G-Force not accepted by Mac Snow Leopard

[Partyboy2001]

Okay ! Im like freaking out ! Ive been using G-force as my screensaver for 4 years. I love it !!! However since I installed Snow Leopard on my Mac, to my horror G-force is not recognized and cant be used as a screensaver !!!
Please can anyone update or let me know has this been resolved by Sound Spectrum ?

[willrob]

I have no clue as to its resolution, but I do know that Snow Leopard has a new Screen Saver format, which previous programs won't work with. Changing to the new format may not be a simple matter, but I assume the folks as SS will make a valiant attempt.

[atomicskunk]

You would think that they would have seen this coming and would have sent out some kind of notice to their registered users. I emailed support about a week ago about the issue and haven't even gotten the courtesy of a reply.

[juxtiphi]

You would think that they would have seen this coming and would have sent out some kind of notice to their registered users. I emailed support about a week ago about the issue and haven't even gotten the courtesy of a reply.

this isnt a problem with GF its the way leopard works a fix doesnt happen over night either

[atomicskunk]

You would think that they would have seen this coming and would have sent out some kind of notice to their registered users. I emailed support about a week ago about the issue and haven't even gotten the courtesy of a reply.

this isnt a problem with GF its the way leopard works a fix doesnt happen over night either

Of course it doesn't happen overnight. Still, there's no excuse to ignore your customer base.

[gstarboy]

still no support for Snow Leopard ?

I must say , that I kinda thought that soundspectrum would be on the ball with this , even if there isn't a fix yet ,, at least address the issue to your customers ...


I'm such a fan of G-force that I'm waiting to install 10.6 on my main computer until g-force is compatible ,, but its getting close to a month ...

[atomicskunk]

still no support for Snow Leopard ?

I must say , that I kinda thought that soundspectrum would be on the ball with this , even if there isn't a fix yet ,, at least address the issue to your customers ...


I'm such a fun of G-force that I'm waiting to install 10.6 on my main computer until g-force is compatible ,, but its getting close to a month ...

Exactly. They're happy to take your money, but when it ceases to work, they're nowhere to be found.

[moviewatcher]

Not excusing the lack of response, but let's keep in mind there are two parties involved here. Soundspectrum and Apple. Apple has not always been good about keeping their developers up to speed by quickly seeding with OS builds. Some developers receive builds promptly, others don't. I don't know where Soundspectrum falls along this... well, spectrum, but I'm not willing to start belittling them based on my ignorance. Can anyone here definitively state that Soundspectrum has had the knowledge of the final format change long enough to have a solution ready by now? I know for a fact that SoundCap and SoftSkies also don't work under 10.6. These folks have a lot to fix on their table.

Hey, Soundspectrum! Do yourself a favor and at least chime in here. Leaving your customers in the dark only gives opportunity for customer dissatisfaction. You can see the resulting speculation regarding your company's integrity. Rightfully or wrongfully deserved, you only have yourself to blame for it continuing. Give us some feedback and possible timeline for a fix.

Thanks for great programs. Here's hoping we get to use them again soon.

[atomicskunk]

I'm sure they we re blindsided by the release. But for example, I use a program called "1Password". When Snow Leopard was announced ahead of time and they realized they wouldn't have a compatible version ready in time, they sent out emails to all their customers and updated their website to be sure everyone knew their program would not work on Snow Leopard and that they were busy working on another version.
They soon released a public beta that ran on Snow Leopard. Soundspectrum on the other hand has ignored even their own user forum. I'm sure it will take some time to update G-Force to make it compatible with Snow Leopard, but to not keep your customers informed and to completely ignore your own user forum is (I think) inexcusable for any business.

[juxtiphi]

these type of issues have been popped up many times in the past and its always been the fault of the newer versions of itunes and operating systems having been changed.

if itunes changes the way it handles video or vis or even the way it handles how windows will open to view your files then GF may not work any more all we can do is wait it out.

[atomicskunk]

these type of issues have been popped up many times in the past and its always been the fault of the newer versions of itunes and operating systems having been changed.

if itunes changes the way it handles video or vis or even the way it handles how windows will open to view your files then GF may not work any more all we can do is wait it out.

Yes, we know the way software works. System updates are made and developers are forced to keep up. It's not the "fault" of newer versions, that's just the way development and progress is made. The fault here lies in Soundspectrum's total disregard for clients who have paid for their product.

[andy55]

Okay ! Im like freaking out ! Ive been using G-force as my screensaver for 4 years. I love it !!! However since I installed Snow Leopard on my Mac, to my horror G-force is not recognized and cant be used as a screensaver !!!
Please can anyone update or let me know has this been resolved by Sound Spectrum ?

Hi everyone, thanks for being patient on this issue. Here's the deal...

As many folks here know, 10.6 installs the 64 bit kernel if the hardware supports it (generally, any Core 2 Duo intel CPU or later). A 64 bit kernel has the consequence that all drivers, kernel extensions, and screen savers must also be 64 bit. Unlike Windows, an OS X screen saver is an OS extension, so the 64-bit System Preferences process can't load 32-bit screen savers. In other words, every single 3rd party screen saver out there is currently broken for OS 10.6 64-bit unless (a) the screen saver developer's code base is 64-bit clean (meaning it can be compiled into a 64 bit binary), (b) their screen saver doesn't use any 3rd party libraries that aren't available (or flaky/untested--many are) in 64-bit, and (c) their screen saver doesn't use QuickTime in any real capacity (QuickTime is how out codebase loads images and movies from disk). In other words, SoundSpectrum is basically just one of just about every other OS X screen saver developer that is facing this issue and catching fallout thanks to Apple no offering a workaround.

Interestingly, 95+% of developers out there never have to care about 64 bit compatibility since their software runs as its own process (this is the one thing Microsoft got right when they made screen savers a separate process rather than directly loaded by the system). This is, consequently, explains why all the other SoundSpectrum stuff (plugin, Standalone, V-Bar) is unaffected by the presence of a 64-bit kernel.

So although the SoundSpectrum codebase has been 64 bit compatible for some time now, we use some 3rd party libraries that are problematic under 64-bit and some parts of OS X aren't even available in 64 bit yet. For example, much of C QuickTime, a old and no-doubt internally crufty engine under the hood, has unsurprisingly not yet made the transition to 64 bit (in other words, not even Apple has converted all their internal core technologies to 64 bit yet). Given this obstacle (we use QuickTime on OS X to load images), we took the time to file a lengthy engineering feature request (a "radar") for Apple to support 32 bit screen savers. I do think we've made a decent case to Apple and meanwhile have little doubt they've been showered with complaints that people's old favorite screen savers no longer work, so it's a wild card that I wouldn't rule out.

So, the bottom line is that SoundSpectrum won't have 64 bit support under OS X for some time. Until there's a resolution one way or another, customers that are deeply upset please contact SoundSpectrum support and we'll see what can be done. Thanks in advance for your patience and consideration in this complex matter and realize the situation Apple has suddenly put SoundSpectrum in a situation where we have to expend real resources just to restore operability.

For those interested, I've pasted a copy of the radar that I filed with Apple below...


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29-Sep-2009 04:32 PM Andrew O'Meara:
Summary:
Request Apple offer 32-bit support for 32-bit screen savers in 64-bit 10.6

Background:
Because screen savers in OS X are loaded as modules, the 64-bit version of 10.6 cannot load *any* 3rd party screen savers not compiled for intel 64-bit. As a result, many popular screen savers that are no longer actively developed or intricate screen savers that use 3rd party libraries that do not offer 64-bit support will forever disappear for OS X.

Our company's case, our screen savers make use of 3rd party libraries and OS X core libraries that aren't even available in 64-bit mode (namely, QuickTime). The latter issue particularly makes the task of a 64 bit version of our software beyond our reach.

Based on ADC documentation, Apple seems to think that screen saver authors can solve the problem via a 64-bit screen saver that talks to a 32-bit app. There are serious, if not terminal, obstacles with this approach:
- The 32-bit process would have no way to draw into a OpenGL context. This seems to be the biggest dealbreaker, by far.
- As I understand it, the 32-bit app would have no ability to draw to the screen saver view -- it would have to pipe all its data via IPC. Naturally, this could mean massive (ie. impossible) amount of data moved or copied per frame.
- If you add up the dev time by every 3rd party to implement a hosted app hack that uses IPC, assuming it was even feasible for most screen saver developers, it would be a *lot* of time and it would lead to a hodge-podge of 3rd party muck that is likely to degrade the user experience. It would make much more sense for Apple to just do the job once and the best/right way.


Request/Recommendation:
If Apple made their own hidden-from-view 32 bit host process for screen savers, that would solve everything. The Sys Prefs app could load a hidden 32-bit process and it would load the given screen saver while having special internal access to draw to the other process's view, etc.


Notes:
Our company has been making screen savers for Windows and OS X for many years now and are well familiar with the consumer as well as developer sentiments associated with each ecosystem. With each passing month, the OS X screen saver ecosystem is becoming increasingly frustrated and disappointed as Mac users upgrade to 10.6 and find their favorite screen saver now unusable. Meanwhile, we developers are in a rock and a hard place in that they now have a landslide of new and additional work, QA, and workarounds that yield a grand total of exactly zero new features for our customer base.

Basically, if Apple doesn't somehow provide 32-bit screen saver support for the 64-bit Sys Prefs case, it's clear in my professional opinion, that the OS X screen saver ecosystem will unfortunately suffer SEVERELY in the long run since it inhibits screen saver development. In contrast, Windows doesn't have this problem since screen savers are run as executables rather than loading screen saver as modules (so the OS bit mode and screen saver bit more can be mixed). This has allowed every screen saver on Windows to be seamlessly compatible with the Windows 64-bit rollout.

Thanks,
Andy

[BJ]

I'm waiting for the 64-bit problem to be resolved, too. I use WhiteCap, and my temporary solution is to compile an 'event' in iPhoto composed of 'screenshots' taken while using the visualizer. That 'event' can then be chosen as a screensaver. It's not perfect, but better than no Whitecap.

[mikeeb]

I don't know if this is because of a recent Apple Update to SL or not, but those of you who are interested, particularly Andy, please check out the following:

1. Right-click the System Preferences icon in the dock
2. Choose "Show in Finder"
3. Select "System Preferences" in the window (it's probably already selected)
4. Get Info (Command-I) or right-click and select from contextual menu
5. HERE'S WHAT SEEMS TO BE THE NEW ADDITION: there is now a check box in Get Info marked "Open in 32-bit mode" Check it.

Before, SL wouldn't even put GF in the Screen Savers selection window--all you would get is a dialog telling you to contact the publisher!!

Now, with this box checked, I get GF looking like its fully installed. I press the test button and -- HURRAY GF screensaver is running in Snow Leopard. BUT..... then I try to activate with the hot corner I have assigned to screensavers and ALAS I am back to a dialog saying the GF doesn't work, etc. etc.

Andy, we must be getting closer to making GF workable for SL. Many older screen savers that were broken before this 32-bit checkbox appeared have been resurrected on my machine. I would tend to believe that not much code is required to bridge the final gap.

By the way the screensaver version of GF absolutely works with background animated desktop programs such as xBack. It doesn't seem to work with WallSaver though.

[atomicskunk]

Excellent! Seems odd that the hot corners won't work in 32-Bit mode though. What's up with that?