Stan's List

Windows developers might be eyeing the potentialities of Mac-Intel with barely-concealed glee, but it’s not all wine and roses over in the land of the Mac developer, many of whom are facing their second major transition inside 5 years.

As eWeek notes, some Mac developers, particularly those who build Java apps, aren’t having much trouble, Java being more-or-less platform-agnostic.

One of the biggest issues, as IGM reported recently, is porting very large, complex applications to Mac-Intel, as some developers, such as Adobe, claim Apple’s X-Code simply isn’t up to the job with apps like Photoshop. Similarly, Microsoft’s Office runs to millions of lines of code, and it’s no trivial task to recompile that for Mac-Intel.

An Apple K.B. article warns that Final Cut Studio is not supported on Mac Mini (Early 2006). The Final Cut Studio (Universal) crossgrade Installer does not prohibit you from installing the pro applications, but this configuration does not meet the minimum system requirements for Final Cut Studio.

LXer has an interesting look at the big three operating systems with some surprising results. From the article: “If you think that a Linux advocate cannot make an objective analysis of desktop operating systems, then you need to read this report. You may find yourself surprised with some brutal honesty that leaves out the free software philosophy.” More …

Melbourne’s The Age observes ” Apple Inc’s iTunes music store seems to be rapidly becoming one of the most powerful retailers in the history of the world. Never before have we seen global domination by one retailer in a product category. Apple is also possibly the most secretive retailer on Earth.” More …