簡介:


這次真的來了 - Tiger X86
沒錯,這次你一點都不用懷疑,的確有人放出了Apple給開發者們准備的X86版本的Tiger系統,2個多gb的dmg文件,裡面有大家一直期盼的全部的東西:Tiger, iLife...

不過先別忙著高興,因為普通的PC根本沒辦法安裝 最重要的原因是這個特殊版本的Tiger系統會檢測你的電腦中是否安裝了TPM模塊(蘋果官方租用的X86 Mac裡面當然會有),如果沒有則不會啟動成功.
具體的原因可以見這個nfo文件.Any way,別忙活了.

(以上轉自PearPC中文網站)
但是......
這個TPM模塊已經有下載啦！有意的朋友可以到以下地址去看看：https://developer.berlios.de/projects/tpm-emulator

但是，你必須有足夠的計算機功底才能安裝成功——因為，好像大陸還沒有人安過呢！但一旦安成，恐怕蘋果很快就會倒閉的！而國外有人已經安裝成功，效果極好，有興趣的朋友可是一下。但本人保證，這個文件一定是apple的mac安裝文件，絕對真實！！！！
（如果本人不沒有開機，你也可以選擇BT下載。BT種子：http://pearpc.heartstringz.net/board/download.php?id=24）
附1：Mac OS X 10.4 for Intel X86 English 正確的安裝日志（也就是說如果你在安裝過程中產生的日志與下面的一至，那麼你很可能已經安裝成功！）
This is most of the system from a test MacIntel box from WWDC 05.
You will need a working Darwin install to run it.
Includes TextEdit application compiled for intel.
This is NOT the Install DVD shipped with development machines.
This backup is from a test box in the Test Lab WWDC 05.
edit: Yes, this is a backup of the / filesystem on the test mac.
Rosetta is probably there. Only textedit app is included.
If enough people request, will upload more utils (imovie, iphoto etc)
later on.
edit2: the textedit app was originally in the Applications folder, obviously.
To make the torrent smaller, this is the only app included.
Will try to get other apps up tomorrow (dashboard, iLife).
edit3: you better try it on a 8.1 darwin (for tiger), not a 7.x or 8.01.
edit4: the apps folder is up. look in the mac-apps section.
edit5: there is no option to rebackup files at this moment or get an .iso.
First, WWDC 05 is over and thus also access to the test lab.
Second, in the Test Lab there wasn t any install DVD s, so no iso either.
Third, the devboxes didn t arrive yet here, so no iso too.
The filename that I found had a title similar to MacOSXTiger1041forIntelx86fullbackupfromWWDCNOTIns followed by a domain name then followed by .torrent. I m not about to show the domain name here.
**Also please note, I haven t downloaded or installed the torrent myself but it certainly sounds valid (and jives with what I ve read about other people s experiences running osx on their pcs). This version does not include any applications (such as the ilife suite), it was obviously ripped off a WWDC computer using a large usb drive (probably 5 gig or several 1 or 2 gig drives, I don t know what s available these days). The author says in the readme (above) that he s gotten the apps folder up as well, although I looked for it without success so far. Maybe it was only up briefly. Who cares, it ll all come up again soon even if it s intermittent.
The time has come - Apple must know that the OS is starting to spread, it s out there now. I stumbled across this myself completely by accident while searching for the latest news about osx intel x86 backup in some search engine.
2 該版本安裝方法：
MACx86.co.uk is a running commentary by software developer Don Kelley about the state of Apple s Macs as they move to Intel Chips.
All text by Don Kelley, all opinions are the personal thoughts of Don Kelley other than what is linked from other websites. These are only one man s opinions. The operator of this site doesn t work for Apple, Intel, Microsoft, etc. The operator of this site is not paid a cent for this. The operator of this site pays for this website out of his own pocket and through earnings from paying advertisers and donors. And no, you won t find any torrent files here. If you want to illegally download osx for x86 then that s your problem.
GMax3Dexporter.exe July 7 - 2005 - Out of context, but I ve had requests for this from some readers - get your Discreet GMax exporting setup here (all freeware)
This archive and instructions were created by myself based on freely available info on the web. Details are in the archive. If you want to do 3D modelling on your windows machine for free, download GMax from discreet software now. Freeware. Really If you want to use your GMax models with something other than a game, download my archive, above. It s got the additional files with an easy to follow setup, plus I ve included the latest alpha version of a great 3D file converter so your GMax models can be exported and converted to most major 3d rendering and modelling tool formats
DBK
July 7 - 2005 - Mac OSX 10.4.2 is nearing completion - look for it in the next few days...
Among other changes will be performance/multitasking improvements, a new Widget Manager, and extensive new preemptive security measures intended to avert potential security concerns... according to the article on macosrumors. I ve played with 10.4.1 on a fast mac and it s easily the nicest operating system to use in existence, IMHO. Smooth, simple, and yet stupidly powerful with all of the prompt-based bsd goodies you could imagine. And that damn spotlight (is that the right name?) is so addictive
DBK
July 7 - 2005 - Website Availability update - just a quick note that our website may be unavailable briefly for a few hours at some point during the next 2 or 3 days. I m changing hosting to a paid host (this one is free and I want to get rid of the extra advertising they display and also there are issues with traffic since this site often brings in more than 2000 unique visitors per day). So the domain will switch to my new host, then I ll be able to upload the site to the new host and all will return to normal. Except there will only be advertising that I provide, none of the netzero and mycashnow stuff that is currently brightening up my website. :-)
July 7 - 2005 - New Installation Guide - includes information about the Gui and how to start it, although it doesn t work for the author so email me feedback if you DO get it to work. It would seem that Intel Integrated Graphics is the needed display chipset, and if you have anything else then a custom driver will have to be built (you DO know how to write your own drivers right??? Hahaha, just kidding, but SOMEONE S going to get to it sooner rather than later.)
View the installation guide here, supplied by pearpc.net
July 2 - 2005 - Suggestions for installation of OSX on your pc can be found in this link, supplied by pearpc.net
If you want to try installing OSX on your pc and you ve come into a copy of OSX from the torrents, check out the links above to see if you can work things through. I ve had someone email me a video clip of it running with the gui et al, however I m unconvinced about the authenticity of the clip since I ve seen the same evidence elsewhere on the web, and based on my findings (below) which conclude that the gui may not be fully supported in the version of OSX that was found in the torrents.
There IS a torrent of OSX apps in existence, I ve seen it with my own eyes (files and all), however I haven t heard any feedback about whether or not they will run under the hacked torrent version of OSX for x86. I would be surprised if they DID run if the gui won t even work.
If anybody can get the gui working in OSX and better yet the Apps running (or anything else for that matter), email me at [email protected] with evidence and instructions of how you got things to work.
June 30 - 2005 - Here s an article describing how to install Darwin 8.1 on your pc, a requirement for running OSX on your pc.
Just in case you re interested...
UPDATE: check out this link to read how to get the listed torrent up and running, however it currently does NOT boot to a working GUI. It s command prompt only. More to come as bits come in...
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June 30 - 2005 - OSX for X86 has been found There IS a torrent out there now... I ve seen the file on the web with my own eyes**. I m not about to spread warez on my website, but in an effort to prove that this file exists I m going to post the readme text created by the torrent s author:
This is most of the system from a test MacIntel box from WWDC 05.
You will need a working Darwin install to run it.
Includes TextEdit application compiled for intel.
This is NOT the Install DVD shipped with development machines.
This backup is from a test box in the Test Lab WWDC 05.
edit: Yes, this is a backup of the / filesystem on the test mac.
Rosetta is probably there. Only textedit app is included.
If enough people request, will upload more utils (imovie, iphoto etc)
later on.
edit2: the textedit app was originally in the Applications folder, obviously.
To make the torrent smaller, this is the only app included.
Will try to get other apps up tomorrow (dashboard, iLife).
edit3: you better try it on a 8.1 darwin (for tiger), not a 7.x or 8.01.
edit4: the apps folder is up. look in the mac-apps section.
edit5: there is no option to rebackup files at this moment or get an .iso.
First, WWDC 05 is over and thus also access to the test lab.
Second, in the Test Lab there wasn t any install DVD s, so no iso either.
Third, the devboxes didn t arrive yet here, so no iso too.
The filename that I found had a title similar to MacOSXTiger1041forIntelx86fullbackupfromWWDCNOTIns followed by a domain name then followed by .torrent. I m not about to show the domain name here.
**Also please note, I haven t downloaded or installed the torrent myself but it certainly sounds valid (and jives with what I ve read about other people s experiences running osx on their pcs). This version does not include any applications (such as the ilife suite), it was obviously ripped off a WWDC computer using a large usb drive (probably 5 gig or several 1 or 2 gig drives, I don t know what s available these days). The author says in the readme (above) that he s gotten the apps folder up as well, although I looked for it without success so far. Maybe it was only up briefly. Who cares, it ll all come up again soon even if it s intermittent.
The time has come - Apple must know that the OS is starting to spread, it s out there now. I stumbled across this myself completely by accident while searching for the latest news about osx intel x86 backup in some search engine.
June 29 - 2005 - PearPC.net pointed me in the direction of an article about how AMD is launching an attack against Intel in the form of an antitrust suit.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) has filed a wide-ranging antitrust suit against Intel Corp., accusing it of maintaining its monopoly in the PC processor market by illegally coercing customers around the world into using its products, AMD said Tuesday. Read More... (text supplied by pearpc.net)
June 27 - 2005 - Ourmedia.org is hosting a quicktime video clip of OSX booting up on an Intel based PC. People are making crazy comments on the net about it, stupid points similar to the video jiggles when the bios screen disappears so it s a fake. I don t believe any of those comments, the video shakes constantly anyway so that s not a valid complaint. Take a look at the clip here and decide for yourself if it s valid. (You need quicktime 7 preview version to view this on a pc).
There is so much talk about whether or not demos of osx on non-apple intel boxes are hoaxes... it s driving me nuts. It REALLY isn t that hard to get something like that running... people WILL do it, already have, and I m standing behind my statements. It is out there already, but it s moving slowly. People are scared of being held responsible for the illegal spreading of OSX for intel machines. People don t want to be liable for damages in to Apple. So take it easy, relax. Here, have some dip (quote from George Carlin - used without permission;-). Your patience will prove worthwhile in the end.
Whether or not I get a good working hacked version in my hands (well, I d have to be handed it since I m not about to steal it), I WILL buy an intel based mac when they come out. The first and only computer that can run all major operating systems without emulation or additional hardware. The best computer in the world. Period.
June 23 - 2005 - Check out this first thorough look at a real Apple Intel Mac, but don t worry about the comments relating to OSX s install cd not working on other PCs, trust me, it works on other PCs.
For those who are worried, obviously the OSX install cd won t work on standard PCs, even on PPC Macs Apple has always made sure that their OS install disks would only install on the machine they were intended for. That s no big trick and dell s been doing it for ages to make their windows install cds only run on their machines.
How people are installing OSX on non-Apple pcs is through making disc images of the already installed OSX from the Apple Intel Mac. Installing OSX on other machines is more like copying the hard drive from a Mac to your PC and booting off it.
Now it s just a matter of time before one of the major cracking houses gets hold of an original cd install image (not the hard drive image which already works on other pcs) and writes an installer crack so you can do a full clean original install of OSX on your pc...
June 22 - 2005 - Troy Wolverton s article on thestreet.com claims Apple s switch to Intel chips ...could lead customers to...choose rival systems based on Microsoft s Windows .
I say it s a load of crap. Why would an average Mac user feel negatively about buying a Mac just because it uses an Intel chip? Why do people BUY MACS???? mmmm? Because of the OPERATING SYSTEM.
The Mac OS, now OSX, has been the easiest to use operating system always, compared to every other system out there. Ok ok, maybe BeOS was as easy to use in many ways, but modern OSX is far easier than BeOS ever was for most users. Recently I was at my dad s house and had to help his wife setup something on her very cool looking Mac (the amazing model that looks like a small robot holding the monitor on it s arm). She has OSX and was wondering why she couldn t open video clips emailed from her PC friends. She had been told that installing media player would help, but without knowing what media player was, how to get it, how to unstuff things, how to install things, and what that would do to her computer that might be bad, she didn t try this on her own. I demonstrated how easy it was to google for media player OSX , bringing up the required link in the top position. I then set things up, installed it, and asked her to try looking at a video clip that had previously not worked. Voila it worked I did make sure to set the preferences in Media Player (a Microsoft product) to only play wmv and other MS only formats, so quicktime would still handle mpg, avi and other common files. I didn t want to screw up anything else for her...
What I m trying to demonstrate here is that OSX is so simple to begin using that many people have NO idea how to install software on their macs, let alone download it and deal with archive formats (yes, OSX deals with most archives automatically anyway). So do you think that the average user, the person above being one example, would switch to a windows box just because she s read that they now use the same processing chip? Nope. Not a chance.
And for the more advanced Mac users, wouldn t it be smart to buy a mac WITH an intel chip in it so that you can have the opportunity to install other common operating systems on your Mac as well? Like Windows, the most popular linux versions, and even something specialized like Solaris? That s a no brainer - I d much rather spend money on only ONE cpu that can run all operating systems at full speed without emulation.
This switch to intel chips will be a HUGE benefit to Apple over the coming years as long as they play their cards right. I trust Jobs intelligence, I just hope that his strong self assurance keep his motivations pointed in a direction that will benefit everyone in the world, which will of course benefit him and his company in the end.
June 20 - 2005 - Rumor has it (however rumor has a lot of things which hold little truth)
that OSX x86 has been leaked on the weekend.
UPDATED UPDATE: Checkout the IRC networks... you might get lucky...*** But please disregard my previous link to an article that was outdated. However the rest of the article below is still valid but please consider it a rumor, a thoery, what have you. Thanks to those who got in touch with me to clarify things.
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Whether or not this is true remains to be seen, however I d expect that it s true in a sense. Logic says that it s only a matter of time now, since there is definitely at least one developer out there who copied his disc image of OSX x86 onto his laptop, went to work for the day, his little brother borrowed the laptop and took it to school, showed his friends, and with the help of Scott (that was the name of the best hacker in my high school way way back, replace with your hacker s name if desired) they managed to create a .img or .iso or similar file that they burned onto dvds for their friends. One of the eager parties, too ignorant to realize the potential for legal action against him and his friends, dumps the file onto his home ftp server.
Enter the sniffer, a simple and surprisingly prevelant autonomous program created by some brilliant but terribly dull people, it finds the file, sees that the fool with the ftp server didn t hide it from public access, and sends a url message back to the sniffer s maintainer. This person (with no life) creates a .torrent file for it and uploads it to http://www.torrentsearch.com or http://www.torrentspy.com or some similar area (don t email me telling me that torrentsearch doesn t actually host files but is only a search engine (actually many search engines), I know how it works, I m trying to keep it simple for the masses here ok?), so anyway someone downloads the file, it ends up on their pc, and someone else downloads the file more quickly from the two combined locations, and 3 others download it and it comes from the first three locations, and in typically efficient bit torrent style the world now has OSX for x86 and it ll never disappear as long as people have their computers powered up and connected to the .net.
Ok, so that was a boring long read but it s what s happening right now, and it s only a matter of hours before we see the file appear somewhere -- probably not very quickly at first -- probably will take days to download at first... but it ll get faster. And somewhere a teenager who didn t bother with his home computer s security has opened it up for everyone. That person may be in big trouble now, but as I ve written about in the past it s quite possible that Apple may just let it go.
I mean, they MUST have known this would happen.... right?
June 17 - 2005 - What if Apple embedded unique tracking numbers into each install of OSX on the developer s machines?
This is something I ve been wondering for a bit now, and I m going to post it despite the way I m shooting myself in the foot be publicizing a thought that could make it less likely that an Apple developer will kindly create an image file of his osx and put it on bittorrent.
If Apple put a custom tracking number into each developer s OSX, then if someone leaks the OS it will be possible for Apple to find out who it was and potentially sue that person for damages from lost sales of Macs, both current PPC and future Intel units.
Anyway, just think about it. They MAY have done that, depending on whether or not they honestly want to prevent their os from spreading in pirated form as MS windows has over the past couple of decades. Or maybe they put the unique code in but won t pursue it, again based on their intended warez-version distribution. But speaking for myself, if I had a copy in my name and Apple knew who I was, I wouldn t do it.
OSX for Intel sort-of runs on non-Apple tablet pcs
An official Apple developer who received his intel development Mac had the great idea of trying ot run the OS on his tablet PC, and the results are EXACTLY how I predicted they d be for this first developer-only release of the OS. OSX installs and runs, but pretty much all of the hardware addons that would require a custom driver don t work. So he has no networking, USB, modem, the tablet screen doesn t flip over properly, and other stuff. BUT, it does run, and with some drivers the whole thing might be very complete
Now the question is what hardware manufacturer in their right mind would release drivers for OSX/intel? Sure, if it s addon cards then they might do it so that their hardware is useable in the new intel-based macs in a year, but for a tablet pc I see little or no legal precedent for the drivers to be released. It would only service the community of people trying to install OSX on their pcs, which would be breaking several Apple rules.
Anyway, it RUNS, and it s pretty kewl I m sure. I m just jealous of the Apple developer who has both a mactel system and a tablet pc
In about one year you will legally be able to purchase and own OSX for x86...just check the Apple stores now. You can walk in and legally purchase OSX for PPC right now. You can own the best operating system in the world But it s only for PPC Macs. Do you really think Apple will not provide a way for customers to purchase OSX for x86 once it s officially released in about a year? OF COURSE they ll offer it. So you will be able to buy the os for your pc, it just won t run on it (probably) without some mods or software hacks to your pcs (probably illegal ones by Apple s Ts Cs), and I mean, it ll probably have some issues cuz it s running on a pc rather than a Mac (pc with millions of hardware combinations compared to Mac with known hardware, intel-based or not). Still... it WILL be possible, and I ll be one of the first to own it. I won t be able to use it, but I just want to own it so when Apple DOES say to the world that it s ok to install on our pcs, I can be the first to boot it up and trash my Windows cds.
Darwin for x86 does NOT run under vmware or virtual PC...WHY??...according to reader Lars E., he has tried to install Darwin for x86 under vmware and not gotten it to run. Yet Darwin will supposedly run on a pc if you format the drive (or presumably if you partition it and use a boot manager). The question again: WHY?
Here are the facts:
OSX is running on intel boxes now for a small controlled body of developers.
OSX runs on top of Darwin. Darwin is already available for x86, and it s legally free to download and install.
Darwin doesn t install and run on the current virtual machine software that is most popular. It may not run on ANY virtual machine software (such as MS VirtualPC for windows (not to be confused with the Virtual PC emulator for the PPC mac...)), but I haven t personally tested it yet.
Logic says that if points 1, 2 and 3 above are true then somebody is going to have to either hack vmware or virtualpc or the like to run darwin for x86, therefore making it much more likely that osx for x86 (when available) will run in their virtual environment. Either that or whoever releases osx for x86 as warez is going to have to hack it so that it ll run within a virtual machine (presumably a much more difficult task).
What I ask of MY READERS is that if somebody can actually get Darwin for x86 to run within VMware, virtual pc, or some other available virtual machine for windows (it MUST be for windows or it defeats the windows-converting-to-OSX-concept), please email me at [email protected] with your instructions, exact version numbers of darwin, vmware/etc, and anything else used, and I ll post the results here (and give you credit if you would like it.)
Since all of this is legal (assuming you own vmware etc) then this little experiment is breaking no laws or rules that I know of. If it is, please let me know and I ll remove the above.
I ask again: If you can get Darwin for x86 to run in vmware or virtual pc or the like, email me all details and I ll post it here The world would like to know, and it should be interesting to find out what workarounds will be required should this be impossible out of the box.
And no, I m not encouraging the illegal copying of software. I want to know why it seems so difficult to get it to work in a virtual machine because Darwin would be unusual to be unbootable in vmware. VMware can boot almost ANYTHING in a virtual environment. I ve run alternative operating systems in there even, such as BeOS. What s the problem with Darwin?
People who get hold of osx for x86, probably illegally, probably a hacked version, will NOT want to format their drives, lose everything including windows, and install this probably not-quite-fully-working version of OSX on their pcs. Those that can repartition their drives and install boot managers and not screw things up are definitely a minority, and it remains to be seen if OSX will even run like THAT. So it s very likely that people will want to run OSX through VMware or a similar product. Obviously the VMware developers won t support illegal use of OSX in their application, however practically speaking it would be a good choice for those who try it. Or maybe some sort of custom virtual machine designed purely to run OSX for x86, although whoever wrote that would be blatantly encouraging the distribution and use of illegal software.... in the beginning.
Apple s all about money eh? Gee, ya THINK??... in a discussion on pearpc.net, the official website about the amazing PearPC PPC processor emulator for x86 machines, I read a comment from someone that sounded as if they were SURPRISED that it appeared Apple was starting to do things just for the money. I m probably misquoting or exaggerating the person s concept there (no offence intended to the person who posted that comment), but the idea got my back up. As a result I wrote the following reply on the pearpc site:
Who here seriously believes that any computer company out there is doing what they do for the good of the people? Anyone? Anybody who believes such a thing has got a lot to learn about the business world.
If Apple wasn t doing this for money, if Steve Jobs didn t dream, and I mean honestly DREAM, of being bigger than Bill Gates, and if his ego didn t tell him that he could take Gates in a second if every other stupid person in the world didn t keep screwing things up for him, then Apple would be a very different company. But Steve Jobs is an arrogant, tough, clever, sarcastic and sometimes unfair leader. In other words, he s everything that Bill Gates and more, running a company that he wants to take over the world. And in yet other words, he s fairly typical of the type of person who can take control of a company and drive them to wild success. You won t find a major international company that doesn t have someone like him at the helm. But Steve s one of the toughest there is.
Money? Naw, he doesn t care about money. It s all about the good of the people.
June 16th 2005 - Dell WOULD sell Mactels, but... ...Jobs isn t offering the license. In an article by David Kirkpatrick on fortune.com, it s revealed that Michael Dell, Chairman of Dell Computers, would be happy to offer it to our customers , the it being OSX. However let me outline why this won t happen within at least a couple of years:
For those who are too young to remember, the Apple Mac DID used to be licensed out for manufacture by other pc makers. I remember getting excited over the idea of a Power Computing Mac Clone Computer back in 1996. This was a dark time in Steve Jobs history with Apple - or lack of history as it happens since the licensing of Mac technology to Power Computing happened during Jobs absense from Apple, not while he was there. And when Jobs returned to Apple, it was his goal to kill the clones. In this archived article in businessweek.com from 1997, Steve Jobs states 99% of [Power Computing s] customers were plucked from Apple s base , and that without killing off the clone program, Apple would have a very hard time returning to profitability, and it would drag down the whole Mac ecosystem.
So now you understand where Jobs came from 8 years ago. Now is a different story... or IS it? The os in question is OSX, it runs on Intel chips now, it would probably be quite easy for Dell to manufacture clones of the Mac, licensed by Apple, with OSX installed. However Jobs has stated that OSX will only run on Macs, which tells me that if Dell is licensed to sell OSX then anything Dell ships with OSX will be a Mac clone, just like in the old days. So it still won t run on your pc. It ll still be a Mac. And looking at the past of Apple s financial problems from licensing their computers, it seems like a bad move for Apple to allow Dell or anybody else to manufacture and sell official Macs. It ll take away from the Apple sales, and the licensing won t make them any profit presumably. How could it? Any Mac clones would have to sell for less than Apple s Mac machines, and to do that they d have to cut costs considerably, and they d have to sell a TON of clones for those very small licensing fees to make a profit for Apple.
It s not gonna happen people, at least not for a couple years Just deal with it. Life is too short to worry about Dell selling OSX. This all relates to my article from a few days back where I described exactly why Apple won t allow OSX to run on non-Mac hardware for the forseeable future (at least 2 or 3 years). It s all to do with market penetration combined with not going out of business. It s easy to have market penetration, but while making money? That s the hard part, at least for a little company that is competing with it s old rival from the dark side - the Gates...
June 15th 2005 - single processor G5 machine toasted - Apple begins creating market for Intel Macs ...and the shift in beta-rays in Steve Jobs head has already begun affecting our lives. So you want to buy a G5 machine now? Good luck - the single processor 1.8 Ghz G5 has been removed from the Apple store online ALREADY You can still buy dual processor units and many other models, but this is a clear indication that Jobs intends to create a market for Mactel machines before they re released.
It s quite smart really - make the world hungry for the new hardware by making the old hardware difficult to come by. I m 100% certain that Jobs hopes to make the world drool over the possibility of buying a new Mactel machine so that the day they go on sale to the public there will be more orders than anything in Apple s history. It may not happen that way, but it s definitely the plan.
Why did I come to this conclusion when only one older model Mac has been discontinued? Simple: In about one year Apple plans to release lower end macs with Intel chips. In about two years they plan to release all higher end models with Intel chips. If they begin toasting their lower end macs now, making slower PPC chips a true legacy item, the new lower end Intel-based machines will be a strong commodity in the world of multimedia. Think of how Apple tried to market the mac mini - it s almost supposed to be used as a set top box for your TV. Well this could be the REAL future of the mac mini if everything goes well for Apple.
I just hope they pull this stunt off - there s a LOT riding on their plan over the next year or so.
June 14th 2005 - Unreal Tournament developer already completed Macx86 version of Unreal 2004 and other games This is the sort of thing that s been worrying developers and end users alike -- how easy will it be for games and other speed-related tools to be ported to the new intel chipset-based macs?
According to this Macworld article by Peter Cohen, Ryan C. Gordon, the developer who brought Unreal Tournament 2004 to the Mac in the first place, spent serious time pretty much chained to a mac at the Apple Developers Conference the a single tunnel-vision goal: must make this damned game run on intel or my reputation is in trouble (that s not a quote, just what I d be thinking if I were him). HE DID IT With the help of an unnamed Apple developer Gordon recompiled Unreal successfully on the macintel.
And good news for the open source community: Gordon also managed to get his version of Duke Nukem 3D working on the macx86 and will release his code to the public through the main CVS repository. Now game developers can compare the ppc and intel versions of the code to see just what one developer did to make his game work on the new macs, and hopefully that will spur on some serious development of new and existing games for the macintel.
The game Feeding Frenzy and GarageGames Torque Game Engine both were also ported by Gordon during this rather intense sounding coding session. According to the MacWorld article, ?all took me literally minutes to find and fix, he said.
Just for the record, I m bloody amazed at how quickly these changes were made. I mean, the guy didn t even have his own system yet, he just hunkered down at the Apple conference and went for it That s sort of the equivalent of starting a new job, sitting down at a new computer that you ve never even heard of before that doesn t work quite like anything you ve ever used before (programming wise anyway), taking one of the world s most complicated, large, cpu-demanding games, and rewriting parts of the code to run on this new computer without any previous documentation. Ok, maybe that s overdoing it a bit, since he probably knew intel and mac stuff very well as separate entities, but still - I m VERY impressed. Let s see how fast the software starts rolling out for the new beast
Here s my question though - how long will it take to create mac versions of their programs for the developers of MS Windows-based software which don t currently have OSX or even Classic Mac versions of the program? Will it be easier for them now that the macintel exists?