Mac OS X Only Macs as of Jan 2003

[arn]

Apple annonunced that all new Mac models as of January 2003 will only boot into Mac OS X. Classic compatibility will remain.

“Now it’s time for Apple and our third-party developers to focus all of our resources exclusively on Mac OS X, rather than dividing them between two different operating systems.” -- Steve Jobs.

Apple's removal of OS 9 support has been rumored as far back as June 2002 with further hints in August (1, 2)

 

[Molson]

Does this signify no new hardware 'til MWSF?

Why would Apple bring out a new Powerbook (for example) that could boot OS 9, when new hardware next year will only boot OS X?

I don't expect to see new PowerBooks this year.

 

[barkmonster]

well if protools and a whole heap of 3rd party plug-ins and software synths don't come out in the next 3 months I'm not buying another mac for a long time.

why force people to use OS X ?

shouldn't it be a choice ?

I wouldn't pay for anything that doesn't work 100% with what I want to do with it, I think my next mac will be the cheapest digital audio or quicksilver G4 I can find on eBay and a dual cpu upgrade later on while I wait for everything to come out.

The worrying thing is that so many audio companies arn't even mentioning their plans for OS X yet and that either means they're as secretive as digidesign and apple are, or their not planning on spending the resources on porting to OS X for quite some time, hoping they can fall back on OS 9.

I know protools X should be out within months and that should take the panic out of the situation for me but anything that costs me money for upgrades because of apple's decision isn't going to make me very happy.

 

[DidotCicero]

OSX-only boot in January 2003

It's a logical step. More or less an open door.

Cool though that Classic is still supported. Yet another reason to switch to Jaguar...

 

[iwantanewmac]

Yes I find it quite disturbing too.
I won't be buying any new apple hardware until all the apps that I use and ned are available for X.
Protools is my biggest concern too.

 

[bidge]

Originally posted by iwantanewmac
Yes I find it quite disturbing too.
I won't be buying any new apple hardware until all the apps that I use and ned are available for X.
Protools is my biggest concern too.

Quite contradictory with your username

 

[barkmonster]

I only use the LE version and I hope digidesign do a simulataneous release of both LE and TDM versions, in the past they've neglected LE users in favour of the TDM guys when it comes to latest version releases.

Even now, the windows XP version of Protools LE has extra plug-ins that the mac LE users can't get yet but as far as I know they're in the TDM version on the mac. I'm guessing an OS X port of protools is going to be out soon, It'd be sick if digidesign were beaten to it by steinberg.

Cubase also comes with way more plug-ins and software synths than protools does so when cubase comes out for OS X, it will be a complete, usable system like logic X appears to be (except the crappy interface steinberg love to make).

Right now if I protools was to come out on OS X tommorow the only OS X and protools compatable software synths would be Unity Session, Unity DS-1 & Unity AS-1.

Anything other than the digirack plug-ins and maybe a few of the digidesign plug-ins like D-Fi, Maxim and D-FX would be useless under OS X and I'd have to stay with just the Digirack plug-ins like I've done so far because I was afraid of being stung with costly OS X updates for any plug-ins that look worth buying.

Some kind of "classic wrapper" that works transparently to link hardware to Classic without OS X interfering would solve a whole heap of problems. If they'd give classic low level access to the hardware, no bootable OS 9 wouldn't be a problem.

 

[beno]

Quark

Guess that means Quark X at the same time?

 

[iGav]

It's a good thing........ Apple making such a bold move will force those software companies that aren't pulling their weight to either start to do so and get developing or get left behind.

Now I just wish Macromedia would sort out Director....... they really are crap they are....

 

[rEd Eye]

Apple is really starting to pi$$ me off!! I have my first powerbook planned for the next upgrade release,but if it don't boot into OS 9,I have absolutely no use for it.It would be easier for me to switch to windoze right now rather than OS X.
Apple is really making a mistake pushing some people,especially those in the audio industry, where they are not ready to go.
What?I'm supposed to happily move to Appllogic osX,drop 90% of my plugins that I can't afford to upgrade,aren't ready for osX yet,or never will be ready for osX, and move happily on?Screw that!This move is going to take some time.I don't forsee being able to drop into pure osX land for at the very least another year,but I would like very much to continue using the latest gear. The PC world is looking friendlier and friendlier these days!And Mhz myth?PC's are faster right now!Lot's faster!!!Macs are slugs in comparison to the latest PC technologies,and you can even use most windoze 98 apps in XP.
Who knows,I could even end up a"switcher",because the company that I presently support,appears to have no real interest in MY needs!
I'm starting to get the feeling that Apple is a brand for the elite,snooty and rich,and that maybe I should seriously consider supporting the more open minded,and affordable PC market!

 

[iGav]

Originally posted by rEd Eye
Apple is really starting to pi$$ me off!! I have my first powerbook planned for the next upgrade release,but if it don't boot into OS 9,I have absolutely no use for it.It would be easier for me to switch to windoze right now rather than OS X.
Apple is really making a mistake pushing some people,especially those in the audio industry, where they are not ready to go.
What?I'm supposed to happily move to Appllogic osX,drop 90% of my plugins that I can't afford to upgrade,aren't ready for osX yet,or never will be ready for osX, and move happily on?Screw that!This move is going to take some time.I don't forsee being able to drop into pure osX land for at the very least another year,but I would like very much to continue using the latest gear. The PC world is looking friendlier and friendlier these days!And Mhz myth?PC's are faster right now!Lot's faster!!!Macs are slugs in comparison to the latest PC technologies,and you can even use most windoze 98 apps in XP.
Who knows,I could even end up a"switcher",because the company that I presently support,appears to have no real interest in MY needs!
I'm starting to get the feeling that Apple is a brand for the elite,snooty and rich,and that maybe I should seriously consider supporting the more open minded,and affordable PC market!

Well maybe the Audio software companies should get there ar*es into gear then..... rather than laging behind......

 

[edesignuk]

rEd Eye - I think the whole point of Apple doing this is to FORCE those slacking software companies to get their a$$es in gear and get their applications fully OSX native.
X has been around for quite some time now and yet still alot of the software you guys seem to want (proffessional level stuff), has still not been made for X, the OS of choice for the Mac platform.
This is just crazy, but, not Apples fault, it's the 3rd party companies responsible for keeping their own apps up to standard with the current OS, hopefully this move by Apple will force them to get a move on and catch up with the times.

 

[j763]

Originally posted by iGAV


Well maybe the Audio software companies should get there ar*es into gear then..... rather than laging behind......

exactly... they either get their s/w out soon or they don't develop for mac... simple as that.

 

[iGav]

Originally posted by verbose101
rEd Eye - I think the whole point of Apple doing this is to FORCE those slacking software companies to get their a$$es in gear and get their applications fully OSX native.
X has been around for quite some time now and yet still alot of the software you guys seem to want (proffessional level stuff), has still not been made for X, the OS of choice for the Mac platform.
This is just crazy, but, not Apples fault, it's the 3rd party companies responsible for keeping their own apps up to standard with the current OS, hopefully this move by Apple will force them to get a move on and catch up with the times.

Exactly..........

 

[Hmm]

Of course, you don't have to wait until your apps are ready for OS X. You can just buy a mac that still boots into OS9 right now. I'm sure Apple is hoping you will!

 

[pretentious]

Calm down every one, we all know that some of the Music apps haven’t fully conformed, but that is their fault, not Apple's.
Now we didn't expect our Power Macs to run OS 6, we didn't expect our G3's to be able to run OS 7, so we shouldn't be expecting what is next Mac's to be able run OS 9.
This should be a good sign; this could be meaning something bigger and better!

 

[thies]

not being a music professional, but knowing some people in the business who ranted about it, there was no way the companies could port their apps to OS X as the groundwork in OS X was not there compared to OS 9.
Although the music applications are not my main gripe with the hard and software situation on the Mac I ordered a PC, should be here in the next days. Apple simply pulled of too much ********, overpromised while underdelivering and simply seems to have lost touch with its average user.

 

[maelstromr]

jaguar RULES!

Apple computer has led the way in hardware for a long time now, and this is the logical step in forcing everyone else to follow the future trend and not hide in OS 9. OS 9 is dead, and it was Apple's responsibility to finally bury it, not to develop every piece of software imaginable.

What do you need to do that you can't do with a OS 9 compatible 1.25 ghz dual processor G4 powermac while you wait the few months for OS X software?

The powerbook might be a bit slow for hardcore stuff, but there aren't many (that can really be considered portable) that can. People, a POWERBOOK LAPTOP PORTABLE computer is not made to crunch the biggest numbers, it's meant to be convenient and to move around!

Take a deep breath, look at the mac's simplicity, beauty and quality...and wait a little bit for the software community to catch up.

 

[groovebuster]

But this is not only about the major apps or some plug-ins. I know a lot of medium sized ad companies, who use special software for their work-flow and other stuff, that is only available for MacOS 9 and does not run in classic!

Of course it is the fault of the software companies, that no OS X version is available so far, but just keep in mind that most companies didn't do the switch to OS X so far. As a result they don't have a real market for an OS X version. And as long as not all the software needed is available for OS X a lot of companies will stick with OS 9...

In case they can't buy a new Mac anymore that is booting in OS 9 without having all the software available they need, they run into big trouble. They can't just close down their business, until they got, what they need! And the software companies (which almost always have a Windows-Version of their software as well) couldn't care less, if the companies switch to Windows. On the long-run it would save them the costs to develop not for 2 platforms anymore.

So what's the solution? I really don't know!

The only way I see to convince people about using Mac OS X in the companies is to make it so outstanding compared to OS 9, that everybody is craving to have it, putting pressure on the software companies indirectly! But so far OS X is still far from being as good as OS 9 on a lot of issues... People don't really see a productivity gain and even worse in 10.2 the GUI is still slow sometimes and the system responds not as fast as we would like it, giving us the feeling the whole system is slower than an OS 9 installation. And all the new gadgets built into Jaguar are nice, but do they really help the normal proferssional to get his work done faster? In most cases it is a clear NO! I finally imstalled 10.2 last weekend and it is a nice service update, but I really ask myself why they believe it is worth that much money? Working with the pro apps (like Photoshop, etc...) I don't notice big of a difference and QuartzExtreme is nice, but I still consider it as a bug-fix that shouldn't cost anything and that makes the GUI usable finally...

Those companies have a functioning working process and they will never change that to get into adventures with an unsure outcome, that burns their money and maybe causes the death of the company...

Interesting times!

I guess that we Apple lovers are just not aware of how serious the situation is for Apple at the moment. If they don't provide really performant gear and all the important Software (including plug-ins) will be available within the next 6 months, we'll see a lot of "switchers" in the pro market!

It's a pity... (almost) nice OS, but no hardware and software... same old story!

At the moment I have a really bad feeling about all this...

groovebuster

 

[rEd Eye]

"Well maybe the Audio software companies should get there ar*es into gear then..... rather than laging behind......"


Well even if the arses do get in gear,I'm still going to have to shell out the dough for all the upgrades.Even if everything I need and use were made available the same day that I buy an osX only machine,can you imagine how much that day is going to cost me?And the point still remains that alot of VST and VSTI's that I love dearly will likely never be ported to osX,and it's going to take some time and more $$$ to find suitable replacements.I get the feeling sometimes that everyone on this board is stinkin rich,cause no one here thinks Apple products are way overpriced when they clearly are,and everyone seems to think the personal expense of magicly switching many thousands of dollars worth of software to osX as an insignificant afterthought.
Apple is making their moves based on way to much personal pride and vanity for my liking these days.OsX or bust!!!We buit it.....you use it!NOW!!!
Ohhhhh,I get it! $5000 email machines that look real pretty!
Yeeech!
I quite look forward to moving to osX....when the time comes.Right now os9 is doing exactly what I need it to,so why should I inconvenience myself for the benefit of Apples fatheaded approach to pushing their products on people who arent ready for them yet?Why not continue to manufacture "classic"machines for the market that just isn't ready to put all of it's eggs in the still way too new to be practical for everyone osX basket just yet?

 

[clonenode]

People need to calm down. Apple is doing nothing to YOU. They are moving forward with their OS strategy. Stop taking it so personally.

 

[groovebuster]

Re: jaguar RULES!

Originally posted by maelstromr
What do you need to do that you can't do with a OS 9 compatible 1.25 ghz dual processor G4 powermac while you wait the few months for OS X software?

Take a deep breath, look at the mac's simplicity, beauty and quality...and wait a little bit for the software community to catch up.

We are not talking about private users only, we are talking about business.

Companies don't buy machines now, just because they maybe(!) need them in 6 months! They buy the machines when they are needed or older machines are due to be replaced. They have budgets and write stuff of from tax. What shall a company do, if they need 10 new PowerMacs next January, but they won't boot in OS 9 anymore and the Software they use doesn't work properly in Classic and an OS X version is still not in sight?

Think about it for a minute and you hopefully will start to understand the problem!

groovebuster

 

[maelstromr]

red eye

so instead you spent how much switching all your software to windows?

go play with PC's then, I'm sure apple won't cry over your lost business. now I'm going to lay back and light a few cubans with burning $100 bills while I yell at my servants to get the yacht ready to sail to Monaco where I will blow a small country's GNP betting on whether or not compaq will last another year...


I'm a self supporting (tuition paying) student that has done just fine switching to OS X and a pretty decent graphics suite. Now, I recognize that education prices make a HUGE difference, but I'm really not sure if that justifies the W H I N I N G coming from all these people.

 

[rEd Eye]

"
People need to calm down. Apple is doing nothing to YOU. They are moving forward with their OS strategy. Stop taking it so personally.
"


I take it personaly because I bought into their strategy,and now they don't give a **** that they're leaving me behind!I want a 1Ghz powerbook that I can now almost afford,and now it looks like I won't be getting it anytime soon
I see a rocky road ahead of Apple for the next couple of years!

 

[groovebuster]

Originally posted by clonenode
People need to calm down. Apple is doing nothing to YOU. They are moving forward with their OS strategy. Stop taking it so personally.

It is pretty personal, if I earn money with my Mac, but I can't completely switch to OS X, because not all the software needed is available so far and doesn't run in classic! That means from January on I can't buy a Mac anymore, as long as I don't get the complete package of software for OS X. Not to mention the costs of updating all the software. I don't think that most software companies don't want to see cash for the transition to OS X.

We are talking about thousands of dollars per work-place here.

groovebuster