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When will a Mac version of Photosynth be available?
I know that it is always hard to estimate things like this, but I am curious if it would be possible to get an estimated time of arrival for a Mac version of Photosynth. I am a die-hard Mac user, and this app looks amazing.
I’m always curious
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Shinzann, I won't rule it out, but to be brutally frank, I think the chances aren't good. This has nothing to do with operating system partisanship-- we're very keen to do the Mac version simply because lots of people with Macs are passionate photographers and early adopters of visual technology. We know that it hurts the community as a whole for there not to be a Mac implementation. But the cost to us of supporting additional platforms in binary code is substantial-- we have a small team, and such support must be balanced against lots of great features (for the rest of us) we could build with comparable resources. In other words, it's all about a kind of integrated value over the community. It's a tradeoff-- wider, or deeper? We don't imagine that a huge segment of our potential community works exclusively on Linux boxes. But if you have data that might cast doubt on this intuition, do please share.
I'm more optimistic about PowerPC, because as far as I understand the APIs and compilation tools are identical to the new Mac, so the cost may not be very high. But I'm not sure.
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Eric - I'll give you what is I'm sure an unsatisfying answer.
We don't have a publishable timeline for a mac version. We are working on it, thoug, because we really do want everyone to be able to view and synth.
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Inappropriate?Try Vmware fusion 2 beta, and then use unity, and just run the couple windows/microsoft apps that you might want with unity (seamless desktop/application software).
(I'm in OS X 10.5.4 right now)
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Very useful to know. Thank you! -
Inappropriate?And when can I get Mac applications to run on Windows. The price we pay for picking the platform we choose. Is it MS responsibility and/or Apples to make thier software work on all OSs, or is it the user who made the choice.
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Valid point if you were not talking about a monopoly.
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Inappropriate?Eric - I'll give you what is I'm sure an unsatisfying answer.
We don't have a publishable timeline for a mac version. We are working on it, thoug, because we really do want everyone to be able to view and synth.
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Inappropriate?As Julian points out, works on VMware Fusion 2 Beta 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz2ZS8...
I’m happy
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Inappropriate?Thanks, Jonathan. Again, I know from experience that it is hard to get to these goals, especially when it involves multiple platforms. I appreciate the candor! I'll be watching for it. Can't wait to try it out -- maybe from a PC friend's machine.
I’m thankful
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Inappropriate?I received the same error message, but i am running vista enterprise with IE7 (v. 7.0.6001.18000) -
Inappropriate?I am currently running PhotoSynth on a MacPro 2.8 GHz, Dual Quad core using Boot Camp. It is absolutely amazing.
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Inappropriate?I would also suggest the possibility to support PowerPC Mac users... at least until Apple stops supporting us...
I’m unsure
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Inappropriate?Since we're asking for Cross-platform support, is there a linux version coming out as well?
I’m hopeful that the answer is sooner rather than later.
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Inappropriate?Shinzann, I won't rule it out, but to be brutally frank, I think the chances aren't good. This has nothing to do with operating system partisanship-- we're very keen to do the Mac version simply because lots of people with Macs are passionate photographers and early adopters of visual technology. We know that it hurts the community as a whole for there not to be a Mac implementation. But the cost to us of supporting additional platforms in binary code is substantial-- we have a small team, and such support must be balanced against lots of great features (for the rest of us) we could build with comparable resources. In other words, it's all about a kind of integrated value over the community. It's a tradeoff-- wider, or deeper? We don't imagine that a huge segment of our potential community works exclusively on Linux boxes. But if you have data that might cast doubt on this intuition, do please share.
I'm more optimistic about PowerPC, because as far as I understand the APIs and compilation tools are identical to the new Mac, so the cost may not be very high. But I'm not sure.
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Now I can look in the future a bit, and I see that two things can happen. Microsoft thinks smart, thinks .NET and makes the binaries work in .NET and .mono. Or some smart lads from Germany already show what is possible on this point: http://user.cs.tu-berlin.de/~nowozin/...
Or the Linux community feels ignored, goes developing their own nifty sift based patent encumbered european based Photosynth-free-clone. People will use the free clone because more people can develop on it and in the end removes the momentum from Photosynth because there is a better toy in town. I see by not going cross platform or not making the tool 'Wine' compatible only problems. Think of the result if the tool does run under Wine, you can serve mac and linux people. -
Inappropriate?Skinkie, how about option C-- what if we were to make a simple reference implementation of the viewer available to the community, so that Linux fans can go and do what they do best, to everyone's benefit? ;)
I imagine the synther is already Wine compatible, btw, but would appreciate if you could verify!
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Inappropriate?A reference implementation in C# would be a huge step for cross-platform dissemination, given Microsoft's support for Silverlight in the Macs, and Novell's Moonlight. In fact, I am surprised that Photsynth was not released as a Silverlight app, as it seem to be marketed as an internet app, and that is what Silverlight was designed for. It would finally give a lot of people a very good reason to install Silverlight.
I’m hopeful.
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Inappropriate?It does not seem to me to be so terrible if you guys can't give assurances that a photosynth will be something that can be created using a Mac BUT that is quite a different matter to not being able to give really solid assurances that photosynths will be VIEWABLE using a Mac. I certainly am not trying to be rude or sound 'clever' (in a negative sense) but if there is a risk that Photosynths will not be viewable by audiences who use a Mac then Photosynth is simply not a serious or seriously intended technology. I for one need to invest time in planning and building how I show my work and I need to to have some assurance that technologies in which I am interested will not fail to become fully available as a marketing vehicle or even that the technology won't simply be pulled from under my feet and it has to be said that mIcrosoft doesn't have a great reputation for sticking with technologies and keeping them as widely usable as sometimes first the public has been given reason to believe. Taking professional photographs can be a major time investment and editing the images can take even longer - one needs to know in advance how the will be displayed! Do I invest my time (time isn't money: time is MUCH more than money) in Photosynth from this time on or in some other strategy for making imagery explorable by a sensibly broad public online? What ever I do I must know that eventually I can develop it into something that is being done very well, and will be broadly enough available not to be wantonly exclsuive or in reality for little more serious purpose than niche entertainment. Does this encourage you to give much more solid assurances and concrete date than hitherto on what you guys may be doing to see that Photosynths will at least be fully viewable by Mac users and, if not how soon then at least how far off as worst case scenario in the future this could be? And indeed may encourage you finally to be really unambigious as to whether you guys have truly commited or not to making photosynths at least fully viewable on Mac users? We have all read obviously sincere statemnents of principle like ' we WANT everyone to be able to view and synth' but such indications of asperation are of course not enough as a basis for investingin future marketing strategy: even if we are only taking about a one-man-band (artist) like myself. Eric Suesz's question is not just interesting: it is important.
I’m anxious
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Inappropriate?Yours Sincerely, your wish will be granted very soon. I'm sorry not to be able to give you a date-- we don't announce dates, for a variety of good reasons-- but very, very soon.
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Inappropriate?Hello Blaise,
I hope the "very, very soon" plug-in will be in Santa's bag with presents ;-)
Wim
I’m happy
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Inappropriate?Eric (and everyone else) should be pleased to learn that the Obama inauguration Photosynth was viewable in Silverlight on Windows, Mac _and_ Linux (Moonlight).
The Photosynth.net site itself now detects if you're on a Mac and lets you use the 'beta' Silverlight viewer.
I've just posted more details:
http://conceptdev.blogspot.com/2009/0...
p.s. Moonlight is awesome - I've seen my Silverlight sites running on Linux too - v. cool
I’m impressed
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