Apple & x86 vs. PearPC

Yeah yeah, yet another post about Apple’s move to Intel processors … but this one is kinda different.

So Apple has switched to Intel processors. And where does that leave out PearPc? PearPC is a PowerPC Emulator (not an OS X emulator!), so basically it translates out the calls made to the processor.

Now think of Virtual PC & VMware. They virtualize your CPU and hardware and pass the calls made to them rather directly, without need to translate the calls.

Thinking what I’m thinking? No?

  • The dudes at Microsoft and VMware are most likely making internal builds to virtualize the new Mac. Basically they will be virtualizing the hardware that comes inside the new Mac. But however these builds will NEVER become available due to legal issues.
  • PearPC kinda has become obsolete (not directly anyhow since it’ll be about a year for the first Mac with Intel (dubbed "MacTel") technology to become available) since it emulates the PowerPC chip which now will be replaced with an Intel chip … so I think PearPC has to make the swift to become a virtualizer although the developers aren’t planning to (read how and why at the ppc devel mailing list) and I can agree with their point of view!

So basically I am waiting … waiting for:

  • internal builds of the virtualizers to leak out.
    (Won’t happen I’m afraid)
  • PearPC to make a change in course
    (Won’t happen either I think)
  • Someone to find a combination of hardware which make the x86 build run on your clone (although Apple will most likely build in some protections as locking it to only one type of CPU)
    (Slight chance that might work, but don’t think Apple will allow that so easily)

Yeah I know, kinda dreaming away here … but you can’t blame one for dreaming, can you? Razz

And oh yes, for all the people out there who download without researching first:

The 956.5-Mbyte file called Mac.OS.X.Tiger.X86.READNFO-XISO is a phony. Opened with a hex editor, the file contains nothing but the letters "GNAA" repeated over and over.

😉

cu

B!

Published by Bramus!

Bramus is a frontend web developer from Belgium, working as a Chrome Developer Relations Engineer at Google. From the moment he discovered view-source at the age of 14 (way back in 1997), he fell in love with the web and has been tinkering with it ever since (more …)

Unless noted otherwise, the contents of this post are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License and code samples are licensed under the MIT License

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