---------- Original message #1/2 ---------- Subject: Re: Next for PPC? Date: Dienstag, 1. September 2009N From: iJohn <[email protected]> To: [email protected]
> On Tue, Sep 1, 2009 at 1:10 PM, Mac User #330250<[email protected]> wrote: > > I guess Apple is going the Intel-only path because for Apple this means > > that people will _have to_ buy a new Mac. > > Of course, I don't actually know anything about why Apple went with > Intel CPUs. But IMO it had little to do with "forcing" people to buy > new Mac hardware. Agreed. Not Apple is forcing anybody to change the platform just like that. It's more like a transition, that's been starting since Jobs promulgated "Intel is the future of Apple"... With this decision also a lot of business software started this transition. It will be completely finished ("Intel-only") one day soon, which will automatically be the end of PowerPC based Macs. That is, if you cannot live with older software versions. > Apple appears to be very pragmatic when it comes to their hardware > these days. They probably have two things in mind: (1) driving towards > reducing their production costs and (2) getting hardware that meets > their requirements (whatever those happen to be). Agreed. > I expect they went with Intel CPUs because they decided they were > never going to get the same combination of availability, cost, & > performance from PPC processors that they could get from Intel. But > they are also clearly not locked into Intel products per se. Just look > at how "quickly" Apple abandoned the Intel internal graphics chipsets > for NVIDIA's, ostensibly because NVIDIA's solutions provide much > better performance. I totally agree. For Apple it's all about designing good computers, quality computers and stylish computers. The internals don't matter since their OS *officially* runs on Apple computers only anyway. > From a corporate/business point of view, switching CPUs is one big > drawn out furshluggin' pain in the posterior. I think Apple would only > have done it after debating the pros & cons and deciding going with > Intel would definitely result in the most benefit for the company's > products in the longer term. Read on... > > -irrational john ---------- Original message #2/2 ---------- Subject: Re: Next for PPC? Date: Dienstag, 1. September 2009N From: John Niven <[email protected]> To: [email protected] > --- On Tue, 9/1/09, Mac User #330250 <[email protected]> wrote: > > The software system I'm using for about a decade now is > > Linux. I grew up with > > it since Kernel 2.2 ended and 2.4 started. Now we have 2.6 > > and a completely > > different developement model, so I doubt I'll see 2.8 > > anytime soon. The > > developement of 2.6 goes in such big steps that we would be > > at 3.4 or so by > > now anyway... > > > > So far my background. > > This is a different twist. I have dabbled with Linux. But I have done this > on PC platforms. Every time I approached loading Linux on a Mac I'd always > ask myself why? It used to be that the unique thing about Macs was that > they ran Mac OS! No other hardware would do that, so even if it was a bit > outdated, that was an old Macs primary asset. Better to focus on maxing out > the hardware and selecting the optimum OS version and apps for the > hardware. I loved Macs that could run OS 6 :-) Mac OS sure is good. Mac OS X is just better. Mac OS X really is a Unix OS. I've never really used Mac OS. I've seen people use it, it was quite nice, but to be honest I found it to be not so intuitive and easy to use as people said it was. Mac OS X on the other hand... Wow, this OS is just great. Too bad the importaint part (Aqua, ...) is closed source and the property of Apple Inc. alone. They decide on which platform you may use it. Concerning Linux - what's wrong with running it on a beautiful (internally and externally) hardware? The Power Macs are designed so well - starting with Open Firmware down to the actual CPU and the chipsets - it's just wonderfull to run it on this platform. From the outside you see a beautiful alluminium case that you don't have to hide. It's easy to get inside to do some upgrading too. Yes! I love my G5! It has the IBM 970MP G5 beating inside, a dual-core 64-bit processor. I find these CPUs much more straigt and modern than any x86 can be. I hate the thought that every x86 is still compatible with the ancient 16-bit 8086 processor from 1977 (1978? well, late 70's). Open Firmware! Modern and well designed. BIOS? Oldfashined and a PITA. And the quality - everything inside a Power Mac is high quality. Find a PC with the same quality inside and you pay almost the same price, if you can find it. And you'll get an x86 with an "64-bit instruction set extension" and maybe an EFI BIOS. So once again - what's wrong with running Linux on a Mac? > Even if you didn't have an old Mac to load Linux on you could find an old > PC cheaper if that's what you wanted to play with. Yes, but how boring would that be? BTW, you could run Linux on almost anything. I've installed Linux on my iPod (Nano, 1st generation). > The new LEM twist is exploring powerful PC hardware that will run Mac OS! That's been done for over two years now. Check out http://www.osx86project.org/ or a dozen of other resources. (I've found a report on tomshardware.com, but in German language). In Germany you can actually buy a PC that is Apple compatible: https://www.pearc.de/ > Keeping the G's going should focus on what can be stripped out of OSX or > optimized so that it runs faster on the same resources. That takes > volunteer knowledge, along the open source lines. > > Does anybody remember Gamba? He used to give instructions on what could be > left out of the free OS 7.5.5 to make it work like OS 7.1 on low spec > machines. That's the kind of input we need. If there were such a thing... but it's simply impossible to get Snow Leopard onto Power Macs. It's also impossible to get Classic onto Leopard. (And beliefe me, I've been searching...). If you don't mind using an older and unsupported system - okay. But if you like to use updated and security fixed applications you simple have to get updates regularly. If you don't, you have to discontinue using the system. That is, if security issues matter to you. Continuing to use Leopard on Power Macs is a matter of two years or so. Depends when Mac OS X 10.7 comes. It's always been Apple's policy to discontinue security updates for the predecessors predecessor. -------------------- In the end it comes down to one thing. [YOU WANT] to use Mac OS / Mac OS X as your operating system? [YOU NEED] a Mac. Not just any Mac, but one that is supported by the version of Mac OS you want to run. It's like a company wanting to use Quark Xpress for DTP. They just buy what is needed to run it. And they will buy what is cheapest to accomplish this. So, since PCs are nowerdays capable of running Xpress (nowerdays they use InDesign) without crashing, PCs are more common in graphics business than it used to be. I remember the times when only Macs where in such business floors. PCs where not even in the janitors' office... Now, you have to search for one or two Macs in an office with five to ten graphic artists/illustrators. I'm a private user, so I can decide. Thus my approach is a different one. [I WANT] beautiful hardware. [I WANT] a lot of different platforms. [I USE] the OS that comes with it to become better and see what is possible. [I USE] Linux on each and every platform because it's available. [I USE] Linux on each and every platform because I can. Changing the platform for me doesn't change the desktop I use. I change the looks of the desktop I have only when I want to see something different for a change. And - of course - when something different is available. And all these things are mostly platform independent in the Linux world. Besides my primary desktop system (Linux) I tend to use what seems to be the common standard on that specific platform. So I glimpsed into Windows XP, Windows Vista and I tested the Public Beta of Windows 7. I got a Mac as a present with Mac OS X 10.3 Panther preinstalled. I liked it very much and -stupid as I am- bought an upgrade 10.4 (so I got all the security updates, at least until now) and now I upgraded to 10.5 (family edition, so I can share with my sister, who really uses Mac OS X as her primary desktop system). I got a cheap 10.2 on eBay as well. Hopefully I'll have the time to try it out on my QS2001 Dual-800 one day. So now you know I'm a geek. But my roots are in DOS (MS-DOS 4.01 and DR-DOS 5.0) and Windows 3.11. Luckyly I got away from that... I'm free now. Cheers, Andreas --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are a member of G-Group, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
