Rosetta May Be Removed From M1 Macs in Some Regions on macOS 11.3

[lxmeta]

I‘m pretty sure this is all much ado about nothing. I don’t have time to check, but I guess there are other default features in macOS that never got removed, with the same string.
Guess there is a default framework requirement that if you do a certain feature that you don’t want marked as mandatory, you need to fill out this string

 

[cmaier]

I have, and he is. And we may not have heard about a patent case -- it may have been a threat of one and Apple decided that yes, it probably was an infringement, so they proactively did something about it. Who knows. My real bet is copyright with the name rosetta itself, who knows, certainly not me, and that could be enough to get it pulled until that is resolved.

We just don't have enough information about region, or why it's being removed. or if it's being removed!

You can’t copyright a name. And if the issue is trademark infringement, you can’t infringe a trademark by merely using or distributing the Rosetta code - the code doesn’t display the word “Rosetta” anywhere, after all. You don’t get a “thanks for using Rosetta!” pop-up when you launch an x86 app.

 

[Ethosik]

Absolutely. It doesn’t help that context is not provided in the original macrumors post, so people read it and think the worst. Even worse are people who don’t read it - they ignore “region” and assume it means everywhere, etc. And then there are people who don’t understand intellectual property law who jump to all sorts of worst-case scenarios.

Presumably this will affect very few people and will be something Apple would do only if required by some law.

And then it still wouldn't be Apple's fault. They need to follow the law. Nearly every post lately is just filled with Apple hate and bashing.

 

[bobcomer]

I agree that we don’t have all the information, but I’d say that it’s pretty clear from what we do have that the panicking is overblown.

We'll just have to agree to disagree..

 

[bobcomer]

You can’t copyright a name.

If you say so, but I've seen similar court cases.

And if the issue is trademark infringement, you can’t infringe a trademark by merely using or distributing the Rosetta code - the code doesn’t display the word “Rosetta” anywhere, after all. You don’t get a “thanks for using Rosetta!” pop-up when you launch an x86 app.

Okay, Trademark then, but is there no mention of Rosetta to the user in any of the OS? If that's so, I'm probably wrong about that particular thing, but I still don't think we know enough to say what region means in this context. I'm not going to worry about it until I have to anyway...

 

[bobcomer]

Mine has the benefit of history. Apple has done this sort of thing in the past, for exactly that reason, as have many other companies.

Still, you have no more information than anyone else about this particular case... Things change, new ways to do things come up, laws change....

Even if you were a patent or corporate lawyer, I'd still say you don't know enough to say for sure.

And fwiw, I actually think we need to not panic without further info coming to light, so we agree more than we disagree. I'm just keeping the door open to the worst case scenario of it being the U.S....

 

[danbi]

MATLAB - really popular with students

MATLAB

The official home of MATLAB software. MATLAB is the easiest and most productive software environment for engineers and scientists. Try, buy, and learn MATLAB.

www.mathworks.com

Considering that MATLAB is doing numerical processing and will definitely benefit from recompiling for the new CPU, one can expect they will do it at some point. In fact, they do claim to work on it: https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/641925-is-matlab-supported-on-apple-silicon-macs

 

[cmaier]

Still, you have no more information than anyone else about this particular case... Things change, new ways to do things come up, laws change....

Even if you were a patent or corporate lawyer, I'd still say you don't know enough to say for sure.

And fwiw, I actually think we need to not panic without further info coming to light, so we agree more than we disagree. I'm just keeping the door open to the worst case scenario of it being the U.S....

“Even if,” huh?

 

[Shirasaki]

If you are panicking based on incomplete information, then that’s the definition of *not* reasonable especially as the information we do have doesn’t conform to the notion of Apple actually removing Rosetta. They’re not. I’d argue that people panicking based on incomplete information where, again, the information we do have even contradicts the worst case scenario (this message is not new and declares it for certain regions and no one outside of a reported bug has actually experienced it) is why we can’t have nice things.

Also the worst case scenario of them pulling Rosetta 2 before the transition is even complete never mind giving it a buffer afterwards is ... well extremely silly. I mean, I’m sorry but at this point silly is the kindest word for it.



Rosetta 1 lasted for *5 years*. It wasn’t removed until Lion in 2011 after being introduced in 2006. Rosetta 2 will likely last as long if not longer as this transition is going to take longer to complete. Apple is still selling Intel macs and will be well into 2022.

Well, thanks for the correction.
I will hold my doubt of this against Apple given Apple’s track record, and will likely not going to purchase any Apple Silicon Mac unless this speculation has some meaningful progress. Let’s agree to disagree and move on.
Yeah, we just can’t have nice things.

 

[VaruLV]

Im less likely to buy Macbook next year as complementary device to iPad Pro if they remove Rosetta suppport in my region, highly unlikely that certain software that is available on Windows only will be made available to MacOS by that time.

 

[ignatius345]

Could someone please share what the most prominent and popular Mac Apps are currently still using rosetta to function on M1 Macs?

Doesn’t matter if it’s a “prominent and popular“ app if it’s something you need.

 

[Tech198]

Wait a minute...Developers in those counteries may have not updated to Universal/Native yet

 

[toptekjon]

Wow, I just bought an M1 Mac Mini, if they remove Rosetta 2 then it's going back!

Yeah this is absolutely unacceptable. I would not have considered switching to an M1 Mac if they had told us up front that they would kill all legacy apps just a couple of months later. I see yet another class action suit against apple coming soon...

 

[toptekjon]

Doesn’t matter if it’s a “prominent and popular“ app if it’s something you need.

How about Spotify. Is that prominent enough? There are many others that are less popular, but important to smaller groups of people.

 

[toptekjon]

Would instantly cripple my workflow.

I hope this does not happen

I would not consider updating to 11.3 if this happens, but I will consider switching back to a Windows laptop. This is unacceptable.

 

[ignatius345]

There are many others that are less popular, but important to smaller groups of people.

Chill, man, I'm agreeing with you. That was literally my exact same response but in different words.

 

[buckwheet]

Yeah, I have to say that a functional version of Rosetta 2 will be essential for me to upgrade to an Mx machine, as well. Without it the support for music production software will be almost non-existent, making the new machines kinda useless for me. And since I am really looking forward to a 16" Mx, that would suck full a**. I hope this is either a non-issue (i.e., it is just a string and may added for some future version, or as a "just in case" option), or not effecting my "region"...
Not a good sign, for sure, though I do suspect cmaier is correct about the reasons. Also, it was always the case that Rosetta 2 would be a transitional technology. (It's also possible, I suppose, that a third-party dev could create a similar/comparable emulator... no?)

 

[toptekjon]

Chill, man, I'm agreeing with you. That was literally my exact same response but in different words.

"Calmer than you are, Dude". I wasn't saying anything negative towards you or anyone else here. Just annoyed with Apple if this story is true. I just got an M1 MacBook Air a couple of months ago. I love it. If they kill legacy apps, it will become useless to me and I will be forced to sell it and switch to an OS I don't like nearly as much.

 

[toptekjon]

Chill, man, I'm agreeing with you. That was literally my exact same response but in different words.

Also - I was intending to direct my message to the person you had quoted. I probably just did it wrong, but they were seemingly stating that there were no popular apps on x86, which is just silly.

 

[crazy dave]

Yeah this is absolutely unacceptable. I would not have considered switching to an M1 Mac if they had told us up front that they would kill all legacy apps just a couple of months later. I see yet another class action suit against apple coming soon...

"Calmer than you are, Dude". I wasn't saying anything negative towards you or anyone else here. Just annoyed with Apple if this story is true. I just got an M1 MacBook Air a couple of months ago. I love it. If they kill legacy apps, it will become useless to me and I will be forced to sell it and switch to an OS I don't like nearly as much.

Good news! They aren’t. Read what people are writing including the guy macrumors originally based their poorly framed post on. This has been in macOS for months, possibly since the beginning of the transition, and is not heralding the imminent demise of Rosetta 2. Macrumors basically wrote an alarmist post and people are losing their minds.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Good news! They aren’t. Read what people are writing including the guy macrumors originally based their poorly framed post on. This has been in macOS for months, possibly since the beginning of the transition, and is not heralding the imminent demise of Rosetta 2. Macrumors basically wrote an alarmist post and people are losing their minds.

Not that I condone MR people losing their minds on a regular basis but, what you have seen here is pretty much standard behavior on MR regardless of the article involved.

 

[cmaier]

Yeah this is absolutely unacceptable. I would not have considered switching to an M1 Mac if they had told us up front that they would kill all legacy apps just a couple of months later. I see yet another class action suit against apple coming soon...

Bet you there won’t be. If soon means “within 5 years.”

 

[buckwheet]

This has been in macOS for months, possibly since the beginning of the transition, and is not heralding the imminent demise of Rosetta 2.

Ah, right, okay! I kinda wondered if this was the case...
Just somebody getting a little media time by freaking people out.

 

[Ethosik]

Well, thanks for the correction.
I will hold my doubt of this against Apple given Apple’s track record, and will likely not going to purchase any Apple Silicon Mac unless this speculation has some meaningful progress. Let’s agree to disagree and move on.
Yeah, we just can’t have nice things.

Apples track record of having Rosetta 1 for 5 years?

 

[buckwheet]

Apples track record of having Rosetta 1 for 5 years?

I remember the Intel transition, and it seems to me Rosetta was around basically until it was kind of irrelevant. I remember fighting with it a bit early on, then eventually forgetting it even existed. And since the transition is simpler for devs this time, from what I've seen so far, I'd imagine it will be smoother for users than PPC -> Intel.