OSX slow GUI [WAS: Re: [PD] Metro unstable osx]

[derek holzer]

Hi HC,

Hans-Christoph Steiner wrote:

>>> the GUI of the installers is incredibly slow compared with older versions.
> 
> Could you elaborate on this slowness?  This is not something that I have 
> noticed, but it sounds like a problem.

I've mentioned this before on the list, but whenever I try to run my 
audio performance patches (built w/ PD Linux 0.39 self-compiled on a G4 
Powerbook) on OSX, I get a sluggish or totally non-responsive GUI. I can 
get them usable if I reduce the complexity, and slowing down the 
"refresh rate" of things like number boxes and bangs helps. But the 
bottom line is that the Aqua/TclTk on OSX just doesn't work as well as 
under Linux on the exact same hardware, and PD suffers from it. It 
actually can slow down or jam up my entire OSX desktop as well, which is 
an even bigger bummer. Sometimes this effect lasts even after quitting 
PD, requiring a restart.

Sara Kolster noticed this as well. She's using a rather old installer 
(0.37.1) with GEM for video performances which runs pretty smoothly on 
OSX 10.3. For testing, she installed the latest 0.39 RC-8 and got the 
same thing... totally unresponsive GUI.

Another less severe irritation is that I sometimes get placement errors, 
i.e. I draw a box to select some objects and the box appears several cm 
lower and to the right from where my cursor is. This is a sporadic and 
infrequent bug, but it does remind me of errors involving number boxes 
and other GUI elements from earlier installers.

My own comparisons showed James' PD++ installer to be slightly better in 
terms of GUI response, but still not as usable as under Linux. I also 
compiled 0.39 myself (outside the build system, which was broken in 
December when I tried it) with pretty much the same results. I wanted to 
compile against a newer version of Tcl/Tk but I couldn't convince the 
compiler to use it. See also:

http://lists.puredata.info/pipermail/pd-list/2006-01/034556.html

best,
d.

-- 
derek holzer ::: http://www.umatic.nl
---Oblique Strategy # 149:
"Take a break"