[alansim]

My iBook G4 (800 MHz, 256 MB RAM) doesn't show the ripple effect when I place a Dashboard Widget on the Expos� desktop. Does anyone have any ideas as to why it doesn't?
Thanks.

[eevyl]

Because its graphics card is not able to accelerate it.

[jlgrandam]

I guess the omg_ripple!.ubx file didn't get installed on your machine??

[seanc]

It's because the graphics card doesn't have enough video ram to do it.
It is not supported properly by core image, so to make Tiger work on the unsupported grapics card, some features/effects are turned off.
It doesn't work on my ibook g4 1.2ghz either.

Sean

[nickw311]

Originally Posted by seanc

It's because the graphics card doesn't have enough video ram to do it.
It is not supported properly by core image, so to make Tiger work on the unsupported grapics card, some features/effects are turned off.
It doesn't work on my ibook g4 1.2ghz either.

Sean

What exactly is this ripple effect? I have heard a lot about it but have no ide what it does...

[Chuckit]

It makes the desktop ripple for a couple of seconds when you create a new instance of a widget.

[Louis_SX]

of all the things to get worked up about, this isn't it. ;p It's pretty, sure, but it's not a deal breaker for me. Apple has a QT movie on their website if you've never seen it before.

[nickw311]

Yeah I went and watched it... IMO the ripple takes too much time, It seems so inefficient...

[sworthy]

It's just an animation... not an actual 'feature'. On my 12" rev b powerbook w. nvidia 5200 go (the worst card that is actually supported) I see it, but it's really slow and annoying. I imagine it would be nice eye candy on a better gpu.

[Squozen]

Originally Posted by seanc

It's because the graphics card doesn't have enough video ram to do it.
It is not supported properly by core image, so to make Tiger work on the unsupported grapics card, some features/effects are turned off.
It doesn't work on my ibook g4 1.2ghz either.

Sean

Everything you said was correct except for the first sentence. It has NOTHING to do with the amount of video RAM and EVERYTHING to do with the features supported by the GPU.

[Zimphire]

Don't worry about it.

In a month, there will be TONS of people wishing their ripple effect didn't work too.

[Chuckit]

Because it's so freaking hard to click if you don't want to watch the ripple.

[pete]

I hate the ripple. It takes time, distorts nearby widgets and is generally over-the-top. Stupid and unnecessary.

[seanc]

I'm glad I don't have the ripple - an upside to using slightly outdated hardware!
Too much eyecandy bogs the system down to much, and then the trademark would be sluggish instead of snappy.
This ripple almost makes me feel that releases of new apple operating systems (if not all operating systems) are misleading.
Steve sits there with his dual 2.5ghz 4gb ram etc powermac g5 with 30" cinema display and wows us with this eyecandy, and we are instantly drawn to it thinking that it will work on all our hardware... but reality is if you really want every single feature of an OS to work to it's optimum performance, you need a top of the line maxed out brand new machine with every os release.

[Visnaut]

While it's quite smooth on my PB17, it just gets a bit annoying after the first two times.

You can click again on the widget to stop it, but it's so jarring going from a split-second ripple to nothing.

Many people have said it before, and I'll say it again: If it weren't such a huge ripple, and only affected the image below the dashboard layer, it'd be tolerable, but it's a bit too much as it is.

[himself]

Originally Posted by Visnaut

While it's quite smooth on my PB17, it just gets a bit annoying after the first two times.

You can click again on the widget to stop it, but it's so jarring going from a split-second ripple to nothing.

Many people have said it before, and I'll say it again: If it weren't such a huge ripple, and only affected the image below the dashboard layer, it'd be tolerable, but it's a bit too much as it is.

It doesn't bother me much either way, but I lean towards it being less pronounced. Alos, in addition to immediately clicking the widget when you drop it to stop the ripple, you can also just click on a widget in the widget bay/dock to put the widget on your desktop without any ripple effect.

[CaptainHaddock]

Argh, too � much � misinformation and nonsense � must � correct.

It's because the graphics card doesn't have enough video ram to do it.

That's not actually the reason. The ripple, like other CoreImage filters, use the pixel-shading functions that only newer video cards have. But while the rest of CoreImage can also be done on the CPU, the ripple is too complex to do in real-time, so that one single effect is disabled.

Too much eyecandy bogs the system down to much, and then the trademark would be sluggish instead of snappy.

Tiger's ripple, and many other effects, do not bog the system down, because they are handled by the graphics processor (GPU), which would otherwise be twiddling its thumbs. In other words, the Mac is using much more of its hardware potential, unlike Windows computers. And along with the world's most advanced, GPU-accelerated desktop, you get some cool eye-candy for free. That's a good thing, not a bad thing.

if you really want every single feature of an OS to work to it's optimum performance, you need a top of the line maxed out brand new machine with every os release.

Good grief, every new version of OS X runs faster and smoother than the last on every supported Mac! What more could you possibly want?

*Sigh* �Leave it to Mac users to complain when Apple adds neat features and makes OS X faster. The ripple is just something cool to look at while the widget is loading. If you're really concerned about your OS having too many cool features, why don't you consider switching to Windows ME? I have an unused copy I can give you.

[bluejam]

I have a PB 1GZ. I see no ripple. Is there a way to turn it on? I actually like it.

[awaspaas]

Originally Posted by bluejam

I have a PB 1GZ. I see no ripple. Is there a way to turn it on? I actually like it.

Have you actually read the thread?

[cgc]

How long until this is hacked to be allowed on ALL systems regardless of GPU specs? Like the hack to allow Quartz Extreme on PCI video cards.

[mitchell_pgh]

Question: So if your computer doesn't support the ripple effect, does the icon show as having green hands on the icon?

[mitchell_pgh]

Originally Posted by cgc

How long until this is hacked to be allowed on ALL systems regardless of GPU specs? Like the hack to allow Quartz Extreme on PCI video cards.

I'm guessing... maybe never.

[seanc]

Yea i'm wrong. The comment about the eye candy, and having to buy a new system with every os, was sort of pulled from my horrible windows experience, and on Windows it's almost 99% the truth.
What I meant on the mac was that the older hardware sometimes can't support some features, and so they're turned off, but if you want all features then you need to have a better machine.
I used macs before os x, that was os 7 and 8. I then moved to pc for a few years and truly regretted it. I'm now back on mac with os x and am very pleased.
My dashboard icon has a red hand on it, and it doesn't support the ripple.

Sean

[moonmonkey]

Originally Posted by mitchell_pgh

Question: So if your computer doesn't support the ripple effect, does the icon show as having green hands on the icon?

No, (not supported here and red) how did you do that?
Thats not an icon in the dashboard app.

[mitchell_pgh]

I didn't do anything... it's just green. The icon is red in the applications folder.

[thedarklord420]

Mac OS X 10.4: Requirements for Quartz Extreme and Core Image graphics

If you're wondering what the video requirements are for Quartz Extreme and Core Image in Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, find out in this informative document.

Note: Quartz Extreme and Core Image are impressive video enhancements in Tiger that appear on fast Macs. But even if you have an older computer that can't use Quartz Extreme or Core Image, it can still run Tiger if it meets the system requirements. If you have a third-party video card installed, contact the card manufacturer to determine if it is Tiger-compatible.

Quartz Extreme

Some appealing graphics effects, such as the "rotating cube" effect you see when using Fast User Switching to switch users, are powered by Quartz Extreme. Quartz Extreme uses OpenGL and a supported graphics card to reduce the number of onscreen calculations being performed by the CPU. To take advantage of Quartz Extreme, you need one of the following graphics cards:

ATI: Any AGP-based ATI RADEON GPU with 16 MB VRAM or better.
NVIDIA: Any NVIDIA GeForce2 MX, GeForce3, GeForce4 MX, or GeForce4 Ti GPU with 16 MB VRAM or better.
Core Image

Other graphics effects and optimizations in Tiger, such as the ripple effect that shows when you place a widget on Dashboard, are driven by Core Image. When a programmable GPU is present, Core Image uses the graphics card for image processing operations, freeing the CPU for other tasks. To take advantage of Core Image, you need one of the following graphics cards:

ATI: ATI Mobility Radeon 9700, Radeon 9600 XT, 9800 XT, or X800 XT.
NVIDIA: GeForce FX Go 5200, GeForce FX 5200 Ultra, GeForce 6800 Ultra DDL, or GT DDL.
If you have a different card, contact the manufacturer for Core Image compatibility information.

Verifying compatibility with System Profiler

With Mac OS X 10.4, you can use System Profiler to make sure your computer's GPU supports Quartz Extreme or Core Image.

Open System Profiler (it's in /Applications/Utilities, or, if started from the Tiger install disc, open it from the Utilities menu).
Click "Graphics/Displays" under Contents.
In the right pane under "Display," look for the Quartz Extreme and Core Image lines; next to each, you will see either "Supported" or "Not Supported."




I Hope This Helps?

[owl1]

Damm thedarklord, know's his stuff thanks for the help TDL.

[Eriamjh]

Originally Posted by CaptainHaddock

Too much eyecandy bogs the system down to much, and then the trademark would be sluggish instead of snappy.

Tiger's ripple, and many other effects, do not bog the system down, because they are handled by the graphics processor (GPU), which would otherwise be twiddling its thumbs. In other words, the Mac is using much more of its hardware potential, unlike Windows computers. And along with the world's most advanced, GPU-accelerated desktop, you get some cool eye-candy for free. That's a good thing, not a bad thing.

Eye candy DOES slow the machine down. Why? Because no matter how fast the eye candy is, if you have to wait for it to finish BEFORE you can do work. It has the same effect of slowing YOU down.

Only eye candy that does not prevent work from being done should be permitted.

In order to be snappy (don't know how to do the little TM), results of an act should be instant. Click a window, it disappears (it doesn't shrink or slide away like dock-sucking, etc.). Click a file, it opens (no "zooming" effect, etc.). Eye candy is a waste of TIME.

With all these things sucking up resources, be them CPU or GPU or TIME, one should be able to turn them on or off selectively. I'm sure that some people would agree with that.

[SMacTech]

Originally Posted by Eriamjh

Eye candy DOES slow the machine down. Why? Because no matter how fast the eye candy is, if you have to wait for it to finish BEFORE you can do work. It has the same effect of slowing YOU down.

You must be joking? You have to wait for eye candy to finish before you can continue to work? Does it mesmerize you or something that you cannot function until its completion?

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by SMacTech

You must be joking? You have to wait for eye candy to finish before you can continue to work? Does it mesmerize you or something that you cannot function until its completion?

You can't function until the ripple is done because Dashboard doesn't allow it. You can click to make it stop early, but that's about all you can do..

[Eriamjh]

Originally Posted by SMacTech

You must be joking? You have to wait for eye candy to finish before you can continue to work? Does it mesmerize you or something that you cannot function until its completion?

I said IF (and apparently it is true). It's like having a built-in delay.

[Randman]

It's actually to mask the second or so it takes the widgets to upload.

[maCCer]

Originally Posted by Randman

It's actually to mask the second or so it takes the widgets to upload.

good point