Pandora

The image collector's web spider and search agent for Mac OS X.

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You've got questions?

Pandora is generally straight forward and easy to use, so I don't get too many questions. However, a few come up from time to time... here's my attempt to answer fans and critics alike.

Questions

Answers

Why did you change the name? I was approached in 2005 (in a very nice way) by the legal representation of a large corporation. This corporation had a web-related brand name that sounds very similar to the word "NetScrape," the previous name of this software. After a brief discussion, I was only too happy to relinquish the name for something a little less... well... infringing. Thus, Pandora, which I'm sure one of the 148 trademark holders of "Pandora" will find offensive :-) This Pandora, however, is the only web spider and search agent for Mac OS X!


Thank you, Meg.

How did you come up with Pandora? My wife is interested in hair - specifically, her hair. One day she was on a short hair kick, and asked me about ways to get all possible pictures of Meg Ryan's haircuts. I turned her on to Google Image Search, but she quickly tired of all of the clicking back and forth between images. I then wondered if there was a way that I, a humble Mac programmer, could write an application to achieve the same result without all the clicking of links and whatnot. That's when it hit me...

How many files can Pandora collect? Think infinite – the only restrictions are how long you can wait, and how much disk space you have. Other than that, Pandora will keep going until you tell it to stop.

Are there any sites Pandora cannot read? As it turns out, there are webmasters who don't necessarily want people to be running willy-nilly over their site collecting files, while avoiding their banner adds and clever copy. Some of these sites have taken steps to avoid the kind of robotic nonsense that makes Pandora so great. As a result, Pandora occasionally encounters a site that it can't scrape. If this happens, please make a note of the URL and e-mail it to me... I've made many improvements based on feedback I've received.


Dr. Pannell and I have the same last name. Who knew? Pandora did.

Who uses Pandora? Many people have found Pandora useful for more than just looking for haircuts... graphic designers and artists in particular have utilized Pandora as an automated inspiration solution. Give it a few keywords, let it run over the lunch hour and come back to thousands of images on a given topic. I also get fan mail from genealogy, art and graphics researchers. What can *you* use it for?

What is Pandora generally used for? People report on using Pandora for a variety of purposes, but the common thread is that these people are looking for files. Whether it's Baywatch babes, MTV video, or Grampa Ted, Pandora can quickly track it down.

Why is the unregistered demo limited to 50 image viewings? Pandora turns finding files on the web from a tedious to a luxurious process. As such, it seems only fair that users should have to buy a copy of the software to take advantage of its full capabilities. The unregistered demo is to guarantee that those who purchase the software have already tested it out and determined it meets their needs.

Do I have to save files one at a time? No, you do not. While the "Save..." option in the File menu will only save one file at a time, you can simply drag thumbnails from the preview pane to any folder you like in the Finder. You can also set your storage preferences to place incoming files right where you want them.

How do I get Pandora working on more than one session at a time? After beginning your first search, simply choose "New Tab" from the "File" menu. You can now select your desired plugin, type your URL or keywords, and hit "Start" (or the return key). You then use the tabs to navigate between the sessions.

Why can't Pandora gather files from website X? In the past three years, I have discovered over a dozen ways that Pandora fails to interpret websites. Some of these were bugs in the program, but a majority were steps the webmaster has taken to avoid robots harvesting the contents of the site. If you encounter a site that confuses Pandora, please note the URL and email me... I've made many improvements based on feedback I've received.

Can I use Pandora on a password protected site? Yes!... in a fashion. Since different websites have different ways of authenticating users, Pandora cannot offer a "one-size-fits-all" website login. Pandora can, however, be used with a plugin designed to log into a specific website; the Flickr Search plugin is an example. Plugins are relatively easy to make - you can request one by choosing "Request a Plugin..." from the "Pandora" menu.

Can I search with any other engines, aside from Google? Yes! Pandora 2 now supports a plugin architecture, and plugins can be made for any number of sites. Pandora now ships with support for Google, Yahoo/AltaVista, and Flickr search built in. Please let me know what other sites you are interested in - you can request additional plugins by choosing "Request a Plugin..." from the "Pandora" menu.

How do I find images on my hard drive after I've quit Pandora? Pandora features Spotlight integration, so finding images days, weeks, or months after Pandora tracked them down is no problem. If you used Pandora to search for "howler monkey", use the same keywords in Spotlight to find your images anytime. Note: You must set your storage location (in Preferences > Storage) to a location that Spotlight indexes.