JRMC 20.0.116 on Mac

[Cebolla]

If we know what is causing the crash, we can fix it, but some of these are related to "downloaded" files. Here's another one just reported:

Media Center Quit Unexpectedly [solved]

 

It's a zipped file or its contents.

 

If another program or even the OS starts doing something unexpected, it's very difficult to find the problem unless we can reproduce it or get a sample file.

Really surprised that you appear not to have the standard practice in your software design for the trapping and handling of unexpected errors within your application's own functions, such as that of importing files.

 

It's really not good enough to allow any error occouring in your software to remain unhandled for the OS to eventually intervene and terminate the application without the application having first done some minimum form of error logging and/or notification to the user.

[Matt Ashland]

Could you post some details about what you're doing that's leading to the problem?

 

Also, please capture a log (Help > Logging) and mail it to logs at jriver dot com.

 

As for what we do to prevent crashes, we need to make them happen here and then they get fixed the same day they're reproduced. The program is filled with anti-crash measures, but it's still possible for something to slip through the cracks. When that happens, we just need a little help reproducing the problem and it'll get fixed.

 

Thanks.

[miguelito]

If you're transcoding to ALAC, try doing a single conversion at a time. It's possible that the encoder isn't thread safe.

Interestingly, if I transcode one album, it goes very fast, as fast as XLD. If I transcode a bunch it slows down, like it's spending a lot of time doing garbage collection of something - very strange.

[Musicophile]

I just received an e-mail from JRiver proposing an upgrade to V21 with the special discounted price of $18 if I pay before July 25.

 

However, the nice e-mail doesn't say anything about what i'll be getting for my $18 beyond a generic " faster, easier to use, more powerful, and better looking".

 

Well, especially the latter would be nice (and not hard to achieve), but I'm still struggling with paying $18 blindly, as I don't have a lot of trust that JRiver will EVER look and feel like a proper MacOS app. This is one of my fundamental issues with JRiver's pricing policy.

[Jud]

Interestingly, if I transcode one album, it goes very fast, as fast as XLD. If I transcode a bunch it slows down, like it's spending a lot of time doing garbage collection of something - very strange.

 

Wikipedia:

Thread safety is a computer programming concept applicable in the context of multi-threaded programs. A piece of code is thread-safe if it functions correctly during simultaneous execution by multiple threads. In particular, it must satisfy the need for multiple threads to access the same shared data, and the need for a shared piece of data to be accessed by only one thread at any given time.

...

There are a few ways to achieve thread safety:

Re-entrancy

Writing code in such a way that it can be partially executed by one task, reentered by another task, and then resumed from the original task. This requires the saving of state information in variables local to each task, usually on its stack, instead of in static or global variables.

Mutual exclusion

Access to shared data is serialized using mechanisms that ensure only one thread reads or writes the shared data at any time. Great care is required if a piece of code accesses multiple shared pieces of data—problems include race conditions, deadlocks, livelocks, starvation, and various other ills enumerated in many operating systems textbooks.

Thread-local storage

Variables are localized so that each thread has its own private copy. These variables retain their values across subroutine and other code boundaries, and are thread-safe since they are local to each thread, even though the code which accesses them might be reentrant.

Atomic operations

Shared data are accessed by using atomic operations which cannot be interrupted by other threads. This usually requires using special machine language instructions, which might be available in a runtime library. Since the operations are atomic, the shared data are always kept in a valid state, no matter what other threads access it. Atomic operations form the basis of many thread locking mechanisms.

 

They don't mention garbage collection, which to my (amateur, uninformed) way of thinking would have to be done correctly whether the app was multi-threaded or not. (Also, perhaps at one remove from the topic, El Capitan will mark the point at which, at least as I understand it, old-fashioned garbage collection will no longer work in OS X; rather, ARC, automatic reference counting, must be used.)

[jriver]

I just received an e-mail from JRiver proposing an upgrade to V21 with the special discounted price of $18 if I pay before July 25.

 

However, the nice e-mail doesn't say anything about what i'll be getting for my $18 beyond a generic " faster, easier to use, more powerful, and better looking".

 

Well, especially the latter would be nice (and not hard to achieve), but I'm still struggling with paying $18 blindly, as I don't have a lot of trust that JRiver will EVER look and feel like a proper MacOS app. This is one of my fundamental issues with JRiver's pricing policy.

I don't think look and feel have anything to do with pricing. If you don't like MC for Mac now, you may never like it.

 

For a general description of where we're headed, please see this thread:

Plans for MC21

 

On Mac, the next big change will probably be support for image management. Video improvements like subtitles, also.

[Musicophile]

With all due respect, what you are missing is that for decades now people have been willing to spend hefty premiums on Macs precisely because of their look and feel.

[Jud]

With all due respect, what you are missing is that for decades now people have been willing to spend hefty premiums on Macs precisely because of their look and feel.

 

Don't know if this is what you meant, but let me expand on what you've said from my perspective.

 

When I went out and tried laptops hands-on to see what I wanted to buy, I intended to purchase the lowest priced Windows laptop that would do the trick. But what was extremely bothersome with every single such laptop I tried, even more expensive ones, was the need to do a finger dance to achieve simple common tasks like resizing or moving windows. This was because the trackpad and buttons to "click" were separate, so you had to use one finger or thumb for one, one finger or thumb for the other. I didn't appreciate the idea of doing this little dance 50 times a day for the life of the laptop.

 

The MacBooks, on the other hand, simply made the trackpad itself clickable. One-finger convenient window moving and resizing, plus other quick and convenient trackpad gesture shortcuts.

 

The Apple programs that came with the laptop, as well as 3rd party programs made with this user interface system in mind, all shared such things as quick convenient trackpad gestures, plus more: there is a consistent look and feel that makes user manipulation of any such program a matter of reflex rather than thought. The time and mental energy this saves is invaluable. One of the central UI design principles for computer hardware and software is known by the acronym "POLA," for "principle of least astonishment." It is the difference in one's attitude, energy and anxiety level driving a car with precise steering and suspension versus driving a car with steering and suspension that are loose and may surprise.

 

So yes, that was worth every bit of what I paid for the MacBook Pro versus the Windows laptops I looked at.

 

What I understand Musicophile to be saying (though he can certainly speak for himself) is that "look and feel" are a vital part of the usability of your product and thus user satisfaction with it.

[YashN]

The MacBooks, on the other hand, simply made the trackpad itself clickable. One-finger convenient window moving and resizing, plus other quick and convenient trackpad gesture shortcuts.

 

Even better, you can also configure the trackpad for soft-clicking (single touch) so that there's no mechanical wear-and-tear (not Mac OS specific though, I used to do this on my former Win laptop too).

[miguelito]

With all due respect, what you are missing is that for decades now people have been willing to spend hefty premiums on Macs precisely because of their look and feel.

 

I would say on average - quality for quality of hardware - there is not a substantial premium. Apple doesn't make plastic netbooks.

[miguelito]

Even better, you can also configure the trackpad for soft-clicking (single touch) so that there's no mechanical wear-and-tear (not Mac OS specific though, I used to do this on my former Win laptop too).

 

There are a myriad of smart gestures on mac. And the "tap to click" is something I cannot live without.

[Musicophile]

Jud has summarized my position much better than I ever could. And anyhow, I didn't mean to start a Mac vs PC debate here.

 

All I was trying to say is that JRiver misses the point that look and feel are important to many people and even more so for Mac users.

 

And as long as they keep their current attitude to design they will never be as successful on a Mac as they could be, in spite of a good product.

[miguelito]

Jud has summarized my position much better than I ever could. And anyhow, I didn't mean to start a Mac vs PC debate here.

 

All I was trying to say is that JRiver misses the point that look and feel are important to many people and even more so for Mac users.

 

And as long as they keep their current attitude to design they will never be as successful on a Mac as they could be, in spite of a good product.

 

The design is simple: minimal changes to compile on the mac.

 

This is why the mac build is a pos from a stability, functionality, and interface perspective.

 

JRiver is for Windows. Period.

[Dr Tone]

On Mac, the next big change will probably be support for image management. Video improvements like subtitles, also.

 

That's what OSX users want, to manage their photos in JRMC a non OSX standard windows port. To hell with apple ecosystem app like iPhoto or any professional tool like Lightroom.

 

Sometimes more isn't better!!

[miguelito]

On Mac, the next big change will probably be support for image management. Video improvements like subtitles, also.

Surely you're joking Mr. JRiver! My first ask is for the current features to work!

[Musicophile]

That's what OSX users want, to manage their photos in JRMC a non OSX standard windows port. To hell with apple ecosystem app like iPhoto or any professional tool like Lightroom.

 

Sometimes more isn't better!!

 

I agree, this has confirmed my suspicion that Jriver will never get the Mac environment.

[Melvin]

I agree, this has confirmed my suspicion that Jriver will never get the Mac environment.

 

And is why I did not "upgrade" from 19.

[BobSherman]

Don't know if this is what you meant, but let me expand on what you've said from my perspective.

 

When I went out and tried laptops hands-on to see what I wanted to buy, I intended to purchase the lowest priced Windows laptop that would do the trick. But what was extremely bothersome with every single such laptop I tried, even more expensive ones, was the need to do a finger dance to achieve simple common tasks like resizing or moving windows. This was because the trackpad and buttons to "click" were separate, so you had to use one finger or thumb for one, one finger or thumb for the other. I didn't appreciate the idea of doing this little dance 50 times a day for the life of the laptop.

 

The MacBooks, on the other hand, simply made the trackpad itself clickable. One-finger convenient window moving and resizing, plus other quick and convenient trackpad gesture shortcuts.

 

The Apple programs that came with the laptop, as well as 3rd party programs made with this user interface system in mind, all shared such things as quick convenient trackpad gestures, plus more: there is a consistent look and feel that makes user manipulation of any such program a matter of reflex rather than thought. The time and mental energy this saves is invaluable. One of the central UI design principles for computer hardware and software is known by the acronym "POLA," for "principle of least astonishment." It is the difference in one's attitude, energy and anxiety level driving a car with precise steering and suspension versus driving a car with steering and suspension that are loose and may surprise.

 

So yes, that was worth every bit of what I paid for the MacBook Pro versus the Windows laptops I looked at.

 

What I understand Musicophile to be saying (though he can certainly speak for himself) is that "look and feel" are a vital part of the usability of your product and thus user satisfaction with it.

 

Jud,

 

I do not actually know what laptops you were trying but Windows track pads also feature taping, scrolling, gestures etc. I know this is not a PC MAC conversation, but in regards to your comment they can be similar. As far as JRiver I have never bothered with a MAC version, but still kids use the Win to play videos.

 

As far as faster, easier to use, more powerful, and better looking... LOL I have read that one before, and from what I have seen, JR seems pretty much the same... Time to upgrade the JRiver bank account!

[kennyb123]

All I was trying to say is that JRiver misses the point that look and feel are important to many people and even more so for Mac users.

 

And as long as they keep their current attitude to design they will never be as successful on a Mac as they could be, in spite of a good product.

 

This is a great point. I came to the Mac via many years on the PC, so I can make my way around JRiver just fine. I have a bunch of friends though who have only pretty much exclusively used Macs. They want nothing to do with JRiver.