This is an absolutely fabulous article, many thanks to Scott Steven. However, some of the comments don't appear to be from this planet. Preston writes:
I disagree with a number of things in this article. First, Apple has publicly committed to the Intel platform by releasing Boot Camp and pledging to make the software a part of 10.5, so I think that goes beyond simply telling developers to remove their processor assumptions.
What does Bootcamp have to do with the way that developers should write their programs? I've tried really hard to think from various other viewpoints, but there is no way I can comprehend what Bootcamp has to do with development or Apple's "processor assumptions."
Second, by the time Soundbooth comes out in the middle of 2007 at the earliest, Intel Macs will be commonplace, and the abandonment of PowerPC will be that much more justified.
Second, by the time Soundbooth comes out in the middle of 2007 at the earliest, Intel Macs will be commonplace, and the abandonment of PowerPC will be that much more justified.
Is there any evidence for this whatsoever? PowerPC Macs are commonplace, but there is no way that Intel Macs will be commonplace as early as 2007.
The suite was actually successfully ported to Xcode earlier this year, and what they're doing now is finishing up CS3.
This makes Preston sound like an Adobe astroturfer. Why should we, the loyal Adobe users, care about CS3? Where the hell is the Intel-native version of Photoshop?
I don't think any serious Photoshop user gives two craps about CS3. They'd probably rather have a version of Photoshop 2.5 that runs on all platforms. So if, as Preston claims, the suite has already been converted to Xcode, then why is Adobe holding back on releasing it?
cjwl writes:
I think this makes complete sense for Adobe, new products are bought by early adopters, early adopters, are, well, early adopters, they buy new stuff, they have the latest Mac, the latest iPod, the latest this and that, these are the people that companies rely on to actually spend money on the product, review it, tell their friends about it, etc. It's just how it works, Sales 101.
Again, I'm not sure what planet this is coming from.
Most of the professional users that I know, are "early adopters" of software, and very evangelistic about good software - but they only update their hardware very slowly. Most professional Photoshop studios and graphic designers are still running old G4 towers. They are spending way too much money on software already too be buying the latest hardware. Even if they have the money for new hardware, the risk is not worth it, because new hardware is not proven to be reliable and solid.
In contrast, the people who seem to have the newest Intel Macs and iPods, hardly buy any software. They mostly use the free software that comes with the Mac, like iTunes and Garageband. They rarely talk about software, and certainly don't evangelize.
Those people who are talking about 30% of Mac users being Intel-based are most certainly exaggerating. It is nowhere near this number. I might believe 5%, but even that is really pushing it.
Among professionals, and particularly Adobe software users, I think the number is closer to 1%. In the consumer market, it may be as high as 2%. And I find 2% to be a staggeringly high number that indicates how quickly Apple is growing. If 30% of Macs in use today were Intel-based, you could elect Steve Jobs as ruler of planet Earth, and he would have solved world hunger by now.
by Harvard Irving — Nov 04
I disagree with a number of things in this article. First, Apple has publicly committed to the Intel platform by releasing Boot Camp and pledging to make the software a part of 10.5, so I think that goes beyond simply telling developers to remove their processor assumptions.
What does Bootcamp have to do with the way that developers should write their programs? I've tried really hard to think from various other viewpoints, but there is no way I can comprehend what Bootcamp has to do with development or Apple's "processor assumptions."
Second, by the time Soundbooth comes out in the middle of 2007 at the earliest, Intel Macs will be commonplace, and the abandonment of PowerPC will be that much more justified.
Second, by the time Soundbooth comes out in the middle of 2007 at the earliest, Intel Macs will be commonplace, and the abandonment of PowerPC will be that much more justified.
Is there any evidence for this whatsoever? PowerPC Macs are commonplace, but there is no way that Intel Macs will be commonplace as early as 2007.
The suite was actually successfully ported to Xcode earlier this year, and what they're doing now is finishing up CS3.
This makes Preston sound like an Adobe astroturfer. Why should we, the loyal Adobe users, care about CS3? Where the hell is the Intel-native version of Photoshop?
I don't think any serious Photoshop user gives two craps about CS3. They'd probably rather have a version of Photoshop 2.5 that runs on all platforms. So if, as Preston claims, the suite has already been converted to Xcode, then why is Adobe holding back on releasing it?
cjwl writes:
I think this makes complete sense for Adobe, new products are bought by early adopters, early adopters, are, well, early adopters, they buy new stuff, they have the latest Mac, the latest iPod, the latest this and that, these are the people that companies rely on to actually spend money on the product, review it, tell their friends about it, etc. It's just how it works, Sales 101.
Again, I'm not sure what planet this is coming from.
Most of the professional users that I know, are "early adopters" of software, and very evangelistic about good software - but they only update their hardware very slowly. Most professional Photoshop studios and graphic designers are still running old G4 towers. They are spending way too much money on software already too be buying the latest hardware. Even if they have the money for new hardware, the risk is not worth it, because new hardware is not proven to be reliable and solid.
In contrast, the people who seem to have the newest Intel Macs and iPods, hardly buy any software. They mostly use the free software that comes with the Mac, like iTunes and Garageband. They rarely talk about software, and certainly don't evangelize.
Those people who are talking about 30% of Mac users being Intel-based are most certainly exaggerating. It is nowhere near this number. I might believe 5%, but even that is really pushing it.
Among professionals, and particularly Adobe software users, I think the number is closer to 1%. In the consumer market, it may be as high as 2%. And I find 2% to be a staggeringly high number that indicates how quickly Apple is growing. If 30% of Macs in use today were Intel-based, you could elect Steve Jobs as ruler of planet Earth, and he would have solved world hunger by now.