All of our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For
price quotes and advertising information, please contact
at BackBeat Media
(646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only.
Problems viewing this page with Internet Explorer
5.5 or 6? It works fine in other browsers, including IE 7. We
recommend Firefox
for those using Windows, as it is standards based and more
secure than IE 6 (and earlier). More LEM visitors use Firefox
than any other browser.
PearPC's Slow Mac Emulation -
What's the Point?
Low End Mac Reader Specials
Memory To Go Special: New 2008 iMac 2GB $42 / iMac Intel Core2 DUO & MacBook Pro 2GB $36 - 1GB $20. MacPro 8 Core Memory 4GB kit $154 / 2GB kit $94 -- Free shipping available.
LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, iMac's, Apple Batteries and Apple A/C Adapters. Also Great prices on Used Apple Computers. Call 1-800-941-7654 Click Here.
OWC: Juice up your iPod w/NewerTech High Capacity Battery from $19.99 Free Installation Videos for most models. Pro Installation Service w/FedEx Shipping From $57.95 (Battery Included). - www.MacSales.com
If your head's been buried in the sand, you may have missed the
fact that OS X finally made it to Intel hardware. It's dog slow
and buggy as, well, as Windows, but we can't blame that on x86
architecture, because this is just an emulator called PearPC.
I'll admit that I think emulators are pretty cool technology.
There's nothing quite like having more than one operating system
under the hood without shelling out for an entirely new system.
As much as I like emulators, I'm a little mystified by PearPC. As
an exercise in pure geekiness, it makes lots of sense. If a coding
challenge presents itself, at least one coder will take a run at it.
In this case, the coder is Sebastian Bialla from Germany and this
Wired article (OS X
Makes Slow Debut on PC) has all the gory details about the
Frankenpanther - or whatever it should be called.
Anyway,
while it may be an interesting exercise, there hardly seems to be a
market for this sort of thing. I mean, really, if you want OS X
badly enough to run it in emulation mode, then you should probably
just buy a Mac and be done with it.
Also, because most software available for the Mac is available for
the PC, running any Mac app in emulation mode seems a bit silly.
Now I know that Apple and other software developers produce
amazing applications that are only available for the Mac. However,
considering that the average PC user can't seem to find the energy to
escape the relentless black hole of Windows, it hardly seems that
they will figure out that they can run apps in emulation mode.
Emulation? Isn't that a bird that looks like an ostrich? You get
my point.
I'm not suggesting that the current version of PearPC is ready for
this audience (or any audience except those willing to risk their
data), but even if this was a polished, professional package, it
likely wouldn't attract too many people. I could be wrong, though.
There are a few Mac emulators out there, including freeware Basilisk
and vMac as well as the commercial
SoftMac.
Mac users, however, do have enough of a need for certain Windows
apps to merit purchasing a copy of Virtual
PC. I myself will likely eventually have to pony up for a
copy because Adobe discontinued
the Mac edition of FrameMaker. But as so many Windows users
like to point out, there are a gazillion Windows apps out there, and
maybe just one of the rare ones that's really useful hasn't made it
to the Mac.
For all those Windows folks who are gussying up Windows to
look like OS X and getting excited over PearPC, please
just buy a Mac. Constantly pressing your nose against the window and
drooling all over the sidewalk is starting to embarrass us.
Stephen Van
Esch is the founder and president of
the
E-learning Foundry, an online training
resource for Mac users. Steve loves the Mac and is doubly bilingual,
since he's also fluent in Windows and French.
Recently on Mac Scope
Connecting with the broader Macintosh community, 04.06.
"But beyond the very minor celebrity status that came with being published on Low End Mac, it gave me a real opportunity to participate in the Mac community."
Hardware failure, that rare Mac headache, 07.09.
Macs are usually pretty reliable, but a hardware failure after just two-and-a-half years is still disappointing.
Mac of the Day: Centris 650, Feb. 1993 - The replacement for the Quadra 700 has room for an internal CD-ROM.
List of the Day: Old Mac MP covers 604-based multiprocessor Macs and clones.
September 7 in LEM history: 98: Banner exchanges - 00: Tips from the Mac manager - Getting a Mac job - 01: Apple and the gray market - Repositioning the 'Books - 04: Tray loading iMac a good choice for OS X? - Pismo CPU upgrades - 06: Mac mini value equation - Setting up a Mac Classic II - Putting the Intel transition in perspective - 07: Region free DVD viewing, - My Newton - Solving Mac disk and hardware problems - 2 apps every MacBook should have
Listen to Just the Music with the V-Moda Vibe Earbuds, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 09.05.
Well built, the noise canceling earbuds will let you hear all the nuances of your music without letting through background noise.
Best iPod touch Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.05.
Refurb 8 GB, $199; new, $284; refurb 16 GB, $299; new, $370; refurb 32 GB, $399; new, $453.
Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.05.
Used 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $999; 2.16, $1,125; new, 2.2, $1,450 after rebate; refurb 2.4, $1,699; 2.5, $1,999; 2.6 Santa Rosa, $1,849; rebates on new.
Best iMac G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.05.
Used 15" 700 MHz CD-RW, $279; 800 Combo, $300; 1 GHz $390; 17" 800 MHz SD, $439; 1.25 GHz, $449; 20", $569.
Tomorrow's Solid State Drives and Notebooks, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 09.04.
Flash drives are great but have some shortcomings. Some thoughts on building better SSDs and notebooks to use them.
Best Mac mini Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04.
Used 1.25 GHz G4 SD, $549; 1.42 Combo, $409; new 1.83 Core2 Combo, $569 after rebate; 2.0 SD, $769 after rebate.
Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04.
Used 867 MHz Combo, no APX, $490; 1 GHz, $550; SuperDrive, $625; 1.5 GHz w/o APX, $660; w/APX, $675.
Best 17" PowerBook G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04.
Used 1 GHz, $779; 1.33 GHz, $799; 1.5 GHz, $859; 1.67 GHz, $910.
11 Mac Browsers Compared, Simon Royal, Mac Spectrum, 09.03.
The latest versions of Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari, Shiira, iCab, Radon, Firefox, Netscape Navigator, SeaMonkey, Flock, and Camino tested in Leopard.
Best eMac Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03.
Used 700 MHz Combo, $120; 1.25 GHz SuperDrive, $150; 1.42 GHz, $349.
Best Mac OS X 10.5 'Leopard' Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03.
Mac OS X 10.5, single user, $99; 5 users, $140; 10.5 Server, 10 users, $395; unlimited, $850.
Best MacBook Air Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03.
Refurb 1.6 HD, $1,499; new, $1,690 after rebate; refurb 1.8, $1,699; new, $1,919 a/r; refurb 1.6 SSD, $2,099; new, $2,294 a/r; refurb 1.8, $2,299; new, $2,400 a/r.
Psystar Strikes Back, Countersues Apple, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 09.03.
Psystar is trying to paint Apple as a monopoly and force it to license the Mac OS.
Anyway,
while it may be an interesting exercise, there hardly seems to be a
market for this sort of thing. I mean, really, if you want OS X
badly enough to run it in emulation mode, then you should probably
just buy a Mac and be done with it.