Re: end of Classic; VPN?

Hi Greg,

In the message "[MAGNet] end of Classic; VPN?", dated 1/12/06, Greg
Merritt wrote:

>Looks like the Intel Macs do not have TruBlueEnvironment -- Classic is gone.
>
>Do folks know if the Cisco VPN used by campus will work properly via
>Rosetta on the Intel Macs?

   Through a developer program, we'll be getting an Intel-based iMac
within 2-4 weeks (the variable shipping time that Apple has given
us). That will give us the opportunity to test the software
distributed via the WSS Software site <http://software.berkeley.edu>
and on the C_at_B CD <http://cab.berkeley.edu> for compatibility with
the new platform. The Cisco VPN Client for Mac OS X is among the
products to be tested.

   In the meantime, if you or others on the MAGNet list happen to have
access to an Intel-based Mac and could post your compatibility
observations - however casual - to this list, that would be terrific!

Aron Roberts
Workstation Software Support Group

P.S. Some notes on Rosetta's limitations and incompatibility
with Classic and G5-specific code appear below:

---------------------------------------------------------------

 From MacInTouch 2006-01-11
Notes and tips

Dave Schroeder checked in with some answers to common questions:

Will the Intel Macs support Classic?

Definitely not. This has been known since WWDC 2005. See: [Universal
Binary Programming Guidelines: Rosetta]
   Rosetta is designed to translate currently shipping applications that
run on a PowerPC with a G3 or G4 processor and that are built for Mac OS
X. That includes CFM as well as Mach-O PowerPC applications.
Rosetta does not run the following:

     * Applications built for any version of the Mac OS earlier than Mac OS
X - that means Mac OS 9, Mac OS 8, Mac OS 7, and so forth
     * The Classic environment
     * Screensavers written for the PowerPC architecture
     * Code that inserts preferences in the System Preferences pane
     * Applications that require a G5 processor
     * Applications that depend on one or more PowerPC-only kernel extensions
     * Kernel extensions
     * Java applications with JNI libraries
     * Java applets in applications that Rosetta can translate; that means
a web browser that Rosetta can run translated will not be able to load
Java applets.

Rosetta does not support precise exceptions. Any application that relies
on register states being accurate in exception handlers or signal handlers
will not function properly running with Rosetta.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Henry Norr's Macworld Expo observations
http://www.macintouch.com/sf2006/day1.html

Intel Switch Issues

It's worth remembering ... that Apple's processor switch is bound to
entail some hassles. Though Jobs claimed that Apple is shipping fully
Intel-native versions of Mac OS X 10.4.4 and the new iLife '06 apps with
the new machines, most other developers haven't yet shipped Intel-native
or "universal" (PowerPC- and Intel-native) versions of their apps. In
fact, as far as I can tell, most haven't yet even announced dates for such
releases.

So for at least months to come, buyers of the new machines will probably
be doing most of their work in PowerPC-native apps running on Apple's
Rosetta code-translation technology. Such apps will certainly run more
slowly than on the G5 - just how much slower, as well as how long the wait
for native versions will be, remains to be seen.

Remember also that some applications won't run at all on the Intel iMac
until Intel-native versions become available. Apple isn't supporting
Classic mode at all on the Intel-based Macs, so forget about running
applications that haven't made the transition to Mac OS X.

And applications that are PowerPC-native but require a G5 processor won't
run on Rosetta, either. That includes the current versions of Apple's own
"Pro" apps - Final Cut Pro and Express, Logic Pro and Express, Motion,
Soundtrack Pro, DVD Studio Pro, and Aperture. Jobs said Intel-native
versions of FCP, Aperture, and Logic Pro are due March; as far as I know,
there's no word yet on the others.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Some Un*x emulation tools to investigate for people who absolutely
*have* to have Classic on Intel-based Macs: SheepSaver, Basilisk
(untried by moi)

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Received on Thu Jan 19 14:09:11 2006