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TICKET ARCHIVE -> Intel Mini/PPC Mini Applications

RobinS - Dec 17, 2007 - 3:42 am

So I'm making the tedious transition from the PPC to Intel Mini. Obviously I'm not doing this right as its taking forever. Some apps work and some don't. Is there a better way of doing this besides opening each app and see if it works? OS X Mail is a disastor. Some of the folders (I have a LOT of folders) are in different places. Its going to take hours and hours to clean this mess up. I imported the mailboxes but it doesn't look anything like it used to.

earthsaver - Dec 17, 2007 - 8:45 am

You might be better off hooking up a FireWire cable between the minis, putting the PPC in Target Disk Mode, and using Migration Assistant on the Intel to transfer data.

As for application compatibility, you could start by noticing whether apps are Universal or PowerPC, noted in each one's Info window. To simplify further, open the Inspector in the Finder (Command+Option+I) and Info will dynamically change when you change the selection. PPC vs. Universal isn't a sure fire method, because some apps will run fine in Rosetta, the PPC emulator, albeit probably a little slow. There are probably also compatibility lists online you can reference.

- Ben

P.S. Migration Assistant will do it properly, but FYI, simplest way to move mailboxes from one Mac to another is to copy the entire Mail folder located in your Library to the same place on the other Mac.

RobinS - Dec 17, 2007 - 2:00 pm

Re: Mail - that's exactly what I did. I guess it didn't move the Preferences as well. Or some plist. I love the way Apple scatters stuff all over the place. Not. Why oh why can't they put EVERYTHING regarding a program in ONE place? Or are they categorizing by type of files? Is Spotlight reliable enough to locate them all? If its com.apple.mail.plist would that come up in Spotlight I wonder?

Re: PPC/Rosetta/Intel......its quite unbelievable that the app doesn't warn you right away its running in Rosetta so you can get the lastest Intel revision as soon as it comes out. So if it doesn't tell me I have to go to each and every website to see if my version number is the Intel version. I have hundreds of apps....what a nightmare.

I'll try migration assitant with the firewire target mode. Thanks Ben.

earthsaver - Dec 17, 2007 - 2:59 pm

Mail's plist prefs file is in ~/Library/Preferences, along with all your other apps' prefs files. That's the hierarchical categorization. Spotlight doesn't find it by default, though, because it doesn't index the Libraries, outside of a handful of file types there, such as email messages, calendars, and contacts.

I wouldn't imagine many users want to be bothered by arcane language like Rosetta, and that's also why most apps have built-in update checkers, so you don't have to seek new versions alone. If you want to discover those new versions on your own, often ahead of these checkers, then you subscribe to the desktop applications of VersionTracker or MacUpdate.

RobinS - Dec 17, 2007 - 4:25 pm

OK - thanks for the Spotlight tip. Another thing I can't depend on! Way to go Apple! ....I'm having a bad day I guess.

So I should just check each of my hundreds of apps manually? What fun. Now I see why busy people don't update anything unless it explodes.

If Apple had any brains they would put the Intel or PPC designation right on the title of the app or it should be displayed when it starts. Make it brain dead obvious. For us brain dead users. No software designer wants someone to be using Rosetta when a genuine Intel version is available. It makes them look bad.

earthsaver - Dec 17, 2007 - 5:58 pm

Again, software developers who don't want users using old versions built software updates into their apps. Thanks to Sparkle, this has become really easy.

Checking your apps manually can't be that hard with the Inspector and the arrow keys, and perhaps column view in the Finder. Again, if you're the type of user who doesn't want to wait until things explode, you get VersionTracker Pro or MacUpdate Desktop.

Finally, if you know anything about "com.apple.mail.plist," you're far more than a bonehead user, and as such you likely know where to find preference files and don't need Spotlight to do the dirty work for you. Give yourself a little credit, Robin.

RobinS - Dec 17, 2007 - 10:33 pm

Yeah but knowing where where a plist is is a far cry from knowing where software programs toss all the rest of their files.....Caches, Application Support, Preferences of course, and often many others. When the title is joined with another word I guess it escapes detection from Spotlight.

I did your suggestion and that is good - (Universal or PPC) is clearly labeled. Excellent. Most are universal so that is a relief.