Since the release of the new Mac Book Pro and iMac with Intel I have been considering when to make the
upgrade and move on to a new laptop. A few things are keeping me in check though. First off, this is a first gen or
Alpha product that is going to have bugs (this is jus the nature of technology). Second off there are no 'Universal'
binaries for Studio or any other Adobe products for that matter. But what about Rosetta? Well It doesn't look like
Rosetta is very nice to Flash's new step brother. Photoshop CS2 runs much slower on the new Intel iMacs in speed tests,
according to Ars Technica. Plus, according to
the latest Photoshop TV video podcast, Adobe has a previous history of not release incremental updates, hence they
think Photoshop will not be 'Universal' til CS3 (grab the vodcast yourself and watch
between 16:40 and 18:10 for more info). But Photoshop isn't Studio. Actually, now that Flash and Macromedia are tied to
Adobe, I think Flash and therefore Studio will be tied (at least loosely) to Photoshop. So if you feel the need for
speed, it is probably a good idea to hold off on purchasing the new Mac Intels. At least wait till someone jumps on the
bandwagon with official speed tests for Flash and FLV encoding.
Currently I'm going to consider a semi-update to a 'new' PowerBook instead and pray Flash Player 8.5 includes the first Universal Binary from Adobe, because as of right now Flash Player 8 does npt appeast to work in Safari on Intel without forcing Safari to run under Rosetta.
JD is worrying about this too, but what to do you think?
1. I'm in the same boat. My 12" PowerBook (at a blazing 1ghz) isn't cutting it anymore. I rarely cut any code on it (that's what the dual G5 is for), but it can't keep up with the pieces I demonstrate at conferences anymore. I've been reduced to using the on-stage systems running my presos off my trusty iPod.
My local Mac dealer says they'll have the new iMacs in about a week. I'll be heading in, installing the F8 trial, and testing it under Rosetta to see how it goes (I don't have high hopes).
:(
Posted at 11:01PM on Jan 19th 2006 by Grant Skinner