Summary:

Bounce Metronome is designed for all versions of XP, Vista, Win 2K, and Windows 7, including Windows 7 starter. It doesn't run on Windows CE, which you may still get on some low budget netbooks.

It doesn't run on a Mac,  Android or any other operating system. You need to find a way to run it under Windows. Mac users can use BootCamp. Also, some users find it runs okay under VMWare Fusion on a Mac (but you are recommended to take it for a test drive first to see if it works for you).

However, for most users the simplest solution is to buy yourself a Windows machine (perhaps a small netbook, which you can get for low cost nowadays, and also very portable, an advantage for a metronome)

To add a wish for another operating system visit Mac, Mobile and Multi-Platform wishes. To find out why it's not yet supported see the Mac, Mobile and other multi-platform FAQs

There is no version yet for mobile devices either (apart from Windows netbooks). Bounce Metronome has an option to export its rhythms as videos - which may be useful for mobile devices and other video playback devices.

Details

Bounce Metronome is for Windows Only

Bounce Metronome is designed for All versions of Windows XP, Win 2K, Vista and Windows 7.

Windows 7 Starter, which you get on most modern netbooks is fine. Indeed it is a simple matter to upgrade Windows 7 Starter to another version of Windows 7 - many netbook owners do that after purchase in order to personalise their netbook, something you can't do with Windows 7 starter.

So you can use it on any Windows PC, laptop, and nearly all netbooks. However, if you have a netbook, check that it isn't running Windows CE.

It's not compatible with the Windows Mobile, Windows Phone 7, Pocket PC, or Windows CE. These mobile versions of Windows have severe restrictions on what you can do programmatically, so I can't support them for Bounce Metronome. For details of these operating systems, see Windows CE (wikipedia)

If you want a stripped down version for Windows CE, Windows Mobile etc, please add your wish to the Multi-Platform wish list request.

It is no longer compatible with earlier versions of Windows such as Windows 98. The last Win 98 compatible version is 18th May 2009 (a lot has happened since then).

Sorry, no native Mac version

Sorry, no native version for Mac, Linux or mobile devices.

I do have plans to make a stripped down version for mobile devices. However this will be a much simpler app, a different app for each type of rhythm.

See the Mac, Mobile and other multi-platform FAQs

For a Mac, by far the easiest solution is to get an extra Windows machine to run it. You can get a small netbook ideal for a metronome for not very much.

You can also run it under VMWare Fusion (moderately techy), or use BootCamp - but both of those require you to buy a copy of Windows anyway, and many Mac users understandably prefer not to run Windows on their computer.

Export Videos for other devices

Bounce Metronome has an "Export as video" feature which you can use to export videos of your rhythms (with sound) to run on other devices, such as mobile devices.

Depending on the device, you may need to find a way to convert the video to a format your device can play. You will need a Windows machine to run Bounce Metronome on to create the videos - but can play the videos on any device able to play them.

Why I can't provide a Mac or Linux version

The thing is that it is written specifically for Windows at a low level. There are alternative approaches that let you code a program that will work on Windows, Mac and Linux from a single code base, but it has to be done when you plan the original architecture.

The only way I know of to do it now is to write most of the program again from scratch, either for a Mac in native code, or multi-platform. Apart from that - well it uses a completely different architecture so you can't expect it to run on a Mac "as is", and there is no way I can modify it to do that.

Find out more

To find out more see Development of Bounce Metronome for mobile devices, Mac, Linux etc. in the wiki.