Mac Front Ends=Dead

westcoastrocks · 07-24-2007, 01:05 AM

So I really wish I could add to any mac front end. But I have no talents in that field whatsoever. I feel that the mac front ends are dead. That leaves me with a semi-functional Carputer. As far as Amp has come along it would not seem like a crazy idea that a few things could be improved on without a crazy amount of effort. I know that I would be really happy if some programmers did that. Hell I would even contribute $ for it if it worked.

So what do ya say guys? PC Front ends are kicking are butts! I really don't want to (and can't) Spend 115$ for windows vista and another 80$ for parallels just to get a functioning Front end.

Any ideas?

pepsibobby · 07-24-2007, 07:42 PM

its because we are a smaller croud

westcoastrocks · 07-25-2007, 01:06 AM

Yeah I know that we are. But we are more powerful muhahahaha. Has anyone had any lcuk with a mac front end? All links to mac front ends on this site end up dead it seems.

2k1Toaster · 07-25-2007, 01:13 AM

Not to start a mac vs. pc thing here (or even mac vs. pc vs. linux god forbid) but when you use a frontend, the underlying OS is completely irrelevant. I see XP for like a second before RR loads up and my music is there. If you want to be uber cool change the boot screen to OSX boot screen and change the windows chime to OSX chime. It really doesnt matter. A frontend is designed to cover up the OS, so why not choose the best front end regardless of OS. And I hate to break it to you, but since the mac went intel, they arent so special anymore...

If there was a really cool linux frontend, then I would switch to linux. why? because it doesnt matter what is underneath! And dont say security flaws and not-reliable. I have had a BSOD once maybe twice in a year and I am a delivery driver (6 hours a day in my car). And both times were when I was running on flaky cheapo memory to begin with. Put in better RAM, and stable as a rock.

I dont want to sound mean, or anything, but really my question is what difference does the OS make if the entire purpose of a frontend is to cover it up anyways!

Of course if you have a pre-intel mac, then I guess you are screwed...

pepsibobby · 07-25-2007, 04:37 PM

guess i am screwed...

2k1Toaster · 07-25-2007, 04:57 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by pepsibobby

guess i am screwed...

PPC macs are awesome for certain tasks. You just have to use what has already been developed since even mac will be (or have they already?) abandon the PPC processor. So if you arent happy with the selection of frontends, then you are on your own. That is what I meant in my own little way.

GoHybrid · 07-25-2007, 05:10 PM

if you program something in your favorite visual studio language, what is involved in porting it to OSX? Maybe i'm dating myself here but as i understood it, a compiler just takes your high level language and turns it into the appropriate machine code. Especially now that Macs use Intel CPUs, isn't there a compiler that will compile your code for use with OSX?

maybe i shouldn't talk about what i don't know, but i'd like to understand.

2k1Toaster · 07-25-2007, 05:34 PM

.NET is based on a CLI so it can be ported to pretty much any OS that supports one. OSX has one.

Here is a "how-to" to port Visual Studio to OSX: http://mac.sillydog.org/dev/visual_studio.php

GoHybrid · 07-26-2007, 02:59 AM

that's pretty slick. looks like i need to get back into programming....

AnandP83 · 07-26-2007, 02:46 PM

From my experiences with the mono project, its good for basic non-gui ports. and well, a car front end is the polar opposite of that. It's getting better though, but if you have a mac, download XCode, and start tooling around with it.. Cocoa and Carbon are easily learned with some time. If that not your cup of tea, stick to windows.

2k1Toaster · 07-26-2007, 02:50 PM

I figured there was a catch, but the portability shouldnt be too hard to just copy and paste into a different editor and keep trying to run until the syntax errors are gone. From what I have been told it isnt too hard to do. I have no desire to try so I havent.

Bugbyte · 07-26-2007, 03:01 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by westcoastrocks

So what do ya say guys? PC Front ends are kicking are butts! I really don't want to (and can't) Spend 115$ for windows vista and another 80$ for parallels just to get a functioning Front end.

Any ideas?

I'm screwed because I have the PPC Mac Mini, but I got one just for the challenge. However, it appears that you have an Intel Mini, so here's my thinking on that:

First, you are out the $115 for Windows whether you own a Mac or a PC, unless your PC comes with Windows installed already. Which, for the build it yourself community, they usually don't. Of course many people can 'get' copies of Windows illegally to avoid paying for it, but we're on the straight and level here.

Install Bootcamp (free) and load Windows. Install PC front ends. Enjoy. Easy and won't cost you any more than if you'd gone the PC route.

2K1 is right about the frontend issue. Once you run the FE, you are isolated from the operating system unless you are in troubleshooting and diagnostic mode. It would be nice to have a native Mac solution, but as he points out, why reinvent the wheel, unless you just want to? In which case, it's okay.

That's what I did, poking around with XCode and an applescript application. One of these days I'll even get back to it, but right now I've got too much other stuff going on to do any programming.

westcoastrocks · 07-26-2007, 04:00 PM

I agree with the whole "doesn't matter what OS its running on" that is so true I just want a good Front end if its win/linux/mac. BUT i have mac OS and linux. both are free to me right now. None have the best front end. In my frist post I said that I can't come up with the money to buy another OS just for a front end my wife would kill me lol. So thats my reasoning on pushing mac developers.

Bugbyte · 07-28-2007, 12:50 PM

Well, of course you're overlooking FrontRow, which does a reasonably nice job of functioning as a front end for the Mac. It looks pretty and its easy to operate.

There's a couple of mods on this forum that allow you to use the touch screen with it.

iamgnat · 07-28-2007, 09:10 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by 2k1Toaster

A frontend is designed to cover up the OS, so why not choose the best front end regardless of OS.

I disagree with this idea. We (most of us anyway) selected a different OS/hardware because we believe it offers something that the others do not (regardless of if it is features or familiarity).

Given that, I believe it is the duty of the Front End to resemble the OS it runs on and make use of it's underlying features.

If the OS is not important to the user, then by all means they should go with the hardware/OS of the FE that meets their needs and is usable for them.

-dave