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MyAnimeList

State of the Union: The Current State of Anime/Manga/Etc Cataloging Services

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Don't worry, we changed in the last 6 months...

Cataloging sites are an important pillar to any Anime Fan since it keeps track what we watched, completed or planning to watch. People share these lists with others so other people can see what the person watched.

The evolution to good and easy to use Cataloging Services have been a rough one. MyAnimeList from the opinions of other users have been rather negative for unnecessary changes, random bugs and no open APIs that its been a frustration for both regular users and developers alike.  AniDB hasn’t changed much and still too advanced for the average user. AnimePlanet is rather new still and still missing some features. However, its still better than MyAnimeList in many aspects. Lastly, Melative, the whole kitchen sink remains powerful and became more accessible to users. However, it does not have a really pretty web UI. In this State of the Union, I will discuss my thoughts on what’s good and what’s not good about these services and which one benefits the user the most.

Note: Fanart used in this post is made by えびばーちゃん
…

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Just an update…

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OWLS! OWLS! OWLS!!!!

The last week as a very busy week since the Spring Semester is now in full force and I need to work my butt off this time around. Well, not so many hard courses, but I still need to do better than last semester… On top of it, I have been working on some coding projects, closely related to Anime/Japanese media related services such as that dreaded MyAnimeList and Melative. This is a main reason I wasn’t blogging as much plus I had homework to do, and with a test coming up, time will be strained a bit, but I won’t stop blogging for a whole month… I can promise that.

First off, the Unofficial MAL API is now fixed and I thank gcassonnet for fixing it and chuyeow for making this program possible. Now, I have spent two to three hours future proofing the program to prevent a program like this happening and what came out of it is 1.0.0 Final. This means that you will notice that the update and add dialogs loading faster than before since it’s not retrieving information from the internet for the status. Other improves include the password being saved on the Keychain, which is a more secure way to storing the password instead of having it saved in the preference files.

However, even though I fixed the client so it works fully, but I cannot promise that it will stop the delayed updating and other stuff… That is the website problem, and if you don’t like it… I suggest switching to a different service. For the time being, I won’t actively develop this since there is nothing to add at the moment and wait for manga support to be added either on Unofficial MAL API or the official one. Now… enjoy my fruits from my labor and have a client that doesn’t suck that much (yes, I’m looking at you iMAL):
Download 1.0.0 Final

Also, I have released Melative Library 0.9.0 Beta, on the same day yesterday. Melative Library have evolved just in about 1 month and now I have implemented 90% of the features. Unlike Melative Micro which is a microblogging client with basic library functions, Melative Library can manage the whole library without needing to the website (compared to MAL, where you need to use the website to use some/most of the functions). Now the program is at beta and is stable for everyday use and at this cycle, I won’t be adding that many features in this cycle. If you considering to switch to Melative or have an account, try this out. (and it’s crossplatform)
Download 0.9 Beta

So, that is out of the way, I can finally have some time to blog about more anime. Also, don’t forget to vote Shiori for the International Saimoe League!

Read moreJust an update…
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A reason I’m finally ditching MyAnimeList for Melative

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With the recent outroar with the MyAnimeList switching to a new layout and breaking the Unofficial MyAnimeList API, what is there left for me? With the new layout being harder to use, no complete official API and my wasted 3 months in making my own MAL Client and being broken after that I have been felt betrayed, the feeling that MAL doesn’t care about the users and want to force changes on users and not have developers make their own clients.

I have also lost hope with the Official API which have been untouched for several months and still lacking in functionality. When I start using Melative more and more and after the change, I thought to myself… do we really need MyAnimeList anymore? MyAnimeList is simply what AnimePlanet and AniDB is… and they still can’t track other Japanese media such as J-drama, light novels and visual novels.

Melative is the key for the future… It supports a wide variety of media, will be federated in the future and also it’s more open, as it’s using open source technologies.  This reminds me of one quote that a commenter, kimaguresan wrote:

I really think that not being open in this day and age will doom you at some point or another.

Everything is about open services and if services don’t provide a open and workable api, they are going to fail. I am feeling that this is true with MyAnimeList with the incomplete API and clients having to resort to HTML scraping because of the lack of a full API. No developer should ever have to scrap HTML just to make a client for a service. It’s just like Twitter not providing a API and developers having to scrap HTML to make their own clients. HTML scraping is time consuming work and it’s not for the faint of heart.

So why Melative succeed and MyAnimeList fails? Simply because of the reasons of not being open enough and forcing unnecessary changes like the layout design over fixing what is broken and a lack of a fully functional API. This is why MyAnimeList is not going to have a future as they are continuing to frustrate users over a change of something that it’s not even broken and making it worse than before. Just read the whole thread of users complaining about the new layout and wanting the old layout back and the new layout not working on mobile devices. I feel that MyAnimeList is just hoarding it’s users, keeping the users hooked to the service and force changes despite the user complaints, but keep them from abandoning it.

It’s not all about Melative, but the new open source project Kronblr which will remove the barrier of the walled garden and allowing users to have a federated microblog without needing to sign up for a new account and also follow users on different domains.

If you have the desire to ditch MAL for Melative, just read my previous post on how to use Melative…It’s all there with a MAL Anime List to Melative Importer (a Importer for MAL Anime/Manga list functionality is included with Melative Library, a new project I’m working on.)

Will I be abandoning MAL Client OS X? No, but once the API ever gets done and/or the Unofficial MAL API gets fixed, I will do some work on it.

Read moreA reason I’m finally ditching MyAnimeList for Melative
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New MyAnimeList Style… Hell no!

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wpid-My-Panel-MyAnimeList.net_-300x230-2010-01-12-22-41.png
Does this new style remind you of something? Yeah, the new Facebook.

This is annoying. The guy adds new stuff instead of fixing broken stuff. Makes me want to write my own MAL…
– FSX

This is something I didn’t realized when I woke up and after watching some anime, my MyAnimeList client broke for some reason… Well of course!

Earlier today, MyAnimeList, one of the popular Anime/Manga cataloging website looked different. I thought that this was a dream, but it wasn’t. I don’t care much about the new design, but I perfer the old design. This is bringing back memories of Facebook forcing it’s users to use the new layout, but the difference is that Facebook is more open to the developers… MAL on the other hand… well, it broke every MAL client out there since people are using it instead of the website, meaning less revenue from ads.

What the hell they are smoking? This is the main reason I actually HATE MAL… because they are not freaking open to the developers! WHY THE HELL UPDATE THE FREAKING LAYOUT WHEN YOU DON’T EVEN HAVE A FULLY IMPLEMENTED API FOR GOD SAKE! This is making developers life’s like myself even harder. Not to mention, the freaking API is so hard to use that it’s not even funny.

Suggestion, stop using MyAnimeList and go for the alternatives like AniDB or even Melative, which does Manga, Anime and even other media such as light/visual novels, dramas, etc. While I’m at it, I’m making a desktop client for it to make it even easier, so when I’m finished, there is no need to ever use MyAnimeList. Until whoever makes MyAnimeList cleans up their act and actually make a USABLE API for developers to use, they owe me 8 strawberry sundaes.

And yes, it’s an extension to the other rant I made about MAL and it’s APIs.

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MAL Client OS X is now Release Candidate

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Is it done yet?

MAL Client OS X is almost at it’s final release after all those beta builds. Well, it took me a few days to improve on the program after New Years and I have made significant progress.  Here they are:

Interface Improvements

MAL Client OS X now complies to the Apple Human Interface Guidelines, so there should really be no complaints that it doesn’t feel like a Mac OS X Application. With this, the interface got some refinements, but nothing major have changed. For example, the Preferences window now gives a sliding effect when you click on a different preference page, normal on every Mac application. Error messages now are shown as sheets opposed to separate modal message boxes. Export List dialog now shows a progress window.

Also, there are changes to the Melative updating window, becoming a separate window and allowing you to microblog more without needing to open the window again. When you are finished, just close the window.

Alot of Bug Fixes

I know, the program isn’t perfect, but the program is mostly stable.

With some changes of the Unofficial MAL API, it does not report any total episode number whatsoever, it caused the program to throw errors. This has been addressed in this Release Candidate build and the last along with some other bugs that were in the program like incorrect information showing when there is no internet connection, Manga list lookup crashing when incorrect username is loaded, etc. With the Unofficial MAL API changing, one should always check for updates to be sure they get those bug fixes.

Give Feedback

Without your feedback, I won’t know what should be improved. Feedback and bug reports give developers the suggestions they need to improve their programs. If you are using the program and like it, you should join the MAL Client OS X club and voice your feedback and submit your bug reports there.

Download MAL Client OS X 1.0.0b2 Release Candidate 2

Note: If you already have the program, don’t waste your time downloading the disk image. You can install this update by going to the MAL Client OS X window and click “Check for Updates…” This will initiate Sparkle to check for the latest update and install it for you. For Windows/Linux users, you can download MAL Lite here.

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The Journey in Creating a MyAnimeList Client

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Exhausting work, right?
Exhausting work, right?

MyAnimeList clients are at their infancy. Before the API came out, MAL Updater was your only choice and it only worked on Windows. The problem is that not everyone used Windows and used different OSes. MyAnimeList is a staple for most anime viewers and bloggers out there who use it to keep track what they are watching.

If you recall a few months ago, I have complained there was a lack of a MyAnimeList Client for Mac OS X. I haven’t checked hard enough and there was a program called iMAL that allows you to update MAL… The only problem is the program is very unstable and every time I tried to use it, it crashes on me… and I even recompile it and it’s even more unstable. Another alternative is AniChou, which is open sourced. The only problem there is the interface looks like crap (except in Liunx) and it was difficult to install since I have to install additional packages to make it work on Mac OS X. With that, MAL Updater has way too much features, the interface is cluttered and it’s closed sourced, which isn’t good. However, there was light at the end of the tunnel. Unofficial MAL API made this possible since the APIs are alot easier to use than the official API and they are planning to add Manga support right after they made some fixes to some search bugs…

After I complained about not being a really good MyAnimeList client for Mac OS X and discovering a easier API to use, I went to work and created this. I used RealBasic 2009 to create this client and wanted to make as close to a Mac experience as possible without having to learn Objective-C and Cocoa (and I don’t want to spend time trying to fix memory leaks). I was able to at least get the most basic features to work after three days of programming (you can check out some of the early screenshots I made of the program in early development). It took that long since RealBasic was a little different from Visual Basic .net and I haven’t worked on that stuff ever since I switched to a Mac in late 2006. Just within a week, I added status updating with 2.x and you could add new titles to the list, update them or even delete them for the list.

However, by the time I have used melative for my live micro-blogging when I go and watch some episodes of Anime… so guess what, I have decided to add melative support to MAL Client OS X since media is all about experience. MAL lacks the ability to express what you want to say about a episode you are watching. This reduces the need to update both melative and MAL separately, when you can do it the same time. If you have nothing to say when you go update, it will just sync the information you updated on MAL to your melative library.

The reason I didn’t add any additional features like auto-sorting of media files and skinning support since it’s unnecessary. Most people would use AnimeSuki, IRC, or even licensed retail discs anyways, so I don’t see the point of MAL Client OS X do the work since you have it done already. Skinning support is a niche feature, especially on Mac OS X and Linux. Rarely, you will see any skinned programs on those platforms and it’s too Windows-like and make things more complicated. MAL Client OS X is all about simplicity and not all about features. Having a lot of features in the world don’t make your program any better if the implementation sucks and not easy to use. This is the reason I created MAL Lite, a simple, lightweight, minimalist client for Windows and Linux as an alternative. Along with it, I made a GUI for MAL Updater OS X scripts so it will be a lot friendlier and people can scrobble their anime while they are watching it.

There is a reason I used RealBasic over Adobe AIR. For one, RealBasic can make native apps and uses less RAM as a result. Adobe Air, on the other hand is notorious for using a lot of RAM and is not native. Also, I can access the OS features with RealBasic and do a lot more than I could in AIR…

The future… Once manga support gets added, I will start working on adding it to the program. Hopefully, the program will hit the final stages with version 1.0, and by then, RealBasic 2010 will be out with Cocoa support…

Read moreThe Journey in Creating a MyAnimeList Client
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Editorial: Sad state of MyAnimeList and it's APIs

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MyAnimeList is probably the most used site by most anime viewers and bloggers besides AniDB, melative, or Anime Planet to log all the watched anime and also manga, although not everyone read manga compared to Anime. However, I feel that MyAnimeList just like Facebook is cluttered and have too much going on and you have to log in just to update your list and most of the time, you forget to update that list. This is why there are programs like MAL Updater on Windows and MAL Client OS X on Mac OS X with a small number of other MAL Clients. However, MAL is not making it easy with developers to create these programs and I already have some trouble trying to figure out how to implement it.

The problem is that the MAL API is very incomplete. There is no documentation on how to obtain the list or even get the information of the Anime using the APIs. sliceoflifer made the Unofficial MAL API , which is the supposed replacement of the MAL API and also makes life easier since all the functions are there and you can easily implement the API. The problem is, there is no Manga support. With the Official MAL API, there is a severe lack of information on how to use the API and the lack of JSON support. Also, it’s buggy since in some instances, searching for titles like Kampfer does not even pop up any results due to the bad data spit out by the official MAL API.

MyAnimeList in my opinion is becoming too big and the developer APIs are left neglected for months and left to rot. MAL Updater is a closed sourced program and there is no native open source solution (No, AniChou does not count as native alternative) that would work natively on Windows or even a full Mac solution. The developer of MAL Updater have to resort largely with HTML scraping which is a pain in the neck to figure out and I commend him on his effort to do so… Why should developers be left having to do this time consuming process of making code to get rid of the HTML tags and convert it to XML? Does MAL want developers make more programs that would work with MAL and instant updating instead of resorting to the near-monopoly MAL Updater…

Another gripe is that their site is STILL not iPhone friendly or perhaps smartphone friendly… Most sites these days have iPhone versions of the website since the iPhone grew in popularity due to it’s powerful browser. iPhone friendly MAL would help since if some people watch anime on the TV and don’t have their laptop on or want to go to a computer just to update their status, they can do it easily on the iPhone. Why not jump on a iPhone solution for MAL, either a iPhone App or a iPhone friendly website… It shouldn’t be terribly hard to do since popular social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter already have one with their own iPhone apps.

Hopefully you take these suggestions seriously and help make MAL better, or I have to resort more with melative since it’s works alot better… (and why not join in on the fun).

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MAL Client OS X 0.3.4 and MAL Updater OS X 1.2b GUI Released

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What are you doing?
What are you doing?

MAL Client OS X 0.3.4 is now released with new features allowing you to search for information on AniDB and Tokyotosho and sharing of a title to a email with the URL to the MAL Page… just add a message and send. Minor changes made to melative updating to reflect the changes made to the APIs.

Major change is that MAL Updater OS X GUI is now included with the MAL Client OS X distribution. This is a simple frontend to TakakoShimizu’s MAL Updater OS X, which is a command line script programmed in Ruby that allows Mac users to scrobble their Anime from MPlayer, Quicktime and VLC. The drawback is that the setup script does not always work and you cannot turn it off unless you get rid of the launchd file which will disable the automatic scrobbling. There is a better way to this issue.

MAL Updater OS X GUI is just a frontend to this mess and allows you to save your login info securely which will be used for automatically generating the script needed for MAL Updater OS X when scrobbling is turned on. When you close or stop scrobbling, the script is deleted so people won’t easily find your MAL password. The GUI is a lightweight program and only uses around 10 MB of RAM. Note that you still need Growl installed to find out what is scrobbled or you have to resort to the log files to find out.

The only drawback is that MAL Updater OS X script is outdated by .1 (since 1.3 isn’t available for download), so I can only include 1.2 for the time being. Once 1.3 is posted again or if he decides to update it, I will add it to the package and also make some improvements to the GUI.

The source code for the MAL Updater OS X GUI is located in the malclientosx SVN at Google Code.

In addition, a Linux version of MAL Lite is now available for download here (1.7 MB). GTK+ 2 is required to run the program and will work with any Linux distro. To run it, unzip and double click on “MALLite”

Download MAL Client OS X 0.3.4 with MAL Updater OS X GUI (9 MB, Universal Binary)

Read moreMAL Client OS X 0.3.4 and MAL Updater OS X 1.2b GUI Released
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MAL Client OS X 0.3 Goes Beta

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mybottle
It have been nearly 2 weeks since I started this project and made alot of progress. Now after I cleaned up the source code after adding some new features, I felt that now MAL Client OS X is ready for Beta since I haven’t experienced any severe bugs with it.

MAL Client OS X now contains a killer feature, Melative updating. If you don’t know what is Melative, it’s Entertainment combined with Twitter, allowing you to microblog your thoughts while you are watching something.

MAL Client OS X have basic Melative updating support, which will automatically post your status on the stream and library on that particular series. There are some titles that are on MAL and not on Melative, but they are pretty quick in adding new information on that title.

After updating, you will see this on your stream, for example:

SafariThe update will be from MAL Client OS X, indicating that the program made that update automatically. To enable this feature, type your Melative Username and Password under Preferences > Misc and it will create a token (Melative Usernames and Passwords are not saved, but stored in the token which is encrypted). Check Enable Melative Updates and the program will post the updates when you update MyAnimeList status. Note that this feature isn’t perfected yet since the Melative API documentation is incomplete at the moment, but I hope that I will make it so that comments can also be posted with the status update on Melative pretty soon.

Now MAL Client OS X truly pwns iMAL and MALUpdater now!

Other fixes includes:
– Login now uses HTTP code (200 will be success) instead of a total hackjob I did. Now it should spit out the error message if somethings wrong with the connection.
– Fixed the Remove Series Button on the Anime Lookup window. It should only show up when the series is on your list
– List is now sorted depending on your status on your Anime Series
– Source Code cleanup

Now this being at Beta stage, I highly suggest that you give your feedback so I can improve the program and also report bugs you may see in the program along with your configuration at the MAL Client OS X Club. Now with MAL Client OS X, you can take control of your MAL List and not let it take control of you!

Download MAL Client OS X 0.3 (6.3 MB, DMG)
If you have it installed, use the “Check for Updates” on the MAL Client OSX Menu to install the new update automatically.

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MAL Client OS X – 0.2 Released

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I have been working on this MAL client for Mac OS X with my free time after college and I was able to add basic update features and also along with it, the ability to add and delete titles from your list. Note that the buttons for some reason disable itself after adding/deleting series… I’m currently looking into that and there will be a fix in a bugfix release.

How does this work?

At this very moment, you need to double click on a title on your list to access the add/delete/update functions. I’m planning to add a feature that you don’t have to load the information without having to do this in 0.3 of MAL Client
Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu - Anime Information
This is what it will look like if the title is on your list.

You will see three new options, Add, Update and Delete. Add function is only available when a title is not on your list. Update and delete features are available when the title is on your list. In addition to that, your status will appear under the Anime information.

If you decide you want to update your status, you can press the Update Information on the toolbar. This will popup
0.2-updatestatus

From there, you can update your status, watched episodes and rating of the title. Press Update and the information will be updated.

If you decide you don’t want a title on your list, you can remove it. Just press the “Remove Series” button and you will see this prompt.
delete
After confirming, it will notify you that the series you decide to remove is removed from your list.

I released this build so people can test and give their feedback on the new features. I know it’s buggy, but I will be ironing out the bugs soon and a bugfix release build will be released hopefully this weekend.

Anyways, Here is the release notes on MAL Client OS X 0.2

Version 0.2

– Added Add/Update/Delete Series function. Now you can update your status using this program
– Login screen dialog now changed to modal, Progress shown while trying to log in
– Search now shows the correct search count
– Rearranged to Anime Information Window

Known Issues

– “Your List” may not refresh with the updated information after adding/updating/removing a series. This is fixed already in the last minute bugfix build. Redownload to get fix.
– Pictures in Anime Information may not load properly
– Performing a Sparkle update under Snow Leopard causes the program to crash (remember not to enable automatic updates and perform them manually.)
– Buttons do not enable after a Add or Remove function have been done. – Fixed in a last-minute bugfix… Redownload to get fix

If you have already download 0.2, please redownload it so you will be able to use Sparkle Updates. Forgot to add the DSA Signature required for Sparkle to update.
Download MAL Client OS X 0.2 (6.17 MB, Universal Binary)

Update: MAL Client OS X is now on Google Code

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MAL Client OS X – First Native Client for MyAnimeList on Mac OS X Released

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Success tastes sweet!
Success tastes sweet!

After I complained about not being a graphical client for MyAnimeList on Mac OS X, I took the time to get my hands dirty and make one myself… Of course my Visual Basic programing skills are a bit rusty for not programing for 3-4 years since I switched to a Mac, but I sorta got the grasp of it.

MAL Client OS X at this state can only load your Anime List, search titles (Anime only since the API does not work with Manga yet.) and lookup information from your list and search results. Having these basic features took nearly 3 days to complete since I need to code the login procedure with the API, obtaining the data from the API and popularize the listboxes for Search and Your List and get the program to read the Anime Information from the XML and obtain the title picture. Since most of the basic features are put in place already, it won’t take me as long to add the updating features (meaning edit a series status or add a new series) and separate “your list” to watching, completed, on hold, dropped, and plan sections instead of having it in one list box.

Remember, MAL Client OS X is open source and licensed under the GNU Public License v3… all you need is the RealBasic IDE, which costs money ($69 Academic Personal Version is the bare minimum to open the project) … but if you have it already, feel free to make improvements. The only problem that there is no SVN at the moment, but that will change later.

If you want to test the first version out, download a copy (Size: 5.9 MB). This will work on Mac OS X 10.3 or higher (I haven’t tested 10.3, but 10.4 or higher to be safe.).

Update: I fixed the search problem when the results don’t clear out after a new search is done. Also, this fix also adds the ability to refresh your list from the menu and the shortcut key, cmd+R.

Read moreMAL Client OS X – First Native Client for MyAnimeList on Mac OS X Released
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MyAnimeList Updater… Why no Mac OS X Client? and the Alternative.

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I watch Anime that I forget to update MAL... Why? There is no MAL Updater for Mac OS X.
I watch Anime that I forget to update MAL... Why? There is no MAL Updater for Mac OS X.

I watch anime on my free time and I am often too lazy to log in to MyAnimeList and go through the hoops just to update what episode I’m watching. Like with Twitter, I want to instantly update my stuff through a client without needing to open up the web browser and log into MAL just to do that. There is actually a program like this called “MAL Updater”, but only for Windows…. That means that users that uses Mac OS X or Linux are SOL, unless you run it in Virtual Machine, but why would you want to do that since it takes resources just to run Windows….

Sure there are command line clients for Mac OS X and Linux, but they are no means user friendly for inexperienced users nor they are easy to use or feature rich as the Windows version. I’m complaining because why should users be shut into a Microsoft monopoly when the purpose of using Mac OS X and Linux is to get away from the Microsoft monopoly… but there is a alternative to all this MAL Updater madness… Melative (a combination of media and Twitter)… I have been using it for a few months now thanks to one blogger that does the same purpose and I have been helping with the development of melativemicro, a client that works on Macs, Windows and Linux. Besides, I don’t even use the social aspect of MAL anyways…

If Melative can have a cross platform client, how come MAL Updater can’t have a crossplatform client that have the same features to work on Macs and Linux instead of being stuck with command line crap that is hard to use and control and the Windows version only be locked into Microsoft? There are cross platform tools like Qt4, Mono, Realbasic, etc out there, so there is absolutely no excuse to make a client with the same feature set for all the OS. Until they make a full featured MAL Updater for Mac, I’m sticking mostly to Melative until that happens.

Update: In response to no MAL Updater on Mac, I decided to take the blue pill and build my own MAL Client for Mac OS X. If you want to track my progress or help out, join the club.

Read moreMyAnimeList Updater… Why no Mac OS X Client? and the Alternative.
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