7 ms·

Apple is a bit special though, since their hardware and software go together. They don't sell 32 bit Macs and have never emphasized backwards compatibility like

by gh02t 9y ago

Apple is a bit special though, since their hardware and software go together. They don't sell 32 bit Macs and have never emphasized backwards compatibility like Windows (or Linux) has and quite often they have emphasized the opposite. Supporting 32 bit is dead weight for them from a business perspective and has been for a while, this shouldn't be a shock for their users.

LeoPanthera 9y ago
> have never emphasized backwards compatibility This is mildly misleading. Apple emphasizes backwards compatibility, temporarily. 68k apps ran on PowerPC systems. Classic MacOS apps ran on OS X systems. PowerPC apps ran on Intel systems. Apple is a master of architecture shifts - they've had so many of them! But the compatibility is always temporary. Enough for customers to get their apps shifted over.
- jammi 9y ago
  They also learned from their first architecture shifts, which didn't go all that well. Apple II to Apple III flopped early. Apple II to Lisa was nonexistent. Apple II to Mac could've been a 1984 to 1985 thing if executed well, but instead it took until 1993 for Apple II to be killed. Lisa to Mac was just recycling the old hardware for the new OS via MacWorks.
  - LeoPanthera 9y ago
    Don't forget that for a while you could buy an Apple-IIe-on-a-card that went inside your Mac and let you run Apple II software. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_IIe_Card https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_IIe_Card
- gh02t 9y ago
  That's why I qualified it with "like Windows or Linux", but yes they haven't totally disregarded backwards compatibility. They definitely have a history of dropping support for many things a couple years after they stop selling hardware that supports it, but they don't do so without warning.
donttrack 9y ago
> never emphasized backwards compatibility As does the latest debacle about Display Link show: https://support.displaylink.com/forums/287786-displaylink-feature-suggestions/suggestions/33252664-macos-high-sierra-10-13-4?page=1&per_page=20 https://support.displaylink.com/forums/287786-displaylink-fe...
graycat 9y ago
> Apple is a bit special though, since their hardware and software go together. You mean that there are no applications programs written by other than Apple for Mac computers? So, there's no Apple version of Autocad, Adobe Acrobat, Distiller, or Premiere, no version of D. Knuth's TeX, no LaTeX, no way to compile and run LINPACK, no SPSS or SAS? Or for each of these, have to get a 64 bit version? Maybe a 64 bit version doesn't exist? Maybe the user already has licenses for 32 bit versions and wants to continue using that software? I don't know anything about Apple; I've been on mainframes, super-minis, DOS, OS/2, and Windows. So, I'm asking, trying to understand. Some of my most valued software is old, for 32 bit Windows, and I wouldn't want to be without it. So, I'd guess that no longer running 32 bit software would disappoint a lot of long time Apple customers, but I don't know anything about Apple.
- wtallis 9y ago
  All of the applications you listed have had 64-bit versions for years. Several have been 64-bit only for a long time, eg. Adobe Premiere dropped 32-bit support in 2012. (Distiller and LINPACK have equivalents built in to the operating system.) You'll have to try harder to find a reason to be upset about this deprecation.
  - graycat 9y ago
    > Adobe Premiere dropped 32-bit support in 2012. And if someone bought Premiere in, say, 2010 and have been using it since then, to buy a new Apple computer they will need to buy a new license for Premiere? Look: (1) I don't know anything about Apple. (2) I'm trying to learn. (3) I'm not a Windows fanboy. (4) I'm not against Apple. (5) I'm not in a computer hardware, operating system, programming language war. (6) It's perfectly reasonable for a person with my background to think about software compatibility. (7) I'm not trying to criticize, catch, trip up, denigrate, talk down, etc. Apple. Currently I have sore spot about old software: My computer quit, and I had to rush out and just buy a computer. So, at Sam's Club I got an HP laptop with Windows 10 Home Edition. With that computer working for just simple, routine, Internet access and little more, I'm building my new computer and first server for my business. But I'm finding problems with Windows 10 right along. One of the big problems is that there is too much software that I had working fine on Windows XP SP3 32 bit Professional that (A) won't work on Windows 10 and (B) for which I know of no replacements unless I start paying money, not being sure the software would work even if I did pay money, and even if it did work I'd have to discover and document the usual obscure nonsense, set lots of options, etc. before I could use the software. So, as soon as I have my new computer working, the HP laptop will get its top closed, its Ethernet and AC power connections unplugged, put away some place, and left to gather dust. For my new computer, I won't have Windows 10 on it at all. I will install Windows 7 64 bit SP1 Professional. But I'm also installing Windows XP SP3 32 bit Professional to be sure I can run all my old software in case Windows 7 won't. Software compatibility means a LOT to me. So, it was easy enough for me to guess that Apple made a big mistake dropping support for 32 bit applications software. There is a lot of third party software out there, so much that it's tough for me to believe that somehow Apple has duplicated all of that. Then some of that software was written for 32 bit computing and was important for some users. And some of the companies writing that software went out of business and, thus, won't be writing 64 bit versions. So, I have to believe that some Apple users will still want to run some such old 32 bit software. But, maybe not. I'm surprised. But I was trying to learn. And, I'm not a Microsoft fanboy, e.g., I want nothing to do with Windows 10. Maybe I should try to buy a copy of 64 bit Windows XP Professional!!!! "If it ain't broke, then don't fix it.".

by gh02t 9y ago

LeoPanthera 9y ago

> have never emphasized backwards compatibility This is mildly misleading. Apple emphasizes backwards compatibility, temporarily. 68k apps ran on PowerPC systems. Classic MacOS apps ran on OS X systems. PowerPC apps ran on Intel systems. Apple is a master of architecture shifts - they've had so many of them! But the compatibility is always temporary. Enough for customers to get their apps shifted over.

jammi 9y ago
They also learned from their first architecture shifts, which didn't go all that well. Apple II to Apple III flopped early. Apple II to Lisa was nonexistent. Apple II to Mac could've been a 1984 to 1985 thing if executed well, but instead it took until 1993 for Apple II to be killed. Lisa to Mac was just recycling the old hardware for the new OS via MacWorks.
- LeoPanthera 9y ago
  Don't forget that for a while you could buy an Apple-IIe-on-a-card that went inside your Mac and let you run Apple II software. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_IIe_Card https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_IIe_Card
gh02t 9y ago
That's why I qualified it with "like Windows or Linux", but yes they haven't totally disregarded backwards compatibility. They definitely have a history of dropping support for many things a couple years after they stop selling hardware that supports it, but they don't do so without warning.

donttrack 9y ago

> never emphasized backwards compatibility As does the latest debacle about Display Link show: https://support.displaylink.com/forums/287786-displaylink-feature-suggestions/suggestions/33252664-macos-high-sierra-10-13-4?page=1&per_page=20 https://support.displaylink.com/forums/287786-displaylink-fe...

graycat 9y ago

> Apple is a bit special though, since their hardware and software go together. You mean that there are no applications programs written by other than Apple for Mac computers? So, there's no Apple version of Autocad, Adobe Acrobat, Distiller, or Premiere, no version of D. Knuth's TeX, no LaTeX, no way to compile and run LINPACK, no SPSS or SAS? Or for each of these, have to get a 64 bit version? Maybe a 64 bit version doesn't exist? Maybe the user already has licenses for 32 bit versions and wants to continue using that software? I don't know anything about Apple; I've been on mainframes, super-minis, DOS, OS/2, and Windows. So, I'm asking, trying to understand. Some of my most valued software is old, for 32 bit Windows, and I wouldn't want to be without it. So, I'd guess that no longer running 32 bit software would disappoint a lot of long time Apple customers, but I don't know anything about Apple.

wtallis 9y ago
All of the applications you listed have had 64-bit versions for years. Several have been 64-bit only for a long time, eg. Adobe Premiere dropped 32-bit support in 2012. (Distiller and LINPACK have equivalents built in to the operating system.) You'll have to try harder to find a reason to be upset about this deprecation.
- graycat 9y ago
  > Adobe Premiere dropped 32-bit support in 2012. And if someone bought Premiere in, say, 2010 and have been using it since then, to buy a new Apple computer they will need to buy a new license for Premiere? Look: (1) I don't know anything about Apple. (2) I'm trying to learn. (3) I'm not a Windows fanboy. (4) I'm not against Apple. (5) I'm not in a computer hardware, operating system, programming language war. (6) It's perfectly reasonable for a person with my background to think about software compatibility. (7) I'm not trying to criticize, catch, trip up, denigrate, talk down, etc. Apple. Currently I have sore spot about old software: My computer quit, and I had to rush out and just buy a computer. So, at Sam's Club I got an HP laptop with Windows 10 Home Edition. With that computer working for just simple, routine, Internet access and little more, I'm building my new computer and first server for my business. But I'm finding problems with Windows 10 right along. One of the big problems is that there is too much software that I had working fine on Windows XP SP3 32 bit Professional that (A) won't work on Windows 10 and (B) for which I know of no replacements unless I start paying money, not being sure the software would work even if I did pay money, and even if it did work I'd have to discover and document the usual obscure nonsense, set lots of options, etc. before I could use the software. So, as soon as I have my new computer working, the HP laptop will get its top closed, its Ethernet and AC power connections unplugged, put away some place, and left to gather dust. For my new computer, I won't have Windows 10 on it at all. I will install Windows 7 64 bit SP1 Professional. But I'm also installing Windows XP SP3 32 bit Professional to be sure I can run all my old software in case Windows 7 won't. Software compatibility means a LOT to me. So, it was easy enough for me to guess that Apple made a big mistake dropping support for 32 bit applications software. There is a lot of third party software out there, so much that it's tough for me to believe that somehow Apple has duplicated all of that. Then some of that software was written for 32 bit computing and was important for some users. And some of the companies writing that software went out of business and, thus, won't be writing 64 bit versions. So, I have to believe that some Apple users will still want to run some such old 32 bit software. But, maybe not. I'm surprised. But I was trying to learn. And, I'm not a Microsoft fanboy, e.g., I want nothing to do with Windows 10. Maybe I should try to buy a copy of 64 bit Windows XP Professional!!!! "If it ain't broke, then don't fix it.".