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Wednesday, June 11, 2008, 02:00 pm
Official: Mac OS X Snow Leopard doesn't support PowerPC Macs
Documentation included with copies of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard distributed during Apple's developer conference this week confirm that the next-generation operating system does not presently support Macs with PowerPC processors.LogicielMac.com has published a screen capture of the PDF-based requirements document included on the Snow Leopard disc that provides a rundown of the system's requirements.
The documentation states that in order to install Snow Leopard, developers must have a Mac computer with "an Intel processor" and at least 512MB of RAM, though additional memory is recommended for development purposes.
The findings confirm an AppleInsider report from last September, which cited people familiar with the ongoing development of Leopard as saying that Mac OS X 10.6 would in all likelihood exclude support for PowerPC processors.
According to the Snow Leopard documentation, the new system will also require an Apple-supplied video card, 9GB of hard disk space, and either an internal, external or shared DVD drive.
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Previous Comments View All
Is it possible that this particular build of 10.6 isn't fully compatible with PowerPC Macs, and that official support will be added in future builds?
For get the Intel v. PPC question. The only Apple-specific requirement is:
- Display connected to an Apple-supplied video card
Connected with the missing "Mac" on the OS X banners, does this open the way for other PC manufacturers to offer OS X on their machines?
Quote:
Originally Posted by DoughBoy 
Is it possible that this particular build of 10.6 isn't fully compatible with PowerPC Macs, and that official support will be added in future builds?
Is it possible that this particular build of 10.6 isn't fully compatible with PowerPC Macs, and that official support will be added in future builds?
In the past, requirements like this have not varied much from the developer builds to the release. All the evidence points to the end of PowerPC support w/ 10.6.
K
Quote:
Originally Posted by DoughBoy
Is it possible that this particular build of 10.6 isn't fully compatible with PowerPC Macs, and that official support will be added in future builds?
Is it possible that this particular build of 10.6 isn't fully compatible with PowerPC Macs, and that official support will be added in future builds?
Yes! Its absolutely possible. This "It's Official" stuff is pure crap. It will only be official when Apple announces that Snow Leopard is Intel only. Right now a developers preview first release working on Intel only is not good enough evidence in my mind.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dr_lha
You're reading too much into that I think. Its basically saying that it only has drivers for Apple hardware, so that third party GFX card you installed in your Mac Pro won't work.
You're reading too much into that I think. Its basically saying that it only has drivers for Apple hardware, so that third party GFX card you installed in your Mac Pro won't work.
I'm not sure how relevant it is to this speculation, but the iPhone SDK is Intel only.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DoughBoy
Is it possible that this particular build of 10.6 isn't fully compatible with PowerPC Macs, and that official support will be added in future builds?
Is it possible that this particular build of 10.6 isn't fully compatible with PowerPC Macs, and that official support will be added in future builds?
It's possible but unlikely. Apple rarely builds more support in over a development cycle than is initially available, even when they've promised to do so. They usually just end up narrowing the scope as release nears and cut the features entirely. By the time Snow Leopard is released in a year, it will be even less relevant than it is right now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kbsbeme
For get the Intel v. PPC question. The only Apple-specific requirement is:
- Display connected to an Apple-supplied video card
Connected with the missing "Mac" on the OS X banners, does this open the way for other PC manufacturers to offer OS X on their machines?
For get the Intel v. PPC question. The only Apple-specific requirement is:
- Display connected to an Apple-supplied video card
Connected with the missing "Mac" on the OS X banners, does this open the way for other PC manufacturers to offer OS X on their machines?
You're reading too much into that I think. Its basically saying that it only has drivers for Apple hardware, so that third party GFX card you installed in your Mac Pro won't work.
Well you know what to do if you want to run Snow Leo when it comes along then guys? Get an Intel Mac. If you don't want it then I don't see an issue with sticking with Leopard.
It's a PREVIEW. It's not a beta, not even an alpha version. It isn't even a complete build of Mac OS X. A few files have been "snowed", so the developers can have a taste of it and can start playing with it and their apps. The current requierements are and will be subject to change.
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Wow! Its official.
Now watch as all the complaints from G5 users stream in.
I agree with the move, however.