G-Force for Mac

v5.9.0 is out. It's dated July 15, 2024. Release Notes are forthcoming. Sadly, my experience is that it BOMBS on macOS 14.5, and may take the Music app down with it. Obviously, TEST IT before paying for it.

I've enjoyed the SoundSpectrum apps for years, even popping for the Platinum versions. But it looks like the developer has given up on macOS versions of his apps since Mojave. Not even the screensavers work. There are standalone versions of all of the apps, well and good, but they no longer respond to sound input from any source. All of this used to be different—it just worked—and I felt I got my money's worth. Since the SoundSpectrum website doesn't even mention coyly sidesteps compatibility with Catalina, which is pretty disingenuous, and the current app installers date to 2018(!), it looks like this software line is dead. Until the dev brings his stuff up to current status, I'm not going to be renewing any of my app subscriptions. This is really disappointing.

$20 for a friggin' visual plugin (or $30 for the whooeee! "Platinum" edition?!?!" (Plus $15 or more for the frequent upgrade fees, or so I've read?) Well, there's a sucker born every day and unfortunately, the only person laughing is the developer...all the way to the bank.! G-Force is another insignificant product from Soundspectrum, who charges the same outrageous prices for the Whitecap visual plugin. I wouldn't pay more than $3 for aniTunes plugin unless it had AI built in and could do my tax returns and make my toast in the morning. (incidentally, the basic version of TurboTax is FREE and it does do my taxes.)

Well, if ever an update was worth the fee, this one is it. I was running version 5.4.3 and it was definitely buggy in full screen mode, in OS X 10.9.5 Mavericks and now in OS X 10.12.1 Sierra. Fortunately, for me, my license is still good so I didn't have to pay the upgrade fee. But in iTunes G-Force (version 5.5.0) now launches instantly into full screen mode when I hit Command-t, no stutters or confusion. If you want to leave full screen mode, use the escape key. And, or course, to quit the visualizer, hit Command-t again. If you are having no problems with an earlier version then you may consider not upgrading. But the improvements in this upgrade were obvious to me, something that has not always been the case. YMMV. And, as always, the G-Force visuals are mesmerizing.

Do you remember the time when kind-hearted software developers would ask you for a one-time payment so that you could use their app for life, and receive all future updates for free as well? Well, as an old-time Macintosh user, I most certainly do. Sadly, thanks to greedy companies like Adobe, those days are now gone, and many developers -- including the G-Force developer -- now demand a yearly subscription fee, if we wish to take advantage of the new features in their app; that is, assuming that there are any updates during the particular year that our license is in effect. In my case, I purchased a license for G-Force Platinum 5.4.2 a year ago for $30.00. Recently, I received an email notification informing me that my license was about to expire, and that if I want to enjoy any future updates -- and whatever enhancements they may include -- for the next year, I need to fork over another $15.00. And on and on it goes as long as G-Force exists, I suppose. I am having a problem with this; the reason being that over the past year since I acquired my license, there has been only ONE update -- 5.4.3. Based on the above "What's New" info, for Macintosh users, 5.4.3 has only included a few bug fixes, but no major new features of any kind. Now I am being asked to fork over another $15.00 -- basically by faith -- not really knowing what I will get, if anything, during my coming new license year. Will there be any updates? Will they offer any major new features, or just more bug fixes? Who knows? No one but the developer. Do you see my point? This is why I am uncomfortable with this whole yearly subscription model. It puts end users at a disadvantage. It also makes me feel like I am being milked for all I am worth. Don't get me wrong. I fully understand that software developers need to earn a living, and I have absolutely no problem with that. However, I am not convinced that the yearly subscription model is the way to do it. You see, in the old days, because software developers offered lifetime licenses with free updates, they had to work hard to acquire NEW customers, in order to keep their revenue stream flowing. Now, in my view, many of them have become soft, lazy and greedy, and they just want to keep milking their old customers over and over again. This may be the easy road for them to take, but it is wrong. If I am going to be asked for a yearly subscription fee, then I want to at least receive some kind of indication from the developer, what I should expect to be receiving in the coming subscription year, BEFORE I put my money down, so I can determine if it will truly be worth it. Let me conclude by saying that G-Force is a great app. No doubt about it. It is one of the best visualizers and screensavers I have ever used, especially if you are using the Platinum version. But the subscription model? Meh. What do YOU think? Let me know below.