Transition To 64 bit For Apple apps.

[MDenton]

I am a film user scanning my negatives on a Minolta 5400 using Vuescan on an Apple iMac computer.

Can anyone enlighten me if Apple's impending move to 64 bit only on its apps will have any effect on my workflow ?

 

[Larry Cloetta]

Articles on ByThom.com and Petapixel explaining how to get a current answer to your question, though I am sure that there is a lot more involved in your workflow than just Vuescan.
Apple menu>about this Mac>System Report>Software>Applications
From the list of applications that shows up (eventually) select them one by one. The data for that application will have the item "64 bit (Intel)" followed by either a 'yes' or a 'no'. If it is already 64 bit you are good to go. If the answer is 'no' you either have to hope/assume the developer will update the app when the time comes or you need to look for another application to use when that one will no longer work on the latest Mac-if your fave program gets stuck at 32 bit. It is not a bad idea to go through the entire list and make a note of every program which is not now 64 bit, just to know what's what.

Not sure what iteration your Vuescan is, but mine, which I no longer use for photos, only documents, is 9.1.2 and it is 32 Bit. I didn't check for any updates.
Silverfast is 64 Bit.
Adobe Camera RAW as others have mentioned is 32 Bit. Lots of things are 32 Bit. Lots of Nikon software apps are 32 Bit.

Interestingly enough, my Analog Efex Pro, Color Efex Pro, dFine2, HDR Efex Pro, Viveza 2, and Silver Efex Pro 2- my entire NIK Suite- shows up as 64 Bit on my computer.
Fotomagico, which I have heard on the web is 32 Bit, shows up as 64 Bit here.

If anyone has an answer to that puzzle, NIK is or is not 64 Bit, I'd be curious to hear. My computer thinks my NIK Suite is 64 Bit, that's all I know. Internet says it is 32 Bit.
People who have it loaded on a Mac, please check on your computer and maybe post the results. That might be interesting.

So, short answer to the OP's original question; it might effect your workflow, just depends on what other programs you use, but it is easy to check.

 

[Jamie Pillers]

My Mac, running MacOS Sierra, says NIK software is 64 bit. Aperture and Lightroom also 64 bit.

 

[brbo]

Vuescan has had 64bit version since... forever. No worries for you.

 

[Godfrey]

All the Apple apps, and most of the major players, have been 64bit for a few years now. Be sure that when you install VueScan, you use the 64bit version. macOS has been 64bit on all hardware that supports 64bit for two or three OS revisions too.

So the likelihood is that you'll hardly notice the change UNLESS your computer hardware isn't capable of supporting 64bit (the turnover point was somewhere around the 2012 generation machines, depending on the specific machine and configuration). Then you'll need a newer model computer.

G

 

[Larry Cloetta]

I can't be the only one who has seen multiple sources on the internet saying that one of the main casualties of Apple moving to solely 64 bit support was going to be the NIK Suite because it was "32 Bit and (obviously) not going to be upgraded".
Even Thom Hogan had this to say "In short, updating to the new macOS could eventually become a cataclysmic event for some when the 32-bit window eventually closes in 2019. If nothing else, it will trigger a fair amount of application updating between now and then—assuming the developers in question continue to update their products. At worst case, things you may rely upon, like the Nik Collection plug-ins that aren’t getting updates, will eventually just die when the deadline passes."

So, NIK Collection, e.g. Silver Efex Pro, et. al. was actually 64 bit all along, and no worries? As Emily Litella would say, "Never mind!" ?
I guess I should have posted this in the "Nik software abandonware" thread, but Was already typing here due to sloppy thread management. Sorry.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

With the Nik stuff, when I checked mine, all of the Nik plugins were 64 bit. Don't know what Thom was seeing; maybe he has an older version of the Nik suite and not the last update?

Analogue Effects: 64
Color Efex Pro 4: 64
HDR Efex Pro 2: 64
Sharpener Pro 3: 64
Silver Efex Pro 2: 64
Viveza 2: 64

 

[plummerl]

With the Nik stuff, when I checked mine, all of the Nik plugins were 64 bit. Don't know what Thom was seeing; maybe he has an older version of the Nik suite and not the last update?

Analogue Effects: 64
Color Efex Pro 4: 64
HDR Efex Pro 2: 64
Sharpener Pro 3: 64
Silver Efex Pro 2: 64
Viveza 2: 64

Chris, the problem (for Apple people) is that the installer/uninstaller is a 32-bit application. I'm running Win 10, the installer/uninstaller are 32-bit apps, but the installed plugins are 64-bit (since I'm running 64-bit Windows). The installation blob, contains both 32 & 64-bit versions.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Chris, the problem (for Apple people) is that the installer/uninstaller is a 32-bit application. I'm running Win 10, the installer/uninstaller are 32-bit apps, but the installed plugins are 64-bit (since I'm running 64-bit Windows). The installation blob, contains both 32 & 64-bit versions.

Interesting. So, if you have already got the 64 bit versions installed, you should be able to update your Mac to the new OS with no issues. If you buy a new Mac with that new system installed, you won't be able to install the Nik software.

 

[brbo]

Interesting. So, if you have already got the 64 bit versions installed, you should be able to update your Mac to the new OS with no issues. If you buy a new Mac with that new system installed, you won't be able to install the Nik software.

No. AFAIK you can still download and install Nik Collection (even on latest macOS that is not officially supported by Nik), but Apple/Adobe could still (not deliberately) break compatibility in 1001 ways with future software/hardware upgrades...

This happens all the time, 3rd party developers then work with Apple if problem can't be resolved fully on their side. When there is no developer behind a 3rd party software I wouldn't expect Apple to actively search for solution that would accommodate some abandoned piece of software when a major incompatibility emerges.

 

[willie_901]

OS X supports two different installation processes.

The first uses application bundles: a DMG image file. Uncompressing the DMG file recreates the new application's executable code. Then you just drag and drop (copy) the complied code into the desired Applications finder. OS X 10.12 is 64 bit so the native OS X un-compression tools are also 64 bit. A vendor's application is 32 bit executable code can be un-compressed and copied by a 64 bit OS.

The second uses OS X installer packages. OS X contains a proprietary application to perform more complicated installations. Some applications, require scripts to integrate the application into the OS. Then Apple's a proprietary executable is used by the software vendors' installer and uninstaller utilities (also called Installers... sorry). The Apple Installer application is has been 64 bits for many years. Again, the 64 bit Unix executable (the Installer) could create a 32 bit application if that's what the vendor supplied.

Very old OS X applications that were installed when OS X was a 32 bit operating system, then both the DMG and OS X Installer packages were also 32 bit. I believe Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard (late 2007) was the first to version of OS X to support 64 bit chip architecture.

 

[willie_901]

N...I wouldn't expect Apple to actively search for solution that would accommodate some abandoned piece of software when a major incompatibility emerges.

That's right. In the past Apple and Microsoft give ample advance warning to developers about future incompatibilities.

Running unsupported applications using unsupported operating systems is a viable strategy as long as the computer is not connected to the internet. The recent global ransomware attacks took advantage of vulnerabilities in unsupported operating systems with internet connections. These were low hanging fruit.

 

[MDenton]

Many thanks for the responses.

My Apple is 64 bit,and one version of Vuescan is 64 bit,but later updates do not appear to be. So'I'll just have to wait until the change occurs and sort out my Vuescan downloads.

 

[Godfrey]

Many thanks for the responses.

My Apple is 64 bit,and one version of Vuescan is 64 bit,but later updates do not appear to be. So'I'll just have to wait until the change occurs and sort out my Vuescan downloads.

Go to https://www.hamrick.com/old-versions.html and download both x32 and x64 bit versions to your heart's content. 😀

G

 

[Ronald M]

Keep your computer until all programs work. Keep it off line. You do not need internet for photos.

Do not jump to 64 or you`ll be sorry.

 

[willie_901]

Keep your computer until all programs work. Keep it off line. You do not need internet for photos.

Do not jump to 64 or you`ll be sorry.

Clients demand on-line delivery. Many juried exhibitions require on-line delivery. Friends and family expect on-line access. I refuse to own and maintain a printer. Commercial print labs require on-line access (well you could mail smaller labs thumb nail drives I guess).

So, internet access is needed for photos.

Still, copying the final files from an off-line computer to a connected computer with the most current OS solves these problems. You just trade one inconvenience (manual file transfer between computers) for another (updating and, or finding new software to benefit from a more powerful and secure OS).

Anyway, I won't be sorry.

I'm happy to use improved OS and application versions for my photography work. Since 1973 adapting to constant OS updates and improvements was an important part of non-photograpy working life. Refusing or postponing OS updates I would have been ruined me.

 

[fjolnir]

As far as I know the 64bit only thing is just for apps in the iOS store. System level support for 32bit should stay around until CPUs start dropping 32bit mode (not anytime soon)

 

[Godfrey]

As far as I know the 64bit only thing is just for apps in the iOS store. System level support for 32bit should stay around until CPUs start dropping 32bit mode (not anytime soon)

It's fairly high maintenance cost to keep both 32 and 64 bit alive. Apps do a great deal of dynamic linking to system supplied frameworks. It proves difficult to cross link 32 and 64 bit binaries AND improve performance and resposiveness at the same time. It can also create some very very difficult to debug situations.

A particular CPU's ability to do both 32 and 64 bit modes is just a small part of what it takes to be word-size agnostic.

G

 

[infrequent]

Echoing what fjolnir said, the iOS store and the upcoming iOS 11 means no more support for 32 bit applications on iOS devices.

On the macOS front, the next version High Sierra will warn users about 32 bit apps but unlike iOS 11 there is no strict cutoff. Likely that Apple will continue to warn users till the next next version as they have been on the iOS side (developers have known and been encouraged to transition to 64 bit for a while). Needless to say if you have a 32 bit application that cannot make the transition and is essential to your workflow, refrain from updating the OS and keep using your device as long as needed or viable.