Optimized compiling sounds good to me!
Sol said:
They could write Universal Binaries that would run un-optimized on both, they could write and optimize for PPC only or for x86 only.
Does anyone have actual confirmation that you can't make a Universal Binary that uses Intel's plugin for one side and still use the PPC compiler for the other side? Are we just assuming XCode can't compile twice with two compilers and put them together? (In fact, isn't that what Universal Binaries do anyway?) I don't know about these things, just wondering. As for devs not putting every effort into tweaking manually for PPC--yes, that's true, over time they'll stop doing so. PPC is on the way out. Meanwhile, yes, they'll be doing extra work--and selling more software too! The Mac market will grow from the Intel change, not remain static.
Sol said:
This is why I hate the Intel Macs. However faster than PPC the x86 hardware is supposed to be, Windows applications will be faster because Mac developers will have to write for two very different architectures in what is seen as a niché market. I suspect most applications will not have OS X native versions at all and will rely on something like WINE or Virtual PC to run on OS X.
Compiling a Universal Binary is a matter of checking a box, ultimately.
And x86 isn't "supposed" to be faster than PPC, it IS faster--for notebooks. And within the next two years, it will be faster for desktops as well. This is not marketing spin--it's a REAL benefit, or Apple wouldn't put themselves, their devs, and us through an awkward (but temporary) transition.
As for OS X apps vanishing.... fear not, the sky is not falling
There are two BIG reasons why Mac users will NOT be willing--on a large scale--to settle for running Windows on their Macs instead of demanding a Mac-native app. And with the Mac market growing (especially after the Intel change), developers will be more motivated than ever to sell to us
(Besides, if they already have Mac experience and Mac apps to leverage, why throw them out?)
1. Cost. You have to BUY Windows. And possibly some helper app, either for installation or to actually host Windows like VPC. (Which also means a whole extra set of setup steps you have to go through before you can run Windows apps--not too difficult I'm sure, but not something your Mac can do out of the box.)
2. Usability. You give up the benefits of OS X, which gets better all the time and is the reason you HAVE a Mac. You either accept the time and effort and inconvenience to dual-boot--in which case you give up OS X entirely for those times, and cannot use those apps in conjunction with your Mac apps... or else you run Windows and Mac simultaneously (with a fast new VPC, or even WINE to run--some--apps without Windows itself). Running both at once is cool in a geeky way, but it's terrible usability: working back and forth between two GUIs at once! That's not Mac user friendliness. Not to mention a possible performance hit.
When you stop and think about it, can you really imagine most Mac users settling for Windows?
For these reasons, users will continue to DEMAND Mac apps. (Even games, to a lesser extent. The GUI is not always an issue for those, but the other issues remain. I know I'll give my money first for native Mac games.)
Running Windows on Mac WILL be great for certain things--such as to give a comfort zone to people fearful of straying from Windows, and thus grow the Mac platform hugely. And it's great as a last-resort option for Mac fans who need a certain Windows app for work or whatever. We use VPC for that, and VPC (or something) will soon be full-speed and work even better! But it won't make us LIKE running Windows, and won't make us want to buy Windows apps. We'll do it only when we HAVE to.
And we already do: if we HAVE to--and often by choice for games--we run VPC or simply own a PC. No change there. (And neither option is free!) So the people most likely to accept a Windows app or game on their Mac are the very people ALREADY buying Windows apps--for their PC game systems, or their old PC they keep around, or VPC to run some app from their employer, or whatever.
Conclusion: the market for native Mac apps is about to grow, not shrink, and developers will deliver!
