“This is fantastic! I’ve always wanted encryption-software from people who can’t write an uninstaller properly.”

Also, yay for dead software patents!

“The patent that was claimed on turning pictures and colours into music actually expired on December 14, 2009 due to “Failure to pay maintenance fees”. I confirmed it by the bibliographic data of the US Patent Office.
Thanks helping me many people.”

It splits songs into individual files when the next one starts, and offers an option to never record ads. Recorded tracks can be exported as MP3 of AAC, with an option to add the resulting songs to iTunes or simply to export them to a chosen folder. It also provides a non-destructive audio editor and allows modification of a number of metadata fields before exporting. Snowtape goes another step further than most Internet radio recording applications and also assigns album art to each file.

Click to enlarge

It’s unfortunate that Snowtape stores files as AIFF until you click the “Export to folder” button (a 1-click process). It would be much preferred to have them stored as AAC or MP3, especially since they aren’t critical data for most people and therefore wouldn’t need to be exported to a different format other than the one the user has set in their preferences. If there is another reason to keep them stored in AIFF, I’m not seeing it.

Upon checking the Snowtape website, it seems as though the dev is adding features on a regular basis. Recording multiple streams at once would be nice, but it’s not something I’m pining too terribly for.

It costs US$29.00, or US$39.00 for a family pack.

For something Leopard-compatible (update: Snow Leopard-compatible as well), and free for up to 10 triggers (perfect for most external multi-button mice), I recommend ControllerMate.

I paid for a license¹ since I needed more than 10 triggers, and have found much use for it. Controllermate has a very responsive developer, Ken, who answers questions that are posted in the forum and are a good reference if you’re wondering what devices work with it.

I’ve used it for a number of USB devices, some for emulation or gaming, and configured each at least once to send Logic and Reason shortcuts; a Gravis GamePad Pro, a translucent blue Macally iStick joystick, a no-name finger-mounted mouse, and a whole horde of mice and keyboards whose manufactures don’t provide full-featured (if any) drivers for OS X. Using a gamepad or joystick to control an audio effect is always enjoyable.

ControllerMate delivers missing functionality to many USB devices, and adds more if wanted. Fully recommended.

1. I loathe saying that instead of “I bought a registered version”, it encourages the idea of licensing software as opposed to buying it, where fair ability of use and right of resale are restricted and controlled by anyone other than the user who paid money.