• Registered: 2022-08-16
  • Posts: 2

Topic: Apple Universal Version?

I am a pro photographer and have been using JuiceBox Pro for a few years. I use it as part of my workflow, sometimes making galleries of hundreds of images.

I recently upgraded my 2013 Mac Pro to a Mac Studio Ultra M1 but the problem is that Juice Box has got much slower than it used to be.

Is there going to be a new version released that has been upgraded for modern macs?

I would hate to see this app die off.

  • Registered: 2012-04-24
  • Posts: 5,924

Re: Apple Universal Version?

I'd hate to see Juicebox die, too.
I expect the problem with the speed is due to having to use Rosetta. (Are you using Roestta? I don't have a Mac.) There are no such problems on Windows so I expect that this is the issue.
If Harman could work through the Known Issues on the AIR runtimes download page (https://airsdk.harman.com/runtime), we'd probably be in a much better place.
Unfortunately, there are no immediate plans to release a new version of Juicebox but I've not given up hope yet (and I check on AIR developments daily).
The alternative would be to re-write Juicebox for a different platform but that's a huge undertaking.
Sorry that's not the news you were hoping for. I'll keep my fingers crossed for the near future, though.

3 Reply by Pixel8r (edited by Pixel8r 2022-08-17 13:47:58)

  • Registered: 2022-08-16
  • Posts: 2

Re: Apple Universal Version?

I suspect that the issue is to do with resizing JPEG's, as it appears to speed up when you don't need to resize.

When you look at the app's info on a M1 mac it shows that this version is Intel, so yes it is working via the rosetta conversion.

I would be willing to pay again for a new version which is optimised for the new M1 & M2 chips. Fingers crossed they will eventually get around to sorting things.

  • Registered: 2012-04-24
  • Posts: 5,924

Re: Apple Universal Version?

I don't know why resizing JPEGs under Rosetta takes longer (I understand the need for Rosetta to translate the code but I don't know why the resizing process is affected as much it is). It certainly appears that the use of Rosetta is at the root of the problem, though.

Incidentally, I tried a different JPEG resizing library/algorithm on Windows (potentially with a view to having it integrated into a new version of JuiceboxBuilder) but it took longer than the pre-existing routine so I can only imaging that this longer processing time would be even more exaggerated on Mac/Rosetta.

As I'm sure you're aware, the solution would be to eliminate the need for Rosetta and for that we might need to wait for Harman to work through their Known Issues.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a solution, too.

  • Ann
  • Member
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  • Registered: 2017-10-03
  • Posts: 42

Re: Apple Universal Version?

I haven't noticed much slowness but, while JBPro does work on M1 Macs by going through Rosetta, the real long-term (and expensive!) fix would be to rewrite JBPro to work natively with the M1 Macs — and with M2 ones too.

Apple will not return to Intel and the JBPro software is much too valuable to lose.

  • Registered: 2012-04-24
  • Posts: 5,924

Re: Apple Universal Version?

I haven't noticed much slowness...

That's good to hear.

... the real long-term (and expensive!) fix would be to rewrite JBPro to work natively with the M1 Macs — and with M2 ones too.

Indeed. I'll bounce some ideas off the decision makers. I don't know where it'll go but I'll be sure to post back here if I have any news on the subject.