TariqDespite its absence from all prior distributions, a version of iTunes that can run natively on the first Intel Macs, as well as on current PowerPC Macs, has turned up in a recent developer release of Mac OS X 10.4.3 for Intel.
The release reportedly packed a slew of additional universal printer drivers from Brother, Canon, EFI, EPSON, HP, Lexmark, Ricoh, and Xerox.
Other notable improvements include a native version of QuickTime 7.0.4, a new SSE/SSE2 based Libm that is IEEE-754 and C99 compliant, and more accurate developer crash logs for Rosetta-dependant applications.
OpenGL applications running under Rosetta also showed signs of performance and correctness improvements in build 8F1111, sources said.
Meanwhile, an automatic update to build 8F1111, released over Software Update to developers who had previously installed 8F1111, followed by adding Rosetta support for applications that rely on Velocity Engine. Previously, Rosetta did not support AltiVec, which includes Velocity Engine.
According to reports, the build — labeled 8F1111A — also packed much improved ATI graphics drivers and enabled GDB to be invoked from applications running under Rosetta.
Mac OS X for Intel is scheduled to makes its public debut during the second week of January, where source say Apple will take the wraps off of the first Intel Macs.
Charles Martin
Amber Neely
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AppleInsider Staff
Malcolm Owen
Oliver Haslam
66 Comments
So AppleInsider is (so far) sticking to its prediction of an Intel-iMac and (possibly) Intel-Powerbooks? It looks like we're finally getting back into the territory of interesting rumors, with the reliable rumor sites contradicting each other considerably.
Given all that, it's still pretty early in the game--over a month to go, and we know how often ThinkSecret changed its prediction on a video iPod, so I don't give them quite so much credibility anymore (although the Mac Mini PVR rumor is interesting).
With the pace that these developments are coming, I get the impression that it won't be software that holds up the release of an Intel Mac. I really don't hear much about the hardware, however. OS X might run on an Intel-based machine, but does Apple have any ready to ship? Making a P4 work in a G5 enclosure is hardly an engineering miracle.
I keep hearing that portables and minis will be the first to move to Intel, but it seems like they'd need the most changes internally. Until I hear of somebody actually seeing an Intel PowerBook or iBook, I don't think this is very big news.
I don't know if Apple DOES have new hardware lurking in its labs, nearly ready.... but they certainly COULD. They do manage to keep some things under wraps quite successfully.
Releasing the consumer-level machines first made sense to me, as those can use Apple's built-in software and not need the Pro apps that might not be ready yet.
But now we hear that the PowerBook might be one of the first ones out. I doubt that a lot of Pro users would buy this PowerBook if Adobe and other big 3rd party music, 3-D and video apps aren't ready.
OpenGL applications running under Rosetta also showed signs of performance and correctness improvements in build 8F1111, sources said.
Signs of correctness improvements? I don't know what that means... but it implies Rosetta isn't quite as seamless as Jobs demonstrated???