The impending Intel migration.
Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2005 1:43 pm
I know you guys are still busy ironing out V2, and I must say that you're doing a magnificent job, but I thought it time to start thinking about future hardware.
Given that the powerbook range appears to be most in need of a good seeing too, it seems logical that Apple will prioritise this line for an early upgrade. Now, I don't know for sure but I would guess that powerbooks are probably the most popular choice for Apple based VJs. I recently upgraded one of my powerbooks to a 1.67 GHz machine with 128 MB VRAM specifically to use V2 and very happy I am, now that I've reinstalled Panther and QT 6.5.2. It really flies, although it should be said that running beta 2 under Tiger and QT 7 rendered performance completely unacceptable! I suspect that Tiger and QT 7 will mature over time, though.
I was going to wait another year to upgrade my second machine but now that looks like putting me in Intel territory. How ready for the transition are we likely to be? Apple have as good as said that, in order to generate the Universal Binaries required to maintain cross-platform compatability, the use of X-Code 2,1 is required. Now, I may be wrong about this but I would guess that Modul8 doesn't use X-Code, given the custom, non-aqua, interface (which I really like BTW ), and so is likely to run under Rosetta emulation with a small but, for us at the bleeding edge, annoying performance hit.
So what's your take on the situation? I know you're planning to optimise for all the goodies in Tiger and QT 7 for the next big release, but will the Intel move cause you any major headaches?. Also, what do other users think? Will it be wise to get the last version of the PPC powerbooks to weather the storm, or will the increased performance of the Intel machines make up for the use of emulation?
Calvin
Given that the powerbook range appears to be most in need of a good seeing too, it seems logical that Apple will prioritise this line for an early upgrade. Now, I don't know for sure but I would guess that powerbooks are probably the most popular choice for Apple based VJs. I recently upgraded one of my powerbooks to a 1.67 GHz machine with 128 MB VRAM specifically to use V2 and very happy I am, now that I've reinstalled Panther and QT 6.5.2. It really flies, although it should be said that running beta 2 under Tiger and QT 7 rendered performance completely unacceptable! I suspect that Tiger and QT 7 will mature over time, though.
I was going to wait another year to upgrade my second machine but now that looks like putting me in Intel territory. How ready for the transition are we likely to be? Apple have as good as said that, in order to generate the Universal Binaries required to maintain cross-platform compatability, the use of X-Code 2,1 is required. Now, I may be wrong about this but I would guess that Modul8 doesn't use X-Code, given the custom, non-aqua, interface (which I really like BTW ), and so is likely to run under Rosetta emulation with a small but, for us at the bleeding edge, annoying performance hit.
So what's your take on the situation? I know you're planning to optimise for all the goodies in Tiger and QT 7 for the next big release, but will the Intel move cause you any major headaches?. Also, what do other users think? Will it be wise to get the last version of the PPC powerbooks to weather the storm, or will the increased performance of the Intel machines make up for the use of emulation?
Calvin