OS X Lion to Drop 'Rosetta' Support for PowerPC Applications

[maflynn]

Yes, well I decided to go through that in 2009. If I couldn't get versions of things that ran natively by then I figured they were a lost cause and replaced them with different programs.

Not to sound unsympathetic, but why didn't you do that then? It was pretty clear that if a company didn't care by then they probably wouldn't ever care.

Because the scanner I'm using only has rosetta apps. They've never updated them. So while I could possibly buy a new scanner why should I spend money on something that works now. I mean its not like I knew epson was going to sit on the osx drivers and not do much. Maybe they'll update them for 10.7, but it isn't just the drivers but the application I use with the scanner. Maybe there's an alternative but it certainly leaves me in a lurch when a hardware manufacturer doesn't provide the software I need.

 

[Mattie Num Nums]

It's amusing that the one example provided of software that still runs on the pre-Intel system is Quicken. As someone who suffered through Intuit on Windoez then the Mac, let's just be real: Intuit just sucks. Oh. And Quickbooks sucks too, but that's not germane to this discussion.

If you're staying on a PPC system for Quicken-- dude, switch to Mint! I mean really. It's free and does all the stuff Quicken does, and does it better through the browser.

Mint is awesome. I started using it so that I could manage my portfolio along with my current expenses.

 

[ResPublica]

I'm not too happy about this... I still had a few PowerPC-only applications, including some apps I could replace but also apps like the beloved and irreplaceable Age of Empires 2, for which I now have to reboot into Windows XP. Well, live goes on.

 

[Gray.2]

PPC Applications

Believe it or not, my office still uses Appleworks.

With this news, we are finally making the transition to Pages.

Thank you, Steve Jobs.

P.S.

In a conversation with a "Genius" at the Apple Store, I was told that (the employee) too used Appleworks - albeit to save his passwords into. He figured that if his info was ever stolen, almost nobody would be able to open a .cwk file.

 

[BenRoethig]

This could break a lot of software. There are quite few programs that the program itself was updated as a universal app but the installer was kept as a PowerPC app because of rosetta. So basically with a lot of old games, my hard drive crashes, they're gone forever. But this is apple and they hold no nostalgia for the user who got them here, only the ones who are paying them now.

 

[Stridder44]

Very, very old news. People knew about this back in February when this came out. We knew that Rosetta couldn't be supported because the kernel has to run in full 64 bit now. If you check the Activity Monitor, it says kernel_task Intel (64-bit).

I have no idea why people are down-voting you. You're completely correct, there have been rumors about Rosetta being removed from Lion for a long time now. Not to mention the fact that Rosetta has been with us for over 5 years now.

I do wonder though, from a technical standpoint, what it is about Lion that prevents Rosetta from running on it.

 

[Hildron101010]

Marble Blast Will Run

Goodbye Marble Blast gold ... haha.

The copy of Marble Blast I have is Universal. I will run.

 

[Hildron101010]

Intel Core 2 Duo Minimum

Not relevant at all. Not every Lion capable machine is capable of running its kernel in 64bit mode.

I don't know how that statement can be correct if Apple said you need at least an Intel Core 2 Duo, which is a 64-bit processor. Did I miss something?

 

[NAG]

Yes it is possible for them to make them universal, but it's unlikely that they will bother.

Honestly, I wouldn't bet either way with Blizzard (as in I wouldn't hold my breath but I wouldn't be surprised if it is able to run some day). They maintain their games for a ridiculous period of time. I think the only other game that could rival it for the Mac would be KotOR (assuming StarCraft finally goes out to the farm).

 

[Small White Car]

Mint is awesome. I started using it so that I could manage my portfolio along with my current expenses.

I love Mint too. It's the first time in my life I've actually started tracking my finances and properly budgeting. I've tried other programs before but Mint is the first one that made it easy enough to keep up with.

That being said, Mint was bought by the Quicken people and they've yet to come up with a Mac or iPad app for it. (It does have an iPhone app.) Based on how they treated Quicken for Mac all these years it makes me nervous.

We'll see. I'm using it for now and really do love it.

 

[Slix]

Considering the only PPC applications we use in the household is Dreamweaver 8 (back when it was owned by Macromedia), Quicken and some games like Creatures 3.

It's sad to see them go, but I can continue to use the ones I use on older Macs in the house, or find new applications to edit my site.

 

[djrobsd]

Seriously, does anyone still use Quicken on a Mac? If not, they REALLY need to get with the times. Intuit obviously doesn't care about Mac users, and the software is absolute junk... I hated using Quicken when I got my first Macbook Pro 5 years ago...

Besides, there are so many hosted services out there like Mint.com that do a much better job and work on all platforms.

 

[Jerome Morrow]

I have no idea why people are down-voting you. You're completely correct, there have been rumors about Rosetta being removed from Lion for a long time now. Not to mention the fact that Rosetta has been with us for over 5 years now.

Because people like to reject reality and substitute it with their own.

 

[rmwebs]

Except for when there is no adequate Mac upgrade path (i.e. Quicken). The only option as the article states is to either keep a Snow Leopard boot drive around, or simply abandon Quicken for Mac altogether and start using the Windows version in Boot Camp/Parallels.

Blame crappy Intuit then for not giving a crap about us Mac users.

Just stick Parallels/VMWare on your mac and run it through that...its not hard!

 

[Skika]

Why is this news...again?

 

[840quadra]

Yes, well I decided to go through that in 2009. If I couldn't get versions of things that ran natively by then I figured they were a lost cause and replaced them with different programs.

Not to sound unsympathetic, but why didn't you do that then? It was pretty clear that if a company didn't care by then they probably wouldn't ever care.

Perhaps I am being a bit blunt, but you actually do sound unsympathetic, which you are free to be so no apology needed .

There is no replacement option for some of the software many of us are using. That is the main reason effected users like myself are complaining. I wouldn't even be posting here if I didn't feel Apple was a bit too efficient in abandoning old software / technology in recent years.

Apple Supported 68K emulation for longer than we have been on Intel for Steve's sake.

 

[kerryb]

It's not us it's them.

The switch to intel has been going on since 2005.

I hate to break it to some people but its probably time to upgrade.

Got 2 new Macs and can't wait for Lion however Adobe left GoLive sitting high and dry a few years back in favor of Dreamweaver (yuck). Looks like I will make good of my Mac Pro's second internal hard drive and boot in SL when updating my company's website.

 

[KindredMAC]

The only issue I take with the forthcoming Lion update is the lack of support for the Intel Core Duo chips.

My MacBook will not run Lion because it is the first gen MacBook with a Core Duo chip. Yet 6 months later the MacBooks got the Core 2 Duo chips at the GHz.

Dammit! Does that chip REALLY make THAT much of a difference for Lion???

 

[Truffy]

It was inevitable

At the time of the PPC/Intel change, Steve Jobs announced Rosetta as a stop-gap so that PPC applications wouldn't be immediately redundant. But such measures can only be short-term. I'm amazed that Apple's kept it up this long.

 

[Outsider]

Considering the only PPC applications we use in the household is Dreamweaver 8 (back when it was owned by Macromedia), Quicken and some games like Creatures 3.

It's sad to see them go, but I can continue to use the ones I use on older Macs in the house, or find new applications to edit my site.

May I suggest Coda, made by Panic, to replace DW8?

 

[rmwebs]

Basterds! How about AoE 2? or Unreal Tournament? Damn it, those are the only games I still play ...

Bootcamp/Parallels with XP then - both were released for that.

 

[NAG]

Blame crappy Intuit then for not giving a crap about us Mac users.

Just stick Parallels/VMWare on your mac and run it through that...its not hard!

You shouldn't have to buy a Windows license (and Parallels/VMWare if you don't want to reboot) to use some software. If they care about you as a customer in the slightest they should port it and if they don't care about me why should I trust that their product is for me?

 

[oiuh151]

This could break a lot of software. There are quite few programs that the program itself was updated as a universal app but the installer was kept as a PowerPC app because of rosetta. So basically with a lot of old games, my hard drive crashes, they're gone forever. But this is apple and they hold no nostalgia for the user who got them here, only the ones who are paying them now.

Or you could, you know, back up your hard-drive then simply move the apps back over without having to go through the installer.

 

[pubwvj]

Dumb move.

There are no alternative titles for a lot of the software. Apple should not be abandoning Rosetta and they should not have abandoned Classic. They are an enormous company with tremendous resources. They could easily keep emulation for these older systems going.

It is irresponsible of Apple to create obsolescence of hardware by discontinuing operating system and technical support for older systems. This policy of Apple's creates more trash filling the landfills and is a waste of resources.

The solution is for Apple to make new software intelligently scaleable such that it recognizes the hardware it is being installed on and adjusts to fit within the memory footprint and hardware's capabilities. Yes, certain new features like transparent window shadows will not be available but there are many improvements which can be continued to offer for older hardware such as the folders in the new iOS which do not need any advanced hardware capability.

The benefit to Apple is they can continue getting sales of operating systems each year as they offer new versions of the OS with new features. Additionally Apple will gain more market penetration as the old hardware is kept active and passed down in families resulting in a larger user installed base. Charge for the technical support - obviously. Just keep offering AppleCare.

Apple should also encourage developers to support the furthest back operating systems and hardware possible.

 

[Eidorian]

Poop. No more Disk Inventory X?

There has been a Universal beta for years.