Intel and PowerPC Mac OS X Up to Date?

[MacRumors]

Many site are pointing to an unconfirmed blog report that the x86 Developer Mac OS X is up to parity with the PowerPC Mac OS X.

There appears to be some debate whether or not this is true, or the significance... however is posted for interest's sake.

 

[rickvanr]

I saw it on a torrent site the other day. It was a 550~MB download though.

 

[GorillaPaws]

Someone has to be the first to say it

Could this be an indication that we'll see macintels sooner than this summer? Fingers gleefully crossed.

 

[rickvanr]

Could this be an indication that we'll see macintels sooner than this summer? Fingers gleefully crossed.

I doubt it. I'd say it's indication that they want the developers to be up to date when designing software for Intel macs with Tiger.

 

[Josh396]

I doubt it. I'd say it's indication that they want the developers to be up to date when designing software for Intel macs with Tiger.

Yeah I'm sure they're just doing it to keep things up to date for everyone. Although maybe developers will come to Apple and say they are ready to release their software which could lead Apple into bring the Intel machines to the market a little earlier.

 

[Dr. Dastardly]

I still think we'll see some at MWSF or a little after maybe. But actually before WWDC in June.

But then again I am a HUGE optimist.

 

[GorillaPaws]

While I'm skeptical of an early release too, I just don't see what they could possible update at MWSF other than iLife/iWorks/iPod video/Front Row in iLife, maybe even some kind of Airport Express for Video. But unless there's some kind of media center Mac Mini G4, I don't really see any harware stuff unless it is an intel box. My phlilosphy is to expect the worst but hope for the best (I'm never let down, and oftentimes plesantly suprised). I mean if the OS is mature/stable enough on intels, why not let it out when it's ready? Could it be problems getting the Hardware right, changing of the form-factors that could be holding up the process?

I mean the longer this purgatory between PPC and Intels goes on, the more painful this transition is going to be, right?

 

[Lanbrown]

Yeah I'm sure they're just doing it to keep things up to date for everyone. Although maybe developers will come to Apple and say they are ready to release their software which could lead Apple into bring the Intel machines to the market a little earlier.

And how would they do that? The chips are not even available.

 

[treblah]

Could this be an indication that we'll see macintels sooner than this summer? Fingers gleefully crossed.

I'd put my money on Apple trying as hard as they can to be done with Tiger and starting to focus fully on Leopard.

I am not really expecting a 10.4.4 unless something major comes up. Thoughts?

 

[iJed]

I'd put my money on Apple trying as hard as they can to be done with Tiger and starting to focus fully on Leopard.

I am not really expecting a 10.4.4 unless something major comes up. Thoughts?

There will definitely be a 10.4.4 since 10.5 is about a year away from release. I expect we will get somewhere near 10.4.9 in the end just like every single other Mac OS X release. I cannot understand you're reasoning for there being no 10.4.4.

 

[Sol]

'Architecture' type in OS X 10.4.3

In OS X 10.4.3, the Finder in columns view, displays the 'Architecture' type when applications are selected. I do not think this was there in older versions. Anyway, it might indicate a readiness to release software for both architectures soon.

 

[nagromme]

Keeping it parity wouldn't surprise me--but keeping that up-to-date version private and not giving it to developers (yet) wouldn't surprise me either.

 

[JFreak]

I expect we will get somewhere near 10.4.9 in the end just like every single other Mac OS X release.

Well, let's stop guessing and think about this logically.

fact #1: last Panther version was 10.3.9
fact #2: time between minor updates has not changed much
fact #3: apple has said next major osx releases after Tiger will take longer time

--> we should see 10 or more minor tiger updates.

 

[johnnyjibbs]

So the obvious 'rumour' to come out of this one relates to the date in which upcoming Macs will turn to Intel. That said, I would have thought that they would have kept both versions up to date as they went along, like they have appeared to have done since the x86 version was started. There's no news here, just someone trying to stir things up.

 

[GroundLoop]

And how would they do that? The chips are not even available.

You are correct that the chips are not in production yet, but there are a number of samples floating around the industry right now. This allows Apple to handle most of the major design work now and simply wait for initial and full-scale production of the CPUs and chipsets. I fully believe that we will see an Intel-based Mac in the early to mid-April timeframe (essentially 2-3 months after Yonah enters production).

They are NOT going to wait until WWDC for this because the main focus of that conference next year will be Leopard (and how it will dominate Vista).

Hickman

 

[lopresmb]

I can't wait to see what the new machines will look like and what features they have. Its gonna be pretty stinkin awesome...

 

[driftingaway]

Yes, i've had 10.4.3 running on my PC (AMD 3500+) since monday

(10.4.2 before that, but there were so many video bugs that it wasn't really usable)

 

[oober_freak]

I guess it is Apple who is leaking these builds... they want to test their TPM restrictions and the best way to do that is to leak the thing

By the time we reach 10.4.5/6/7, Apple might have improved over their TPM restrictions rendering those x86 OS X builds on the "dulls" useless.

Again, OS X is getting more and more popular as it gets installed on more and more dulls, Acers and H PEEs.

 

[Stella]

Yes, i've had 10.4.3 running on my PC (AMD 3500+) since monday

(10.4.2 before that, but there were so many video bugs that it wasn't really usable)

Spill the beans - what is the performance like?

 

[bbyrdhouse]

I'd put my money on Apple trying as hard as they can to be done with Tiger and starting to focus fully on Leopard.

I am not really expecting a 10.4.4 unless something major comes up. Thoughts?

Don't be surprised if we see 10.4.9 before Leopard is released.


EDIT:

There will definitely be a 10.4.4 since 10.5 is about a year away from release. I expect we will get somewhere near 10.4.9 in the end just like every single other Mac OS X release. I cannot understand you're reasoning for there being no 10.4.4.

Sorry, didn't mean to repost what you already said, you beat me to the punch.

 

[crackpip]

Well, let's stop guessing and think about this logically.

fact #1: last Panther version was 10.3.9
fact #2: time between minor updates has not changed much
fact #3: apple has said next major osx releases after Tiger will take longer time

--> we should see 10 or more minor tiger updates.

Fact #3 is no longer true at least when it comes to 10.5. The delays in Longhorn have put its release near the approximate 18 month upgrade cycle of osx. The big SJ decided to not lengthen the upgrade cycle, so that comparisons will be made between 10.5 and Longhorn.

That being said, with the forthcoming intel macs and possible tweaks needed when they are released into the wild, we may see a 10.4.10 or higher versions.

crackpip

 

[stockscalper]

There's no way they could achieve parity with the current crop of Intel processors. Intel is way behind the PowerPC and has really got to cover a lot of ground by the time Apple makes the switch. And Apple will have little time to fine tune its latest OS for this chip in order to ship on time. Seems like Jobs has borrowed a page from Microsoft and started talking out both sides of his mouth.

 

[shamino]

I mean if the OS is mature/stable enough on intels, why not let it out when it's ready? Could it be problems getting the Hardware right, changing of the form-factors that could be holding up the process?

First off, who says it's ready? It's in Apple's best interest to keep the x86 version up to date regardless of whether it's stable, so the developers will have it. Universal binaries are not that useful if the APIs behave differently on the two architectures.

As for your next question, even if both hardware and OS are ready, Apple would be foolish to release it now, because developers have no had time to port their apps yet. You do not want to release new systems when all applications must be run through Rosetta. Performance would end up worse than on the older model Macs, establishing a reputation of poor-performance that would dog the product for years.

I mean the longer this purgatory between PPC and Intels goes on, the more painful this transition is going to be, right?

What purgatory? Until the first units actually ship (and developer previews don't count), there only is one Mac - PPC.

I'm sure there are some that are refusing to buy new Macs until the Intel boxes ship, but so what? These are the same people who would spend a few years waiting for the "next great thing" whether or not an architecture change was in the works.

 

[Some_Big_Spoon]

That leads to an interesting question.. which comes first, the 3rd party software, or Apple's. Would Apple release x86 OSX and wait on 3rd party developers? Or, would they sit on it till the big boys got their stuff finished.

In the past, they haven't waited (OSX transition), but since they're in a better spot right now, good press and all, they might wait till Adobe, M$, etc. got their stuff done so they all ship on the same day and make a full court press.

Yeah I'm sure they're just doing it to keep things up to date for everyone. Although maybe developers will come to Apple and say they are ready to release their software which could lead Apple into bring the Intel machines to the market a little earlier.

 

[longofest]

I think we're putting too much weight into this rumor. It is a blog post, which could have any realm of truth to it (so, it could be right on the money, or it could be totally wrong).

All features may have been implemented, but many are probably still in alpha form. To a degree, I'm talking out of my arse, because I don't have a copy of x86 OSX, but from what we have been hearing from the grapevine, a lot of stuff has still been relatively buggy, and there was still a LOT of stuff still running PowerPC code on Rosetta.

My prediction: Apple will stick to their timetable, if only because the chips they want to use aren't coming out until the timetable that they cited already (Merom, Conroe). I have my doubts about Yonah because it is not 64-bit... I think Apple will wait a couple months further for the 64-bit Merom, and let developers have a bit more time to boot.