I'm happy to see this sort of informative, well-written post among the content on appleinsider.com. It represents a meaningful contribution to the community, and demonstrates a commitment to the platform, beyond the rumors and forecasts. Just wanted to say that it's appreciated. Looking forward to the next one.
Hi. So, this is my first post to AI, but have read it everyday for years. I just don't feel like I have anything else to add. But, I noticed no one is mentioning about the author of this article's blog. It is terrific and has many of these type articles. Also, the comments section is typically filled with well thought out responses and perspectives. so, check it out.
it is roughlydrafted.com If you liked this short article, you will like his site. The only complaint I have is that he occasionally spreads some of the political brainwashing that has obviously occurred.
-rob
MBP, ATV, Iphone, Imac, airport extreme, ipods galore....you get the idea
I assume that means Perian is dead for QuickTime X?
That's not good. Installing Perian made QuickTime Player play everything -- perfect for novices, and perfect for me, not having to think about what player works with what codec.
I hope there's a way around this.
:d
I've installed Perian and it's fine, everything plays as I would expect. :-) I guess you know about it, but in case you don't.......VLC. I've used VLC for ages and not come across anything it can't handle, and it's freeware. :-)
The removal of some very important features in QuickTime Player X leaves me wondering just how the hell I'm going to get some day to day procedures done after they stop supporting the older player nestled away in the Utilities folder. They've eliminated the ability to copy/paste frames for exporting as an image sequence or pasting into another application. They've done away entirely with the ability to export anything, instead giving you only the option to save in the H264 format at various Apple-device sizes. Gone is the ability to adjust the display size and countless other aspects of a movie file. And you can no longer start two movies at the exact same time ? very useful when comparing multiple versions of a video.
I was so looking forward to the trim and screen recording capabilities of QuickTime Player X as it eliminates the need for several third party programs, and now I'm left having to find new third party programs to make up for all of the lost capabilities. Apple needs to deliver a Pro version of QuickTime Player once again, and pronto.
You can install QuickTime 7x from the 10.6 Snow Leopard DVD. Just follow the instructions below:
1. Insert your Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Install DVD.
2. Open the Optional Installs folder and double-click "Optional Installs.mpkg".
3. Select the QuickTime 7 option and click Continue.
4. QuickTime Player 7 will be installed in your Utilities folder.
I actually enjoy the fact you can click on a music file icon and play that song without launching quicktime or iTunes, small feature but I find it really useful.
Quote:
Originally Posted by brucep
we have had that feature for a while now
and with video too
Yes. Audio and video preview was done in the "columns" view of Finder in Tiger. I think Leopard expanded it to more modes. Snow Leopard might have expanded the idea more, I don't know yet. I need to find a place to add a partition, buy the OS, more boring stuff, etc. Bah. I'll wait a bit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrr
I *REALLY* dislike Quicktime X.
Especially the controller be located on top of the image obscuring the picture. What is the point of that?
I have been generally very happy with SL but Quicktime X is a mess.
The point is that it is supposed to auto hide unless you bump your cursor. This is not a new concept, iTunes & DVD Player did it and the EyeTV app did it too.
I too am tired of hearing that it is a Service Pack (Microsoft shills to be sure). People who have grown-up with Apple know that Snow Leopard represents a demarcation, and a move forward. (Anyone here remember when Macs had floppy drives and how that was handled by Apple?)
The terminology is a Microsoft hypocritical misnomer. Service Pack makes it sound like software is a physical entity that you need to service to keep it in good working condition, as in change oil in a car, or replace aircraft parts according to the service schedule. Software needs no such maintenance and the suggestion that a responsible user should apply service pack is nonsense. They are updates or patches.
The second bit of "rubbish" Microsoft terminology is "recycle bin". That implies that the file is somehow given another life as a usable artifact. Perhaps the bits and bytes are reused (otherwise what would be the point of throwing anything out), but bits and bytes are not the file - the file is a completely separate abstract entity. Put it in the trash or "recycle bin" empty it, and it's gone forever (in principle). The term "recycle bin" thus gives some false sense of safety to a dangerous place. Or maybe it gives the user some false satisfaction of having been "environmental".
Maybe we should start a list of Microsoft misnomers designed to conceal and mislead.
Microsoft thinks user-friendly design is having cutesy artifacts and terminology. It is not, having inaccurate and misleading terminology is in fact most user unfriendly. IBM was a case in point as well, having an acronym AMD for "Air Movement Device"... a three letter acronym for what anyone else would have called a three letter word - fan! Microsoft has certainly inherited this mantle of befuddling the average computer user with silly terminology.
Fred P. Brooks in Mythical Man Month points out the difference between 'program maintenance' and 'hardware maintentance' on p120. Clearly, the term 'service pack' is trying to make it sound like hardware maintenance.
However, I got to say that I'm really disappointed with QuickTime X. I really hope that Apple realizes how important the features of QuickTime 7 are to many of us. I wouldn't mind at all if Apple re-brands QuickTime 7 as QuickTime X Pro, even if they charged for it (but hope they don't).
The problem with the way it is now is that I'm afraid of Apple dropping support of QuickTime 7 or it's features. Another major problem comes from support. I now can't tell someone to do something that required QT Pro by simply upgrading...they have to install with the Snow Leopard disc. It's a hassle...and it's really hiding the functionality of QuickTime.
I was reading through this thread, and something hit me when I saw the mother with the kid recording themselves with quicktime. What if the iPod touch w/ camera, and iPhone are turned into external video cameras for the Mac or Apple TV? That could be pretty sweet.
My laptop starts to get heavy after hovering over our newborn for hours trying to give long distance relatives some face time. I suppose I could just hook up my video camera and set it on a tripod.
I actually enjoy the fact you can click on a music file icon and play that song without launching quicktime or iTunes, small feature but I find it really useful.
With Leopard, just tap the space bar to play a song without launching quicktime or iTunes.
I actually enjoy the fact you can click on a music file icon and play that song without launching quicktime or iTunes, small feature but I find it really useful.
That's in Ubuntu since soooo long. You don't even have to click, but hoover the mouse is enough.
That's in Ubuntu since soooo long. You don't even have to click, but hoover the mouse is enough.
That "feature" is just plain silly. Talk with someone at your desk for a minute only to have them staring midway at your screen because you left the mouse hovering over a private (insert imagination here) video file or an obnoxious audio clip. If anything that "feature" is just something a developer threw in there because he/she could do so.
Application UI design is about the user experience.
Guess you don't download many high definition movies.
They are not obscure, and with Perian, not unsupported. In fact, my standalone LG Blu-ray player supports playback of high-definition MKV files via a USB hard-drive, which is great because the MKV container can hold multiple surround sound audio streams as well as subtitles, perfect for HD movies.
Not related to the discussion but which LG Blu-Ray Disc player do you have, I always wanted one that could play mkv, h.264 encoded files too. Thanks.
The terminology is a Microsoft hypocritical misnomer. Service Pack makes it sound like software is a physical entity that you need to service to keep it in good working condition, as in change oil in a car, or replace aircraft parts according to the service schedule. Software needs no such maintenance and the suggestion that a responsible user should apply service pack is nonsense. They are updates or patches.
Actually, I believe "Service Pack" originated with IBM as the term for a collection of PTFs (Program Temporary Fixes) distributed on what was affectionately known as the Cum' Tape. (Cum' being an abbreviation of cumulative.) I don't know if they have an official longer form of the term, but Service Pack is really short for something like Customer Service Package (of PTFs), so it's not really such a misnomer at all, just ignorantly misapplied to SL.
The second bit of "rubbish" Microsoft terminology is "recycle bin". That implies that the file is somehow given another life as a usable artifact. Perhaps the bits and bytes are reused (otherwise what would be the point of throwing anything out), but bits and bytes are not the file - the file is a completely separate abstract entity.
Your line of thinking seems too rigid, possibly blinded by your hatred. Sure, it's not really environmental, and it is on the politically correct side, but you are freeing up the storage for other uses, recycling the bits, just the media side, not the media contents. In the same way recycling paper doesn't save the information that is printed on them, just the raw materials. Seems to hold up to me.
Quote:
Put it in the trash or "recycle bin" empty it, and it's gone forever (in principle). The term "recycle bin" thus gives some false sense of safety to a dangerous place. Or maybe it gives the user some false satisfaction of having been "environmental".
I don't think it really falls apart there. You put something in a real recycle bin, once collected, that thing is gone forever as it was and will be reused in the form of another object. Once a Time Magazine (just an example) is recycled, you're not going to get that Time Magazine back, unless you retrieve it from the bin before it's collected. The principle seems to hold.
I'm not saying that Microsoft isn't taking the cheap way out, I wish they could do better than they've done, but parts of your argument just fall apart.
At our small office we still use the best printer ever made: the Apple LaserWriter 16/600 PS. Fast, smooth, professional looking output etc. BUT it doesn't work anymore with Snow Leopard. Now we all (4 persons) try to return to OS X 10.5, but we don't have all full backups. Terrible. If we had known before we would NEVER had bought Snow Leopard...
Apple tells you how to use AppleTalk printers with Snow Leopard in the above Knowledge Base article. Just set up a print server and share the printer over a SL compatible protocol.
The point is that it is supposed to auto hide unless you bump your cursor. This is not a new concept, iTunes & DVD Player did it and the EyeTV app did it too.
It's not new, but really only makes sense for full-screen video. Even DVD Player, which you mention, has a floating control window for controlling the playback of your movie when you aren't in full-screen mode.
Personally, I very much dislike it. I'd like to be able to see how far along I am in my video clip without having to move the mouse. And it's just plain poor interface design if you have to start moving your mouse before you know where you need to move it to. If I want to scrub through my video, first I have to move the mouse to see where the progress nub is, then I can move the mouse to the nub. It's like telling you to start driving and then I'll tell you where you what direction to go.
Sure it's only a minor annoyance, but it's an unnecessary one. Another example of "let's make it like the iPhone!" nonsense like the ultra-high glossy screens that got so much backlash.
PS: I also dislike that the close widgets on Safari tabs only show up when you hover your mouse over the tab. I guess I just like to see my target before trying to move the cursor to it. "Ready, Fire, Aim!" is never a good idea!
Comments
QuickTime X does play WMVs.
You may need to Get Info on a WMV file, change the Open with to QuickTime Player.app, and then Change All.
I haven't found any MKV's yet to see what's going on with them.
I was using Flip for Mac in order to play my WMVs. Are you telling me that WMV is supported natively in Quicktime X without the need for a plugin?
I'm happy to see this sort of informative, well-written post among the content on appleinsider.com. It represents a meaningful contribution to the community, and demonstrates a commitment to the platform, beyond the rumors and forecasts. Just wanted to say that it's appreciated. Looking forward to the next one.
Hi. So, this is my first post to AI, but have read it everyday for years. I just don't feel like I have anything else to add. But, I noticed no one is mentioning about the author of this article's blog. It is terrific and has many of these type articles. Also, the comments section is typically filled with well thought out responses and perspectives. so, check it out.
it is roughlydrafted.com If you liked this short article, you will like his site. The only complaint I have is that he occasionally spreads some of the political brainwashing that has obviously occurred.
-rob
MBP, ATV, Iphone, Imac, airport extreme, ipods galore....you get the idea
No plugins for add'l codecs?
I assume that means Perian is dead for QuickTime X?
That's not good. Installing Perian made QuickTime Player play everything -- perfect for novices, and perfect for me, not having to think about what player works with what codec.
I hope there's a way around this.
:d
I've installed Perian and it's fine, everything plays as I would expect. :-) I guess you know about it, but in case you don't.......VLC. I've used VLC for ages and not come across anything it can't handle, and it's freeware. :-)
The removal of some very important features in QuickTime Player X leaves me wondering just how the hell I'm going to get some day to day procedures done after they stop supporting the older player nestled away in the Utilities folder. They've eliminated the ability to copy/paste frames for exporting as an image sequence or pasting into another application. They've done away entirely with the ability to export anything, instead giving you only the option to save in the H264 format at various Apple-device sizes. Gone is the ability to adjust the display size and countless other aspects of a movie file. And you can no longer start two movies at the exact same time ? very useful when comparing multiple versions of a video.
I was so looking forward to the trim and screen recording capabilities of QuickTime Player X as it eliminates the need for several third party programs, and now I'm left having to find new third party programs to make up for all of the lost capabilities. Apple needs to deliver a Pro version of QuickTime Player once again, and pronto.
You can install QuickTime 7x from the 10.6 Snow Leopard DVD. Just follow the instructions below:
1. Insert your Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Install DVD.
2. Open the Optional Installs folder and double-click "Optional Installs.mpkg".
3. Select the QuickTime 7 option and click Continue.
4. QuickTime Player 7 will be installed in your Utilities folder.
Hope this helps.
This is article HT3678 on Apple's support site.
Especially the controller be located on top of the image obscuring the picture. What is the point of that?
I have been generally very happy with SL but Quicktime X is a mess.
You can install QuickTime 7x from the 10.6 Snow Leopard DVD. Just follow the instructions below:
1. Insert your Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Install DVD.
2. Open the Optional Installs folder and double-click "Optional Installs.mpkg".
3. Select the QuickTime 7 option and click Continue.
4. QuickTime Player 7 will be installed in your Utilities folder.
Hope this helps.
This is article HT3678 on Apple's support site.
Very nice of you to be so helpful!!!
I was using Flip for Mac in order to play my WMVs. Are you telling me that WMV is supported natively in Quicktime X without the need for a plugin?
I had to upgrade to the latest Flip4Mac beta to get the WMV streams from my college website to play.
http://dynamic.telestream.net/downlo...acwmv-beta.asp
I actually enjoy the fact you can click on a music file icon and play that song without launching quicktime or iTunes, small feature but I find it really useful.
we have had that feature for a while now
and with video too
Yes. Audio and video preview was done in the "columns" view of Finder in Tiger. I think Leopard expanded it to more modes. Snow Leopard might have expanded the idea more, I don't know yet. I need to find a place to add a partition, buy the OS, more boring stuff, etc. Bah. I'll wait a bit.
I *REALLY* dislike Quicktime X.
Especially the controller be located on top of the image obscuring the picture. What is the point of that?
I have been generally very happy with SL but Quicktime X is a mess.
The point is that it is supposed to auto hide unless you bump your cursor. This is not a new concept, iTunes & DVD Player did it and the EyeTV app did it too.
I too am tired of hearing that it is a Service Pack (Microsoft shills to be sure). People who have grown-up with Apple know that Snow Leopard represents a demarcation, and a move forward. (Anyone here remember when Macs had floppy drives and how that was handled by Apple?)
The terminology is a Microsoft hypocritical misnomer. Service Pack makes it sound like software is a physical entity that you need to service to keep it in good working condition, as in change oil in a car, or replace aircraft parts according to the service schedule. Software needs no such maintenance and the suggestion that a responsible user should apply service pack is nonsense. They are updates or patches.
The second bit of "rubbish" Microsoft terminology is "recycle bin". That implies that the file is somehow given another life as a usable artifact. Perhaps the bits and bytes are reused (otherwise what would be the point of throwing anything out), but bits and bytes are not the file - the file is a completely separate abstract entity. Put it in the trash or "recycle bin" empty it, and it's gone forever (in principle). The term "recycle bin" thus gives some false sense of safety to a dangerous place. Or maybe it gives the user some false satisfaction of having been "environmental".
Maybe we should start a list of Microsoft misnomers designed to conceal and mislead.
Microsoft thinks user-friendly design is having cutesy artifacts and terminology. It is not, having inaccurate and misleading terminology is in fact most user unfriendly. IBM was a case in point as well, having an acronym AMD for "Air Movement Device"... a three letter acronym for what anyone else would have called a three letter word - fan! Microsoft has certainly inherited this mantle of befuddling the average computer user with silly terminology.
Fred P. Brooks in Mythical Man Month points out the difference between 'program maintenance' and 'hardware maintentance' on p120. Clearly, the term 'service pack' is trying to make it sound like hardware maintenance.
Here's another article on "Software maintenance"
http://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=1594861
However, I got to say that I'm really disappointed with QuickTime X. I really hope that Apple realizes how important the features of QuickTime 7 are to many of us. I wouldn't mind at all if Apple re-brands QuickTime 7 as QuickTime X Pro, even if they charged for it (but hope they don't).
The problem with the way it is now is that I'm afraid of Apple dropping support of QuickTime 7 or it's features. Another major problem comes from support. I now can't tell someone to do something that required QT Pro by simply upgrading...they have to install with the Snow Leopard disc. It's a hassle...and it's really hiding the functionality of QuickTime.
My laptop starts to get heavy after hovering over our newborn for hours trying to give long distance relatives some face time. I suppose I could just hook up my video camera and set it on a tripod.
Whatever... I'm done.
I actually enjoy the fact you can click on a music file icon and play that song without launching quicktime or iTunes, small feature but I find it really useful.
With Leopard, just tap the space bar to play a song without launching quicktime or iTunes.
I actually enjoy the fact you can click on a music file icon and play that song without launching quicktime or iTunes, small feature but I find it really useful.
That's in Ubuntu since soooo long. You don't even have to click, but hoover the mouse is enough.
That's in Ubuntu since soooo long. You don't even have to click, but hoover the mouse is enough.
That "feature" is just plain silly. Talk with someone at your desk for a minute only to have them staring midway at your screen because you left the mouse hovering over a private (insert imagination here) video file or an obnoxious audio clip. If anything that "feature" is just something a developer threw in there because he/she could do so.
Application UI design is about the user experience.
Guess you don't download many high definition movies.
They are not obscure, and with Perian, not unsupported. In fact, my standalone LG Blu-ray player supports playback of high-definition MKV files via a USB hard-drive, which is great because the MKV container can hold multiple surround sound audio streams as well as subtitles, perfect for HD movies.
Not related to the discussion but which LG Blu-Ray Disc player do you have, I always wanted one that could play mkv, h.264 encoded files too. Thanks.
The terminology is a Microsoft hypocritical misnomer. Service Pack makes it sound like software is a physical entity that you need to service to keep it in good working condition, as in change oil in a car, or replace aircraft parts according to the service schedule. Software needs no such maintenance and the suggestion that a responsible user should apply service pack is nonsense. They are updates or patches.
Actually, I believe "Service Pack" originated with IBM as the term for a collection of PTFs (Program Temporary Fixes) distributed on what was affectionately known as the Cum' Tape. (Cum' being an abbreviation of cumulative.) I don't know if they have an official longer form of the term, but Service Pack is really short for something like Customer Service Package (of PTFs), so it's not really such a misnomer at all, just ignorantly misapplied to SL.
The second bit of "rubbish" Microsoft terminology is "recycle bin". That implies that the file is somehow given another life as a usable artifact. Perhaps the bits and bytes are reused (otherwise what would be the point of throwing anything out), but bits and bytes are not the file - the file is a completely separate abstract entity.
Your line of thinking seems too rigid, possibly blinded by your hatred. Sure, it's not really environmental, and it is on the politically correct side, but you are freeing up the storage for other uses, recycling the bits, just the media side, not the media contents. In the same way recycling paper doesn't save the information that is printed on them, just the raw materials. Seems to hold up to me.
Put it in the trash or "recycle bin" empty it, and it's gone forever (in principle). The term "recycle bin" thus gives some false sense of safety to a dangerous place. Or maybe it gives the user some false satisfaction of having been "environmental".
I don't think it really falls apart there. You put something in a real recycle bin, once collected, that thing is gone forever as it was and will be reused in the form of another object. Once a Time Magazine (just an example) is recycled, you're not going to get that Time Magazine back, unless you retrieve it from the bin before it's collected. The principle seems to hold.
I'm not saying that Microsoft isn't taking the cheap way out, I wish they could do better than they've done, but parts of your argument just fall apart.
At our small office we still use the best printer ever made: the Apple LaserWriter 16/600 PS. Fast, smooth, professional looking output etc. BUT it doesn't work anymore with Snow Leopard. Now we all (4 persons) try to return to OS X 10.5, but we don't have all full backups. Terrible. If we had known before we would NEVER had bought Snow Leopard...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3771
Apple tells you how to use AppleTalk printers with Snow Leopard in the above Knowledge Base article. Just set up a print server and share the printer over a SL compatible protocol.
The point is that it is supposed to auto hide unless you bump your cursor. This is not a new concept, iTunes & DVD Player did it and the EyeTV app did it too.
It's not new, but really only makes sense for full-screen video. Even DVD Player, which you mention, has a floating control window for controlling the playback of your movie when you aren't in full-screen mode.
Personally, I very much dislike it. I'd like to be able to see how far along I am in my video clip without having to move the mouse. And it's just plain poor interface design if you have to start moving your mouse before you know where you need to move it to. If I want to scrub through my video, first I have to move the mouse to see where the progress nub is, then I can move the mouse to the nub. It's like telling you to start driving and then I'll tell you where you what direction to go.
Sure it's only a minor annoyance, but it's an unnecessary one. Another example of "let's make it like the iPhone!" nonsense like the ultra-high glossy screens that got so much backlash.
PS: I also dislike that the close widgets on Safari tabs only show up when you hover your mouse over the tab. I guess I just like to see my target before trying to move the cursor to it. "Ready, Fire, Aim!" is never a good idea!