Re: Programming PowerPC on Mac

From: Beth (BethStone21_at_hotmail.NOSPICEDHAM.com)
Date: 11/23/04 

Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2004 19:34:19 GMT

Chewy509 wrote:
> It just seems strange, that there is a heap of info on the x86, but
> virtually nothing on the PPC. (I've found more on the Z80, 6502/6510 and
68K
> online than the PPC).

Well, the Z80, 65xx, 68K and such are detailed because of
"retro-programmers" and such that like to program old 8-bitters (probably
running it, in fact, on an x86 emulator ;) like the Spectrum, C64 and ST /
Amiga respectively...people re-living a misspent youth of "colour clash",
the Sanxion loading music and 4096 colour "HAM mode" pictures...

> I know Apple makes up a very small market share (less 5%),

Actually, I do tend to think that this is often misrepresented...people
considering Apple as "losers" or something because of this...BUT, only
Apple themselves make Apples while hundreds of companies _SHARE_ the x86 PC
market...if actually divided on a company-by-company basis rather than
architecture-vs-architecture, then Apple are, in fact, one of the biggest,
best and healthiest...that's why Apple don't really "give in" to x86 PCs,
in any way...they simply deal with their "niche" market, which is just as
sizeable (if not bigger) than what any other _COMPANY_ out there dealing
with x86 PCs makes, anyway...

The point being that it's not "like for like" when you say iMac vs. x86
PC...the PC is a "standard" that's lots of manufacturers adhere to...the
iMac is a particular _model_ (well, range of models, as Apple provide
"options" to choose from :) from a _SINGLE_ manufacturer...

Hence, 5% of overall market share for a single company that is _defying_
the dominance of x86 PCs is, in fact, a major _success_, not a failure at
all...Apple are, indeed, the _ONLY_ survivors of the "PC revolution"
flooding the market...Atari are now just a "label" for computer games (the
company went under and the name and logo were bought up because they are so
distinctive and well-known that, yeah, trading as "Atari" gives you a touch
of "cred" before you do anything :)...Commodore went bust...Amstrad just
jumped _onto_ the PC bandwagon...Sinclair? What's Sir Clive doing now?
Driving his C5 around, avoiding getting crushed by large trucks because the
biggest design flaw of the C5 beyond looking daft was that it just isn't
tall enough and it's dangerous that other motorists might not even see when
you're so close to the ground...even bicyclists are more visible...heck, I
mean, even _IBM_ who _invented_ the PC have been slaughtered down to some
"website consultancy" thing (sorry, IBM, we'll try not to s*** too
loudly...but, hey, _you_ hired Sir Bill and made Faustian pacts with him ;)
by their own invention...

All in all, still trading is a miracle when you look at the state of their
old contemporaries these days...having 5% market share is actually
impressive (and probably beats many _individual_ PC manufacturers out there
because the PC share should probably be _split_ for "like for like"
comparison)...but when Apple release a model which wins _art_ awards, let
alone design awards and then are the only ones smart enough to realise you
don't resist on-line music but _supply_ what people want (I mean, how many
millions of users on file sharing? And some think they can resist that kind
of "new wave"? Does the name King Canute ring any bells? I would say "how
can so many users be wrong?" but, umm, well, it was originally illegal
(still is, away from iTunes and such ;) so, actually, what was happening
was all "wrong" in a legal sense...but you know what I mean ;)...well, you
realise why Apple survived and do "very well thank you very much" in their
little corner...they always were, simply, the better company...probably due
to having actual "geeks" who like using their computers running the company
originally, not "consultants" and "managers" and "profit-mongers" and
such...Wozniak eats binary for breakfast...and Jobs, though often
"contravertial" (and what was that neXt stuff all about, anyway? And why
are all OS writers obsessed with the letter "X", anyway: OS X, XP, X, neXt,
etc.? Something weird going on there ;), proves his worth when the second
he returns, the iMacs roll off the shelves and stun with their beauty that
Apple's straight back onto the map after years of "wandering" without him
around...similarly to Gates, you might not necessarily like him but you
can't deny that they both can play the game with the best of them...you
might not like what they do but you have to admit both are capable of doing
what you don't like brilliantly ;)...

> but if you want developers for your platform, you need to be as open as
> possible.

Which, in light of what I've been saying above, is actually more strange,
not less so...

Yes, you're quite right...that was always understood by Microsoft and was a
component in their dominance...they guard their source code like Fort Knox
BUT when it comes to documentation and "developer kits" and such, Microsoft
are actually trying to drown you in the stuff...throwing out there for
free...knowing that, without the developers, there's no software for the
OS...and without the software for the OS, no-one is much interested in
using it (indeed, I hate Microsoft and Windows but I have a Windows machine
here because, like it or not, that's where everything is...the games, the
utilities, the developer materials, what most "open source" and shareware
is targetted for, and so on and so forth :)...

Just Apple being stupid here, not to realise how crucial documentation and
tools can be? The cyanide in the apple, in a manner of speaking?
Misunderestimating its importance?

Don't know...it is quite strange, though...you'd reckon Apple would almost
be trying harder than Microsoft in the Hopes to potentially "convert" as
well as improve their own platform...

> I'll have a quick look at CodeWarrior and see what it offers.

Aren't there any "open source", non-commercial software besides just the
"binutils" of GCC? Not that there probably is anything wrong with
CodeWarrior - many seem to use that - but I'm just being "philosophical" to
blatantly plug "open source" solutions...yes, totally "biased" there :)

> PS. No other Mac developers out there?

Well, apparently not...perhaps as the group is often "x86-World", there are
developers but they frequent their own specific PowerPC group, maybe? And
just leave this group to the x86 bias everywhere? I'd be a Mac developer if
I could afford to buy a legion of computers but only just manage the price
of a new PC...a Lottery win would be nice...unfortunately, that requires
buying a ticket, which I never do, so no chance of that happening ;)...

Beth :)

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