New BIAB 2009 for Mac! Feedback?

John McClung · Post by **John McClung** » 23 Jun 2009 1:39 am

Looks like pretty recent news that BIAB 2009 for Mac (Intel only) has been released. It looks much improved...anyone out there have it, and have a review of it?

Jerome Hawkes · Post by **Jerome Hawkes** » 23 Jun 2009 1:19 pm

well, i have just received my mac upgrade to 2009. they are running a special right now, and its a decent deal - i had an OLD copy of BIAB from maybe 8 years ago but you know the mac-biab deal - they never would upgrade so i havent used it in 4 years.
so anyway, i havent gotten to play with it as my new mac laptop is on its way and my home mac is PPC chip, which wont work.

there are LOTS of review posts on the BIAB forum at PG music.

in a nutshell, people have waited SO LONG for this upgrade, you know, throwing a starving man a cracker...that anything is welcomed.

Bob Martin · Post by **Bob Martin** » 24 Jun 2009 5:19 am

You know that really stinks that they have all but given up on the Mac PPC they are still a very viable and usable Mac also the last of a dying breed. Once all of these become so obsolete that no one will make any apps for them they will die out pretty fast and it seems that we may already be there.

I understand the need for the new intel processors to keep up with times but there's no excuse for software makers to quit making updates for the older PPC users just like PG Music has evidently decided to do.

Big Bob

John McClung · Post by **John McClung** » 24 Jun 2009 7:52 am

Bob, hate to break the news to you, but the next Mac OS, Snow Leopard, is for Intel only, so it finally has come to end days for the PPC Macs. Sad, but inevitable. I've been very happy with my Intel Mac Mini and Macbook.

admin · Post by **b0b** » 24 Jun 2009 8:00 am

My BIAB laptop is a Mac Powerbook G4. I know that there are technological reasons for the "Intel only" decision, but I agree with with Bob Martin that this sucks.

John, I have no inclination to upgrade the OS. I know from experience that anything higher than 10.4 won't run well on my G4 anyway. At this point I'm faced with either getting a new laptop or just fading into obsolescence with the one I have. $:\$

Bob Martin · Post by **Bob Martin** » 24 Jun 2009 2:18 pm

I actually did know snow leopard was the end for ppc's but I think sw makers will continue to update sw for mac ppc machines but I know they won't forever and we will most likely have to upgrade to leopard 10.5 to even get them.

I am not in trouble so to say because I have stayed current on my PC end and have biab 09 with all the goodies and I'm ready for a new version this fall or late summer as always. Most sw vendors always release their new versions at that time.

I just like Mac pp-c machines and the main reason for not liking the intel macs is because of the high dollar upgrade path. I have almost nothing in my old G4 dual 1.25 and it still kicks butt on audio apps and other various apps but I realize that users of such apps as final cut pro need the new speed that the intel's offer and usually I am never against newer and better computers except when it costs me a couple of grand LOL. Anyway thanks for the views and info.

Bob

Randy Phelps · Post by **Randy Phelps** » 24 Jun 2009 4:11 pm

Bright side: if your PPC macs works well right now.... 'freeze it' in place (keep all the software the same especially if you are recording) and just use it til it dies.

As OSX and the intel migration have happened (from consumer demand) the native elements as of snow leopard will be complete for OSX.. no more 'old code' no more emulation happening in the background. This is a huge improvement performance wise and guarantees a future... it is really hard to drive a car straight if you spend too much time looking in the rear view window.

at 499.00 for a mac mini.. that is much less expensive than the least expensive ppc machine by several hundred dollars.. so upgrading to intel has a cost, but if you have an older g4 it is pretty long in the tooth (6 years?)

It is great that the older machines run so long and a testament to how well designed they were...

I have G5 for recording (I also use my intel macbook) and my plan is to get the latest and greatest for it right up to snow leopard.. then 'freeze' the box and spend zero time updating and more time recording.

The very first intel macs hit the market in January of 2006... so, the transition has been slow and steady...but it is finally here. The transition allows apple to continue to innovate so that they grow and stay viable as a company... a good thing for mac users.

The PG Music folks are sure nice people but for the longest time, I think they were waiting to see a roadmap for the mac and then they developed for it... if Apple had stayed in the same place, we wouldn't be seeing the upgrade.

I've had BIAB since it was first released... it is a great product.

Bob Hoffnar · Post by **Bob Hoffnar** » 24 Jun 2009 8:19 pm

I just called up PG music and ordered the new mac software. I installed it from the download and everything works fine. They found me in there database as an old user and just charged me for the cheap upgrade.

Jerry Gleason · Post by **Jerry Gleason** » 26 Jun 2009 4:24 pm

I ordered the "everything pak" I think it was called, which comes pre-installed on an 80GB external hard drive. It's a useful upgrade from BIAB 12 if you intend to use Real Tracks and Real Drums. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother. I am finding both Real Tracks and Real Drums to be useful, within their limits, so I'm happy with the upgrade.

John McClung · Post by **John McClung** » 7 Jul 2009 12:59 am

I ordered and received the EverythingPAK, just haven't had time to try it out, but I'll submit feedback to this thread when that happens.

But today I received the brand new printed manual for Mac BIAB 2009, it should really help having tips and guidance so handy like that.

admin · Post by **b0b** » 7 Jul 2009 7:14 am

I hate the idea of buying a new Mac laptop just to run the latest BIAB. I could put it on my Mac Mini desktop computer, but that's not very portable.

Seems that I'd be better off getting a Windows laptop for BIAB. They're cheaper.

Robert Tripp · Post by **Robert Tripp** » 7 Jul 2009 8:22 am

From what I've read on the PG forums, windows based BIAB has more features, and less problems. I've never had a Mac version, so I'm just going by what the Mac users are saying, and or lamenting.

John McClung · Post by **John McClung** » 5 Oct 2009 11:29 pm

I've finally had a chance to use my Everything Pak BIAB 2009. It's still an ugly, confusing interface, and still hard to use.

They already have a 2009.5 version, a little more of everything, for what seems like a quite expensive upgrade price. I'm getting fed up with PG Music, and wish someone would do a true Mac version of an app like this and clean their clock.

Harrumph.