Mac Apps thread

[Butterfly]

Damn, I was going to wait for Christmas to open my new toy, but this is hard to resist !!!

[melvbot]

I dont know if anyone know of this site

MacHeist » Welcome

But it sometimes serves up bundles of software at ridiculously low prices. Theyre currently doing a thing called The Giving Tree where you invite people and get 2 free apps on sign up, one is a game and one is an iTunes controller. If you get people to sign up you get a further 2 mystery apps on Christmas day. If anyone wants me to invite them PM me an email addy.

[melvbot]

Ive been pretty bored the last few days so I decided to do a few videos on the basics of Quicksilver

Blacktree

A very useful app that you'll either love or hate. They are all QuickTime movies because Im getting tired of the crappy quality I get through YouTube and you can watch them as and when you wish.

So, if you want to know the basics of this app presented by a man with a strange accent in varying drunken states head over to

MEGAUPLOAD - The leading online storage and file delivery service

[Butterfly]

ok, finally got the Mac mini to run

Installed Perian, but stupid QuickTime couldn't open a number of AVI files in HD or even SD

However, that superb Plex thing opened them all, well almost

Front Row is a big disappointment, dysfunctional in typical Apple way, almost as bad as iTunes, remote control doesn't always work with Front Row, while there is no problem with PLEX, an open source third party. Jesus !!! Apple should really quit the software business altogether, their user interface in MacOSX is still as dreadful as before, it feels like the 80s again, like navigating the Russian saliout system in Space

A lot of pretty icons though, and some nice special effects, can't do anything useful with the whole thing but everything looks super cool !!!

Time to switch the whole thing to Plex and never return to MacOS again

[DaffyDuck]

Installed Perian, but stupid QuickTime couldn't open a number of AVI files in HD or even SD

(*sigh*)
Flip 4 Mac - WMV Components for QuickTime (free Download)
(*sigh*)

Don't blame the OS for your lack of reading instructions.

Yes, Plex rocks, though, all things considered.

[melvbot]

Or just use VLC

VLC media player - Overview

[Butterfly]

yeah, got VLC already and will try the other WMV codecs

Question: if I have a few old apps in OS8 compiled for PPC, will they run under the new MacOSX Intel architecture ? I am tempted to say no, but I am sure there some are hack to make them run

I have Office X for PPC, but I wonder if it will run efficiently on the Intel architecture

[melvbot]

No idea if it'll run OS8 on Leopard but you can start here

Run MacOS 9 on an Intel Mac

Emulators Online - Apple Macintosh Emulation

[DaffyDuck]

Question: if I have a few old apps in OS8 compiled for PPC, will they run under the new MacOSX Intel architecture ? I am tempted to say no, but I am sure there some are hack to make them run

No - running old pre-OS X apps depended on Classic, an emulator able to run pre-OS X within a window.

There are hacks (Google SheepShaver), but what's the point - a lot of OS 8/9 apps have been ported to OS X.

I have Office X for PPC, but I wonder if it will run efficiently on the Intel architecture

Clearly, it's obvious, that now you are just trolling.

WTF would you want to run Office X, when you could install Office 2004 (or, if you want disappointment, run Office 2008)???

[melvbot]

Hmm, just tried downloading the file of Quicksilver movies and I couldnt get them. Just in case anyone wanted to see them and couldnt download them heres the links. Best viewed in fullscreen

Viddler.com - Quicksilver launching applications - Uploaded by melvbot

Viddler.com - finding folders with Quicksilver - Uploaded by melvbot

Viddler.com - Quicksilver and iTunes - Uploaded by melvbot

Viddler.com - Quicksilver clipboard - Uploaded by melvbot

[melvbot]

I upgraded to Leopard a few weeks back, I was running it when it first came out but after I sold my original disk and had a balls up I went back to Tiger.

Anyway, I have a pet peeve with Macs, namely the Finder. I waited for Leopard hoping for it to be revamped and it was, by about 1%, pathetic. So after a week or 2 of Leopard I got so annoyed with it that I tried a Finder replacement called Pathfinder. To most people replacing something like the Finder might seem daunting but its been made easier with Leopard as Apple opened up the system to be used by another file browser as a default instead of Finder.

Path Finder 5 by Cocoatech

Ive been using it for a few days and Im impressed, all the features I want in Finder are in it like Tabs, did you hear that Apple? TABS FFS ! Theres a lot of other stuff like dual pane views which you can drag and drop between, a built in text editor and modules for stuff like terminal so you dont have to open up seperate apps for quick stuff.

As with anything there are quirks and drawbacks, one being how the Trash is integrated with the Finder so unless Finder is running you cant empty the trash from the dock, no big issue as it can be done from a menu in Pathfinder so you dont need to have Finder running at all. On the whole it integrates with most things very well but Im sure some applications that have a "reveal in Finder" might have the odd issue.

Ive added a Quit item to Finders menu so I can turn it off altogether and just have Pathfinder running, if I need Finder just click on the dock icon and it starts up again.

If youre interested have a read about Pathfinder first and see if its for you, like I said its not perfect but the Ive found the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks.

[DaffyDuck]

Anyway, I have a pet peeve with Macs, namely the Finder. I waited for Leopard hoping for it to be revamped and it was, by about 1%, pathetic.

Wait for Snow Leopard.

Personally, I have no problems with the Finder. What are your specific issues with the Finder?

[melvbot]

Wait for Snow Leopard.

Personally, I have no problems with the Finder. What are your specific issues with the Finder?

Im on a PPC so Snow Leopard's a no go for me.

My current Finder issues

No tabs, its a browser for gods sake.

Window resizing, mind of its own some days.

Features, where are they?

No breadcrumb trail so its click, click and click again.

[Wallalai]

Anyway, I have a pet peeve with Macs, namely the Finder. I waited for Leopard hoping for it to be revamped and it was, by about 1%, pathetic. So after a week or 2 of Leopard I got so annoyed with it that I tried a Finder replacement called Pathfinder. To most people replacing something like the Finder might seem daunting but its been made easier with Leopard as Apple opened up the system to be used by another file browser as a default instead of Finder.

Path Finder 5 by Cocoatech

I bought the licence 2 weeks ago, great piece of software. And cheap.

[melvbot]

I think its a one man band as well, he's put the Finder to shame. Apple should speak to this bloke and get him more involved IMO, they could offer the full blown Pathfinder or just the normal one.

[Butterfly]

That Finder under OSX has been a disaster, very hard to use, make the whole OS X experience painful. Liked the MacOS9 better, and already it was lagging in terms of usability compared to Windows 2000.

It's the old stupid NEXT interface when they bought that worthless company,

Everytime I need to do something useful, I switch to the Console mode, at least it gets things done quickly.

[melvbot]

Pathfinder has a built in Terminal module, worth a look if you arent happy with Finder.

[Butterfly]

^ might give it a try, but it does look very similar to the Finder,

[Wallalai]

[melvbot]

Maybe a bit

[DaffyDuck]

Everytime I need to do something useful, I switch to the Console mode, at least it gets things done quickly.

Wow. Just, Wow!

As if he couldn't make himself sink any lower -- never fails to entertain.

[DaffyDuck]

Im on a PPC so Snow Leopard's a no go for me.

Works fine on my G5 - so unless you are on a G4, or (gasp) G3, you should be doing fine.

No tabs, its a browser for gods sake.

Huh?

Window resizing, mind of its own some days.

Huh? Never had a problem with that.

Features, where are they?

Looked at this:

Apple - Mac OS X Leopard - Features

or this:

Apple - Mac OS X Leopard - Features - 300+ New Features

No breadcrumb trail so its click, click and click again.

Leopard Breadcrumb Navigation: Show Path in Finder | Mac OS X Leopard | Tech-Recipes

Please, do not blame the Finder, or Apple, if you are just not willing to actually inquire and learn where specific features are. In the case of the breadcrumbs feature you decry as not existing, it's only 'hidden' under the view menu, clearly labeled as 'Show Path Bar'.

You could also just CMD-CLICK on the window's title for a back-up navigation, up your hierarchy.

I mean, seriously, come on!

There are some gripes I have with the Finder, notably that it's not fully multi-threaded for example, but most earlier questions I had about it can usually be resolved in less than 5 minutes with Google.

What other issues plague you?

[melvbot]

Works fine on my G5 - so unless you are on a G4, or (gasp) G3, you should be doing fine.

PPC G4

No tabs, its a browser for gods sake.

Huh?

Dont you know what tabs are and how useful they can be?

Window resizing, mind of its own some days.

Huh? Never had a problem with that.

Good for you, I have.

Features, where are they?

Looked at this:

Apple - Mac OS X Leopard - Features

or this:

Apple - Mac OS X Leopard - Features - 300+ New Features

Talkin about the Finder, not the system

No breadcrumb trail so its click, click and click again.

Leopard Breadcrumb Navigation: Show Path in Finder | Mac OS X Leopard | Tech-Recipes

Didnt know that, now I do.

I remember this now from when I installed Leopard when it was released, my memory must ne going. Still doesnt make me want to swap back from Patfinder.

[Butterfly]

As if he couldn't make himself sink any lower -- never fails to entertain.

Wow. Just, Wow!

I have a new stalker,

[DaffyDuck]

[QUOTE=melvbot;920064]

Works fine on my G5 - so unless you are on a G4, or (gasp) G3, you should be doing fine.

PPC G4[quote]

Some of your problems are caused by running this on a G4 - while technically the G4 is capable of running Snow leopard (and even just Leopard), the G4 lacks components, and particularly the ability to address larger chunks of memory - lastly, the G4 architecture was hampered by very slow (comparatively speaking) memory access, limited by the memory architecture.

Considering how cheap intel Macs have become, you may want to consider upgrading your nearly 8 year old Mac to something more suited to a modern operating system. This isn't a dig, it's merely reality.

No tabs, its a browser for gods sake.

Huh?

Dont you know what tabs are and how useful they can be?
Yeah, sure do -- The finder has them on the left hand sidebar.