The Rosetta software designed to provide compatibility for PowerPC applications on Intel-based Macs will not support applications built for OS 9 or older systems, according to the software's technical documentation.Apple Computer Inc.'s switch to Intel chips may kill Mac OS 9 support once and for all.
While Apple has not specifically addressed the issue, the Rosetta software designed to provide compatibility for PowerPC applications on Intel-based Macs will not support applications built for OS 9 or older systems, according to the software's technical documentation.
Apple promises that newer OS X applications will be relatively simple to convert for Intel, and new applications for Intel Macs will be designed to run on PowerPC Macs as well using universal binaries optimized for both platforms. Rosetta is designed to fill in the gaps, for applications that haven't yet been or will never be converted, according to Apple.
Click here to read more about porting OS X applications to Intel.
However, Rosetta's support for PowerPC applications is variable. Applications without heavy processing requirements, such as word processors, should be fine, while performance will decrease for more processor-intensive applications or those using OpenGL, according to the company. The software with the highest computational requirements, such as 3-D modeling applications, isn't supported.
Rosetta is designed for software reliant on G3 processors, so it doesn't run applications requiring G4 or G5 processors, according to documentation. Also incompatible are some Java applications, code written for AltiVec, applications depending on kernel extensions and OS 8 and OS 9 software.
Lack of support for OS 9 could be a problem for certain types of users, including core Apple markets such as schools and graphic design shops. Much education software still relies on OS 9 because of slow hardware and software upgrade cycles in the education market.
Read the full story on eWEEK.com: Apple's Intel Switch Could Kill 'Classic' Support
