What I think is great about this move is that once developers have ported their apps and they are now platform independent Apple could start selling Macs based on another processor and any developers who made the Intel switch really should be able to simply re-compile to the new architecture.
This will give Apple tremendous security and flexibility. They could continue to offer PowerPC Macs. Just because a developer re-compiles to support Intel won't mean their apps won't support PowerPC. That is the whole point of the dual binary stuff. In fact I don't see why they couldn't sell different machines with different architectures if the hardware was better suited to certain kinds of markets.
Maybe PowerPC would be best on the high end server and Intel in the low power stuff or something. In fact I would like to see them have dual sourcing this stuff. I don't want to write off the PowerPC.
I think the impending transition is more of a reason to buy a PowerPC Mac now if you need one. The PowerPC Macs are going to be the most compatible Macs with the best performance for a while. If you jump on the new Intel Macs you will have compatibility/performance issues as you wait for ported apps or have to run your apps under the PowerPC emulation.
This will give Apple tremendous security and flexibility. They could continue to offer PowerPC Macs. Just because a developer re-compiles to support Intel won't mean their apps won't support PowerPC. That is the whole point of the dual binary stuff. In fact I don't see why they couldn't sell different machines with different architectures if the hardware was better suited to certain kinds of markets.
Maybe PowerPC would be best on the high end server and Intel in the low power stuff or something. In fact I would like to see them have dual sourcing this stuff. I don't want to write off the PowerPC.
I think the impending transition is more of a reason to buy a PowerPC Mac now if you need one. The PowerPC Macs are going to be the most compatible Macs with the best performance for a while. If you jump on the new Intel Macs you will have compatibility/performance issues as you wait for ported apps or have to run your apps under the PowerPC emulation.