Mac OS X Lion: Drops PowerPC Emulation, Adds QuickTime Pro Features, Much More

[MagnusVonMagnum]

Bootcamp isn't really part of the OS.

Apple isn't stupid enough to take that out though.

Never underestimate the mind of Steve Jobs. He doesn't think like a normal person or else we would have USB3, Blu-Ray, OpenGL 4.x, SLI support, etc. by now. If he deems Bootcamp to be a hindrance to his grand plan, he'll gladly dump it in a heartbeat.

 

[Maximara]

Never underestimate the mind of Steve Jobs. He doesn't think like a normal person or else we would have USB3, Blu-Ray, OpenGL 4.x, SLI support, etc. by now. If he deems Bootcamp to be a hindrance to his grand plan, he'll gladly dump it in a heartbeat.

To be fair to Jobs, Thunderbolt (Light Peak) could totally eclipse USB3, Blu-Ray has other issues besides licensing, back in Sept 2010 only the G400-series card supported the features of OGL 4 and no programs did anything with it and just what is the advantage to the average user for SLI support?

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

To be fair to Jobs, Thunderbolt (Light Peak) could totally eclipse USB3, Blu-Ray has other issues besides licensing, back in Sept 2010 only the G400-series card supported the features of OGL 4 and no programs did anything with it and just what is the advantage to the average user for SLI support?

Eclipse or not, all new Macs should support USB3 regardless since it takes up no extra space over the existing USB2 ports and it's 100% backwards compatible. I have two external 3TB USB3 drives already and they don't support Thunderbolt (nothing does) and they run much slower under USB2 than USB3. Even if future drives DO support Thunderbolt, they will most likely cost more (e.g. FW supporting drives always support USB as well and cost more than the drives that are only USB). Even if you don't mind, your friend brings over his USB3 drive and you're in slow mode again. I see no reason to not include USB3 in all computers. If they want to add Thunderbolt as well, fine. Don't dump a dirt cheap USB upgrade to spite yourself.

The chicken/egg argument with OpenGL 4.x is pointless. OpenGL 4.x has support for all DirectX10 mode conversions (making potential game conversions to Mac nearly as fast as in Windows). People often complain about buying a Mac version of a game and finding that it runs much much faster under Windows on the same Mac hardware. This needs to stop. Why should someone have to buy Windows just to play games on the same Mac hardware? OpenGL 4.x support is a step in the right direction and it needs to be taken sooner rather than later. The longer deployment is delayed, the longer it will be before any games utilize it (i.e. you cannot write support for something that isn't supported on a Mac period. Apple has to offer it first).

There's nothing 'average' about SLI support. An 'average' user wouldn't care about it. I was talking about Apple supporting the latest and greatest for the Macintosh platform. The Mac used to be a leader in graphics once upon a time. Now it's a joke by comparison to a 2nd rate $1200 gaming tower. The ironic thing is that some Mac Pro models can support SLI...in Windows only. I guess you could argue since Apple/Steve don't care about gaming support in Macs, they don't need SLI and they don't need OpenGL4.x. I guess it's a valid argument so long as you enjoy letting someone else decide for you what you can and cannot do with your computer.

What other issues does Blu-Ray have pray tell? It does need HDCP compliant output ports, but most Macs have had that for some time now. Even Steve gave up his "bag of hurt" claims in recent e-mails and decided to tell the truth instead, that he wants you to buy from iTunes, not Sony. You apparently don't need 1080p. Low bit-rate 720p should be good enough for everybody....

 

[Dranix]

Your OpenGL-arguments are ********. OpelGL3.2 has already the full DirectX10 featureset. OGL3.3/4.0 bring it to DirectX11.

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

Your OpenGL-arguments are ********. OpelGL3.2 has already the full DirectX10 featureset. OGL3.3/4.0 bring it to DirectX11.

Ok, so I mixed up DX10 with DX11 (going by memory). That does not make my basic arguments invalid and there is no reason to violate the profanity rules of these boards to say it either way.

 

[BEIGE]

People asking for sli, you're asking for more trouble than anything else. SLI doesn't work with pro apps like Maya, even on Windows, and it is the cause of many apps acting flaky. Google Photoshop SLI problems. You don't need SLI for pairing cards for OpenCL or CUDA. I use Octane with dual NVIDIA cards in OS X.

Considering that no one buys a mac pro for games, the odds of Apple picking a gaming feature over pro app stability is nil. If you want two high power cards in a mac pro, google my Ars Technica review of the mac pro 2010 where I show how to use a y splitter to power two cards without problems. I am running the Quadro 4000 and Radeon 5870 this way with no problems. I'm at gym posting from phone so not convenient to get links

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

People asking for sli, you're asking for more trouble than anything else. SLI doesn't work with pro apps like Maya, even on Windows, and it is the cause of many apps acting flaky. Google Photoshop SLI problems. You don't need SLI for pairing cards for OpenCL or CUDA. I use Octane with dual NVIDIA cards in OS X.

Considering that no one buys a mac pro for games, the odds of Apple picking a gaming feature over pro app stability is nil. If you want two high power cards in a mac pro, google my Ars Technica review of the mac pro 2010 where I show how to use a y splitter to power two cards without problems. I am running the Quadro 4000 and Radeon 5870 this way with no problems. I'm at gym posting from phone so not convenient to get links

The reason no one picks a Mac Pro for gaming is there is no support for gaming (and the Mac Pro is overpriced for that use, yet ALL other Macs are near useless for modern games; you have to play 3 year old games or use lower resolutions to get decent frame rates on mobile platforms, etc.) In other words, what you're talking about is a self-fulfilling prophesy or chicken/egg scenario.