- 2006.11.09
You can't read anything on the Mac Web today without hearing how
great the new Intel Macs are - and why just about everyone should
have one.
I think everyone is jumping the gun just a bit. Sure, the Intel
Macs are faster and better in just about every way compared to
their PowerPC ancestors, but there's one big drawback: software
written for PowerPC Macs.
In order to run any PowerPC applications - any OS X
applications written before 2006 - you have use Apple's Rosetta
PowerPC translator. That means the programs are going to run slower
- and they're going to require 2-4 times more memory.
Photoshop
This is bad news for people who need to use Photoshop, which
hasn't yet been ported to Intel.
Photoshop users upgrading from a Power Mac G5 Quad to a Mac Pro for the speed boost may be very
disappointed when they find that it isn't running Photoshop any
faster than their G5 did. Instead, it's running slower and using
twice as much RAM to get the job done. (See New Photoshop Bench: Quad
Mac Pro Versus Two G5 Power Macs.)
And it isn't just Photoshop that doesn't have universal binaries
yet; there are a number of applications that don't including
Microsoft Office.
Education
Then there's the school issue. Schools are going to have a hard
time using classic Mac educational software (that is, programs
written before OS X). I've talked about this before, and there
is a solution in the form of the SheepShaver emulator.
The School District doesn't allow the use of
Open Source software on the school's computers.
But SheepShaver may not help a lot. My friend Kevin is a
computer lab teacher/tech at a local elementary school. He told me
that there are two problems with using SheepShaver:
- The School District doesn't allow the use of Open Source
software on the school's computers.
- Even if he could use the software, he wouldn't want to.
I can understand why he wouldn't want to. It takes a lot of time
to set up SheepShaver, and if other computer teacher/techs are
anything like Kevin, they're too busy (trying to repair/replace all
of the eMacs that are dropping like flies) to deal with going
around the school and installing SheepShaver, the classic Mac OS,
and all of the programs on each machine.
It's like I always say to Photoshop users and anyone who needs
to use software that doesn't come in universal binaries: Stick with
the PowerPC machine you already have. Buying a new machine now
would be a waste of your money. Just wait until the Universal
Binary version of the software you use is available (by then there
will be a faster Mac Pro on the market - and it might cost less,
too).
Schools: Instead of buying new Intel hardware and either
installing SheepShaver on it or buying new software, keep your
current Macs or go on eBay and buy a pallet of Power Mac 5500s for $100.
It will save you time and money. 
