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Cross-Platform Universal Emulation?

FINALLY!! i can run Word and Powerpoint on my Mac!

(sorry, just tired of PC users here in the office acting all surprised when i open Word or Excel..."YOU have Word?? i thought this was a Mac?? isn't that computer from like an alternate reality where only obscure designer programs function?")

hmm, should be interesting to see how this pans out. only a 20% performance hit for SOFTWARE handling program and OS "mapping"? (it's emulation, face facts bob)
 
The software is designed to re-map system calls from applications to the appropriate machine code for different processor types. According to the site there will be a version that will run MIPS, PPC, and Mainframe (assuming IBM z series) on Itanium; MIPS, MF, and x86 on PPC, and MIPS, Itanium, and PPC on x86. The catch is that both OSs must be Unix/Linux-like. In other words it will help users migrate from x86 Linux to Itanium or PPC (IBM p series) or any other combination.

This is targeted at enterprise customers looking to move large applications to either cheaper (MF -> anything else) or more capable (x86 -> PPC) platforms. This isn't a competitor to VirtualPC and you aren't likely to ever see it at the Apple store.
 
2GMario said:
i still think its impossible to emulate even windows with no speed loss at all, but wel just have to wait and see
Click to expand...

They're not claiming "no speed loss".

http://www.transitive.com/news_quicktransit.htm said:
How QuickTransit Works
...
QuickTransit products let software applications run on the target platform exactly as they run on the source platform, with 100% functionality. Graphics and interactive performance are transparent, and computational performance is 80% of what could be achieved with a native port, which is often higher performance than is available on the original platform.
Click to expand...
 
nagromme said:
"an operating system mapper translates operating system calls from the source system to the target system in situations where the source and target operating systems are different"
...
I'm skeptical that you could get reliable "universal" functionality by running Mac apps on a Frankenstein re-mapped OS and hardware.
Click to expand...
Me, too ... Have these people implemented mappers for the whole Windows API, the whole Cocoa, CoreImage, Quicktime, Carbon ++ and the whole GTK-whatever that is used in Gnome?? That doesn't seem feasible.

I'm guessing it's severely limited when it comes to GUI applications. The Quake example from linux to Mac was probably just possible because it only uses glu/glut which exists on both platforms anyway.

If this makes it possible to run iPhoto, iMovie and iDVD on Windows XP, I'll be very, very surprised.
 
Anybody else concerned that one of the apps they chose to test on was the Gimp on Windows, when there already is a Windows Gimp?
 
The ppl that made this are the ppl that made VW. They sold VW to M$ then took the money and made a better product.(I'm guessing of course.) Like other ppl have said, "I'll believe it when I see it."
 
AMP said:
This is targeted at enterprise customers looking to move large applications to either cheaper (MF -> anything else) or more capable (x86 -> PPC) platforms. This isn't a competitor to VirtualPC and you aren't likely to ever see it at the Apple store.
Click to expand...

Sure....and that's why they supposedly demo'd it with QUAKE 3 and GIMP...two ENTERPRISE APPLICATIONS.
 
Hmmmmmmm

I think that this maybe a pardigim shift in computing. It was bound to happen, just like clear metal will happen someday (Beam Me Up Scotty!). This would be the first step towards my goal of elimination of binary code as we know it, and change it to a whole new form of natural computing. Out with the ones and zeros, and in with the new waterproof language that is not based on electricity, but based on chemical charges between axons and dendrites of the grown processor. Maybe I should lay off the drugs.

:D
 
IJ Reilly said:
Apple should buy this company before Microsoft does.
Click to expand...

my thoughts exactly. microsoft wouldnt let this company make it to market, since they would be ! competition ! :rolleyes:
 
jimthorn said:
I have a hard time believing that Apple would develop anything that encouraged the use of Win32 apps on Mac, especially if they ran at a better speed than Virtual PC. It would mean that 3rd party software makers could potentially stop developing for the Mac platform.
Click to expand...

They wouldn't have to develop only for the Mac. They could conceiveably write only one version of the program and it would run on all platforms. As mentioned before, this eliminates the "lack of software for the Mac" argument heard from PC oriented store clerks. This could only benefit Apple IF it only runs applications and not the OS itself. If it could run the OS I would expect that Maklar would be revived and optimized X86 machines be offered. (But probably not). By the way, the bad stuff (spyware, malware, virii etc.) that comes with Windows will probably also work on all platforms.
Pete
 
QuickTransit for x86. Allows application binaries compiled for a MIPS®, POWER™, PowerPC™ or mainframe processor to run on an x86-based computer. Application binaries compiled for other processors will be supported soon. Operating system call mapping from any Unix/Linux-like operating system or any mainframe operating system to any Unix/Linux-like operating system is supported.


OSX is a Unix OS. Looks like it could then run on a PC.
 
OK, calm down, everyone :D

I've been reading up on this a bit (on slashdot, not sure if it counts). :p


This product is not able to "emulate" everything. It's mostly a product aimed at software houses and large customers who want to port a product from one platform to others, let's say from their old PA-RISC box to their new Power5 box.

The product will automatically map between a number of similar system calls. Obviously the number of similar system calls will be larger between UNIX/Linux variants. If no such similar system call exists, then the customer must define the map herself to make a successful port of the application.

Obviously there are few maps defined for complex libraries like Cocoa and Win32, so the customer will not be able to port apps like iMovie and iPhoto just like that.
 
It'd be funny if running the PC version of games would now actually be faster than running the native Mac version because of this.
 
Bad for Apple?

Maybe I'm misunderstanding what this product is, but if this will allow folks to run different OSes on their hardware, regardless of what they have, this may be bad for Apple. Think about it. Apple makes most of their money off hardware sales. Currently the only way you can actually run the Mac OS is to buy or own a Mac. If every PC user out there will suddenly be able to run Mac OS X, and Apple doesn't (currently) use serial numbers for the OS, then imagine all the pirated copies of Mac OS X that will start making the rounds. All those cheap ass PC buyers will be able to avoid buying the typically more expensive Apple hardware and still take advantage of OS X. Not good for Apple. Will this cause them to start serializing their OS? I kind of hope not.

Additionally, this may also be bad for MS. Many disgruntled PC users can switch to Mac OS and not pay the MS tax going forward.

It may change the entire computer industry to start shipping computers with no OS on them, if requested by the buyer. You can then put whatever OS you want on there.

It will be interesting to see more about what this product will mean for the industry.
 
This sounds pretty cool. Only I don't know if there are any Microsoft or Linux products I would rather use on my mac that's already there. This might be good for new switchers and gamers.
 
In the early 1980s, there were the processors which would run LISP and Sweet-16 instructions natively. In the 1990s, there were experiments for Java processors.

Have these people done something the earlier groups could not? I'm not holding my breath.
 
As others have pointed out, this appears to be mapping system calls along with the emulation. What that means is, it's going to be nearly impossible to run Office 2003 (for windows) on a Mac or iPhoto on Windows, etc. But things like Linux apps compiled for x86 could probably be moved to Mac OS without much fanfare. I doubt the same could be said for Cocoa or Carbon apps running on Linux though. The thing that makes this interesting is Wine. If they could incorporate this technology with Darwine, then we just might have a way to run Windows apps natively.

However, anyone who has actually used Wine will tell you, that this is hardly the stuff of average end users. Apple, or a third party, could probably develop something along the lines of Crossover Office and allow a subset of apps to run well. But having a universal way to run Windows apps on OS X, in a reliable and simply fashion, is probably not going to happen. The good news is though, that if this tech is available, it would make a lot of things possible that before now just weren't worth it. For instance, if it was a standard part of the OS, it would be realistic for 3rd parties to write their apps and test on this so they could have a cross platform app that works. Only time will tell.

Cheers,
John
 
AmigoMac said:
You may not install Mac OS X in a non-apple computer .. it will be piracy :eeK: Maybe you care, may be not ;)
Click to expand...

License agreement says, "any non apple labelled computer". Stick an Apple sticker on the PC...
 
I'll believe it when I see it.

If it works as advertised, the choice of a certain OS will become less important for the user, as all software runs on all OSs. Software developers will stop developing native Mac applications/ports. The edge OS X has over Windows will be less relevant. The majority of users will pick the OS X apps they like (iLife) and run them on cheap x86 hardware. As Apple makes most of its profit with hardware, Apple will be in deep trouble.

If it works as advertised, the choice of OS will be much more open for users. Their investment in software will not be lost when trying out a new OS, as all software runs on all OSs. The majority of users will try the OS X apps they like (iLife), fall in love with Apples trademark simplicity and elegance and switch to OS X running on affordable new headless minitowers Apple introduces to make switching easier still. As Microsoft makes most of its profit with the now largely abandoned Windows OSs, Microsoft will be in deep trouble.

If it works as advertised, Linux will own the corporate desktop market.
 
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