Apple to penalise brand loyalty
Is OSX 10.7 going to be Apple's Vista?
Many Mac users would have realised by now that Apple is working on a new release of its Unix OS, OSX 10.7 which it calls "Lion". Some Mac users would also have noticed that there is, so far, no Rosetta for Lion.
What follows is predicated on the absence of Rosetta.
A simple explanation first. Before Apple went with Intel processor chips it used its own processor chips: "Power PC" chips. When they switched to Intel, Apple wrote code to run programs already written for PPC chip architecture so that old programs would work on new machines with Intel chips. This code was called "Rosetta". And, it is this code that appears to be missing in "Lion". There was no indication from Apple when it introduced Intel that Rosetta was intended as a temporary to-be-discontinued measure.
Apple pledged:
"It’s built into Mac OS X to ensure that most of your existing applications live a long and fruitful life."
After-all, a Mac user at the time weighing up whether to buy a PC instead of a Mac based their decision to buy a Mac on the expectation that their software would continue to run on a Mac. Rosetta, was proclaimed by Apple to be "the most amazing software you'll never see". Apple assured us that it was integrated into OSX. Below is a detail from a screenshot of Apple's Rosetta pledge:
Apple pledged:
"It’s built into Mac OS X to ensure that most of your existing applications live a long and fruitful life."
After-all, a Mac user at the time weighing up whether to buy a PC instead of a Mac based their decision to buy a Mac on the expectation that their software would continue to run on a Mac. Rosetta, was proclaimed by Apple to be "the most amazing software you'll never see". Apple assured us that it was integrated into OSX. Below is a detail from a screenshot of Apple's Rosetta pledge:
So, a Mac user on the basis of Apple's pledge bought the Mac, bought their Adobe CS2 suite, which is in PPC code and was at the time the only version available when Apple went with Intel, and then paid for upgrades, which were intel compatible (CS3, 4, & 5), instead of buying a PC and buying Windows versions of the Adobe CS2....
Of course the absence of Rosetta is not going to affect those who believe that a computer is intended to surf the net, the kind of person who buys an iPad, and imagines that they're computing. And it is these gimmicky gadgets that Apple seems to have come to believe is the future of their computers.
Of course the absence of Rosetta is not going to affect those who believe that a computer is intended to surf the net, the kind of person who buys an iPad, and imagines that they're computing. And it is these gimmicky gadgets that Apple seems to have come to believe is the future of their computers.
Yet it is from this group of Apple trolls, who use the gadgets, who have not actually bought high end programs because they don't create content, that criticism is levelled at other Mac users on Mac fan-forums for not having, as they put it, "bothered to upgrade to Intel versions" of the programs they use.
WELL, MANY OF US HAVE UPDATED TO INTEL VERSIONS, BUT THEY WON'T WORK ON LION!
Some of the more expensive programs that we buy to run on our selected platform are those of the Adobe Suite. The current CS5 Design Premium currently costs AUD$3175.00 to buy, twice the cost of an iMac (or PC) that someone might buy to run these programs on. To buy the upgrade from an earlier version of the Creative Suite costs AUD$1003.00.
AND HERE'S HOW APPLE INTENDS ON HURTING ITS USERS (if it does not include Rosetta).
Currently, sticking with the Adobe suite, you can upgrade from CS2 (or even Macromedia Studio 8) to CS5. Anyone who has upgraded from the Mac version of CS2 which is PPC (or the Macromedia Studio 8, which is also PPC) to the Intel coded CS5 (for Mac), won't be able to install their intel-compliant CS5 on a new machine if Lion has no Rosetta. Long-term Mac users who bought CS2 in 2007, and bought the upgrade to CS5 in 2010/2011, won't be able to install on Lion.
Adobe's site makes this clear:
"Remember: Upgrades require a qualifying product with serial number to successfully install. Please confirm what suite edition(s) or individual product(s) you currently own before purchasing an upgrade." ( Adobe Upgrade Paths ).
If you can't install CS2 on Lion because CS2 is written in PPC code, then installing the updater to CS5 can't go ahead because it won't find the previous version. Having bought the expensive CS2, and then the less expensive update to CS5 for your Mac will then turn out to be a very expensive waste of money, if you buy Lion!
Users of Adobe products, who, like me, bought Apple computers to run these programs, have been upgrading their Creative Suites, making them Intel compliant.
Users of CS1 (and Macromedia MX 2004) could upgrade to CS3 and CS4, which are Intel compliant (they are Universal Binaries). But you won't be able to install the program & its upgrade on a new machine running OSX 7, Lion. Apple is going hurt us because we chose Apple, and not Windows as the platform to run our programs. Steve Jobs seems to believe that we buy Macs because we want to hear the start up chime. I simply want a computer that "just works" with the programs I bought to use on it. If I had chosen Windows this would be the case!
People have spent actual money for high end programs to run on their machine, and then paid for upgrades which won't work on Lion. Even though CS3, 4, and 5 are Lion compliant, anyone who has bought them to upgrade from CS1 or 2 won't be able to install them onto Lion.
People have spent actual money for high end programs to run on their machine, and then paid for upgrades which won't work on Lion. Even though CS3, 4, and 5 are Lion compliant, anyone who has bought them to upgrade from CS1 or 2 won't be able to install them onto Lion.
What other programs won't you be able to run on Lion (without Rosetta)?
- Adobe's ImageReady, which last appeared in CS2;
- Adobe's GoLive, which last appeared in CS2;
- Macromedia's FreeHand - this was replaced by Adobe with Illustrator, but has a fierce following who refuse to use Illustrator (don't blame them - who'd want to use Illustrator? The FreeHand fan group exists as "FreeFreeHand" freefreehand.org).
There are a number of other programs that won't work: Canvas for example.
I mention this program because on another Forum one user lamented that it only exists in the PPC code for the Mac. An Apple troll lambasted this user claiming that an Intel version does exist.... Well yes, INTEL FOR WINDOWS. The Mac version only exists in PPC and was discontinued in 2007. Canvas too is an expensive program. The lower end version (of the current Canvas 12) costs USD$599.00 (refer: ACDSEE Canvas )
Quicken is another program for which only a PPC Mac version (appears) to exist. The versions of their software on their website (that I looked at) were all Windows XP, Vista, and Win 7 compliant (eg: http://home.quicken.com.au/Pages/ProductDetails.aspx?pcode=18&pcatid=10 http://home.quicken.com.au/Pages/ProductDetails.aspx?pcode=24&pcatid=13 ).
With Lion, your Quicken won't work either.
(that is, Quicken stopped upgrading the Mac version, and so only the older PPC code version exists - which won't work on any intel Mac without Rosetta)
- Microsoft Office 2008 will not run on Lion if it excludes Rosetta. Now Office 2008 was written as a "Universal Binary", that is, it will run on an Intel or PPC Mac. HOWEVER, you won't be able to run it on OSX 7 Lion. The installer for Office 2008 requires Rosetta!
The problem here is, that Office 2008 (for Mac), is still available, for sale, brand new, a few months before the release of Lion on which it will not work (if you cannot install on Lion, then, it will not work on Lion).
(that is, Quicken stopped upgrading the Mac version, and so only the older PPC code version exists - which won't work on any intel Mac without Rosetta)
- Microsoft Office 2008 will not run on Lion if it excludes Rosetta. Now Office 2008 was written as a "Universal Binary", that is, it will run on an Intel or PPC Mac. HOWEVER, you won't be able to run it on OSX 7 Lion. The installer for Office 2008 requires Rosetta!
Below, screenshot of Office 2008 intaller requiring Rosetta:
detail below:
More and more it becomes a case of rueing buying the Mac.
Windows supports its users
There are some who propounded the fable that Apple supports the users of their product. This is a falsehood. Indeed, the Apple forum trolls make much of Apple abandoning anything "old", unlike Microsoft which they describe as bloatware.
Microsoft still supports users of older programs. Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate can run older software versions in "virtual XP mode". This means that I can still install (the Windows versions of) Photoshop 6 or Bryce 4 (programs of c. 1999) on a Windows machine. With Apple, support ended for these programs with their introduction of Intel in 2006!
Despite this, Apple trolls scream on forums that Apple has supported programs for "11 years, longer than any other OS".
(Vista caused a lot of problems for Microsoft. It - apparently - broke many drivers, and adversely affected some programs. Many people who installed Vista reverted to XP. Vista's problems were used by Apple advocates as an example of why Macs are superior. However, Lion - without Rosetta - will be a Mac version of Vista on steroids. Yet, so perverse is the debate from the Apple side of the fence that an inability by Lion to run programs is extolled as a virtue born of foresight! Apparently the foresight of Apple is, that it abandons what these Apple trolls call, redundant programs. This is a double standard.)
(Vista caused a lot of problems for Microsoft. It - apparently - broke many drivers, and adversely affected some programs. Many people who installed Vista reverted to XP. Vista's problems were used by Apple advocates as an example of why Macs are superior. However, Lion - without Rosetta - will be a Mac version of Vista on steroids. Yet, so perverse is the debate from the Apple side of the fence that an inability by Lion to run programs is extolled as a virtue born of foresight! Apparently the foresight of Apple is, that it abandons what these Apple trolls call, redundant programs. This is a double standard.)
It should be noted that Microsoft still supports Apple versions of its software.
In April 2011 Microsoft upgraded not only Office 2011, but also Office 2008, and Office 2004. Office 2004 was released to run on Apple's OSX 10.2, Jaguar, which itself was released in 2002. Apple however will not be supporting any pre-Intel Mac if they do not include Rosetta!
Below: screenshot of Microsoft Office 2004 Update, for OSX 10.2 in April 2011
Capturing Windows users
Apple's actions merely confirm that it intends on capturing market share off Windows without caring to look after the customers it already has. This has been allowed to occur because Microsoft for too long has allowed it to happen.
As long as Apple keeps growing at the expense of Microsoft Apple does not feel compelled to support those who have supported it.
What should Microsoft do?
At the moment I have two Macs, one a G4 and the other Intel. My Intel Mac currently runs OSX 10.6 (Snow Leopard), and via the VM program Parallels I run Windows XP. The beauty of running Windows XP on the Mac is that if I want to transition from PC to Mac I can do so knowing that I can still run Windows on my Mac. Apple however does not allow the reverse to happen, so I can't transition from a Mac to Windows. This is an anti-competitive behaviour by Apple that has for too long been left unchallenged. I demand the right to run a VM Mac on Windows. However it is Apple's unchallenged SLA that prevent VMWare Fusion and Parallels from running VM Macs on Windows machines. I already have Windows versions of most of my programs. I am waiting for Microsoft to challenge Apple.
Apple obviously feels that its users are expendable. Levelling the playing field would mean that Apple will have to work harder to keep its customers. Microsoft knows that this costs money. Apple has so far been allowed to get away with its anti-competitive practices.
Apple obviously feels that its users are expendable. Levelling the playing field would mean that Apple will have to work harder to keep its customers. Microsoft knows that this costs money. Apple has so far been allowed to get away with its anti-competitive practices.
History as a lesson
When Hannibal invaded Italy he defeated every Roman legion sent out against him on Italian soil. He had Rome at his mercy. However, the Roman general Scipio decided to leave Italy and invade Carthage itself. Hannibal left Italy to defend his homeland. He was defeated. Windows should take up the example of Scipio, and "invade" Apple, or continue to slowly haemorrhage to Apple.
Microsoft, please make it easy for us to transition to Windows. With the support of VMWare and Parallels, Apple's SLA can be shown to be anti-competitive ("anti-trust").
That is, I, and possibly many other Mac users, would like to run Windows 7, and maybe run a Mac as a VM within Win 7, to run all of my old programs. If I could do this, then I could run the older version of Apple's OS, and know I can still run all of my programs on Windows.
That is, I, and possibly many other Mac users, would like to run Windows 7, and maybe run a Mac as a VM within Win 7, to run all of my old programs. If I could do this, then I could run the older version of Apple's OS, and know I can still run all of my programs on Windows.
APPLE'S BROKEN PROMISE
It is interesting to note what Apple wrote back in 2006:
- "Most existing applications will continue to run, thanks to Rosetta."
And,
- "Rosetta dynamically translates most of your PowerPC-based applications to work with your Intel-based Mac. There’s no emulation. No second-class status. It looks and feels just like it did before. On a Mac, you’d expect nothing less."
According to Apple this is to "Protect your investment". And what is this investment? The programs, like Adobe’s Creative Suite, purchased by users to run on Apple's platform.
How many people bought a Mac on the basis of this Apple promise?
Apple's broken promises.
When Apple was running the "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" advertisements, one of the last of them was titled "broken promises" in which PC pledges that Windows 7 won't have any of the problems of the previous operating system had.
Below: screenshot of a still from Apple's "broken promises" advertisement.
The previous system was Vista, and the problems with Vista were that it broke drivers and did not run all programs already installed. Win 7 resolved that issue. The Premium and Ultimate versions of Win 7 can run them in "virtual XP mode". Microsoft describes this on their "virtual PC" page http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc
With OSX 10.7 Lion, Apple is deliberately creating the problems that it has criticised Windows for! Windows is fulfilling its promise. Apple is breaking its promises.
