14 DAY TRIAL // Aquarius Software has updated Playwatch, an iTunes controller and information ticker that lives quietly in your menubar. The new release fixes a few bugs, but, most importantly, is available at a special price (50% off) – just $6.99. User complaints about pricing prompted the developer to take these steps, but the sale is available throughout this month only.
Using Playwatch, you always know what iTunes is currently playing, but also what title, artist and album you're listening to, without having to pull up the iTunes window. You don't even have to touch a button. You get all this information in a second, with a single peek in the menubar. Information is provided as a ticker with smooth scrolling and transition effects, while the application itself is quite unobtrusive. Playwatch also adds a few remote control buttons right from the menu bar, so you don't get lost on your Apple keyboard. Everything is controlled by mouse, whether you want to start, stop, skip, fast forward or rewind a song. Just hover with the mouse pointer over the ticker for a while, if you want to see the cover-art or lyrics of a song (provided they're available).
Playwatch 1.2 brought a lot of enhancements such as the ability to place iTunes remote control buttons directly in the menu bar next to the ticker, but also new Cover-Art and track views. Playwatch has three different views for presenting Cover-Art. The old one, a smaller view with the tracks of the album in front of the cover, and a perspective view with the tracks on the right. Updated to version 1.2.1, Playwatch fixes a number of nasty bugs, leaving all these cool features intact.
You can download Playwatch here. Playwatch will be fully functional for one whole month, so you can test it and see how it works for you. After 30 days, Playwatch ceases working. To use it again, you have to purchase a license key. Registering is just $6.99 or £3.99, but bare in mind - this is just throughout October. So, it’s wise if you make up your mind fast about it. You will receive the key-file via email. The key enables Playwatch to work without any restriction.
System requirements call for a Mac with PowerPC (G4/G5) or an Intel processor running Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) or higher (10.5.2 recommended).