Apple announced at the 2005 WWDC (World Wide Developers Conference) this past June that the Macintosh will be switching from PowerPC to Intel chips. What does this mean to the average user and the creative professional? These are my opinions on the switch to Intel.

Some History of OS X

OS X was rooted from NeXT Computer’s NeXTStep/OpenStep. This was Apple co-founder Steve Jobs’ second computer company he started after he left Apple in 1985. Apple bought NeXT and brought back Steve Jobs in 1996. After spending years trying to develop their own new modern OS without success. They finally had a modern OS to replace the dated MacOS.

Point is, OS X was derived from NeXTSTEP 3.1, an OS that ran on Intel based chips years ago in 1993. Apple was long rumored to maintain an Intel code base for OS X. Steve Jobs confirmed this rumor at WWDC 2005 by telling us that OS X has lead two lives all these years. OS X and all Apple software apparently were maintained and compiled to run on PowerPC and Intel based computers. Just in case of a switch.

The Big Switch

Apple claims that the switch will take place due mostly to a better Intel road-map, cooler running chips with more watt to performance. I am not going to speculate as to why as there are so many theories already out there. I will just talk about what I think it means to you, the user.

Apple has told us that they will transition to Intel starting in June 2006. First with the lower end consumer Macs. And then the PowerMacs. The transition should be complete sometime in 2007. Apple plans to support both the PowerPC and the Intel based Macs for sometime after that. But will probably sell only Intel based Macs by 2007.

The Hardware

Sure Apple builds really cool innovative designed hardware. There is no reason to believe that this will change. The Macintosh to me has always been about the software. OS X is years ahead of Windows in innovation, security, features, and ease of use.

It will be interesting to see OS X run on similar hardware as the average WinTel solution. The average consumer comparisons will be easier than in the past. Consumers trying to compare different computer architectures using just the mega-hertz numbers told you little about the computing experience.

My guess is using Intel as a chip provider may lower prices on Mac hardware a bit. As Intel has about 80% or more of the computer microprocessor market and there is power in numbers. If Apple is right… smaller, lighter, and cooler running hardware is possible using Intel. PowerBooks, iBooks with longer lasting batteries may also be a reality.

The Software

From what was reported at WWDC. All of the Apple software is ready for Intel already having been maintained the last few years. In fact, Steve Jobs ran his keynote demo on an Intel based Mac. Developers have been reporting good performance from the Macintosh/Intel Developer Transition Kit systems being provided by Apple.

Third party software will need to be recompiled using a universal binary to run on new “MacTels”. This can be hard and time consuming for some developers. That is why Apple announced the switch a year ahead of time. Some developers will find this transition easier than others depending on how they develop their software and the dependency on the G4/G5. The Mozilla project has already announced Firefox is already done for MacTel. As has OmniGraffle, BBEdit, and some others.

Apple will be providing an emulation package called Rosetta from Transitive. This will run some PowerPC Mac applications on the MacTel until developers can recompile their applications so they can run natively. Although there are some limitations on what will run with Rosetta. This should ease the way for some users and developers.

Apple maintains that OS X will only run on Apple provided hardware. That way they can maintain the great Mac experience by locking down to only approved hardware.

Will “hackers’ find a way to run OS X Intel on standard WinTel hardware? Maybe. But I doubt the user experience for the average person would be worth trying.

Apple claims that there would be nothing stopping people from loading Windows on the new Intel based Apple hardware. However, this would be unsupported. But it does make things quite interesting. Like running a dual boot machine with both Windows and Mac OS X. Or better yet. Virtual PC running Windows on top of OS X at full speed without emulation. This would be great for the many of us who still needs to run Windows sometimes.

Codeweavers, a company that has long made it’s “CrossOver Technology” available to Linux users has announced new support for MacTel. Linux users have been able to run MS Office and many other apps using Codeweavers CrossOver Office. This will now allow Mac users to run various Windows only applications on the new MacTel.

The switch to Intel will probably have a lot of Windows developers reconsidering bringing their products to the Mac. As the process for managing dual code bases should now be easier for them with lower costs and development time. Although, I have never had a problem finding software for the Mac (see: Carbon Copy Cloner and an inexpensive firewire drive. This can make a “bootable” complete backup of the entire Mac hard drive. Using “target disk” mode to retrieve files on the rare occasion you have a sick Mac is a god-sent . The included Migration Utility in OS X to move your files, Home folder, and Applications to a new machine saves time and effort. Nothing is this easy on a Windows machine.

Now that OS X will be running on the same hardware as Windows will any of this change? No! I will say it again. No! Now consumers can see once and for all it is the Windows part of WinTel that suffers from these problems.

Wait For Intel Macs?

Should I buy a new G5 Mac now or wait for Intel ones. This all depends of your needs and timing. Apple will support any PowerPC based Mac and will intro new PowerPC Macs this year. So buying a current G5 is not that big a risk as they have vowed to support both platforms for at least a reasonable life span.

If you need a new PowerMac to do your job now. I would say go and buy it. You might be up for replacement anyway by the time a new Intel based Mac is out if you are a power user. As the release date for the new Intel based Macs comes closer you will have to re access your buying decisions.

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