gibsonm Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 I think the issue is cumulative. A newer chip (G5 / Intel / AMD) would let a PowerBook access more RAM. This adds to the power drain (along with the new chip itself) so we get higher temperatures and shorter battery life. Luckily my ageing PB still boots into OS 9 when needed so I can run the present CMX1 family. Hopefuly Apple will have it sorted out by the time CMX2 is out. BTW: 10.4.2 seems fine so far. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMC Posted July 13, 2005 Share Posted July 13, 2005 Fascinating. Apple is going to rely on Intel encryption technology to protect its monopoly on Mac platforms. Regardless of how unbreakable the coding is, there will be something that can be exploited to get around their intent. Adopting the x86 architecture could give mac users more options. If the motherboard is the key piece made by Apple then users could upgrade RAM, video cards and CPUs like PC users do. This could help Mac get marketshare or it could kill their current model of total system replacement. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battlefront.com Posted July 13, 2005 Share Posted July 13, 2005 RMC, you hit the nail on the head. Apple never made money on the addon stuff because they've always relied upon 3rd parties to produce such things. But as the marketshare for Mac 3rd party products, so too has the availability (or at least timely) addons. So all Apple is doing, in terms of addons, is tapping into the larger supply of options, innovation, and speed. They've been moving in that direction for years (switching to USB, using standard PC video connections, pushing FireWire as xplatform, etc.) The only people this hurts are Mac only addon products. But they are getting fewer and less viable by the day anyway, so it isn't like Apple is changing their destiny any. Steve 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMC Posted July 13, 2005 Share Posted July 13, 2005 Are there still dedicated Mac addon vendors? When I look at the Mac stuff at Compusa, I see familiar names: ATi, Nvidia, Logitech, Microsoft. I wonder, though, if the decreasing standardization of a Mac platform would have repercussions for the Mac OS. We PC users are used to getting a readme file with every new application listing the known (up to release) incompatibilities. How often will vendors update drivers for Mac products? I also wonder if we'll ever see a Mac motherboard on sale as a stand alone product. I think Apple will resist this, but if users can cobble together new systems around existing Mac motherboards I think they'll eventually let this happen. Mac is as much a brand image as it is a product. Macs are known for their stylish design and execution. When someone builds a Mac into a beige PC tower will the shockwave be felt around the world? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battlefront.com Posted July 13, 2005 Share Posted July 13, 2005 There are still some dedicated 3rd party Mac companies, but you are correct... most of the products out there are already PC standards. The only issue is the drivers, which is much easier to deal with than hardware. That's been the case with video at least for a while now. OS X probably made that a LOT easier. The main problem with PC drivers and what not, from my experience, is the underlying OS they are trying to work on. The more issues the OS has with hardware in general, the more problems you're going to get. Worse... the more problems the OS has with itself and its own APIs... the more problems you are going to get. The thing that has separated the MacOS from Windows for years is not the hardware and software they run with, but the OS' inherent interaction with them. Apple's OSes have always been cleaner and better than MS' from an implmentation standpoint. Any coder that has had to work with both systems will confirm this. So as long as Apple can keep the OS solid... there shouldn't be a problem with drivers and what not. At least not any more so than they've had in years past. Steve 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pzman Posted July 13, 2005 Share Posted July 13, 2005 Now the only question is, will CMX2 run on both PPC and the new chips coming out in a few years. If it only runs on PPC, I may get a new comp sooner than I was going to. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battlefront.com Posted July 13, 2005 Share Posted July 13, 2005 We don't know the answer to that. Currently it isn't running on the Mac at all because we sensed something was in the winds, and therefore have kept everything on the PC. Apple burned us pretty damned bad when they dropped RAVE after promising us that it would continue to be supported under OSX. Since there is no harm in waiting that is what we're doing for now. Steve 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMC Posted July 13, 2005 Share Posted July 13, 2005 Just bundle WinXP with the Mac edition so that the x86 MAc users can dual boot and play the game. Mac users are used to paying more, right? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pzman Posted July 13, 2005 Share Posted July 13, 2005 Very funny. Thanks for your answer Steve. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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