StarTools

Hi,

I downloaded Startools and I'm really impressed! I have a few questions:

1) when will be the OSX version 64bit? I'm on Mac and using it under an emulator of Windows is a bit silly (I have high resolution images so I need to access my full 16gb of RAM)

2) when will you import the TIFF 32BIT images? I see you want only TIFF in pc byte order also, that does not make sense in a Mac version... Most of all one of the most used softwares for stacking, DSS, saves 32bit TIFF with loads of info in it. Pixinsight can handle them, when Startools will do it is well?

3) I have some icons (Synth, Heal, Magic, Repair) that are just not accessible...is that normal?


Thanks, really looking forward to explore more StarTools as an alternative to Pixinsight or Nebulosity!

Hi,

Thanks for trying StarTools (and taking the time to ask some questions! )

1) when will be the OSX version 64bit? I'm on Mac and using it under an emulator of Windows is a bit silly (I have high resolution images so I need to access my full 16gb of RAM)

That is indeed a bit daft. I'm in the process of upgrading my multi-platform SDK to better support MacOSX (in addition to some other exciting capabilities). It's a pretty big task - so I'm afraid I can't give an ETA just yet.

2) when will you import the TIFF 32BIT images? I see you want only TIFF in pc byte order also, that does not make sense in a Mac version... Most of all one of the most used softwares for stacking, DSS, saves 32bit TIFF with loads of info in it. Pixinsight can handle them, when Startools will do it is well?

32-bit TIFF import should be supported (uncompressed, 'PC byte order' - which no longer have anything to do with Mac vs PC as all Macs now also use little endian Intel CPUs). Though, for AP it's better to save as 32-bit (integer) FITS format which is much more common, doesn't suffer from as many standardization issues, and is more 'scientific'/raw data. DSS and PI use libTIFF for TIFF reading/writing, which, in the case of DSS is used to save using a non-standard compression scheme (that's why Photoshop won't read the compressed images either).

3) I have some icons (Synth, Heal, Magic, Repair) that are just not accessible...is that normal?

Yep, that's normal Some modules are unavailable as long as Tracking is on. The reason for this is that using these modules would otherwise (catastrophically) interfere with StarTools' ability to track noise propagation. Turning Tracking off (and applying final noise reduction) will make those modules available again.

If you're already familiar with PixInsight (or you're thinking of trialling PixInsight next), this guide/translation table might come in handy.

Clear skies!