universal - schmuniversal???

ok, im kind of at a crossroads of such here.

i have a client who is working on a severely outdated system (cube and a single 733 g4) she wants to purchase my gear (17"g4 laptop and an older dual 2.0 g5).
this will just about buy me a new QUAD.

im wondering if any of us has info on when pro-level intel based towers are expected and what kind of realistic hopes we hold for the "universal" crossgrade...

if you want "info", search the rumour sites.

i was talking with a friend of mine the other day.

he says that a lot of people here (Sydney Australia) are just buying up big on the Quads.
the thinking is those machines will last until the whole cross-over fiasco has sorted itself out.

then they can cross over without hurting themselves on the bleeding edge.

a better idea could be to wait until the new machines start shipping,
the Quad price will drop, and you can pick one up cheap.
(maybe)

that's if apple doesn't force us into crossing over for a possible intel-only version of FCP.

all just idle speculation, of course.

nick

A CUBE by IMix I miss that system very much.
We have 1 Cube and 3 Turbo Cubes now just taking up space.



You guys have brought up a question that worries me.

I want a QUAD I think but will the new FCP 5.5 or 6.0 when they come out.
Will they force us to buy new
Intell computers ?

oh oh.



SL8UP

Oh doom and gloom :-)

It makes no sense that Apple would force everyone to buy an Intel Mac to run FCP...at least for a few years anyway. That's the whole point of Universal versions - they install on BOTH PowerPC and Intel systems.

Yes at some point, Apple like all the other software developers will choose to pension off the PowerPC version and only release software for Intel but considering the entire user base is currently on PowerPC it isn't going to happen for a few years yet.

You might be waiting until the end of the year for an Intel equivalent version of the quad G5 so the question is really whether you can justify the benefits of getting a quad G5 now, rather than worries about software compatibility.

Martin Baker
www.digital-heaven.co.uk

Think about how long Apple has been supporting OS 9.

They still sort of are, since they are still supporting Panther somewhat, which has, of course, Classic Mode. Granted, there are no updates and no future, certainly, but if you stuck with Panther, you could still use your OS 9 apps today.

I wouldn't worry about being left in the cold overnight on software. Obviously, it has to happen at some point, otherwise progress grinds to a halt, but I think Apple learned from the fiasco of the move TO the PowerPC chip to not cut off it's user base at the knees and require them to toss thousands and thousands of dollars of software virtually in an instant, which is why some of us are still able to use our OS 9 apps years after they became technically obsolete.

I was running an ancient version of Photoshop in Classic mode until I upgraded to Tiger two months ago. How long I was able to run that version of PS while keeping my OS current is a really really really long time in software years. I think it was late 2000-early 2006.

Just my point of view.

Hi Deb,

I set up a new G5 dual 2.3 a few weeks ago. I was able to install OS 9 onto the Mac using the second DVD installer that came with the Mac.

So, OS 9 is still supported. PS 3.02 (OS 9 version) runs properly.

--ken

Wow, thanks, Ken!

I don't think I've read or heard anything about Classic working under Tiger. People have been keeping pretty mum about it...until now!

I guess I assumed and never looked into it since it wasn't being discussed...and that was so very very wrong of me!

I'm going to go check that out!

Hi Deb,

They don't call it Classic any more. Just OS 9.

--ken

ahh, good to know when I do my searching!

Thanks again, Ken!

I love it when I learn stuff I should've already known!

I've been wondering when the Intel Powermacs would come out, since Apple already announced the UB version of FCP Suite. Maybe they're just trying to get UB versions of all their software out the door with no relation to hardware sales; but then again, would they release FCP 6 at NAB with nothing to run it on but MacBooks, iMacs and Minis?

In any case, I'm waiting to see what's announced and then I'll buy a current dual-core machine at a (hopefully) discounted price. I'm not going Intel until v2.0 machines are out and Adobe goes Universal (no WAY am I running Photoshop in Rosetta).

I think most pros are really going to want to be using the PPC machines well past when the first Intel Pro desktops are available. It's safer, and the Power Mac G5 Quads are really nice. Still, it will be really interesting when FCP goes Universal to see what kind of speed differences we see.



- Justin Barham -