one more byte to crack before... ____._____ ____ _____ _____ _ _____ __ ._____ :::_|_ / _ \/ _ \/ _ \__\_ \___| / ::/ __/_ / / / / / / _ / _ /: :/ / / / / / / / / / / / /:: :\_______\___/\____/\____/\______/________\:: : \\\\\\\ \\\\ \\\\\ \\\\\ \\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\ -----------------------------------------wk!- 2000AD: Releases: Deerfield.Relayfax.2.0.For.Windows9x-2000AD Deerfield.Relayfax.2.0.For.WindowsNT-2000AD ISS.Telephoney.Scanner.1.0.For.Windows9x-NT-2000AD NewsGrabber.3.0.b1.For.Windows9x-NT-2000AD Spector.2.0.For.Windows9x-NT-2000AD Illuminatus.4.5.Final.For.Windows9x-NT-2000AD SLICK.5.2.006.FOR.WINDOWS9X-NT-2000AD GETRIGHT.4.0.B3.FOR.WINDOWS9X-NT-2000AD Can't give 2KAD points for Illuminatus as their version was missing features, and aside from that there's no standout app this week... hope to see some quality out of them soon, otherwise... well read on later. Total: 4/10 _______________________ ____________ __\ _______/ ______/______/__ / \ __/ / / \/ / / /_______\ /______________\____ /________\ -------------------------------\/----------- (*) F a t i g u e - Couriers Network (*) ___________________________________________. ________________________________________wK!. FATIGUED COURIERS NETWORK: Releases: TITAN_ACCESS_DEVELOPER_JULY_99_VERSION-FCN TITAN_BTRIEVE_DEVELOPER_JULY_99_VERSION-FCN TITAN_SQLANYWHERE_DEVELOPER_JULY_99_VERSION-FCN LMD_TOOLS_v4.51-FCN Paradigm_Entertainment_VisKit_Font_System_v1.0-FCN Paradigm_Entertainment_Viskit_v1.2.6-FCN Report_Builder_v4.11_For_Delphi4-FCN Rubicon_v2.05_For_Delphi-FCN VisionTools_OCX_v1.0-FCN A bunch of releases to start the week, then after a few days the FCN camp went quiet. Lots of Delphi support, and some DB design apps as well, with Titan Developer. Total: 6/10 _____nnn_____ <$$$$$$$$$$$$$b »»»»»»»»»»»)$$ |$$$$$$$$$$$$$' |$$T```X$f''' |$$$ '$$$L |$$! '9$$$i. |$$ `'$$$$> r a d i u m »»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» RADIUM: Releases: CD.Architect.v4.0f.july-Radium Cubase.VST.v3.70-Radium Cubase.VST.v3.70.addons-Radium Making.Waves.v1.95-Radium Quartz.DX.Plugin.Pack.1-Radium Quartz.DX.Plugin.Pack.2-Radium Quartz.DX.Plugin.Pack.3-Radium StageResearch.SFX.Pro.v5.40a-Radium Tsunami.Pro32.v1.4d-Radium Ultrafunk.Sonitus.FX.pack.v1.0-Radium Well since I continually have promised to do an indepth review of some RDM releases and haven't, I'll just say this... it will happen, when I get time and see some that catch my interest. CD Architect is actually one of those, but I've used it in the past and I'd rather check out some stuff I haven't tried before. Total: 6/10 ____________________________________________ __________/\________/\______/\_______/\ \ __ / __ / __ \ _____/ / /__/ / /__/ / /__/ /\___ \ / _____/ ____/ / ) /____/ /___\ \\________/_________/ -s8RO-- -the.\_____\.professionals-- - ____________________________________________ THE PROFESSIONALS: Releases: Artisoft.BizFax.v1.1.038.Retail-PROS After a decent start, PROS seems to be fading... one minor title... Total: 1/10 HARVEST: Releases: 54.UNRELEASED.REM.INFOGRAFICA.MAX.MODELS-HARVEST KINETIX.3DMAX.3.0.FIX-HARVEST PARADIGM.MULTIGEN.CREATOR.V.2.2.1-HARVEST DIGITAL.FUSION.POST.V2.52.UPDATE-HARVEST SISYPHUS.DRUID.V.1.0.FOR.3DSMAX2.x-HARVEST Harvest showed a lot of class in releasing a fix for DOD's 3DSMAX without a fuss or an ego trip... unlike certain other individuals ragging on DOD for the required fix... considering the amount of fixes required over in the games camp at times, I'd say we're pretty lucky, and on large apps that require so much testing... quit yer whining. Total: 6/10 New this week: N/A Idle this week: RiSE (RIP???) Quote(s) of the Week: <VrbalKint> The only entertainment gained from Paradigm is JLennon's stupidity. TRPS is gone from the list, at least until they show they can release some utils that aren't crap, minor versions, etc... 2KAD may follow... time to trim the fat, what can I say, I'm lazy and there's too many groups on the list! Next week I'll be a tad more in-depth, Blitz and those other punks were impatient this time 'round <g>. - Bud