Subj : Re: WinXP
To   : Charles Scaglione
From : Alan Zisman
Date : Fri Sep 09 2005 01:14 am

-=> Charles Scaglione wrote to TOM WALKER <=-

 CS> However, (with tongue in cheek) when the Mac platform begins using the
 CS> Intel processors, that means most, if not all available software will
 CS> have to be recompiled to run on the Intel CPUs.  That means there may
 CS> be delays in obtaining new software.

Apple's plan is to include, in the Mac OS-for Intel, a piece of software named 
Rosetta, which will translate PowerPC instructions to Intel instructions on the 
fly. Reports from the people running the P4-powered Mac towers that Apple 
leased to developers a few months ago are that existing Mac applications mostly 
run fine in this way without recompiling-- with perhaps a 20% performance 
penalty. "During the WWDC keynote, Apple CEO Steve Jobs demonstrated several 
PowerPC applications running with Rosetta, including Microsoft Office and Adobe 
Photoshop. Very fast systems, Jobs said, will be able to take advantage of 
Rosetta without the user even noticing." 
(http://www.thinksecret.com/news/0506intelxbench.html)

To run at full speed, of course, software will need to be recompiled. Apple 
suggested that depending on the compiler and development environment initially 
used, programs might need little rewriting-- but that software written with the 
popular CodeWeaver would require more work. Recently, Adobe's chief was 
interviewed as saying they were finding it more work than Jobs had let on.

Note that the Intel Macs won't support the PowerPC's AltiVec graphics 
acceleration, so programs relying on that feature will need to be extensively 
rewritten. And programs designed for the older 'Mac Classic' operating system 
won't run at all on Intel Macs, and would need to be rewritten from ground up.
.... Inet mail to: alan at zisman dot ca
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