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1. 
   Review - The GIMP

   2.7.0 (Aug 27, 2009)

   Ok altogether, usually I'm known to be really flexible, BUT to be able to work (and I really mean work - not PLAY, what most of the tutorials out there for GIMP describe tediously...) with GIMP one need to be it's developer, I guess.
   Layers, channels... all the absolutely complicating and mostly unlogical combination of these functions make it a work for itself to find ones way through them. You know what? In the time I need to find out, that those functions I'd need are not included,
   I can work on a piece of software for myself.
   Angry I'm not because of GIMP itself, but because of the countless users who prefer to like praising more than criticizing. Using constructive critics every usual software developer makes usable software. Without criticism usable software (not only for a few freaks!) is created only by chance ... and this happens very seldom.
   GIMP in my eyes is simply a result of good developers with an extremely poor feedback - sad to say, but reality. And now it is full of freaky 'functions', but only very few of them are usable without lots of (highly time consuming) experiments. Of course there are many users who recommend it - they either have found ways to reach their goals (most likely) or they are those freaks I already told about.
   But the simple examples "layers, channels" and their usage (to be more correct: Their usability) make me angry. There are such simple ways to combine images - every image is nothing but a (multidimensional) array of numbers which can be combined in countless ways fuss-free ... but not in GIMP, of course.
   Menu by menu I found out, that the operations I intend to realize either are simply not supported or they need to be realized using a completely different way. Since I also have developed programs (one of them for stocks analysis... only to mention, so that not too many people suspect me to be a towers-of-Hanoi 'programmer'...) I claim to understand logic and its concepts. But GIMP does not follow a common logic - sorry.
   If one really has the time to explore a program - then it might be an interesting piece of software. But if one simply wants to manipulate images, for example, I only can recommend much less than 10% of this software (I guess even less than 5 %...). And these methods are good, but much too slow to use them for more than only very few pictures a day (which is unacceptable even if one wants to enhance a small collection of photos, let's say 20 pictures).
   The rating, nonetheless, for the developers would be 4, but the rating mentioned here is a rating for the 'solution' named GIMP... which is definitely no solution in my eyes for a normal case.
   Ok, to be correct: Commercial products are not really better in my eyes (reasons...? See above!).

2. 
   Review - Process Lasso (x32)

   3.54.7 (Apr 14, 2009)

   I don't intent to write against the application itself - it's fantastic. BUT why is it named 'open source'? If one install it, some 'features' delivered 'in' it are not free and there is no distribution/version without these features, so STOP calling it 'Freeware'. Although it might be open source (I don't know... where are the source files, btw?), it is SHAREWARE.

3. 
   Review - Process Lasso (x32)

   3.53.4 Beta (Mar 17, 2009)

   This app is made very well, works stable and reliable... and is NO Open Source, but SHAREWARE, for ALL users!
   As application - for it's clean style and it's reliability and functionality (and the effort the developers - which is enhancing this program constantly) I would rate a clear * * * * *, 5 Stars, BUT...
   I DISLIKE the manner, bitsum changed the license in the darkness of night from freeware into shareware - so my rating is only * * *, 3 Stars.
   Judge on you own!

4. 
   Review - RealPlayer for Windows

   11.0.7a Build 6.0.14.881 (Feb 16, 2009)

   Interesting, that this 'company' is still nervy enough to advertise for this collection of malware which they masked as media player.
   And... freeware? Is there really anybody out there who needs a program on his/her system which spies them systematically as well as permanently out, 'delivers' them advertisements and - of course - more crap of this 'quality' (?) until the operating system dies?
   I wished freeware sites created a new category called 'free junk' or similar... you guess, which 'software' I would suggest first to be transferred into this category...?

5. 
   Review - Slackware Linux

   12.2 RC1 (Dec 7, 2008)

   I don't judge an operating system using it's 'beautiful pictures' nor does my comment depend upon the 'mouseability' (sorry for this sick 'word'). An OS does have to work stable and it is necessary that it can be installed with minimal requirements. Slackware IS conservative and everybody (in the scene) knows this, but the same time everybody knows of the qualities of it, so why criticizing this distro for it's well known and BTW intentionally kept characteristics? Use another distro and forget Slackware, that easy it is!
   And another thing: For all you mouse-fetishists out there, why do you not simply keep your Windows? The next collection of surprising pictures, sounds and BUGS (and sincerely some further surprises...) is already at it's starting blocks (Windows 7) - take it and be happy with it.
   I'm in the process of changing completely to Linux - and one of the two distros I prefer is Slackware.
   And my closing words: If somebody is simply a fan of (for example) SUSE, he/she should use it. But leave other software in peace and alone. Nobody asks you to use something you don't like - we live in a democracy. And if you are somebody who belong to the company 'SUSE': What you do here is impairing the reputation of Slackware, which is unfair.