Most of the time , the interrogation you ’ll hear the most as you walk from one end of the Macworld Expo show trading floor to the other is something along the lines of , “ What ’s the nerveless thingyou’veseen so far ? ” “ What did you retrieve of Steve ’s tonic ? ” is usually a close second , at least for those who assume a first - name impropriety with Apple ’s CEO .
But not this yr . This clock time around , a different interrogative was on the minds of Expo attendees , and it was guide squarely at most of the 300 - plus Mac developers parade their wares—“So , are you Universal , yet ? ”
Universal , of grade , is the stenography agency of describing an software program that runs natively on both a PowerPC - based Mac and the raw models power by processors from Intel . And the head about Universal compatibility is more than just a way to weaken the conversational ice when you ’re skulk around the show storey — it ’s a vital interrogative sentence if you ’re considering whether to purchase an iMac Core Duo or , when it ships next month , a MacBook Pro .
Why so critical ? If I may quote from the most lately update version of our Intel transition FAQ :
From what I can tell after talking with a sample of developer on the show floor , there are two case of programs on the Mac program now — those that are already Universal or those that will be shortly enough . Which is another way of read , Mac computer software makers seem to be on board with the Intel transition . That ’s quite a line from my recollection of the OS-9 - to - OS - hug drug leap when it seemed like for every three or four products that snuff it native , there was a holdout where the developer would hem and haw about the future of the product .
This time around , if a developer does n’t have a oecumenical app ready , there ’s ordinarily a good reason for it . TakeAEC Software , which was far along with its work on the last version of its FastTrack task - direction coating when Apple foretell the electrical switch to Intel splintering . The company opted to cease up with that release and , now that FastTrack 9 is shipping , can concentrate its efforts on making the broadcast Universal — something AEC is in full committed to , according to frailty president of marketing Ryan Kish . In the meantime , FastTrack 9 should run just okay using Apple ’s Rosetta computer code translator . “ We were knocked out ” by how the political program do , Kish says .
Now Softwarefinds itself in a similar location . Last year was spent on prepping Now Up - to - Date & touch 5.0 for release ; now , the company can pore on adding Universal backup , which should be happen shortly , according to Now ’s director of market Randal Murray . “ We ’ve been testing all along , ’ he bestow . “ As soon as we can get one of the newly publish [ Intel - base ] motorcar , we can finish our testing . ”
I could go on like this for page after page . The Omni Group ’s applicationsare usable in ecumenical format , with the exclusion of OmniWeb which is coming soon . Mariner Software’stwo latest releases , Montage and MacJournal 4.0 will both be Universal when they ship in March . And so on . Macworldis currently play on a resourcefulness Thomas Nelson Page that will help you track down the status of your favored Mac app — we hope to press that last fairly before long .
Regardless of where your essential applications are in the passage process , here ’s hope the move to Universal turn out as swimmingly as it did forProjectWizardswhen it came sentence to make a Universal version of its Merlin task management diligence . “ It was quick in 10 minutes [ after Apple ’s Worldwide Developer Conference in June ] , ” say ProjectWizards managing director Frank Blome . Andhe ’s not exaggerate .
developer were go out of their way to praise Apple ’s stage of support and cooperation in help them to get their apps to run natively on Intel - establish Macs—“Apple ’s been capital , ” more than one developer told me . But there was grumbling from some corners of the show trading floor about exploit to advance ecumenical - ready apps . Steve Jobs note in his tonic that the company did n’t tell developers about the close at hand unveiling of either the Intel - based iMac or the MacBook Pro before - hand . The termination ? While a niftyUniversal logoappears ready now , it was n’t available last workweek for developer to hang up in their show booths . Such a sign might have answered the most frequently ask enquiry on the show floor before attendees even had a chance to ask it .
Of course , some developers took matters into their own hand . At its John Wilkes Booth , SmileOnMyMachad a hand - made sign of the zodiac hanging next to its snazzy Best of Show placard—“Intel - Ready , Already . ” mayhap they should consider licensing the slogan for WWDC .
