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"Even
if Apple has this attractive development system that
allows a developer to write once and deploy on both
Mac and Windows, I doubt anyone with a large program/code
base would shift to it. I'd like to see that but history
proves otherwise," says architect and Forum regular,
William Huchting a partner in the firm
makeArchitecture with offices in Chicago and the United
Kingdom.
It
is uncertain at this time where multi-platform development
will eventually find its best footing or whether it will
find it in just one developer camp or many. Nevertheless,
William's comments have a sharp ring of truth to them
in some circles who claim their Macintosh version can't
keep up with the Windows version due to poor allocation
of programming resources -- not poor Mac hardware. Indeed,
with several Top
500 Supercomputers currently and in
the recent past being comprised of essentially heaps
of G5 processors, there is little question or doubt as
to the true performance capabilities of Apple's current
flock of PowerPC computers.
So
the issues that ultimately are facing Macintosh
CAD pros today over the Intel announcement pertain
primarily to questions about how well software
development
will adjust
to
the Intel transition, not to the question about
the value of PowerPC-based Macs today nor to
the final performance advantages of Intel versus
AMD versus G5 in the future. In part two of this
series we will hear from many Macintosh developers
about how they look at the switch themselves.
No
Real Cause for Concern
Despite
the views of some, the majority feeling of architects
and AEC professionals we've spoken to or written to is
that there is absolutely no real cause for concern. As
architect Greg La Vardera said: "I don't think there
is anything to be nervous about here. By making the OS
ready to run on Intel...Apple is ready to run on whatever
hardware performs the best...."
In
fact, Apple has recently strengthened its arrangements
with Motorola suggesting that the company is positioning
itself to be ready to deliver PowerPC-based computers for
a bit longer than first imagined. It is clear that
the company is jockeying to be ready to move in any direction
it can best avail itself in. At the end of the day, what
matters most to Mac professional users isn't the hardware's
speed advantages anyway. It's the elegance, stability and
virus free Mac OS X environment that counts.
And
as Architosh forum moderator and Australian architect
Mike Moore says, "I am sure that Apple wouldn't
have decided
to do the switch if they had any significant concerns. I
for one am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt
and wait and see."
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[Article
published: 3 October 2005]
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