I’ve been hearing mixed feelings about Apple’s switch to Intel. Some think the transition is going wonderfully, while others have been skeptical over issues such as the recent MacBook power connector bursting into flames. I thought I’d finally weigh in with my thoughts on the developers’ transition to Intel OS X. Now before you pass judgement on my feelings, keep in mind this is coming from a person who has never used a PowerPC Mac.

I’m going to start with the topic which is on everyone’s mind, Rosetta. Rosetta is supposed to be this magical underlaying service within the OS which allows PowerPC applications to run on Intel OS X. Apple has been claiming that Rosetta has been strong since day one, but I don’t quite agree with them on that. Apple is correct in the fact that almost any application will work with Rosetta. I’ve only had a few applications which have crashed when using it. So, technically Rosetta works, but I just don’t feel it’s strong performance-wise.

Every application I load with Rosetta is always slow and unresponsive. Even a simple application such as Word runs like crap. Sure it’s usable, but it just feels laggy. And, if you look at a Rosetta application through Activity Monitor, you’ll see that it’s hogging up RAM; up to 2x as much as it would on a PowerPC based machine. Now this may be fine for an occasional application such as Word, but if you’re using Rosetta on an application which is always running, such as Gmail Notifier, you’ll quickly find your whole system bogged down. Luckily, the Rosetta issue is slowly fading away.

Everyday more and more developers are compiling their applications as Universal binaries. Since Apple’s unveiling of the first Intel-based machines, I’ve progressively seen every application I use on a regular basis switch to Universal binaries. Adium, TextWrangler, Quicksilver, Firefox, DivX; they’re all Universal and running at native speeds. With Apple’s pro applications due out in Universal anytime this month, things are looking bright, which is great for the Rosetta-hater like myself.

I think we mainly have Apple to thank for the quick switch to Unibin. I personally worked with a few developers helping them port their applications to Intel, and I’ve only heard positive things. Two of the developers I’ve worked with just had to check the Universal box and their application instantly loaded natively on Intel OS X. The other developer only had to do some minor tweaking to get things going. So, I really think Apple has a lot to do with the quick switch to Universal binaries.

Now obviously not everyone is Universal yet. If you’re a one-man operation, tightly integrated into the operating system, or are a large company, you’re not Universal yet. One-man shows have an excuse. They either don’t have enough time to port their code to Intel or they don’t have the resources to purchase an Intel Mac for development. Programs which are tightly integrated into the operating system also have an excuse. They might have code which requires extensive reworking for it to function on Intel Mac, and that takes time. The people who don’t have an excuse are the large companies.

Right now companies such as Microsoft with their Office suite and Adobe with just about every pro-application out there are not Universal, and this is hurting consumers. Just about every Mac user uses one of these programs at least once a week, and dealing with Rosetta is a pain. You’d think with both Microsoft’s and Adobe’s deep pockets and massive resources we’d have something Universal by now. It’s not like we just found out about this transition to Intel in January; Apple’s made the Intel switch known since the last WWDC. Unfortunately, Microsoft and Adobe both have the mentality that people will buy their product even if it isn’t native, which is sad, but it’s true. I’m hoping we’ll see something Universal from one of these companies soon, because they’re the ones dragging down the Intel switch.

Overall, I’m feeling very positive about Apple’s switch to Intel. Everyday new applications are proudly displaying their new Universal badge, and users are rejoicing. Even if an application isn’t in Universal yet, most developers consider Intel users top priority right now, and are working around the clock to get their code Universal as soon as possible. Intel Mac users certainly haven’t been treated like second-class citizens, which I think is important in the Intel switch. The only thing that’s holding back the transition right now are those companies which just seem to not care. I’m sure pretty soon they’ll been meeting the alternatives which they thought would never be competition.

Finally, I think we really have to thank Apple for the smooth transition. I don’t think many people realize the shire technical feat Apple has accomplished. They’ve ported an operating system from one architecture to another, while maintaining the same exact functionality as before. They have even been able to get the old applications to run on the new architecture. Sure, the transition may be difficult now, but by this time next year I have feeling people will have forgotten about PowerPC.