A number of features in Mac OS X 10.7 Lion “not only won’t be updated, they’re being dropped entirely,” Fairer Platform reports.
“One of the OS X features getting dropped in Lion is Rosetta, Apple’s PowerPC software compatibility layer which originally shipped with OS X 10.5 Leopard,” Fairer Platform reports. “The easy take away here is that Lion will be native 64-bit and Rosetta supports 32-bit Universal and PPC code.”
Fairer Platform reports, “Apple stopped shipping Flash default OS installation with the 2010 MacBook Air and Early 2011 MacBook Pro. Users wanting to use Flash have had to download it themselves. So far, this has been a total non-issue and, with the increasing use of HTML5 delivered video, Flash’s relevance will continue to wane. Similarly, Apple will stop shipping Java as part of OS X with the advent Lion. Users will still be able to download and use it, but it won’t be part of the default operating system install — a nonevent followed by a non-issue… Perhaps least of all the features getting pared back or outright killed is Front Row, Apple’s soon to be erstwhile media center software for the Mac.”
Read more in the full article here.
I think you should add an option to the poll.
Only when I accidentally hit apple+esc instead of apple+tilde.
Or when I have my laptop with me while trying to use the AppleTV remote. It gets me every time. I can’t stand it.
I agree, it drives me nuts! I did a quick check in settings, but couldn’t find a way to disable front row. Anyone know of a simple way to disable front row, or at least the apple remote?
http://tinyurl.com/66quez6
Disable IR on Mac OS X:
http://tinyurl.com/66quez6
Macintosh HD/System/Library/CoreServices
Save a copy of the Application “Front Row”
Delete “Front Row” from the CoreServices Folder
To restore move the application back to CoreServices
A simpler way to avoid activating it accidentally from the keyboard: Simply go to System Preferences > Keyboard & Mouse > Keyboard Shortcuts and uncheck “Hide and show Front Row”.
“Simply go to System Preferences > Keyboard & Mouse > Keyboard Shortcuts and uncheck “Hide and show Front Row”.”
doesnt work, just tried it.
definitely doesnt work
Same here, J. Front Row won’t be missed by me and that ain’t no accident.
Yup, I have suffered that mis-type, and I hate the way my Mac locks up for a few seconds before fading to black.
Goodbye Front Row, I won’t miss ya.
I used to hit that several times a day. You can disable it in the Keyboard preferences by turning off the keyboard shortcut for Front Row.
But wait, I thought this was a moron political forum. Why are we talking about tech stuff here?
After suffering this problem too many times to count….
I also disable the key combo, glad I did.
It is a moron political forum; the tech stuff is just a cover for what dweebs really care about, which is taking shots at people and then ROTFLOLing about it
Pshh, I never use any of these things anyway. You better believe it! ™ :’D
I’m angry over the disappearance of Front Row. I have a Mac Mini hooked up to my entertainment center and use Front Row constantly. AppleTV isn’t flexible enough and other video front ends like Plex, Boxee, and others are too buggy for me.
I concur… I also have a mac mini with Perian installed hooked up to a 55″ LED LCD and we use Frontrow constantly. I guess I won’t be upgrading my mini! It churns and churns for months on end anyway, so if its not broken……
I am not happy about it either. But to be honest, I’ve been using XMBC for about 2 years now (on the Mac mini) with the Rapier skin and a customised set. I like the Front Row UI, but find it too limiting. Plex, Boxee (both XBMC forks) and XBMC are excellent when not having to rely solely on iTunes. You set a source (Volumes/Movies) and set a content scraper, for instance IMDb, and the app will download all film information, fanart, posters, everything.. it’s truly awesome and for this reason, I don’t really use Front Row anymore. Everyone should try it..
I use xbmc on my atv2 hooked to a time capsule right now and have my movies stored on there. Works great. I have some things in iTunes but most of my movies are in xbmc. That way I get some high quality 720 and 1080 hd movies. Mac mini is ok but with playon on the iMac allows me to stream hulu all hulu content and tons of other sites to my atv2 then built in I get Netflix and then iTunes and all my movies and blu ray rips on my time capsule.
I think front row is great. Mac mini hooked up to a tv across the room, front row is perfect. I would like to see them include it iTunes or something, rather than just ditch it. Perhaps they would rather sell an appletv.
Is there a way to disable front row, or the apple remote? I can’t find it in settings.
Pairing
A device can be configured to respond only to a certain remote. This can be achieved by holding the Apple Remote close enough to the device with which it is to be paired, and then pressing and holding the “Menu” and “Next” (or “Play”; this option also increments the remote ID before pairing) buttons for five seconds. Pairing can be removed by holding the “Menu” and “Previous” buttons for five seconds or deactivating it under the Mac OS X “Security” System Preference pane. Only users with administrative privileges are allowed to pair their remote; in a non-administrator account, pressing the buttons will have no effect and nothing will be displayed.[4] Pairing can be very useful because some users who have both an iMac and Apple TV nearby experience issues with remotes working with both devices.
I, for one, will miss Front Row, for easy access to the trailers alone. But I realize you can get those on iTunes.
For nostalgia purposes only, I’m a tad upset that Rosetta is leaving us. This one game called “Enigma” was updated for OS X by Freeverse software. But, the original version made for OS 9 was a true gem. I’ll miss that version of the game SO MUCH. It used to call you “stupid monkey” while playing the puzzle game lol! I loved it!
I have only one concern as it relates to Rosetta . . . I spent about $7,000 on a copier/color printer that utilizes a fiery driver that so far has no 10.6 support. So it runs in Rosetta (pretty well, I might ad) . . . so in order to use it to its full potential I won’t be able to upgrade at least one computer . . . . that sucks.
And before anybody says I shouldn’t have spent that much, the newer models were well above $20,000 and I can’t do enough business on them to warrant that.
My wife has leased both Canon and now Minolta copier/printers ($35-50K each) that use a Fiery RIP. When doing the installation, the tech worked with her to produce drivers for the printers based on CUPS and IP address. While the loss of Rosetta is sad, you can work around your printer driver issue.
To those who depend on Rosetta for using great programs like the old Macromedia Freehand (RIP, damn you, Adobe), it makes sense to dedicate an older Mac for this purpose. Unlike the trains wreck that is CS5 (which Adobe blames both Apple and Microsoft OS’s for Adobe’s disastrous programming), Freehand, and even old versions of Illustrator (CS to CS2) are very stable, and even on old G4 towers, run very quickly. Unless you have issues with having to be able to open CS5 documents (your counterpart could always save backwards to an older version for you or to .eps or .tiff), this should not be a problem. An old Mac tower, well maintained, will keep going for a long, long time. And the old versions will run fast as well.
If you like Freehand, you’re better off running Corel Draw in a VM or Boot Camp.
I started with Freehand in ’89 then got Corel Draw under Windows. I wanted to move to Illustrator on the Mac, but it’s abandonware at this point, and so full of design defects and bugs that it’s essentially unusable.
Check into using VirtualBox, Parallels, or other virtualizer. You can run an instance of 10.5 with Rosetta, and still be able to upgrade to Lion.
Are you SURE I could run 10.6 alongside Lion with Parallels? That would be GREAT news for me as I use an older program, Canvas X, on a daily basis in running my business and it requires Rosetta. If I could run still run it and have Lion as well that would be the answer to my prayers.
I use Rosetta daily for running my PowerPC version of Quicken 2005. The new Quicken for Mac has less functionality and is totally useless for my needs, so I cannot upgrade to that.
I hope the Apple engineers change their mind and retain Rosetta for such important applications that many Mac users need.
I agee with the hope that Rosetta is maintained since it will allow many more of us to upgrade our OS.
What functionality is missing that you want?
Well, FrontRow is actually very useful. At least for me. It works with my wireless NAS setup (Synology NAS connected via Gigabit ethernet to an 802.11N router) unlike Plex or XBMC.
Plex stutters and judders always when playing some movie. Or it behaves life XMBC and doesn’t work at all.
Is there any useful and working FrontRow-like network media player?
Never only because I don’t have an Intel Mac. Still got my trusty old PB G4 15″. Can’t wait to upgrade.
I use my iMac as my TV and movie watching station. I do not have a TV, nor do I ever plan on getting one. I use Front Row every day.
I download TV shows from iTunes and play them back in Front Row. I download TV shows that aren’t available on iTunes through “other means” and play them in Front Row. I only have to put those videos in a folder in my Movies folder.
I only wish they would expand Front Row to allow it to play back iTunes Rentals. It lists iTunes rentals but won’t play them back. That’s very odd. I have to go into iTunes to play back rentals which is really a strange thing to have to do.
Hopefully it’s the case of Front Row is dead… long live an Apple-TV-like-application-in-Lion so I can do all I’d need. Otherwise… sigh.
Anyone know: Will GoLive 6.0 work without Rosetta?
Nope. No Rosetta, no GoLive 6.0.
I use my Bodroom Mac as my bedroom TV- complete with EyeTV HD, Focal Speakers and a 24″ LED Cinema Display on a Mac Pro. All my DVDs are ripped into iTunes along with EyeTV exports and iTunes store purchased movies & season pass shows. Needless to say, I use it daily.
Apple should offer it as an app if they are going to drop it. A number of indie apps offering similar functionality died because of Front Row being free on all Macs. Developers start your engines..,
Quicken 2007 will no longer run under Lion, and Intuit will no longer be updating it. Wonder what we’re going to do about that.
I don’t have cable or a TV. My iMac is my entertainment system, for video and audio (connected to an amp and speakers). I use Front Row all the time. If it goes away I’d be forced to spend $99 for an AppleTV and $150 for an HDMI to DisplayPort converter.
A Mac mini with EyeTV & Front Row beats an Apple TV all to hell.
I’m betting that Apple will be selling some variation of Apple TV as an app on the Mac App Store after Lion is released. Not a version that will be able to play Apple TV apps once they are released, but one that looks like Apple TV and allows you to rent and purchase content on the Mac using a remote just like the previous version Apple TV. Apple TV needs to become a platform that is on every or most Macs then all of a sudden the install base changes. Or maybe it will run Apple TV apps and let you use your iDevices to control you iMac or mini connected to a TV. Apple TV just needs to become Apple’s connection to the second display not just a small box or built into an HDTV.
I’ll be damned if I shell out for photoshop and InDesign again because my CS2 versions won’t run. And even Andy I. says Flash is so far better than the alternatives on his iPad.
i use Front Row. Apple is going too iTunes-centric. So Windows gets MediaCenter, and we get……..iTunes? Mistake Apple. I know there are third party applications out there, but, I love Front Row. It is so well designed. How hard can it be to keep this in the new OS. Guess I’ll be using Snow Leopard a lot longer than I thought.
I really hope some third party comes up with a replacement for Rosetta. I know that there are a lot of people like me who really need it.
I agree.
This is one thing that I still need for an old app that was killed on the Mac platform and I use regularly.
I hate the idea of having to do a Winoze app purchase to fill the gap!
I left Front Row a couple of years ago and have been using XBMC on my home theater mac (Power Mac G5 Dual 2 GHz). XBMC still supports PPC in their latest releases.
XBMC takes a little more configuration than Front Row, but it does a lot more as well. I’ve never had any major issues with it. It just works.
I stopped using Front Row a couple of years ago and have been using XBMC on my home theater Mac (Power Mac G5 Dual 2 GHz). XBMC still supports PPC in their latest releases.
XBMC takes a little more configuration than Front Row, but it does a lot more as well. I’ve never had any major issues with it. It just works.
I love using Front Row to watch movie trailers. And the look on the face of PC users is priceless when I zip around on the remote. Other than that I never use it.
I applaud Apple for experimenting though.
What, if anything, is Apple replacing Samba with? This is the open-source software that allows non-Windows machines to accessing Windows shares. Scary as it sounds, yes, Macs are still in the minority and sometimes need to access Windows-based fileshares…
Read the article. Apparently Apple is developing their own version to network with Windows services because the developers of samba are moving to a more restrictive gpl license.
I suppose time will tell if Apple gets this right out of the box but the version bundled in Snow Leopard is ancient and only supported SMB1. Apple’s version apparently handles encryption better (anyone who has tried to network Windows Vista/7 shares knows what I’m talking about) and supports SMB2 that should handle large transfers better.
Guess this is the end of the line for AppleWorks 6. Damn. Last remaining program that could simply place anything anywhere on a page under user control with no finessing the eye-candy that dominates Pages and Numbers.
Count me as another Mac Mini home theater, Front Row user. Dropping Rosetta could be an issue I can live with, but losing FR is a deal killer. I don’t think there’s a viable substitute. Everything I’ve read about other media software, such as Plex, leaves them with a lot to be desired.
Is dropping Front Row an attempt to get users to move to AppleTV? There is no way I’m getting an AppleTV as it currently exists. Why would I want to ruin my home theater computer using experience with such a limited device?
Although they just added it in the last Mac Mini update, can we also expect that Apple will remove the HDMI port from the Mini? Otherwise, what’s the point of having an HDMI port if not to attach a Mini to a TV?
Unlike previous OS X upgrades, the more I’m reading about Lion the less likely it appears that I will be upgrading any time soon. At least until until Apple stops releasing updates for Snow Leopard. How long will be before Apple does that… another year… two… three?
I can wait.