I Want Candy! (for my new iMac)

February 6, 2006 11:42 AM

I've got a new Intel-based iMac to replace my G4 eMac. Is there any good eyecandy available in a Universal Binary? I sort of want to see it do something besides launch Safari really fast.
posted by mph to Computers & Internet (6 answers total)

I'd suggest checking out Quartz Composer. It came with the system and should have some cool sample files -- it's how the zooming RSS screensaver was made, and the program acts like a visual programming language to chain together realtime video effects.
posted by mikeh at 12:10 PM on February 6, 2006

I forgot to mention: Quartz Composer comes free with OS X. If it's not already on your system, it might be with the development tools.
posted by mikeh at 12:10 PM on February 6, 2006

If it's not already on your system, it might be with the development tools.

I believe it only comes with the developer tools.

Aside from whatever Apple shipped with your machine, I don't think theirs much available yet for MacIntels. Even most Apple apps won't be available till March. Despite what Jobs said, moving code over to the new platform is a bit harder than throwing a switch.
posted by doctor_negative at 12:20 PM on February 6, 2006

If you're into audio recording, Logic is the first Apple pro app available.

Here's a list of the currently available universal binaries. Looks like there has to be some stuff there for you play around with.
posted by visual mechanic at 12:48 PM on February 6, 2006

I bet Unreal Tournament 2004 is pretty rippin' on that machine, if you're at all into FPS.

I think graphics stuff will be some of the last to get converted, since it's the most hardware-specific stuff. The low-level guts have run on Intel for quite some time, but Altivec only exists for PPC and you have to undo all those endian conversions...
posted by mkultra at 12:54 PM on February 6, 2006

You can download some free demo games from Aspyr. They're not Universal, but they run faster on my Intel iMac than comparable games on my PC. You can also check out Deer Park, the next Firefox release, which (if i read correctly) is Universal for Mac.

Here's some more:
List of Universal Binaries
osx86 Project
Some OSX86 apps
posted by Hankins at 3:07 PM on February 6, 2006