>> Maybe Apple really did find that only 1 or 2 >> percent of *new* buyers use Classic. > > Then why do they still sell software that requires Classic at the >Apple Store? I bought A "Dora the explorer" game when I bought my >powerbook in November, and it needed Classic.
Why can you still buy a part for a '57 chevy at a chevy dealer? Clearly none of the "new" car buyers need the part... but existing customers do. Kind of the same thing for Classic software. Possibly very very few of the "new" mac buyers use it, but pleanty of existing customers do. Remember, this isn't Apple asking if they should kill Classic today... this is Apple asking if anyone cares if Classic fails to function on a new line of computers. Classic will still exist thru 2007 as being buyable on new computers, just not on the new Intel based. And I suspect Apple is not going to remove Classic from OS X for any versions that can run on a PPC based Mac (at least I seriously doubt they will remove it for 10.5, and probably not for 10.6... anything beyond 10.6 is really too far out to speculate as going off Apple's 18 month plan, 10.6 will be released mid 2009... and nothing we are discussing now may have any bearing on the computer world in 2009). Classic's death will most likely not be an issue until at least 10.7, and that should be released in 2011. By then the last of the PPC Macs will be 4 years old, and starting to be retired in numbers. If you are 100% positive you will still be using Classic software in 2011, then you probably have specific reasons that have nothing to do with using the latest greatest hardware, and you will be content using older used hardware for it. Besides, by 2011, I'm sure someone else will have come up with a solution to run Classic software on a new Mac (after all, you can run any System 6 software via an emulator on a Windows PC right now, and far faster then machines that could run System 6 were ever able to do... once the machines keep getting faster and faster, it is just a matter of time before someone emulates the early PPC chips (if you *need* a G3 or G4, chances are you need speed, in which case sometime in the next 5 years I suspect you will upgrade whatever software it is you have to use on the newer faster machines). Believe me, I'm not looking forward to Classic being removed from the Intel machines. I use Classic software by choice, and I will be very upset to move off it. But I am a realist, and I understand that as each month passes, the number of users that need Classic shrinks. By this time next year, when the first Intel machines hit the market, Classic needs will have shrunk even further and be even less important for Apple to invest the money in making it work. By the end of 2007 when you won't be able to buy a new machine that runs Classic, the user base that needs it will likely have shrunk to the point that it contains only those that won't object to using old hardware to continue to do the job. -chris <http://www.mythtech.net> -- The iMac List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | - Epson Stylus Color 580 Printers - new at $69 | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> iMac List info: <http://lowendmac.com/imac/list.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[email protected]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/imac-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> --------------------------------------------------------------- iPod Accessories for Less at 1-800-iPOD.COM Fast Delivery, Low Price, Good Deal www.1800ipod.com ---------------------------------------------------------------
