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You are here: MacNN Forums > Software - Troubleshooting and Discussion > macOS > Why are all of Apple's iApps so slow??

Why are all of Apple's iApps so slow??
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Phrogman
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Sep 11, 2002, 07:50 PM
 
You all know what I'm talking about. I love these apps, especially since they are free, but I don't understand why they are so pokey. You would think that Apple with all their resources and software engineers could produce faster apps.

For any of you that respond with "Quit whining or shut the f*** up"......here is a preemptive "Up yours...." :-)
     
KidRed
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Sep 11, 2002, 07:57 PM
 
mm, no idea as ALL of the iApps are fine and fast for me.
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kman42
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Sep 11, 2002, 08:29 PM
 
iPhoto is the only slow iApp for me and that is only recently. I now have over 1000 photos and it is getting slower with time.

iCal is quite snappy, contrary to other people's reviews.

G4/867

kman
     
CheesePuff
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Sep 11, 2002, 08:44 PM
 
Oh god iTunes is so slow it lags when playing my MP3s.

Jeez, I can't edit any movies in iMovie... its wayyy to choppy.

Whatever.
     
Skywalkers new Hand
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Sep 11, 2002, 08:53 PM
 
I agree that iPhoto is the slowest thing out there, but iTunes and iMovie seem more then fine on my 450 Cube.

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torifile
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Sep 11, 2002, 10:24 PM
 
Maybe he was wondering why all first revisions of Apple's iApps are slow. I wouldn't say they are, but they are definitely on the pokey side. What gives?
     
chabig
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Sep 11, 2002, 10:46 PM
 
I guess we should all be thankful that Apple is even releasing version 1.0 of its programs. Microsoft took command of the software universe by releasing pieces of crap at version 1.0 to garner mindshare and then improving them. Apple, meanwhile has historically waited to release the polished product. The current slew of iApps exceed anything Microsoft has to offer. If Apple waited until they were perfect, Microsoft would have time to get its own crap into the marketplace. At least this way, Apple is in the game early, and building mindshare. iTunes 3.0 is pretty good. I look forward to iCal and iPhoto 3.0.

Chris
     
El Pre$idente
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Sep 11, 2002, 11:08 PM
 
Originally posted by chabig:
I guess we should all be thankful that Apple is even releasing version 1.0 of its programs. Microsoft took command of the software universe by releasing pieces of crap at version 1.0 to garner mindshare and then improving them. Apple, meanwhile has historically waited to release the polished product. The current slew of iApps exceed anything Microsoft has to offer. If Apple waited until they were perfect, Microsoft would have time to get its own crap into the marketplace. At least this way, Apple is in the game early, and building mindshare. iTunes 3.0 is pretty good. I look forward to iCal and iPhoto 3.0.

Chris
Oh you mean Apple took its time before releasing software. Wow, like that POS OS they released on March 2001. Like the one million OS updates before then. Like the one million updates since then? Fact is that Apple rushes software out regularly, updates come very often which means 'pay for' updates are quite regular too. iCal is VERY bad software even for free. iTunes is great. I wouldn't touch iMovie for DV editing.

But please get some facts right before beatifying a corporation. Apple has good designers but not good programmers. They frequently fail to deliver on some very simple things that Microsoft has gotten right for ages. From FTP, to live window resizing and from iDisk access to 3D performance, Apple took ages to catch up and still has to fix some of those.

And apparently Windows Media Player is much better than iTunes and Quicktime. The difference is that mp3 lists in iTunes happen to be easier to manage and the interface is better. But try recording live TV to a Mac and then create playback lists. Or try playing all video formats in one stable player that can also access extra features on DVDs. OSX is still miles away when it comes to some simple things.
     
Kaner
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Sep 12, 2002, 12:00 AM
 
Originally posted by El Pre$idente:


Oh you mean Apple took its time before releasing software. Wow, like that POS OS they released on March 2001. Like the one million OS updates before then. Like the one million updates since then? Fact is that Apple rushes software out regularly, updates come very often which means 'pay for' updates are quite regular too. iCal is VERY bad software even for free. iTunes is great. I wouldn't touch iMovie for DV editing.

But please get some facts right before beatifying a corporation. Apple has good designers but not good programmers. They frequently fail to deliver on some very simple things that Microsoft has gotten right for ages. From FTP, to live window resizing and from iDisk access to 3D performance, Apple took ages to catch up and still has to fix some of those.

And apparently Windows Media Player is much better than iTunes and Quicktime. The difference is that mp3 lists in iTunes happen to be easier to manage and the interface is better. But try recording live TV to a Mac and then create playback lists. Or try playing all video formats in one stable player that can also access extra features on DVDs. OSX is still miles away when it comes to some simple things.
you don't deserve mac, i hope you dont have one, please carry on with the rest of this thread...
     
raviruddarraju
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Sep 12, 2002, 12:03 AM
 
Originally posted by kman42:
iPhoto is the only slow iApp for me and that is only recently. I now have over 1000 photos and it is getting slower with time.

iCal is quite snappy, contrary to other people's reviews.

G4/867

kman
It is slow on my iBook 500. I am fine with speed because I know I have a slow computer. But, what the heck with all those bugs? iCal is full of buggs. I am wondering about the integrity of my data sometimes. they need to do release 1.1 soon enough. And 10.2.1 at the same time please. That cat's got a bunch of those bugs on its skin.
- Ravi
     
iamnid
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Sep 12, 2002, 12:10 AM
 
iPhoto is the only iApp that is slow on my powermac or ibook.

No complaints with iTunes, iCal, or iMovie.
     
MindFad
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Sep 12, 2002, 12:16 AM
 
Why do some of you have problems with iCal? I used it and found it very cool and useful. What's so bad about it? Wasn't buggy for me, it ran fine.... What's up?
     
Phoible
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Sep 12, 2002, 10:38 PM
 
"You all know what I'm talking about. I love these apps, especially since they are free, but I don't understand why they are so pokey. You would think that Apple with all their resources and software engineers could produce faster apps. "

Because it isn't enough for Apple to charge you $130 for an upgrade to your operating system. They also want to charge you $1500 for an upgrade to your computer.
     
funkboy
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Sep 13, 2002, 12:48 AM
 
Well, the operating system itself is somewhat slower to begin with, with all the Quartz overhead and whatnot. Since iApps use the chrome interface, which also has a lot of overhead, you'll notice slower action in these programs (at least, that's my theory).
The programs are not unusable on my iBook 500, not at all... iCal I really like, though it's odd that when I put my iBook to sleep and wake it up the next morning, the calendar date in the dock icon for iCal does not update to reflect today's date. It still was Sept. 11 this morning... Groundhog's Day, eh?

Still, I applaud Apple for their attempts. These programs really are useful and fun. I can't wait to use them with a newer computer, but for now I'm happy with my iBook. Hey, I'm posting here and wasting time, so I can probably wait a second for the iCal window to draw, too
     
Skywalker
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Sep 13, 2002, 02:28 AM
 
Ever try to new calculator program? I just have to know, why does it take so long to respond to input keys? I mean, try typing in 4 numbers quickly. you'll see what I mean.
iBook 600, 384MB RAM, 30GB HD
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drmcnutt
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Sep 13, 2002, 02:46 AM
 
Originally posted by chabig:
I guess we should all be thankful that Apple is even releasing version 1.0 of its programs. Microsoft took command of the software universe by releasing pieces of crap at version 1.0 to garner mindshare and then improving them. Apple, meanwhile has historically waited to release the polished product. The current slew of iApps exceed anything Microsoft has to offer. If Apple waited until they were perfect, Microsoft would have time to get its own crap into the marketplace. At least this way, Apple is in the game early, and building mindshare. iTunes 3.0 is pretty good. I look forward to iCal and iPhoto 3.0.

Chris
"Thankful" what is this some gift from the heavens? It's a product for sale, like a toaster, if it doesn't work as expected then people are upset. Iapps in this instance are bundled with macs to attract the consumer.

Also why is it when someone defends Apple they have to bring Microsoft into the fray. It's a tired arguement almost a kneejerk response anymore. Someday Apple united might be able to move out of the shadow of Microsoft and actually think different Move out of the basement into the real world were there is more to life the Windows/Macs Universe. It's good to have competition, believe it or not.

DRM
     
biscuit
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Sep 13, 2002, 05:59 AM
 
Is this something to do with G3s vs G4s? I have to say that iPhoto is slow and so is iCal (only used that a little, doesn't seem too hot) on my iBook. Don't these things have some G4 code in them? I seem to remember reading somewhere that iPhoto does anyway.

And one other thing, whats with iCal and Address Book quitting when you close the window? Thats not how Macs work....

biscuit
     
noliv
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Sep 13, 2002, 06:51 AM
 
On my system (iMacDV400), iPhoto is slow with hundreds of photos, iChat is slow when there is more than 1 hour of bubbles in the window, Omniweb is slow only when i browse very big pages with tables...

It seems like Quartz has a big problem with enormous contents: It's not a big problem if scrolling up and down is slow in a enourmous page, but with Quartz everything is slow in that case: menus, opening a new little window...

I am generaly satisfied with iApps on a G3 400.
-noliv
     
file
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Sep 13, 2002, 08:54 AM
 
all the iapps run about the same as any program...i never noticed any slowness unless i was warranted in what i was doing in that program.

imovie, iphoto, mail, ichat....wow. i think i'm a model apple user
     
Gul Banana
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Sep 13, 2002, 09:53 AM
 
I like iCal very much (in terms of features and design) but it is undoubtedly sluggish on my G4/400... it has just occurred to me to try it out on the dual gig. It will probably be blazingly fast, but that's more the speed of the computer than the speed of the application Actually, I suppose it is a comfort that pretty much every Mac program and OS X itself runs flawlessly speedily on the latestish hardware, because it means that in a couple of years nobody will have speed problems anymore!
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SMacTech
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Sep 13, 2002, 10:25 AM
 
Originally posted by El Pre$idente:

They frequently fail to deliver on some very simple things that Microsoft has gotten right for ages.
Yea, like the XP upgrade that took them forever to fix, with a list of 300 bugs. Nevermind the hundreds of others.
Tell me, why do you even own a Mac? You are ready to rip Apple a new one whenever you get the chance

Go away please!
     
zac4mac
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Sep 13, 2002, 11:01 AM
 
I use iTunes regularly on a PM8500/G3-450/9.1, a G4DP-550/X.2 and a 600iBook/X.2. No noticeable speed difference except when converting to MP3.
iCal is definitely slower on the iBook than the duallie tho, but so is PhotoShop.
Mail is fine on the duallie, I don't use it on the 'Book.
I also don't use iPhoto, iChat, iMovie or iDVD.

Sometimes new software is even slow on current hardware, it's called evolution... then again, I don't really have a speed problem at home, my duallie will last until next Fall at least. It's more than fast enough for everything I'm currently running.
     
stefls
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Sep 13, 2002, 11:01 AM
 
Originally posted by Skywalker:
Ever try to new calculator program? I just have to know, why does it take so long to respond to input keys? I mean, try typing in 4 numbers quickly. you'll see what I mean.
What have you done?! The new calculator did not accept any input, it just hangs and doesn't accept a force-quit! (no kidding)... blaah
     
OAW
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Sep 13, 2002, 11:24 AM
 
Originally posted by Skywalker:
Ever try to new calculator program? I just have to know, why does it take so long to respond to input keys? I mean, try typing in 4 numbers quickly. you'll see what I mean.
Skywalker,

And you don't need "the force" to see that Calculator is slow in this respect just as you described!

OAW
     
OAW
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Sep 13, 2002, 11:36 AM
 
Here's my speed review of the various Apple applications. Please bear in mind that by "speed" I mean GUI responsiveness ...

Mail - Fast

Address Book - Fast

iTunes - Fast

iMovie - Fast

iDVD - OK

iChat - OK

iCal - OK (inexplicably doesn't respond to double clicking an event at times, seemingly random)

iPhoto - Slow (at times, seemingly random)

OAW
     
VRL
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Sep 13, 2002, 01:11 PM
 
Didn't notice any mention of this: How much RAM do you have? What kind of Mac?

No slowness for me with any of the apps. Not even with my G3 Powerbook. I also max out RAM whenever possible
     
TheTraveller
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Sep 13, 2002, 02:10 PM
 
The only iApp that I would call "slow" is iPhoto. It's the practically the antithesis of snappy. The rest of the iApps, and Mail, etc. are pretty decent - but yeah, what is with the Calculator? It sometimes does seem to be excruciatingly slow at accepting keystrokes.

But, I will say, iCal does take a long time to launch. But why bother launching iCal at all? It has integration with the Address Book, but other than that, Yahoo's free Calendar (calendar.yahoo.com) is so superior, I can't imagine ever using iCal.
     
   
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