Peter, I've been waiting and nagging about this for months as well, but a previous post pointed me in the direction of Proxima's FontExpert2006, which was just released a few days ago, and while I've only just downloaded the trial a few minutes ago, I like the interface a lot: full character set preview, easy creation of font sets, temporary activation (something Extensis Suitcase removed in their last version), etc. I'm just about to give their auto-activation for InDesign plug-in a test run and will report back here on the result, but even if the plug-in is buggy I have a feeling I'll be migrating to FontExpert (after 4 years running Suitcase).

As for Linotype, well, I'm sure they're busy with mergers and whatnot, but I'm tired of waiting. I don't mean to look a gift horse in the mouth (Linotype's FX being free and all), but, seriously, why not just throw a note on the website saying "Don't hold your breath."

For a few details on what I've found in testing out FontExpert 8.0, see this thread.

The public beta version of FontExplorer X for PC will be released this fall as we have announced in TypeCon last week. Development is still in progress and the first release will be comparable to the 1.0 version of the Mac one. The reason for the delay is as any programmer, or type designer for that matter, will tell you: things just take soooo much time...

I hope this helps :)

Well, it will be a "beta" but if the Mac beta was any indication, there should no problems with functionality. In any case, the updates will make sure that you stay on top of bug fixes.

We don't usually give information about features before the actual release, sorry!! Once it is out, then we can talk more openly. We look closely at the feedback so please send us your wishlist and comments :)

Getting close to Winter 2006 ;) Any word about the PC version yet? Been using the Mac version since the early beta's on my powerbook and love it.

A PC beta version is now available. Yay! :D

http://www.linotype.com/3321/freedownloadpc.html

Sharon, I applaud you for even giving FX a shot; I've been so fed up with the wait on this that reading the long list of known issues with this beta was the icing on the cake. While they were probably trying to address the frustration Windows users have felt, waiting and waiting and waiting, this release just screams "we can't be bothered to make this thing actually work, so here's a bungled version for the time being."

Linotype didn't have to develop FX at all, and for their part I realize all they're getting out of it is PR and some traffic to their store, but to my mind the PR attempt has backfired in a big way. A couple of years ago I simply thought of Linotype as a big foundry where one can purchase font licenses, and now, simply because this ball has been dropped so badly, they've lost me as a possible consumer of their product.

I'm one person, of course, so who cares what I think, I'm just pissing in the wind here, but if I feel this way I have a feeling others might as well.

You are the smart ones. I had to do a system restore and I may have to reinstall another program. Pfui...

Sharon

High-Logic's MainType is really nice. I have trialled all the other Windows options and MainType is by far the best. It's fast and easy to use, but very powerful.
The main thing I like about it is that it doesn't try to 'organise' your fonts for you. If your fonts are already organised how you like, it will work with this.
You can browse your active fonts or fonts in folders elsewhere on your computer. You get to see a sample preview which you can easily type over or revert to a number of presets, plus a full character map. You also get a choice between activating and permanently installing fonts.
Hope this helps.
btw I don't work for them, just seems that people have a lot of trouble finding decent, stable font managers for Windows!