Google releases VR180 Creator for Linux and Mac only -- sucks for you, Windows users!

When you are a Linux desktop user, it can be very frustrating when popular programs are not available for your platform. The same can be said for macOS, but to a lesser extent -- at least it has access to things like Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop. Like it or not, Windows often gets premium programs as an exclusive. It's not hard to see why -- on the desktop, Microsoft's operating system reigns supreme from a marketshare perspective. Developers will simply follow the money, and who can blame them?

The world is changing, however, and Microsoft's stranglehold on the software community is loosening. Consumers don't really need Windows anymore. Sure, 10 or 20 years ago it would be almost unthinkable for a typical home user to run an alternative operating system, but these days it’s totally doable. Highlighting this, today, Google releases a really cool program called "VR180 Creator." Interestingly, it is not available for Windows -- the search giant made it a Mac and Linux exclusive. Oh my.

"VR180 cameras allow creators to shoot three-dimensional, immersive photos and videos using affordable cameras that are small enough to fit in your pocket. And to make it even easier for you to create and edit high quality VR videos, we're launching VR180 Creator on Mac and Linux. This desktop tool lets anyone edit VR180 footage with existing VR video tools," says Erik Ackermann,
AR/VR Software Engineer, Google.

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Ackermann also says, "VR180 Creator currently offers two features for VR videos. 'Convert for Publishing' takes raw fisheye footage from VR180 cameras like the Lenovo Mirage Camera and converts it into a standardized equirect projection. This can be edited with the video editing software creators already use, like Adobe Premiere and Final Cut Pro. 'Prepare for Publishing' re-injects the VR180 metadata after editing so that the footage is viewable on YouTube or Google Photos in 2D or VR."

While this certainly sucks for Windows users, it is great news for those using macOS or Linux-based operating systems. Maybe Google will release a Windows version in the future. Who knows.

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Mac users will have an easier time of it, as VR180 Creator is packaged for installation -- quite simple. Linux users will have to compile it, however -- this could be too hard for some. Hopefully Google will release flatpack and snap versions too. If you want to give it a try, you can grab it for Mac and Linux here.