Robert P2

Q: alternative virtual PPC to Rosetta?

Hi all, do any of you know of an alternative virtual Power PC emulator that will run on Intel macs (within Snow Leopard)

I'm looking for a more separate environment than Rosetta, I have a couple of legacy apps (including Freehand MX) that I need to run, and each time I upgrade to a new Mac OS they work less and less successfully in Rosetta

Ideally I would love to have a sandboxed virtual PPC environment that I could install Tiger to run my apps,

any ideas?

Message was edited by: Robert P2

Mac Pro 2.8 octo, G4 powerbook 17", Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Feb 21, 2011 2:39 AM

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Q: alternative virtual PPC to Rosetta?

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  • by Tom in London,

    Tom in London Tom in London Feb 21, 2011 3:00 AM in response to Robert P2
    Level 4 (1,626 points)
    Mac OS X
    Feb 21, 2011 3:00 AM in response to Robert P2
    I'd be interested in this too.
  • by Barney-15E,

    Barney-15E Barney-15E Feb 21, 2011 5:52 AM in response to Robert P2
    Level 9 (50,401 points)
    Mac OS X
    Feb 21, 2011 5:52 AM in response to Robert P2
    I don't think there is one, but you could always [buy a sandboxed, physical environment|http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=powermac+g5&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8#q=power+macg5&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&prmd=ivns&source=univ&tbs=shop:1&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=521 iTd7ZIIutgQentpSVAg&ved=0CHkQrQQ&biw=1175&bih=784&bav=on.1,or.&fp=9ccb44d24f243e a8] that runs Tiger.
  • by Allan Eckert,

    Allan Eckert Allan Eckert Feb 21, 2011 6:40 AM in response to Robert P2
    Level 9 (53,800 points)
    Desktops
    Feb 21, 2011 6:40 AM in response to Robert P2
    Could you please provide use with details about exactly what you find wrong or lacking with Rosetta? Maybe if you told us more, we might come up with solutions to help you.


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    .
    |___________________

    Allan
    tiger

    ___________________
  • by Topher Kessler,

    Topher Kessler Topher Kessler Feb 21, 2011 6:42 AM in response to Robert P2
    Level 6 (9,866 points)
    Feb 21, 2011 6:42 AM in response to Robert P2
  • by Allan Eckert,

    Allan Eckert Allan Eckert Feb 21, 2011 6:56 AM in response to Topher Kessler
    Level 9 (53,800 points)
    Desktops
    Feb 21, 2011 6:56 AM in response to Topher Kessler
    TTBOMK Sheepshaver is a OS 9 emulator, what the OP asked for is a PPC emulator. So I doubt that Sheepshaver will help.


    .
    .
    |___________________

    Allan
    tiger

    ___________________
  • by Robert P2,

    Robert P2 Robert P2 Feb 21, 2011 3:33 PM in response to Barney-15E
    Level 1 (50 points)
    Feb 21, 2011 3:33 PM in response to Barney-15E
    Barney-15E: "don't think there is one, but you could always buy a sandboxed, physical environment that runs Tiger."

    well yes but this is the problem, I don't want to be reliant on increasingly old hardware if I can avoid it, I already have 2 G4 machines one of which just died with a bang and the other (G4 powerbook) is 6 years old

    I don't think it will too many years before Rosetta is no longer included with OSX
  • by a brody,

    a brody a brody Feb 21, 2011 3:38 PM in response to Robert P2
    Level 9 (66,876 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    Feb 21, 2011 3:38 PM in response to Robert P2
    Adobe has managed to integrate a lot of Freehand into its newer versions of Illustrator. Perhaps what you need to do be doing is finding a version of Illustrator that lets you do that on your machine at a price you can afford.

    The other option is to get a second used or refurbished Mac*

    http://www.macmaps.com/usedrefurbished.html

    That already supports the operating systems you require.

    - * Links to my pages may give me compensation.
  • by Barney-15E,

    Barney-15E Barney-15E Feb 21, 2011 3:44 PM in response to Robert P2
    Level 9 (50,401 points)
    Mac OS X
    Feb 21, 2011 3:44 PM in response to Robert P2
    Well, that's sort of the root of your problem. You are staying reliant on increasingly old software.
    And, I believe you are correct about Rosetta. Maybe then you'll see more emulators.
  • by Kurt Lang,

    Kurt Lang Kurt Lang Feb 21, 2011 3:58 PM in response to Barney-15E
    Level 8 (37,946 points)
    Mac OS X
    Feb 21, 2011 3:58 PM in response to Barney-15E
    Some of the problem with keeping old PPC programs running may be OS X's design. For instance, in Leopard, I have/had one PPC only Photoshop filter, KnockOut, that Corel hadn't updated in years (big freakin' surprise there!). It would work if I launched PS CS4 in Rosetta mode. However, doing the same thing with PS CS4 in Snow Leopard doesn't work. KnockOut will not run.

    What's different between Leopard and Snow Leopard that KnockOut won't run? I have no idea. But it is telling that while Freehand can be run under Snow Leopard, it may fail in later versions of the Mac OS for no apparent reason.
  • by Robert P2,

    Robert P2 Robert P2 Feb 22, 2011 7:04 AM in response to a brody
    Level 1 (50 points)
    Feb 22, 2011 7:04 AM in response to a brody
    a brody: Adobe has managed to integrate a lot of Freehand into its newer versions of Illustrator. Perhaps what you need to do be doing is finding a version of Illustrator that lets you do that on your machine at a price you can afford.

    yes I use illustrator cs3 at the moment, it's ok as far as it goes, however I am loathed to give Adobe any more of my money as they have a special "premium" price for us in the UK, almost double the US price in some cases! it's a disgrace

    my biggest problem is that I have 15 years of Freehand files that I need to access on a regular basis, and Adobe have decided to kill the app basically, they refuse to update it or sell it to another company, so I have to do whatever I can to keep it working
  • by Tom in London,

    Tom in London Tom in London Feb 22, 2011 7:15 AM in response to Robert P2
    Level 4 (1,626 points)
    Mac OS X
    Feb 22, 2011 7:15 AM in response to Robert P2
    FWIW Robert, a guy who used to work for Adobe told me it's deliberate policy to "kill" earlier versions of their apps so that people are forced to pay for new versions.

    I'm still heavily reliant on a range of "old" apps that I've been using for years. It could cripple or slow down my business if I can't (for example) access my thousands of old AppleWorks files (databases, WP files, spreadsheets, graphics files) that I have archived and often need to consult.

    So if Apple is as business-savvy as it claims to be I hope it will think about its long-term customers who run businesses just like Apple does, and will not discontinue Rosetta for many years to come.

    If they do, then I too will be looking for something similar. There's no way I could go back through years of old files that will only open with old apps, and save each and every one of them into new formats for new applications.

    Apart from anything else, 10 years further on down the line, I might have to do it all again
  • by a brody,

    a brody a brody Feb 22, 2011 7:15 AM in response to Robert P2
    Level 9 (66,876 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    Feb 22, 2011 7:15 AM in response to Robert P2
    Robert,
    Then do as I say, and get a used or refurbished Mac that can manage those files until you are able to upgrade. There are plenty of sources for old software as well as old hardware. Don't give money to Adobe. Nobody is forcing you to. You choose what upgrade path you want. As I say, some people still use 20 year old Macs for business, and are quite happy.
  • by Tom in London,

    Tom in London Tom in London Feb 22, 2011 7:18 AM in response to a brody
    Level 4 (1,626 points)
    Mac OS X
    Feb 22, 2011 7:18 AM in response to a brody
    Brody, that might be the solution- keep the older stuff on an older Mac. But copy/paste from the old Mac to the new one? Hmm.
  • by a brody,

    a brody a brody Feb 22, 2011 7:23 AM in response to Tom in London
    Level 9 (66,876 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    Feb 22, 2011 7:23 AM in response to Tom in London
    There is a software called PDF Creator for Mac OS 9 that at least will make anything you can print into a PDF that you can then move to Mac OS X over a network. Mac OS X networks with Mac OS 9 like this*:

    http://www.macmaps.com/network9X.html

    - * Links to my pages may give me compensation.
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