Why is the basic version free? What's the catch?
No catch. You are welcome to use the free version of Pixfer for Microsoft
Windows XP for
as long as you like. We figure that happy users are our best advertising, so the
basic version is our way of getting the word out about the full
version, and we'd like you to use it as long as you like. Of course, we encourage you to purchase a license key
for the full version to help fund
further development and testing. Thank you for your support!
When renaming files, what file types does Pixfer for Windows
XP support?
Pretty much any digital images that contain EXIF information are supported,
including JPEG. In addition, special options in many RAW formats are also
available. For example, subsecond information in NEF files from Nikon SLR
digital cameras can be used for file
renaming. If a file does not contain any EXIF data, the file's date and time
stamp is used instead.
Don't multiple simultaneous transfers slow everything down?
Pixfer for Windows XP was written using a technique called threading that
can juggle multiple transfers efficiently.
What exactly is S.M.A.R.T. hard drive checking?
Especially in laptops,
hard disks have a significant possibility of failure. Disk manufacturers recognize
this, and many implement an internal reliability measurement system called S.M.A.R.T. Pixfer can enable this functionality if it is supported by the drive,
then check the drive's current performance vs. the warning thresholds that the
manufacturer has set. If any of these thresholds are exceeded, Pixfer provides a
warning and indicates exactly which parameter failed. If you prefer to manually
check your drive's current S.M.A.R.T. status, you can get a full readout of all
data that the manufacturer provides at any time.
I'm using a PCMCIA adapter to transfer images, and it is
really slow. Why?
Most PCMCIA (PC Card) adapters operate in a mode called "16 bit". This mode uses
nearly 100% of the computer's processor to do the transfer, causing the entire
machine slow down. Multiple simultaneous transfers in this case will not
be much faster than doing them individually since the PCMCIA transfer is taking
so much CPU power. Manufacturers such as Delkin and Lexar currently sell 32-bit
Cardbus PCMCIA adapters that are much faster and much more efficient. We
recommend using one of these adapters, or a USB 2.0 or Firewire adapter to
maximize your transfer rate.
Macintosh?
Not yet. You can try it under an emulator, but some of the functionality uses
low-level Windows functionality, so certain features (e.g. S.M.A.R.T. hard drive
checking) are less likely to work than the core functionality. If you would like
to see Pixfer on the Macintosh, let us know.
IPTC data?
This is a tough one for us. We'd like to support writing IPTC data into the
files as they are being transferred, but we've simply seen too many
incompatibilities with IPTC. Especially in RAW format images, changing the
header can cause manufacturer-specific information to be lost, or can cause the
entire image to fail to load in other applications. Our goal is to transfer
images safely, and we do not currently believe that IPTC helps with that goal.
Fortunately, you can still use Pixfer to transfer your images quickly and safely
to your PC, then use one of the many IPTC applications to add IPTC information
to the files. If IPTC is the key feature preventing you from purchasing Pixfer,
let us know - if this is blocking enough people, we will reconsider.