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Date: 30 Aug 2006 01:46:30
From: Davoud
Subject: Mac Astro Software Update
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This information will be of interest only to Mac-based amateur
astronomers.
The list of Mac software for amateur astronomers at
<http://www.davidillig.com/astromac.shtml > has been updated. This is
not a comprehensive list; additions and corrections are welcome --
e-mail me.
When is a Mac not a Mac? When it's running Windows /natively/ , as all
new Macs can do. The big thing, for those who need it, is the ability
to run the Mac OS and Windows (and Linux, other Unix OS's, OS2, BeOS,
you-name-it) /simultaneously/ . No other hardware platform can do this,
and this capability has drawn quite a few people to the Mac -- as
reflected in recent Apple sales figures. I have nine Macs in the house
at the moment (including two heavy lifters on which I am just starting
to implement distributed processing,) so I can't upgrade them all at
once. I'm looking forward to getting a new MacBook Pro (or two) this
fall to replace two older PowerBooks /and/ a Sony Vaio laptop that has
a nice selection of Windows astronomy software.
Some Mac users wondered whether developers might be tempted to stop
writing for the Mac OS when Intel Macs began running Windows under Boot
Camp and Parallels. Just the opposite has happened -- more and more
developers, including developers of astro software, are coming to the
Mac. There are now over 750,000 registered Mac OS developers in over 50
countries, a dramatic increase over the past few years -- almost
certainly tied to Apple's switch to a Unix-based OS, and further
boosted by the shift to Intel processors.
Software Bisque continues development of the next generation of its
software for Mac OS X (UB), Windows, and (I believe) Linux.
"Nebulosity" has come to the Mac, and other software and hardware
developers have begun to discover the Mac OS. Yankee Robotics is
planning to add Mac OS and Linux support for its CCD cameras.
Fishcamp Engineering is nearing completion of its development of a
cooled CMOS autoguiding and imaging camera
<http://fishcamp.com/starfish.html >. The camera will be accompanied by
the release of StarLink control software for the Mac and a new Mac
scientific image processing application. See developer Bob Piatek's
WWDC poster talk at
<http://images.apple.com/science/poster/pdf/piatek.pdf >. Windows
support will come next, starting with CCDSoft. AstroArt support is also
planned.
iCCD (Starlight Express control) and Equinox (SBIG) are now available
as Universal Binaries. SBIG have asked Dr. Jeff Terry, author of iCCD,
to add support for SBIG cameras to the app. Jeff works alone while
teaching at three universities and doing research with the Advanced
Photon Source at the Argonne National Laboratory, so improvements come
slowly but steadily. Darryl Robertson, the Equinox developer, also runs
a one-man shop (in the wilds of Nova Scotia!), but he has done a
beautiful job with Equinox 6, the UB, just a few months after saying
that he didn't have the energy to update Equinox 5 to a Universal
Binary!
It is interesting to note that some developers have come to the Mac OS
through the back door -- more and more have switched their development
work to Macs, even as they developed software for Windows (only.) This
caused many developers to take a second look at the Mac OS and existing
Mac software, and they like what they see. Mac sales have increased and
the number of switchers has increased, and that, of course, has spurred
developers -- including the developers of astronomy software -- to look
at the Mac. PC sales in the second quarter of 2006 grew at a rate of
about 7.5%; Mac CPU sales in the same period grew at a 17% rate, making
the second quarter the most successful in Apple's history. Apple's
retail stores have been phenomenally successful, with fully half of all
buyers being people who have never owned a Mac before -- switchers.
Laptops, of course, are of particular interest to amateur astronomers,
and Apple's share of the laptop market went from 6% in January of 2006
to 12% in June of this year.
Bottom line: Apple will remain a small player (we hope!) outside a
certain few industries, but increased sales in general and increasing
number of switchers are stretching Apple's niche a bit, and that bodes
well for Mac astronomers.
Davoud
--
usenet *at* davidillig dawt com
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Date: 31 Aug 2006 02:33:16
From: Phil Wheeler
Subject: Re: Mac Astro Software Update
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Davoud wrote:
> This information will be of interest only to Mac-based amateur
> astronomers.
>
Thanks, Davoud. With an iBook G4 and full-up
MacBook (OS X and WinXP), very much of interest.
Message is archived :)
Phil
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Date: 31 Aug 2006 01:27:18
From: Johnny Borborigmi
Subject: Re: Mac Astro Software Update
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On 2006-08-30 01:46:30 -0400, Davoud <star@sky.net > said:
> This information will be of interest only to Mac-based amateur
> astronomers.
>
> The list of Mac software for amateur astronomers at
> <http://www.davidillig.com/astromac.shtml> has been updated. This is
> not a comprehensive list; additions and corrections are welcome --
> e-mail me.
>
> When is a Mac not a Mac? When it's running Windows /natively/ , as all
> new Macs can do. The big thing, for those who need it, is the ability
> to run the Mac OS and Windows (and Linux, other Unix OS's, OS2, BeOS,
> you-name-it) /simultaneously/ . No other hardware platform can do this,
> and this capability has drawn quite a few people to the Mac -- as
> reflected in recent Apple sales figures. I have nine Macs in the house
> at the moment (including two heavy lifters on which I am just starting
> to implement distributed processing,) so I can't upgrade them all at
> once. I'm looking forward to getting a new MacBook Pro (or two) this
> fall to replace two older PowerBooks /and/ a Sony Vaio laptop that has
> a nice selection of Windows astronomy software.
>
> Some Mac users wondered whether developers might be tempted to stop
> writing for the Mac OS when Intel Macs began running Windows under Boot
> Camp and Parallels. Just the opposite has happened -- more and more
> developers, including developers of astro software, are coming to the
> Mac. There are now over 750,000 registered Mac OS developers in over 50
> countries, a dramatic increase over the past few years -- almost
> certainly tied to Apple's switch to a Unix-based OS, and further
> boosted by the shift to Intel processors.
>
> Software Bisque continues development of the next generation of its
> software for Mac OS X (UB), Windows, and (I believe) Linux.
> "Nebulosity" has come to the Mac, and other software and hardware
> developers have begun to discover the Mac OS. Yankee Robotics is
> planning to add Mac OS and Linux support for its CCD cameras.
> Fishcamp Engineering is nearing completion of its development of a
> cooled CMOS autoguiding and imaging camera
> <http://fishcamp.com/starfish.html>. The camera will be accompanied by
> the release of StarLink control software for the Mac and a new Mac
> scientific image processing application. See developer Bob Piatek's
> WWDC poster talk at
> <http://images.apple.com/science/poster/pdf/piatek.pdf>. Windows
> support will come next, starting with CCDSoft. AstroArt support is also
> planned.
>
> iCCD (Starlight Express control) and Equinox (SBIG) are now available
> as Universal Binaries. SBIG have asked Dr. Jeff Terry, author of iCCD,
> to add support for SBIG cameras to the app. Jeff works alone while
> teaching at three universities and doing research with the Advanced
> Photon Source at the Argonne National Laboratory, so improvements come
> slowly but steadily. Darryl Robertson, the Equinox developer, also runs
> a one-man shop (in the wilds of Nova Scotia!), but he has done a
> beautiful job with Equinox 6, the UB, just a few months after saying
> that he didn't have the energy to update Equinox 5 to a Universal
> Binary!
>
> It is interesting to note that some developers have come to the Mac OS
> through the back door -- more and more have switched their development
> work to Macs, even as they developed software for Windows (only.) This
> caused many developers to take a second look at the Mac OS and existing
> Mac software, and they like what they see. Mac sales have increased and
> the number of switchers has increased, and that, of course, has spurred
> developers -- including the developers of astronomy software -- to look
> at the Mac. PC sales in the second quarter of 2006 grew at a rate of
> about 7.5%; Mac CPU sales in the same period grew at a 17% rate, making
> the second quarter the most successful in Apple's history. Apple's
> retail stores have been phenomenally successful, with fully half of all
> buyers being people who have never owned a Mac before -- switchers.
> Laptops, of course, are of particular interest to amateur astronomers,
> and Apple's share of the laptop market went from 6% in January of 2006
> to 12% in June of this year.
>
> Bottom line: Apple will remain a small player (we hope!) outside a
> certain few industries, but increased sales in general and increasing
> number of switchers are stretching Apple's niche a bit, and that bodes
> well for Mac astronomers.
>
> Davoud
>
Thanks for the info! Mac user here!
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Date: 09 Sep 2006 17:17:01
From: Larry Stedman
Subject: Re: Mac Astro Software Update
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Davoud, nice summary! Appreciate your taking the time to review what's
happening for us. It's good to hear that the move to Intel Macs hasn't
hampered OS X development.
Larry Stedman
Suburban Milky Way
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Date: 09 Sep 2006 21:16:11
From: Davoud
Subject: Re: Mac Astro Software Update
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Larry Stedman wrote:
> Davoud, nice summary! Appreciate your taking the time to review what's
> happening for us. It's good to hear that the move to Intel Macs hasn't
> hampered OS X development.
>
> Larry Stedman
> Suburban Milky Way
Thanks for your kind remarks. I'm always in the market for news of new
Mac astro apps (or old ones that I haven't heard of) and usage reports.
Davoud
--
usenet *at* davidillig *dawt* com
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