PowerBook Mystique Mailbag - February 9, 2006
with Charles W. Moore
Intel Macs
Powerbook Choices
Pismo and iLife 06?
From John Newham
Dear Charles
I am a regular reader of your columns and enjoy them very much - keep them coming!
I have been told that the Intel based Macs no longer offer Classic Mode so I have to update all my software if I buy one!
Do you know if they will support AppleWorks 6.2.7 for Power Mac running under OSX.? I have so much stuff created under A6 that it's not real! All I get from retailers is that iWorks replaces A6 bt of course it doesn't have spreadsheet or database.
Not too sure about my Office 2001 either - run this on my old PowerBook G4 that can bootfrom OS9 so I run it under so I suppose that, not being OSX, it won't run either!
Am I the only person who finds the whole switchover thing a rip off? ;-)
Yours out of pocket
John Newham
Hi John;
I share your pain, and the software backwards-compatibility and Classic Mode support issues have inclined me to buy one more PPC machine.
AppleWorks 6.2.7 should run fine (perhaps a bit slower if you're used to it on a fast PPC Mac) in Rosetta emulation on OS X for Intel, but non-native (ie: not Carbon or Cocoa) OS X applications are dead ducks.
I think Apple is underestimating the damage lack of Classic support is going to do to sales. Had the Intel Macs supported Classic Mode, I would definitely have gone with one of them for my next system upgrade. I think a lot of other veteran mac users will feel the same way.
I don't think it's a deliberate ripoff conspiracy, but Apple has been trying to kill off Classic since 2002 on what are apparently philosophical grounds. Ditto for modem support. I disagree, and many others do too, but they just decided to not commit the resources to supporting Classic Mode in X for x86.
However, there will be hacks for the determined. Here is one:
SheepShaver is an Open Source PowerPC MacOS run-time environment. That is, it enables you to run PowerPC Classic MacOS software on your computer, even if you are using a different operating system. However, you still need a copy of MacOS and a PowerMacintosh ROM image to use this program. SheepShaver is distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL).
If you are using a PowerPC-based system, applications will run at native speeds (i.e. without any emulation involved). On other systems, SheepShaver provides the first PowerPC G4 emulator, though without MMU, to enable the execution of MacOS Classic. Performance with the current CPU emulator using basic just-in-time (JIT) translation techniques is roughly 1/8-th of native speeds.
The following platforms are currently supported: Linux (i386, ppc, x86_64), MacOS X (i386, ppc), Darwin, NetBSD 2.0, FreeBSD 5.3 and Windows for x86.
An experimental port to MacOS X 10.4.4 for Intel is now available. See the file README.html included in the distribution for details.
Features:
System requirements:
System support:
Freeware
For more information, visit:
Best,
• SheepShaver runs Mac OS 7.5.2 thru Mac OS 9.0.4 • PowerPC G4 emulation on non-PowerPC platforms, direct execution otherwise • Basic but portable JIT engine (x86, x86_64, mips) • Copy and paste of text between Mac OS and the host OS • File exchange with the host OS via a Unix icon on the Mac desktop • Color video display with support for run-time resolution switching • Run-time depth switching from 1 bpp to current host depth settings • Native QuickDraw 2D acceleration for BitBlt and FillRect operations • CD-quality stereo sound output
• Networking: SheepShaver supports Internet and LAN networking via Ethernet and PPP with all Open Transport compatible MacOS applications
Mac OS X 10.2.8 or later.
PPC
http://www.gibix.net/dokuwiki/en:projects:sheepshaver
Charles
From Ramell Boyer
I was reading your article today and it struck a chord. I want a new machine, I've never owned an Apple, but I can't stand Windows, and since I'm a full time Linux user, I'm making a leap. I've been going through it day after day as to what machine to purchase and my friends who are both long time Mac users and both currently own 12" iBooks, are of little to no help.
Before the introduction of the MacBook Pro, there was no choice but to get the Powerbook G4 15", but the choice is not so clear all of a sudden. I wonder does it make any sense to buy behind the technology curve with an Mac, or does it matter because I'm typing to you now on a laptop that's about two years old and its a first generation centrino machine 1.4 gig, no real loss, you know?
As I continue to research I read about the tremendous speed gains and how ancient the G4's are and that the new MacBooks are 4x as fast.... Not to mention this latest audio bug that's supposed to be in the latest G4's and how Apple is not responding, and my friends telling me NEVER EVER, buy a first revision Mac...it just makes for a big mess.
I'm no graphic designer or video editor, but I feels its better to have the power and not need it, so what is a newbie like myself to do? IBook, Powerbook, MacBook, or whatever the new iBook model is going to be? Should I wait, or take my chances as an early adopter, I mean either way you go, 2000 bucks is a lot of money to a guy who's never paid over 650 for a good used laptop, you know? Can you help me out?
Thanks,
Ramell Boyer
Hi Ramell;
Many people are ruminating over these same issues.
Personally, If I were in your shoes, a Windows switcher with no investment in legacy Mac software, and shipping in the $2,000 price range, I would absolutely go with a MacBook Pro.
Not all first generation Apples have been problematical. The Power Mac 6100, which was the very first Power PC based machine that Apple released back in 1994 was one of the solidest, most dependable macs ever. On the other hand, the forst PPC PowerBook, the 5300, was arguably the worst laptop Apple ever made (and ironically the most expensive), but the Original PowerBook G3 ("Kanga") in 1997 was a good computer, although it suffered by comparison features and power wise with the G3 Series PowerBooks released six months later. So it can go either way, but since the MacBook Pro is heavily based on the well-proven 15" Aluminum G4 PowerBook, I am optimistic that it will be a good machine. Pure speculation at this point of course.
The new Intel iBook (MacBook?) will be a n entirely new machine, and perhaps not as sure a thing in the early builds.
If raw speed is not a priority for you, another alternative to consider is a refurbished G4 PowerBook from Apple or a reseller. The MacBook Pro will be faster, but a lot less than 3x-4x faster in most real world tasks, and the G4s are well-proven now for the most part, the issue you cite notwithstanding. Apple refurbs. have the exact same warranty as a new machine.
Hope this helps.
Charles
Pismo and iLife 06?
From Doug Neff
Hi,
I've been looking around for an answer to my question, and you seem like the guy to ask.
I'm wondering if you've tried installing ilife 06 on your Pismo? Just installed it on mine (g4/500 upgrade and 512mb RAM). Everything works great EXCEPT imovie. Apparently, the graphics card on the Pismo can't handle the Core Video processing in the new imovie.
My question is this: Before I spend a lot of time trying it out, do you know if iLife 06 will function with imovie 5 installed instead of imovie 6? For instance, if I upgrade to 06 without upgrading imovie?
Any advice you have would be great. I'm not ready to trade in my Pismo yet! I love that thing!
Thanks,
Doug Neff
Hi Doug;
No; I don't have iLife 6, or even iLife 5 for that matter. I would love to have the time to get into digital video, but the way things are going, I may have to wait for retirement. ;-)
However, the old RAGE 128 Mobility grpahics accelerator in the Pismo doesn't support Quartz Extreme, Core Image, or Core Video, and never will.
Here are the system requirements for iLife 5:
• Macintosh computer with a PowerPC G3 (400MHz or faster), G4, or G5 processorThere is no mention of Core Image/Video being required, so it will probably work on the Pismo, but will be a bit lazy I would imagine.
• 600MHz G3 or faster required for GarageBand
• G4 or G5 required for GarageBand software instruments and advanced photo editing in iPhoto 5
• 733MHz G4 or faster required for iDVD
• 1GHz G4 or faster required to use HD features of iMovie HD
• 256MB of physical RAM (512MB recommended)
• 512MB RAM required to use HD features of iMovie HD
• Mac OS X v10.3.4 or later
• Mac OS X v10.3.6 or later required to use HD features of iMovie HD
• Mac OS X v10.3.6 or later required to work with RAW photos (iPhoto 5)
• Display with at least 1024 x 768 pixel resolution
• QuickTime 6.5.2 (included)
• DVD drive required to install GarageBand and iDVD
• Apple SuperDrive (or 733MHz G4 processor) required for iDVD
• RAW requires a supported RAW-compatible camera
• Compatible SuperDrive required to burn DVDs
• 4.3GB of disk space required to install GarageBand, iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie and iDVD; or 250MB to install iTunes, iPhoto and iMovie only
• iPhoto books and prints are available in the US, Canada, Japan, and select European countries
• Streaming music via AirTunes requires an AirPort Extreme Card, AirPort Express Base Station (sold separately), and iTunes 4.6 or later
• The iTunes Music Store is available only to persons above the age of 13 in the U.S., Canada, UK, France, Germany, and select EU countries
Charles
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