Filed under: TUAW Tips, Universal Binary
UB Replacements for Non-Intel Mac Apps
In this post about Roxio Toast, TUAW asked which applications you were still waiting for to be ported to universal binary. I thought I'd compile a list of universal binary applications that can fill the roles of those that people are still waiting for:For Screen Capture
Display Eater is still a work-in-progress and offers a much less refined user interface than Snapz Pro, but it's UB and it works. I've used it several times to capture my screen into a video file.
For Office Suites
Again, the user interface isn't as refined as the mainstay, but you can't beat the price of NeoOffice. The NeoOffice Alpha 2 for Intel Macs is available right now by paying for an "Early Access" program. Or you can wait a few days, as an Intel beta of NeoOffice should be released very soon (next week, if I'm hearing correctly).
For Video Conversion
I use ffmpegX for a lot of video conversion and the Intel version just screams on my Intel iMac. I haven't matched it up against the new Toast's DivX conversion yet, but I bet it's faster. The learning curve is a bit higher with ffmpegX, but it supports way more video formats.
And a few notes. Stuffit Expander is a universal binary beta. Filemaker is likely getting close to a release of version 8.5 which will be run natively on Intel Macs.
I'm also still waiting for Extensis to update Suitcase so it's UB. As much as I'd love to dump it for a different product, I don't know of any professional font managers that are updated for Intel. Both FontAgent Pro and MasterJuggler are still wallowing in PPC-land. Linotype FontExplorer X was just updated to UB, but I have zero experience with it, and Apple's own FontBook has on too many occasions eaten my font collections (always have backups!).
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Kevin Crossman said 3:10PM on 6-30-2006
iPodderX, er..., Transistr.
Is it so hard to get a good universal podcatcher that can convert mp3s to bookmarkable aac and then movie the files to a specific playlist?
iTunes is okay but doesn't do all I need in a podcatcher.
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Sam said 3:15PM on 6-30-2006
I don't know about binary support, but it sure would be great to find a mac screen capturing app as good as SnagIt for the PC. Snapz isn't even close.
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Kroc Camen said 3:36PM on 6-30-2006
My kingdom for a ruddy screen capture app that's actually free.
The Mac platform is a joke sometimes when you have to fork out every week for a new app to replace something you enjoyed for free on Windows.
And can someone point me to an app that can crop a video's frame size. I used virtual dub on Windows and it was very good, and most importantly Free.
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Nate said 3:36PM on 6-30-2006
I use a new Mini as a mail server, therefore it runs all the time. It seems Folding@home is never going to release a universal client or Intel cores. Can anyone recommend a distributed computing program as worthy of my new Mini's spare cycles as Folding@home?
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Chris Long said 3:38PM on 6-30-2006
re; suitcase -- TRY fontexplorerX! it's 100% free, itunes-like interface, and it WORKS. suitcase, R.I.P.!
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Jim said 3:50PM on 6-30-2006
Free screen capture is built into OS X; I always use the shortcuts Ctrl+Command+Shift+3 (for entire screen) or Ctrl+Command+Shift+4 (for a region) to copy to the clipboard. Then I paste it into the free imaging app Seashore (native version of GIMP).
Jim
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some guy called marty said 3:55PM on 6-30-2006
I've also gotta toss my hat in for Linotype's FontExplorerX. It's robust, it's fast, and it doesn't "hose" your fonts like Suitcase can. So far, it hasn't reported any false font conflicts like Suitcase does. I have given Suitcase the boot.
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Kroc Camen said 4:05PM on 6-30-2006
I wasn't clear before; I meant free screen movie capture.
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Jim said 4:19PM on 6-30-2006
Kroc Camen: Sorry about that. If I had read the article properly that would have been obvious...
Jim
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Oliver said 4:26PM on 6-30-2006
FontExplorer beats any other font management app hands down.
Just two words: german engineering :)
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KSF said 4:34PM on 6-30-2006
I think VisualHub is a good new alternative to FFMPEG X, because of a more simple, intuitive interface. It's not freeware, but I think it's worth the money just for the usability aspect (even though I'm pretty sure it's based on the same open-source codecs as FFMPEG X).
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r.sesser said 5:40PM on 6-30-2006
I agree on FontExplorer X. Best font management hands down. The export feature is nicely done. Oh, and it's free... you can't beat that.
I left the Mac world about 9 months ago when my late TiBook 1Ghz had a massive coronary (logic board). I was using Linux (for the most part). Back in the day Suitcase was great. Recently, I've read that they took over Font Reserve (?) and that the app is getting far too bloated. And nobody wants a bloated anything... unless you're into that kind of stuff... which is cool if you are... I'm just sayin'
...nevermind.
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Tim Houghton said 6:37PM on 6-30-2006
Croc: You can crop frame size with ffmpegX.
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Mo said 7:27PM on 6-30-2006
Another vote for FontExplorer X. It's one of the most fantastic and well-written pieces of free software out there, and has the advantage of making Suitcase look like a snail.
Unless you need Suitcase Server connectivity, I'd not bother with Suitcase at all.
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michel said 8:02PM on 6-30-2006
for office suite, try thinkfree.com, it's a free online java clone of microsoft office, with a nicer interface than NeoOffice. I've been using it for a few weeks and really like it. you get 1 gig of space too, but you can also save your docs on your local hard drive.
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badcarl said 10:40PM on 6-30-2006
Screenshot plus is a free widget that can take a full screenshot or just one of a window.
http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/business/screenshotplus.html
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Terry Jarrell said 11:47PM on 6-30-2006
I'm pretty impressed with Display Eater. True, SnapZ is a little more refined, but this is simple to use and works very, very well on my MacBook 2.0/2.0. The price blows SnapZ away too and if you have a need for something like this, it is a steal. Why should we always expect something for free? Developers spend their time and resources to create these tools and it's fair they be compensated. True, some are a bit ridiculous in their pricing, but in this case, these guys deserve a few dollars. I applaud them for a good job and hopefully more refinements to come.
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Paul Stamatiou said 12:15AM on 7-01-2006
iShowU is the ultimate screen cap prog.
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henrrrik said 4:56AM on 7-01-2006
The screenshot utility SnapNDrag is free and a universal binary. http://www.yellowmug.com/snapndrag/ (the Pro version that allows scaling of screenshots will set you back USD 5).
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taupecat said 6:43AM on 7-01-2006
I can deal with Stuffit Expander and such in Rosetta. These are programs I use intermitently and I don't really suffer any pain in life by not having a Universal Binary.
What really bugs me is not having Proteron's Max Menus or LiteSwitch X in universal binary or Intel-native versions. Because they're preference panes, I can't adjust them because clicking on them in the System Preferences causes a spectacular crash on my MBP.
As a result, I've sadly had to turn off MaxMenus altogether, forcing me to use the Dock (which I hate). LiteSwitch X still *works*, and I use it, but I would love to have a UB so that I can adjust the preferences for the apps I use.
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