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Sorry, Mac Using Suckers
What's in it for Apple or ATI to provide OS X drivers?
- 2001.12.11
From Insanely-Great Mac:
PowerBook, iBook, and Power Mac owners (yes, including iMacs) of Macs officially qualified for OS X are getting increasingly frustrated by the lack of driver support for older ATI cards in Macs built between 1997 and 1999.
A petition addressed to Apple has been started requesting drivers for the ATI Rage II and Rage Pro LT cards, millions of which were soldered into Bondi and fruity iMacs, beige G3s, original Tangerine, Blueberry and Graphite iBooks, and the Wallstreet (1998) and Lombard (1999) PowerBook G3 Series.
Lack of OS X support for these chipsets has meant sluggish graphics performance on these Macs....
As someone hoping to get a brand spankin' new off the shelf iBook in the next few weeks, I sympathize with people upset about lack of support for older ATI chipsets, because I know that I may be stuck in the same boat in a few years.
But let's look at it from another point of view. On a certain level, I've never understood the iMac computer-as-an-appliance design. As a person who primarily uses PCs, I expect to be able to pop the case and go rooting around in my computer's innards at will. There are trade offs for this, but let's not get into that whole PC vs. Mac thing right now.
The microwave in my office at work is severely underpowered. It takes about 15 minutes to cook a typical frozen meal. If we want a bigger, better, more powerful microwave, my office mates and I will have to pool our cash and buy one, because it is not as if we can buy a more powerful "microwave generation unit" and drop it in. It's an appliance. If you want newer, better performance, you have to buy a newer, better appliance.
So, with that in mind, who bought computers designed not to be opened except by a tech? ("Oh, the iMac is so easy. I just plug it in and go while you PC users have to mess around with all those cords and cables.") Who bought computers with the processors and graphics chips soldered to the motherboard, rendering them virtually non-upgradeable?
You bought an appliance, and now that decision has come back to bite you in the ass.
- (As a PC user, let me say that the idea of a processor and graphics chips soldered to the motherboard with no upgrade path is anathema, except in the case of laptops, which other than being RAM expandable have no upgrade path. I can't think of a single PC laptop that is processor upgradeable.)
The minute Apple began soldering processors (and graphics chips) to motherboards, I think it became pretty clear that they wanted to make consumers have to buy a new computer every 3-5 years. (True, PC manufacturers do everything they can to make the average user think they need a new computer every two years, but if the average PC user would open up the case and learn a thing or two, they would discover they could quickly and easily make the necessary hardware upgrades to run new software, but I digress.) Yes, you iMaccies and PowerBookies are in a bind. While most PC users simply won't upgrade the hardware in their computers, you don't even have that option. Having upgradeable computers and graphics chipsets is not in Apple's or ATI's interests. Maximizing profit is.
Sure, it would certainly behoove Apple and ATI to provide drivers for those older chipsets. I think it would also behoove ATI to provide *nix drivers for their cards, but why should they take that time and expense when they know that some Alpha geek out there will do it for no payment other than the pleasure of writing a program? Generating goodwill and bonhomie is all fine and dandy, but money pays the bills.
Kwitcher bellyaching, buttercups. The iMac is a Road Apple, and newer PowerBooks are about as upgradeable as PC laptops. Either vote with your dollars and buy a PC (Apple and ATI are taking a calculated risk that you won't) or do what momma Apple (and ATI) wants you to do - buy this year's computer. The only other option is to see if these graphics chipsets are supported under BSD or Xfree86 and find some Alpha geek to port them to OS X.
Welcome to the real world. Apple and ATI are not your friends. They're not in it for your goodwill; they're in it for your money.
Share your perspective on the Mac by emailing with "My Turn" as your subject.
Recent My Turn articles
- Using Low End Macs for Internet Radio, 08.18. When the local public radio station moved classical music to HD radio, it was time to find another way to listen. An old iMac with iTunes solved the problem.
- 'That's Not a Computer', 07.30. Salvaging a broken PowerBook by turning it into a desktop computer.
- Upgrading a Digital Audio G4 to work better in Leopard, 06.02. In its original configuration, the dual 533 MHz Power Mac G4 was slow with Mac OS X 10.5, but add the right upgrades, and it runs Leopard quite nicely.
- My 4 favorite PowerBooks, 05.28. The PowerBook 150 has a big screen for a vintage PowerBook, the 165c has color, the 100 is diminutive, and Lombard has USB and a great keyboard.
- More in the My Turn index.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: iMac Core Duo, Jan. 2006 - The first Intel-based iMacs ran at 1.83-2.0 GHz, came with 17" and 20" displays.
- Group of the Day: Mac Pro List is for those using a Mac Pro.
- November 23 in LEM history: 99: Should I buy a USB card? - 01: Can a low-end Mac be an only Mac? - Palm Desktop without a PDA - CyberDog saves the day - 05: How Consumer Reports could compare Macs fairly - Speakers for your Mac - Living with the hi-res 15" PowerBook - Birth of the PowerBook - Daystar 1.9 GHz iMac G4 upgrade - 1.92 GHz PowerBook upgrade
- Support Low End Mac
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- Apple's Tablet an End Run Beyond Netbooks, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 11.20. Whatever Apple has planned will leverage existing technologies while going beyond what its competitors can offer.
- i5 iMac Benchmarked, Mac mini 'Shouldn't Be Overlooked', Twitter Client for Classic Mac OS, and More, Mac News Review, 11.20. Also why Apple leaves the low end to others, 10.6.2 fixes video playback problem in 27" iMac, 3D Leopard and Snow Leopard performance, and more.
- Apple #4 in Reliability, Apple Tablet a Gadget for All?, HP's i7 Notebook Outdoes Mac Rivals, and More, The 'Book Review, 11.20. Also Flash 10.1 improves video on Hackintosh netbooks, thin-and-light notebooks impress, Windows XP finally on the way out, and more.
- NASA Chemical Sensor for iPhone, Smartphone Death Match, iPhone Earrings, and More, Ian R Campbell, 11.20. Also mobile phone dangers, new apps, GPS solution for iPod touch, new iPod and iPhone cases, and more.
- Replacing the Hard Drive in a Clamshell iBook, John Hatchett, Recycled Computing, 11.19. Yes, it is one of the most difficult Apple notebooks to disassemble and reassemble, but a 10 GB hard drive just will not do.
- IBM Model F: A Great Old Keyboard with an Outdated Layout, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 11.19. Although it used a different technology than the revered IBM Model M keyboard, the Model F was a great keyboard in its own right.
- Soft Touch Keyboards, Wireless Mouse Options, Loving SeaMonkey 2, and More, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.18. Also the future of browsing with PowerPC Macs and the multiple mouse input bug introduced with OS X 10.5.8.
- More links in our archive.
Recent Deals
- Best eMac Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz Combo, $100; SuperDrive, $269; 1.25 GHz Combo, $119; SD, $319; 1.42 GHz Combo, $289; SD, $498.
- Best Mac OS X 10.6 and Mac Box Set Deals, 11.18. "Snow Leopard", single user, $25; 5 users, $45; Mac Box Set, single user, $139; 5 users, $180; Server, $414. Shipping included.
- Best Xserve Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz dual G4, $649; 2.3 dual G5, $795; 3.0 4-core Xeon, $1,899; refurb 2.26 4-core, $2,499; new, $2,888; refurb 8-core, $2,999; new, $3,449; more.
- Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, 11.17. Used 1.83 GHz, $750; 2.16, $800; 2.33, $900; refurb 2.4, $1,299; 2.53, $1,449; 2.66, $1,699; 2.8, $1,899; new 2.53, $1,579; 2.66, $1,799; more.
- Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, 11.17. Used 400 MHz, $50; 933 MHz, $80; 500 dual, $60; 867 dual, $90; 1 GHz dual, $150; 1.25 GHz dual, $225; 1.42 GHz, $499.
- Best Mac OS X 10.5 Deals, 11.17. "Leopard" upgrade, $80; single user license, $135; 5 users, $173; Mac Box Set, 5 users, $230; Server, 10 users, $340; unlimited, $850. Shipping included.
- Best Mac mini Deals, 11.16. Used 1.42 GHz G4 mini, $379; 1.66 GHz Core Solo, $419; 2.0 Core 2, $450; new 2.26 GHz nVidia, $580; 2.53 GHz, $769; Server, $990.
- Best iBook G4 Deals, 11.16. Used 12" 1.07 GHz Combo, $210; 1.33 GHz, $298; 14" 1.33 GHz, $398; 1.42 GHz, $479; SuperDrive, $498.
- Best iPod shuffle Deals, 11.16. Used 1 GB, $35; 4 GB, $65; refurb 1 GB, $39; 2 GB, $59; new 2 GB, $55, 4 GB, $75. New and refurb prices include shipping.
- More deals in our archive.
