FAQ:
1. What CPU's are used in Intel Macs?
Apple currently uses 2 different Intel CPU's from the Core 2 Duo, and new Quad-core Xeon. All use Intel's new Core technology. Apple has no interests in using Intel's older technology such as the Celeron, or Pentium series.
2. What is Rosetta?
Rosetta is emulation software that's built into the Intel version of Mac OS X.4 (Tiger) and Mac OS X.5 (Leopard). What it does is, it emulates a PPC application to run using an Intel processor. This allows you to run non OS X Intel apps with an Intel Mac. For example, Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac OS X is not Intel native yet, but you can still Microsoft Word for Mac on an Intel Mac using Rosetta. It will convert PPC instructions to x86 (intel) ones on the fly on a as needed basis only. Some apps run faster than others using Rosetta.
3. Is Mac OS 9 supported under Rosetta?
Mac OS 9 is officially dead with the Intel Mac announcement. Mac OS 9 will not work on any Intel Mac. Only PPC based Macs support Mac OS 9.
4. What major apps are released for Intel Macs?
See this list for the all of the updated apps. (Check back as this will continuously change as apps are released)
5. How can I tell if a Mac application is Universal?
Look for this icon on the box:
6. What is BootCamp?
BootCamp is Apple's solution of a user trying to run Windows on an Intel Mac. Its software thats built into Mac OS X.5 (Leopard). It sets up your hard drive for use with both Mac OS X and Windows XP/Vista. BootCamp only supports Windows XP Home/Pro w/SP2 and any version of Windows Vista. No other OS's will work with BootCamp currently.
7. Are there other Windows virtualization apps out there?
Parallels and VMware Fusion have virtualization apps available for the Intel version of Mac OS X. Both create a virtual environment to run Windows, Linux, Unix, and various other x86 OS's. They DO NOT emulate anything unlike Virtual PC did for PPC Macs. Thus, they will run at nearly full speed. They will support any version of Windows from 95-Vista. Its recommended that you have at least 1GB of RAM or higher to run either Parallels or VMware's solutions. Remember you are running 2 operating system at the same time at nearly full speed.
1. What CPU's are used in Intel Macs?
Apple currently uses 2 different Intel CPU's from the Core 2 Duo, and new Quad-core Xeon. All use Intel's new Core technology. Apple has no interests in using Intel's older technology such as the Celeron, or Pentium series.
2. What is Rosetta?
Rosetta is emulation software that's built into the Intel version of Mac OS X.4 (Tiger) and Mac OS X.5 (Leopard). What it does is, it emulates a PPC application to run using an Intel processor. This allows you to run non OS X Intel apps with an Intel Mac. For example, Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac OS X is not Intel native yet, but you can still Microsoft Word for Mac on an Intel Mac using Rosetta. It will convert PPC instructions to x86 (intel) ones on the fly on a as needed basis only. Some apps run faster than others using Rosetta.
3. Is Mac OS 9 supported under Rosetta?
Mac OS 9 is officially dead with the Intel Mac announcement. Mac OS 9 will not work on any Intel Mac. Only PPC based Macs support Mac OS 9.
4. What major apps are released for Intel Macs?
See this list for the all of the updated apps. (Check back as this will continuously change as apps are released)
5. How can I tell if a Mac application is Universal?
Look for this icon on the box:
6. What is BootCamp?
BootCamp is Apple's solution of a user trying to run Windows on an Intel Mac. Its software thats built into Mac OS X.5 (Leopard). It sets up your hard drive for use with both Mac OS X and Windows XP/Vista. BootCamp only supports Windows XP Home/Pro w/SP2 and any version of Windows Vista. No other OS's will work with BootCamp currently.
7. Are there other Windows virtualization apps out there?
Parallels and VMware Fusion have virtualization apps available for the Intel version of Mac OS X. Both create a virtual environment to run Windows, Linux, Unix, and various other x86 OS's. They DO NOT emulate anything unlike Virtual PC did for PPC Macs. Thus, they will run at nearly full speed. They will support any version of Windows from 95-Vista. Its recommended that you have at least 1GB of RAM or higher to run either Parallels or VMware's solutions. Remember you are running 2 operating system at the same time at nearly full speed.