A team of open-source developers have released software
which emulates the PowerPC processor architecture and enables users
to run Mac OS and some Unix OSes on PCs powered by Intel
x86-architecture processors.
The project, known as PearPC, is not yet stable enough or fast
enough to be more than a tool for enthusiasts, the developers
warned.
Using PearPC on a standard PC, the developers said they have
successfully run Mac OS X 10.3, OpenBSD for PPC, NetBSD for PPC,
Darwin for PPC and Mandrake Linux 9.1.
PearPC translates PowerPC instructions into x86 instructions,
and "the [existing] client will run about 40 times slower than the
host", the developers said.
Main developers Sebastian Biallas and Stefan Weyergraf are
looking for extra people to help develop the project, which is now
hosted at the open-source site SourceForge, owned by Open Source
Development Network.
Another Mac/Windows compatibility project called SoftPear, also
under development, will enable Mac OS X applications that have been
developed for the PowerPC to be recompiled for x86 CPUs.
Most of the cross-platform technology that exists involves
emulating the Windows PC environment on Apple hardware - the
opposite of what PearPC is attempting.
Commercial products such as Microsoft's Virtual PC compete with
open-source projects such as Darwine, designed to let users run the
Wine (Wine Is Not an Emulator) environment with Windows
applications on Darwin and Mac OS X systems.
David Legard writes for IDG News Service