Starting all over (Intel)

[DavidSimmons]

I was just preparing to add another G5 Quad to my recording studio. I currently have 2 G5 Duals, 2 17in Laptops and a few G4s. With the release of the Intel system and the latest Macworld Keynote by Steve Jobs I am reminded of a recent change from MAC OS to OSX. The problem for professionals then was the cost of hardware and software that was not supported very long or very well. Software companies did not buy into the new OS so changes were so to come. That is currently still an issue on OSX if you are a gamer. Regardless of the stated capability of the G5 systems, very few game companies released games that were native code for OSX which help keep PC gamers from considering OSX as a serious computer platform. I am just now convincing other PC Music and Video user to switch because they are just now getting the developers to commit to industry strength applications. Even now plug-in developers still are not creating native OSX or optimized code in every case which makes OSX perform slower than it could.

Now we are starting all over again. Steve want me to spend 3200 to 4000 on a G5 Quad system that has a very limited life. I need to move to the G5 Quad to get the speed needed for reliable Music and Video production to have an edge on my competition. As stated in his recent keynote speech, they will completely be moved off to Intel soon. When my major business is Music and Video and as Steve statement as to the Intel systems are not ready for Music and Video and or time sensitive applications, leaves me very concerned that I am going to have to start all over again. There is no stated protection that my software Logic Pro ,Final Cut Studio, Soundtrack Pro, Motion 2, and DVD Studio Pro 4 will continue to be supported on G5 technology after the switch or re-compile for Intel. And what about other companies that I have software form. Are they going to continue to support both platforms? NOT….

I think Steve needs to mend the relation ships with IBM for continued G5 support and development fro the professional community and commit on going support to his existing customers during the change over. Steve should also commit to developers a support plan to ensure there participation in a dual platform support without the need for some interrupter running. I think Apple has to make a statement on the web site of this protection to ensure ongoing sales of existing computers systems as well as new Intel based systems. I think most professionals are committed to Apple, but they have to be committed to them as well. I new G5 Quad should have a life time more than 3 years and existing professional software should not be a major upgrade cost to switch over to the Intel platform without new and major feature enhancements and or benefits. I spoke to many different sales people at the Apple stores and they are not sure of any guaranties or support for someone like me looking at new G5 systems.

 

[~Shard~]

Don't buy the quad - they don't benchmark much faster than the dual 2.7 GHz G5 systems, and in some cases, slower - not worth all the extra money IMO. The Intel PowerMacs will use the Conroe chipset and according to Jobs will be out by the end of the year. Look for one more possible speed bump and/or price drop to the line before then, possibly around the time of WWDC.

I think the reason Apple is switching over the consumer machines and leaving the Pro machines until the end is for reasons along the lines of what you're describing above - to ensure the transition wrt software compatibility, etc. is properly addressed. Nonetheless, it does put you in an awkward position - and you're definitely not alone.

 

[ibook30]

You have my sympathies - as a small business owner it must be financially difficult to keep up with major changes. $4 grand is a pretty heavey price to pay for a machine whose future you feel insecure about. I recently bought a G5 machine myself- and for no rational reason feel confident it will last me - if apple were to make a statement insuring everyone they will take care of PPC owners I'd feel even better! Perhaps such a message exists (?) I have not looked....

A final note - at a near by office I heard of a recent purchase, must have been several hundred G5 dual cores to refresh all their artists - I hope they get the support hey need too !

 

[RacerX]

This transition is not all that different from the move from Motorola's 68K series processors to the PowerPC line. And I seem to be hearing the same fears voiced today that were voiced back then.

If you didn't live through that switch, then I guess it is understandable that current events seem to be leaving the future in question.

From my experience, you have a number of years before new software on the PowerPC platform becomes hard to find. And even then, I highly doubt that what we will see first is the software compatibility being dropped to begin with. What we are more likely to see is that PowerPC apps made 3 or more years from now are not going to be optimized for PowerPC systems. And by this I mean that developers are most likely not going to take the time to make sure that their PowerPC compatible apps take advantage of Altivec.

What I see as the future dilemma for people with higher end G5 systems is having to choose between staying with a previous (much faster) version of an app, moving to a newer version that runs slower but has some new compelling feature, or replacing their G5 with a (then) current Mac and using the new version of that software at high speeds.

This is pretty much what the future holds for you and the rest of us. Now, if that is what you are fearing, then you have good reason to fear this transition. On the other hand, if you were most likely to have transition your hardware within this time anyways, then the whole transition process could very easily be a non-issue for you.

But I can guarantee that most Mac software venders are aware of the habits of Mac users. And Mac users have a tendency of holding onto their current systems for 3 to 5 years before buying a new system. So there is your software window... about 3 to 5 years after the sale of the last of the high end G5 systems.

Personally, I think worrying about this stuff today is a pointless effort for most users. And if you are a power user, then you'll have already upgraded both your software and hardware in a natural cycle long before this becomes an issue for you.



Of course I also lived through another transition like this one... when NeXT stopped making 68K hardware. In the years that followed, even though PCs continued to increase in speed and abilities, it was very rare that a software title would be released that didn't run on both 68K NeXT hardware and Intel based PCs.

And during that time NeXT had gone through a major operating system upgrade (OPENSTEP 4.x is quite different from the previous operating system, NEXTSTEP 3.x), and both NeXT and third party developers continued to support NeXT hardware that had been out of production for 3 years.

And when Y2K issues popped up and needed fixing, Apple supplied patches for both NEXTSTEP 3.3 and OPENSTEP 4.2 for all the platforms they could be run on... Including NeXT hardware that had been out of production for around 6 years.




I don't know about you, but these don't sound like people who just ignore legacy users of older products.