Aperture

Aperture alive on OSX Yosemite

Screen Shot 2014-10-17 at 9.36.55 pm

Apple plays the wild card and Aperture is still supported, updated and working well on OSX Yosemite. Is this a lifeline for Aperture users. I was initially hesitant but ran the 10.10 install on my laptop knowing full well that if Aperture was replaced or removed I’d still have it on my iMac.

But as you can see, alive and kicking. So if this means that OSX users will have the option to keep Aperture at the current updated version or move over to the proposed new apps in 2015 I for one will be happy to keep it in my stable of photo processing software.

Fix for Lightroom 5 and Aperture under OSX 10.9 Mavericks

If you are experiencing difficulties with Lightroom 5 not opening and Aperture not exporting images on OSX 10.9 here’s the fix if you have your Catalogs and Projects on external drives. Because of the new security measures / protocols you need to ensure that your external drives have read and write permissions for all users. After a lengthy discussion with a tech genius friend of mine this was the solution he offered and everything is fine now. Go to it. Screen Shot 2013-12-12 at 6.17.45 pm

Red Giant strikes back

Red Giant have come out with all guns blazing with the release of Plastic Bullet Version 2, a new update for V 1.0 / 1.2 for iPhone. Version 2 also introduces support for iPad. So far the results on both platforms are pretty spectacular. There’s an extensive list of feature updates at the site but what impressed me most of all on both iPhone and iPad was the ability to maintain aspect ratios. Previously if you used an image with a square aspect, panoramic, 16:9 horizontal or vertical, Plastic Bullet defaulted to a standard aspect (4:3) rectangular crop. Now if you import a square format shot, e.g., Hipstamatic, Lomora, Retro Camera or a panoramic image, Plastic Bullet maintains the original image aspect.

As previously mentioned, Version 2 is also available for iPad. The added screen real estate of the iPad makes editing on the go a pleasure. Options for 4 or 9 render previews follows the same layout as the OSX version.

The real surprise came when I downloaded the Mac version from the App Store. Within a few minutes I had discovered that I could drag images directly from iPhoto, Aperture and Lightroom. Plastic Bullet also supports RAW format files. I was able to open and process NEF and CRW files without any problems. I have not found the maximum resolution for exporting yet, but file sizes of 5000 x 5000 (working from Hipstamatic) seem to be achieved easily

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

.

Maximum import size supported is 36megapixels.

Read the full promo for OSX here

All’s well that ends well, or is it?

At long last the issues with Aperture have settled down and the app is behaving normally. I read periodically on forums that users are still unsure of the viability of installing 3.1. The only caution I would mention is just be aware that once your libraries are updated you cannot revert to a previos version of Aperture, it’s a one way street, and if you get stuck, heaven help you. Having said that the 3.1.1 update has it’s merits and is worth the effort. Although in the interim when Aperture was down I discovered that Lightroom is no lightweight and is a serious contender. Apple beware, Adobe are doing their homework.

The update solution and now obviously the crash solution are posted here for reference.

 

Aperture 3.1.1 update solution

The following actually works in terms of allowing an install of the 3.1.1 update for Aperture, where the update is downloaded from Aperture support.

  1. Open the Applications folder.
  2. Drag the Aperture application to the Trash.
  3. Open the Utilities folder within the Applications folder.
  4. Open the Terminal application.
  5. On the command line, type the below command (which is case-sensitive) and then press Return:  (or copy and paste)
    sudo pkgutil --forget com.apple.pkg.Aperture
  6. When prompted, enter your user password and press Return.
  7. Insert your Aperture disc and install Aperture.

Then run the update installer package,

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3805

Have yet to find a solution for Aperture crashing on opening…..have done everything possible.

The saga continues | App Store Blues

After purchasing the boxed edition of Aperture and installing it on my system, (read previous post….. App Store Blues), I discovered that I cannot update Aperture to 3.1.1

I downloaded the update from the link on the App Store, because it is no longer available through ‘Software Update’ on OSX 10.6.6, and despite not having 3.1.1 on my system, the App Store update persirtently told me that I did.

I ran the installer and got this warning when running 3.1.1 update.

The new boxed version is 3.1 (this is the installed version)

and the App Store update tells me I have 3.1.1 installed, (3.1.1 is the version available at the App Store)

It’s problematic that only a direct update via the update tab on the App Store is now the only way to update this software, (even though this was not purchased through the App Store) particularly when the software update mechanism process at the App Store is unable to correctly identify the installed software version.

One can only hope that users of Final Cut and Logic are not forced go this way.

Apple App Store Blues

I’d read about it and periodically heard first and second hand accounts about people experiencing problems with Apple products and services and sat back thinking wow… that’s never happened to me, at least not until today. In 7 or so years of using Apple products and software, not so much as a hiccup has come my way. Faith in all things Mac justified. Yesterday (10th Jan) in the early evening, unknown to me,  all that was about to change. The new Apple App Store was open and software was going at ridiculously cheap prices, but my radar was down and my default “hang on a bit, why so cheap’ warning light failed. Seduced by the possibility of obtaining the updated version of my much used and heavily relied upon, Aperture, for a song, I succumbed to temptation and made my purchase from the newly proclaimed ‘Queen of Cloudland’.

Suspecting all was well and that Apple would have all bases covered, I completed the transaction and the paid for the upgrade which seamlessly downloaded and installed without a glitch. I upgraded the libraries, despite the warning that upgraded libraries would not be accessible to earlier versions of Aperture….trusting soul that I am, what could possibly go wrong? Once installed, Aperture 3 exceeded my expectations and I can certainly say that if you are considering the purchase, do so with complete confidence, just not from the App Store.

Day 2

Prepared for a substantial rework of some of the 15,000+ images stored across a number of drives/libraries, I hit the Aperture icon and it bounced away happily and then died. I waited about 10 minutes just in case this was a one off anomaly, but nothing……
I checked the status of the app and found that it was open but not responding, just my desktop staring me in the face, waiting, like someone outside a closed bank. Force quit and re open, the ritual seemed endless.

Maybe I need to re-install, where’s the dmg from yesterdays download and install? There is none!
Despite the App Store Help site touting that a saved copy of the app could be used to reinstall, no option for saving the install dmg appeared at any time during the download and install of Aperture 3 and a thorough search failed to locate it. Not only did I not have a dmg of my purchased software, you also don’t get a serial number. Whilst you get an order number on your receipt, an order number does not prove you have the product, where as a serial number does, so how are you supposed to obtain support for a product that you can’t prove/verify you own? What if the serial number is on the splash screen? Great……but I can’t even raise the splash screen. A better option is required for crashes like this.

Things were not looking good. Suddenly the extra you pay for the boxed version began to make sense, more outlay but….you have the install disk, serial number and a support ID number. My options were getting thin. After a thorough scouring of the App Store support site I scored a zero return, what happened to the traditionally good backup provided by Apple?  Bright idea…what if I download the 3.1.1 update and reinstall this over the existing installation. Back to the App Store, follow the links for Aperture to the in-store page that has the updates, download and install, error message “you can only install updates for this product from the App Store”, hadn’t I just done that?
I realised I was lost in glitch city, what to do next?

Search installation problems where Aperture crashes on opening, only an old one that was resolved in Aperture 3.0.1

What if I copy the app form the applications folder to an external drive aka the ‘save your copy to an external drive’ song from the help pages. It was an outside run that I know to be risky, but with no other options available at the moment…… Copy and transfer back, half way through the process ” you do not have permissions required”
Back to the applications folder and try to re open “You can’t open Aperture because it may be damaged or incomplete”
Suddenly I’m in no man’s land.

What if I re-install my copy of Aperture 2 and download my purchase from the App Store? Aperture 3 is no longer on my system, so if the “if you delete your software you can reinstall it from the App Store as long as it’s still available” is correct advice, I should be able to remove and re-install.
So I re-install Aperture 2, update it to 2.1.4 so that it runs on OSX 10.6.6. Back to the App Store, click on purchases,  ‘Aperture 3 is already installed’ ……….no it’s not. Aperture 2.1.4 is,
and no option available to re-download the software that I had paid for.

$100 down the drain. Only option now is to purchase the boxed edition and get on with life, otherwise my libraries become coffins.

If you use this application professionally and you are considering upgrading or purchasing for the first time, stay away from the App Store, buy it boxed online or from a local retailer.  I’ve certainly taken a hard lesson today and won’t be back under any circumstance until Apple get their act together and provide the basics, like most other online traders that allow you to purchase via download, do.

It’s irresponsible for Apple; and ultimately damaging to their reputation, to offer software that is used professionally without appropriate backup and support. Great software, lousy delivery and support from the App Store for this application.