hi everyone,

sorry i have been out of touch. but do have some free time at least for a while.
here is a new beta version of MacCsound -- anybody out there willing to try it out?

http://www.csounds.com/matt/MacCsound.1.4b1.dmg

NEW TO THIS VERSION:
+ Wraps CsoundLib (v.5.10ppc) and other 3rd-party libs so NO OTHER INSTALLATION IS REQUIRED. This prevents conflicts with other CsoundLib versions, so for instance you can install the intel version of CsoundLib and run MacCsound and QuteCsound side-by-side now!

+ fixed compatibility problem with 5.10(and later?) CsoundLibs

+ fixed compatibility problem with MacCsound

+ minor changes to prefs (manual prefix now defaults to online version) and default .csd (large buffer size)

+ other changes i made over the years(!) that might not have ever gotten into a release (??)

INSTALL INSTRUCTIONS:
+ download dmg.
+ optional (but recommended):
-- delete preferences file: ~/Library/Preferences/com.sonomatics.maccsound.plist
-- delete template csd: ~/Library/Application Support/MacCsound/default.csd
-- drag MacCsound from the expanded .dmg into your Applications or other folder.

OTHER BUGS THAT NEED TO BE FIXED?
here is what is known to me:
+ realtime i/o problems with some audio setups like newer computers where built-in audio is actually 2 separate devices. the workaround is to turn off input or use an aggregate device.
+ crash sometimes after stopping a render (cause unknown)
+ [ outvalue "channel", String ] doesn't seem to work on intel
+ sometimes erase/drawing problems after switching tab view on intel
+ real-time soundfile playback (diskin, etc) has cpu spike on large files every 30 seconds or so.

WHAT'S NEXT?
MacCsound is definitely on its last legs, but there still seems to have some advantages over other frontends, at least for now. depending on user demand, i could see doing
+ fix serious bugs
+ rewrite audio i/o code (apple now recommends using default AudioUnit) as a CsoundLib plugin
+ adds to help compatibility to QuteCsound?
+ export any desirable(?) code to QuteCsound
+ "save as" standalone intel app. (code would also be included into QuteCsound)
+ new widget format that is platform-neutral and unicode-aware. (and xml?)

matt ingalls
matt@sonomatics.com