Open source Astronomy for MAC OS X
Celestia
Download and enjoy 3D Asteroids free for PC and Macintosh computers. HOME DOWNLOAD HIGH SCORES FORUM / SUPPORT. Discover what the game is really about - try it yourself. Be sure to complete the flight training before playing the game. Size: 2MB Download 3D Asteroids for Mac OS X. DOWNLOAD ACC FOR PC DOWNLOAD ACC FOR MAC. ASTRO COMMAND CENTER FOR WINDOWS 10. The Windows 10 version ASTRO Command Center software, from the Microsoft Store. About iPhemeris Astrology Software for Mac. IPhemeris is the best Astrology Software for Mac (MacOS).It does all types of Astrology charting and includes: Ephemeris Tables; Astrological Calendars; Moon & Eclipse tables; 'Sky Now' real-time chart of the Sky, and can function in either Tropical or Sidereal mode.iPhemeris is the only Astrology software for Mac that includes traditional Tabular. When installing AsteroidOS on most watches, you may choose to replace your previous OS entirely or install it alongside the existing OS, called a 'dual-boot'. If you decide to replace your previous OS, it is advised that you make a backup of your userdata and boot partitions before flashing AsteroidOS.
Celestia is a 3D astronomy program. The program allows the user to travel through an extensive and accurate universe at any speed, in any direction and at any time in history (GPL)
Linux - FreeBSD - Windows - MAC OS X
Gpredict
Gpredict is a real-time satellite tracking and orbit prediction application. It can track an unlimited number of satellites and display their position and other data in lists, tables, maps, and polar plots (radar view). (GPL)
Linux - FreeBSD - Windows - MAC OS X
ORSA
ORSA is an interactive tool for scientific grade Celestial Mechanics computations. Asteroids, comets, artificial satellites, Solar and extra-Solar planetary systems can be accurately reproduced, simulated, and analyzed. (GPL)
Linux - FreeBSD - Windows - MAC OS X
Stellarium
Stellarium is a free open source planetarium for your computer. It shows a realistic sky in 3D, just like what you see with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope. (GPL)
Linux - FreeBSD - Windows - MAC OS X
Virtual Moon Atlas
Virtual Moon Atlas can visualize the Moon aspect for every date and hour and pilot computerized telescopes on the Moon surface. It permits also to study lunar formations with unique database of more than 9000 entries and more than 7000 pictures. (GPL)
Linux - Windows - MAC OS X
5 applications
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software, video games |
| Founded | August 18, 1993; 27 years ago |
| Defunct | July 19, 2019; 21 months ago[citation needed] |
| Headquarters | Rochester, New York, U.S. |
| Andrew Welch | |
| Products | Sharewarevideo games and utilities |
| Website | http://www.ambrosiasw.com |
Ambrosia Software was a predominantly Macintoshsoftware company founded in 1993 and located in Rochester, New York, U.S. Ambrosia Software was best known for its Macintosh remakes of older arcade games, which began with a 1992 version of Atari, Inc.'s Asteroids from 1979. The company also published utility software. Its products were distributed as shareware; demo versions could be downloaded and used for up to 30 days. Later the company released some products for iOS. Ambrosia's best-selling program was the utility Snapz Pro X,[1][2] according to a 2002 interview with company president Andrew Welch.
Asteroids Microsoft
In 2017, customers reported on Ambrosia's Facebook page that attempts to contact the company were unsuccessful and they were unable to make new purchases.[3] As of July 2019, the website is offline.
History[edit]
Ambrosia Software was incorporated August 18, 1993 by Andrew Welch after he graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1992.[4]The first game produced by Ambrosia was Maelstrom, a 1992 remake of the 1979 Asteroids arcade game. Maelstrom won a number of software awards.[5] This initial success led Ambrosia to release several more arcade-style games, including Apeiron (a remake of Centipede), Swoop (a clone of Galaxian), and Barrack (a clone of JezzBall). In 1999, Cameron Crotty of Macworld wrote 'No other company has gotten so much mileage out of renovating mid-1980s arcade hits.'[6]
Nearly all of the company's ten employees were laid off in 2013, but Welch denied rumors of the company shutting down.[7] In late 2018, the company's last remaining employee announced that Ambrosia was officially shutting down its operations.[8]
Products[edit]
Games[edit]
Ambrosia Software's games, in order of release:
- Maelstrom — Asteroidsremake
- Chiral
- Apeiron — Centipede remake
- Swoop — Galaxian clone
- Barrack — JezzBall clone[9]
- Bubble Trouble — Pengo remake
- Harry the Handsome Executive
- Slithereens
- Cythera
- Deimos Rising
- Coldstone game engine
- Bubble Trouble X — Mac OS Xport of original, with minor gameplay changes
- pop-pop
- Uplink — Mac OS X port
- Aki
- Apeiron X — Mac OS X port of the original, with enhanced graphics
- Darwinia — Mac OS X port
- DEFCON — Mac OS X port
- pop-pop — Universal Binary release
- Uplink — Universal Binary release
- Aki — Universal Binary release
- Mondo Solitaire
- Aki — iPhone/iPod Touch release
- Aquaria — Mac OS X port
- Escape Velocity Nova — Universal Binary release
- Multiwinia — Mac OS X port
- Hypnoblocks
Ambrosia, in conjunction with DG Associates, has also released the Escape Velocity Nova Card Game.
Productivity Software[edit]
Ambrosia Software's utilities, in order of release:
- Eclipse — Screen saver CDEV
- Big Cheese Key — FKey to mask screen image from boss.
- FlashWrite — Text editor Desk Accessory
- FlashWrite ][
- ColorSwitch — Menu bar item to change monitor color depth
- EasyEnvelopes — Envelope printing Desk accessory. Later a Mac OS X v10.4 and Mac OS X v10.5Dashboard widget.
- Snapz
- To Do!
- Oracle
- ColorSwitch Pro
- Snapz Pro— Screen capture application
- iSeek — Desktop search application
- Snapz Pro X — Mac OS X-compatible version of original
- WireTap Pro — Audio recording utility
- Screen Cleaner Pro — April Fool's joke
- Dragster — File transfer application
- iToner — iPhone custom ringtone transfer utility
- WireTap Studio — Audio recording, editing and master storage; won a 2007 'Eddy Award' from Macworld
- WireTap Anywhere — professional virtual audio patchbay utility, enabling the recording of any Mac OS X application's audio output from within any Mac OS X audio application.
- Soundboard — Mac OS X Audio playback ('computerized cart machine')
- Big Cheese Key X — Mac OS X-compatible version of original
No 'Crippled' shareware[edit]
One of Ambrosia's founding mantras was that shareware software should not be distributed as crippleware. The company's software was released on the honor system with only a short reminder that you had used the unregistered software for 'x' amount of time, creating what is commonly called nagware.[10]
This policy was later changed and the company employed typical shareware piracy prevention measures,[11] as well as more innovative ones such as used in the Escape Velocity line of games where the team's mascot, Hector the Parrot (known in-game as Cap'n Hector), would use her heavily armed ship to ceaselessly attack players of unregistered copies after the trial period had expired. Their software products therefore fell under the category of crippleware.[11] Now that the company no longer provides new expiring license codes, customers who had purchased Ambrosia software are now treated as though they have expired trial versions, for instance meaning that Cap'n Hector's attacks in Escape Velocity games cannot be stopped.
Matt Slot has written about the factors that played into the policy change.[10]
References[edit]
Asteroids Mac Os Catalina
- ^'MacSlash Interview: Andrew Welch of Ambrosia'. MacSlash (retrieved from the Internet Archive). 2002-01-23. Archived from the original on 2007-12-31. Retrieved 2011-04-28.
- ^More information on Snapz Pro X
- ^'Ambrosia Software'. Facebook. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
- ^'Home-grown Ambrosia feeds software niche', Michael Saffran. In RIT: The University Magazine, Vol. 10, #1
- ^'Into the Maelstrom'. The Mac Observer. 1999-12-08. Archived from the original on 8 June 2011. Retrieved 2011-04-28.
- ^Crotty, Cameron (January 1999). 'Mars Rising'. Macworld.
- ^Mathis, Joel. 'Despite layoffs, Ambrosia says it's still in business'. Macworld.
- ^'Bonus: The Rise & Fall of Ambrosia Software, '90s Mac Legends - PAX Aus 2019 talk'.
- ^Salvador, Phil. 'Barrack'. The Obscuritory.
- ^ abSlot, Matt (2002-03-11). 'The Plain Truth about Casual Software Piracy'. TidBITS. Retrieved 2011-04-28.
- ^ abWelch, Andrew (2000-01-22). 'Ambrosia Times: President's Letter: On CDs and Shareware'. Ambrosia Software. Retrieved 2011-04-28.
External links[edit]
- The Ambrosia Archive (a fan-run archive of Ambrosia Software installers)