I've been trying for a number of months, using many methods, to run a Nuiteq Application called Snowflake on our 10 Mac Minis attached to touch-screens in pure Kiosk mode. I'm using Yosemite. These machines must be able to:
And then, the software wouldn't hide the main cursor so I had to write in a keyboard emulation of Fn+F3 to the start the script. Otherwise there would have been 2 sets of interaction going on between the touch drivers used by Snowflake and the OS. This was very annoying.
Pure Mac Rss Software For Mac
So, yes. You can write a Cocoa app in pure C. But I wouldn't recommend it. 90% of that code can be replaced by an xib file, and doing it this way really restricts your app because more advanced features of the Apple development stack really on Objective-C features. While it's technically possible to do everything this way, you're making it much harder than it ought to be.
This partly summarizes why I stopped using 3rd party add-ons for OSX/macOS. It also has to do with all the different systems I touch (clients, friends, family, etc.) that may not be receptive to me installing custom software which alters core copy-paste actions.
This reliably strips all formatting from the text on the clipboard, replacing the clipboard content with pure text, allowing a clean paste. In my experience, even copy/paste from BBEdit sometimes will retain whatever font is currently in use in BBedit.
I think that most people who have tried have had good success running astro stuff on a Mac under bootcamp. You will have a wider range of software available running Windows in some form than if you try to run Mac-only astronomy software, although the situation is improving.
If you want to regularly use the machine for imaging, then the third option probably makes the most sense because you'll have access to the majority of software you want to run. The machine will tend to be more reliable because you won't be tempted to gunk it up with day-to-day junk. You won't feel guilty leaving it outside or tossed into a utility box.
I run a Mac desktop in my office to control the Mac in my observatory that is running windows 10 under bootcamp. I would not get a new ARM Mac since any Mac astronomy software will have to be ported over to the ARM chip. Who knows how long that will take.
Given, Windows astronomy software is more prevalent than OSX software, It then becomes a decision of, making OSX run Windows with Bootcamp, Parallels or VMWare etc, or not. But, you can buy a generic intel machine at lower cost than a Mac. So I think therefor, the logical route is to buy an Intel machine (for astronomy).
You can certainly work around this by using only OSX friendly software, but that will cause limitations in your capability. Where an Intel decision is not limiting. You can also work around this by using multiple platforms, but at a financial and complexity cost. Same thing for vm solutions.
Given what you said you would like to use your laptop for, I'm gonna be that guy and recommend trying Linux. Though still learning, my astrophotography workflow includes Siril and GIMP. Most of the decent freeware star-chart applications (Sky-Charts, Stellarium) are available on Linux, all of which can connect to and control your telescope. With the exception of some major proprietary applications (looking at you Adobe) enough software companies compile for Linux, that it is rare to encounter a task for which no good software application which meets my needs.
When it comes to image capture, the software available for the Mac is very limited. On the contrary for windows there are more and more options available and the good news is that almost any cheap laptop will do or even a mini pc (they can be remotely controlled from a Mac).
I have a list of available Mac software at my site linked in my sig. You'll be fine even with an ARM Mac, as it will run the Intel compiled programs using Rosetta. No word obviously on what real world performance would be like. You'll also be fine with an Intel Mac, as they should be supported for at least the next 4-5 years. But what I found running my Mac laptop at the scope, is that while it could do it just fine (for 3 years), I eventually hit a stray rain shower. Thankfully it didn't kill the laptop, but that's when I switched to running an inexpensive Raspberry Pi at the scope in server mode, and run the software on my Mac desktop over the network. I've written a few tutorials on doing this if you want to explore those options. Of course, a PC also works.
Windows all the way. It is rock solid stable, secure, easy to use, and runs on hardware you want and can afford. You can get a top quality, well built Windows laptop for half the price of a Mac. I recently built a desktop with AMD 3900, 64 gigs of ram, Nvidia 2060 gfx, 1T M.2 ssd drive, 10T conventional 7200 rmp drive for $2,000. It got a score of 6437 in cinebench whereas the $7,000 2019 Mac Pro 12 core 3.3 ghz got just 5493. The $5,000 more mac has much less ram and storage space. Plus it doesn't run Skytools. My computer is a far more capable computer for photo and video editing. I have far more options for astronomy, bird watching, writing, spreadsheets, graphic design, underwater basket weaving, auto repair, medical, and all and everything else than a Mac.Linux, I am sorry but it is behind the times and the GIMP ain't no Photoshop. Software that runs in Linux reminds me of the less than functional software with a very poor UI you would get on shareware floppies from a computer store in 1990. There are a few decent software that runs in Linux but all of it also runs in Windows.Windows is the only OS that runs top quality do something software on hardware you want and can afford.
Linux, I am sorry but it is behind the times and the GIMP ain't no Photoshop. Software that runs in Linux reminds me of the less than functional software with a very poor UI you would get on shareware floppies from a computer store in 1990.
I use a Mac exclusively for my imaging. My main software is TheSkyX. I used their "Serious Astronomer" version for years with my 12" LX200 doing EAA. I just combined that with the free software that worked with my EAA suitable cameras. This is a relatively inexpensive solution you could consider.
Earlier this year I upgraded my mount to a Paramount and started using Bisque's imaging applications as well. Please not You do not need one of their expensive mounts to use this software. It will also work with the Celestron mounts. It is a bit expensive especially compared to the free applications many use, but it is a solid program that will allow you to do pretty much any imaging you want. It also has integrated polar alignment, plate solving, closed loop slews, focusing control, filter controls, as well as guiding. The imaging package is $495. It does have a yearly subscription after one year, but that is actually optional.
The dramatic Dark Mode look arrived to the Mac with the October 2017 release of the macOS 10.14 Yosemite software update. Fast forward three years and users can now force Dark Mode to become a bit darker thanks to a new setting in macOS 11.0 Big Sur. Follow along with our tutorial for step-by-step instructions for how to to make Dark Mode even darker on your Mac.
On the downside, however, desktop tinting replaces the pure black appearance of various interface elements with lighter shades of black, based on predominant wallpaper color. Prior to macOS Big Sur, there was no outward-facing user toggle to disable desktop tinting at will.
Browsers and email clients are a problem in Mac OS 7.6.1, no matter how fine it is otherwise. I have had a hard time recommending it to my friends, as they are not interested in computers and just want things to work. The ability to get a secondhand Mac that is fast in 7.6.1 for a very low price or free and nicely working software does not count much for a person who cannot check emails or pay bills with it.
We did not test the Tiger Lake whitebook with Heaven 4.0 (we no longer have it in hand), but we did test the latest Dell XPS 13, which also employs Iris Xe. It outruns the MacBook Air and the Mac mini here. The results flipped in GFXBench 5 Metal, which uses the Metal API and illustrates what the M1 is more likely capable of with native software (i.e., much-enhanced performance).
On the software side, it's not as though nothing has happened to the Mac in the last two years. It's getting new features. I still find it comfortable to work in, even as Windows 11 has introduced some genuinely handy window-management features that I miss when I'm not using it (especially in multi-monitor mode).
But it does feel like the software side of the Mac is lacking its own unique direction and identity lately. Overwhelmingly, new features for macOS merely help it keep pace with what is happening on the iPhone and iPad. That feels doubly true in Ventura, where a core system app has been rewritten from the ground up to mirror its iOS counterpart, where a new window management feature is being implemented in the same way on the iPad, and where new apps and updates to old ones are increasingly just iPad apps running inside macOS windows. 2ff7e9595c
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