Recycled Computing

The Mac Future: Snow Leopard, MobileMe, and the iPhone/iPod touch

- 2008.07.01

It's not like we didn't see this coming, but it was clear when Apple switched to Intel chips that PowerPC Macs would end up left behind by future software development. Perhaps it came a little sooner than we might have thought, but here it is.

If you use a Mac with a G3 processor, "Tiger" (Mac OS X 10.4) is the highest version of OS X that you can use, and not all G3 Macs support Tiger. If you use a G4 or G5 processor, "Leopard" (OS X 10.5) will be the highest version of OS X that you can use, and not all G4 Macs support Leopard.

And if the rumors are true, "Snow Leopard" (OS X 10.6) will only run on Intel Macs.

This isn't to say that somebody couldn't hack something somehow, but the end is nigh for PowerPC Macs. The handwriting is on the wall. The fortune cookies are crumbled and stale.

The Mac Advantage

Seriously, the biggest advantage of the Mac system is the matching of Mac hardware and software. The reason that Windows has compatibility issues is the huge number of software and hardware configurations that have to be taken into consideration. It is perfectly normal for Apple to want to maintain its competitive advantage in this area. Time moves forward despite our nostalgia for the past.

However, Apple has left us two presents. My eight-and-a-half-year-old Pismo can run Tiger just fine (what Windows laptop can boast that?), and Tiger is not chopped liver. It has a good choice of browsers, Mail, iTunes support (so far), iPhoto, etc. If I'm "stuck" with an operating system, Tiger is not too shabby - and Leopard is not a bad consolation prize for G4 owners.

MobileMe

But if you watched the keynote address, Apple has something else in the works.

I don't know if you noticed, but Apple kept mentioning how MobileMe's software offers features that are not available in "online applications". For older PowerBooks and iBooks - and Windows and Linux laptops - this means that you can use Apple's online software for your email, address book, and calendar. Of course, it will cost you a sawbuck every 12 months.

But wait a minute, what if Apple starts offering other applications online? Online versions of iWork or iLife? You could own a Windows PC, Linux, or whatever system and still have access to Apple software.

OS X To Go

Another tidbit is Apple's entry into portable gaming. Using the iPhone and iPod touch's accelerometer, Apple is turning these units into portable gaming machines.

I have no experience with Nintendo's DS, but both of my sons own Sony's PSP. I don't play games, but I have used the PSP's browser - it's not so good. Compared to the built-in Safari on the iPod touch and iPhone, it bites.

Think about how Apple already has a built-in distribution system through the iTunes Store, and watch how game interaction is handled by moving the iPhone or iPod touch (a la the Wii). Apple can certainly make inroads into the gaming industry as well as providing a feature that it's competitors in the smart phone market cannot.

Cell phone? WiFi browser? Handheld computer? Portable game player? Portable music and video player?

Apple is set to not only create this market, but dominate it as well. Just another reason to buy Apple stock.

And, at some point, an Intel-powered Mac. LEM

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