[Mallrat]

Will third party software (Final Draft 7.0, Protools) work on the new intel powerbooks using Rosetta?

I'm confused, because even FCP doesn't work without a new disc.

This is a big issue, is it not?

[Chuckit]

Really, most third-party software will work fine. I expect Final Draft 7 will, though I admit I haven't tried. ProTools won't, however, because it uses a lot of system drivers and plugins and such that won't work in Rosetta's emulation.

It is pretty bad-looking that some of Apple's flagship apps won't run in Rosetta, but really, Apple has been pretty straightforward about what Rosetta can and can't do. It's good enough for probably 90% of programs.

[Mallrat]

So like 99% of software should work?

I'm just confused why the pro apple applications can't work on Power PC.... maybe to make money?

[Chuckit]

Here is Apple's list of what apps Rosetta can't translate:

Applications built for any version of the Mac OS earlier than Mac OS X —that means Mac OS 9, Mac OS 8, Mac OS 7, and so forth
The Classic environment
Screensavers written for the PowerPC architecture
Code that inserts preferences in the System Preferences pane
Applications that require a G5 processor
Applications that depend on one or more PowerPC-only kernel extensions
Kernel extensions
Java applications with JNI libraries
Java applets in applications that Rosetta can translate; that means a web browser that Rosetta can run translated will not be able to load Java applets.

According to the MacWorld Web site, "Apple says that Final Cut Pro will run under Rosetta, but that it won’t really be usable and that Apple itself won’t support such attempts."

[Big Mac]

Originally Posted by Mallrat

So like 99% of software should work?

I'm just confused why the pro apple applications can't work on Power PC.... maybe to make money?

You obviously meant can't work on the Intel machines. Programs that require a lot of processing power - professional applications and games - will not perform well enough through Rosetta dynamic translation. Apple and many third parties will come up with Intel native versions of these programs soon, but they likely will not be free upgrades. Apple would have loved to deliver a solution to allow everything to run well on their new computers, but an immutable consequence of emulation is there will always be some sort of performance penalty.

[sodamnregistered2]

I don't really get it though.

They had OS X running on Intel for a long time. Seems like once they knew they were gonna go Intel, FCP/DVDSP etc would also be ready.

March/April is not that bad, but it's keeping me on the sidelines for now. I'll prolly just wait out all of 2006. Let everything get good and settled. Wait for Adobe/Macromedia apps as well.

[Big Mac]

Oh, that's an easy one to answer, I believe: Those working on the Marklar project knew of OS X Intel; the other software divisions probably did not. When an Apple project group is working on a secret project, the rest of Apple knows nothing about it until it's made public.

[Cadaver]

If the Apple Pro apps is what you're waiting for, by current information there should be only a 4 week delay from the shipment of the MBP and the Final Cut Studio for Intel (if all goes according to Apple's roadmap).

Adobe/Macromedia is another issue. If they had written their software via X-Code like Apple has suggested all along, the translation would be much easier.

The way I see it, the only real issue for me to go Intel would be the lack of an Intel-native Adobe Acrobat virtual printer. OS X's built-in solution works most of the time, but Acrobat has many more options. The other issue is the lack of Intel-native Flash/Shockwave plug-ins and potential Java/Safari issues. Games I can wait for.

Still not sure how the whole printer driver thing is going to work, though. If OS X doesn't come with a driver for your printer, then what?

[Big Mac]

it's interesting, it seems Apple was able to get Rosetta to work at the driver level, at least according to this report. Hopefully, if Rosetta performs well enough with drivers, third parties will continue writing PPC drivers instead of going Mactel-only.

[Ozmodiar]

Re: Adobe/Macromedia

I'm looking to probably upgrade my original TiBook to a MacBook Pro this summer. journeyed.com (student pricing site) has a really good deal on a web dev suite of programs, including (almost?) everything in Adobe Creative Suite 2 and Macromedia Studio 8.

What I'm wondering is, should I wait for the Adobe/Macromedia apps to be ported to be native on a Mactel machine? Or do you think they'll run fine as they are? If it's only going to be an extra couple of months then I won't worry about.

[Oneota]

Originally Posted by Cadaver

The other issue is the lack of Intel-native Flash/Shockwave plug-ins

Huh? Flash and Shockwave were pre-installed on the 20" iMac Core Duo we got here at the office...seems to be working fine to me.