Lion compatibility

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Tue, 07/05/2011 - 01:45 am

The new mac OS is launching shortly and I want to know if it is "safe" to upgrade to Mac os X 10.7 "Lion" and expect igor pro to continue to function without any problems.

If not, is Wavemetrics planning to update for Lion compatibility?

Apple tends to break old software when it releases a new system and I don't expect this release to be any different.

If I am not mistaken, Igor is a carbon app, which is part of the reason there is no 64-bit version for the mac. Support for PPC (rosetta) is entirely dropped in lion, although I'm not sure if this is a problem or not for Igor.
I'll be glad to see the end of PPC. It's always a major pain making universal binaries. Just out of interest I'd like to see how many people still use PPC (put your hands up).

July 5, 2011 at 01:59 am - Permalink

The sony PS3 and the Microsoft Xbox both use powerpc processors, so the technology is still widely used, but not on desktop platforms. Special server clusters, on the other hand (such as watson, for instance) make great use of the newest generation of PPC chips. None of these platforms run Igor though, so I guess it's a moot point.

However, some mac applications still rely on ppc code for a portion of their oprations, even if it's not the binary application itself. Hopefully, Igor no longer has such dependancies.

July 5, 2011 at 03:15 am - Permalink

I've got some older Macs for my students to use as needed. We'd stay with PPC compatible versions of Igor Pro on them until the computers are ditched.

--
J. J. Weimer
Chemistry / Chemical & Materials Engineering, UAHuntsville

July 5, 2011 at 05:59 am - Permalink

Quote:
I want to know if it is "safe" to upgrade to Mac os X 10.7 "Lion" and expect igor pro to continue to function without any problems.


I don't expect major problems.

Quote:
If not, is Wavemetrics planning to update for Lion compatibility?


If problems arise we will address them with an update.

Quote:
Support for PPC (rosetta) is entirely dropped in lion, although I'm not sure if this is a problem or not for Igor.


It is not a problem. Igor is "universal" meaning that it includes both PowerPC and Intel code. The Intel code will run on Intel machines.

July 5, 2011 at 10:09 pm - Permalink

Igor works fine in 10.7, with one caveat. Assigning it to a particular desktop does not work. It opens in whatever desktop you're currently on, then switches to the assigned desktop.

July 20, 2011 at 02:20 pm - Permalink

I downloaded Lion and for me Igor doesn't work any more! the finder says that PowerPC applications can't be run anymore.
Is there something I have to do? thanks

July 25, 2011 at 01:46 am - Permalink

floc230 wrote:
I downloaded Lion and for me Igor doesn't work any more! the finder says that PowerPC applications can't be run anymore.
Is there something I have to do? thanks


Three options:
1) upgrade to Igor 6, or a newer version of Igor 6
2) go back to Mac OS 10.6
3) start using the Windows version of Igor in a virtual machine running windows.

July 25, 2011 at 08:48 am - Permalink

Quote:
I downloaded Lion and for me Igor doesn't work any more! the finder says that PowerPC applications can't be run anymore.


Apple dropped support for PowerPC applications in OS X 10.7 (Lion). Igor has shipped as a universal (PowerPC and Intel) application since Igor Pro 6.00 (2007).

I recommend that you download the 30-dayfully-functional Igor demo and then purchase an upgrade to the latest Igor. When you purchase the upgrade you will receive an activation key that will convert the demo into a licensed copy.

July 25, 2011 at 09:08 am - Permalink

Not to play devil's advocate, but there are two additional options if you wish to continue with an old version of IGOR...

1. Sheepshaver (a PPC Emulator that you can load mac OS 9 on) (assuming your version of igor will run in os 9)
http://sheepshaver.cebix.net/

2. WINE: Try using "wine bottler", or "wineskin winery" to make an intel application out of the windows x86 installer. This avoids the virtual machine, but while I haven't tried it, it does show up as working well in WINEHQ's app database (at least the 5.01 version has been tested).
http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=application&iId=690

OK, so I'm playing devil's advocate. But I'm running 6.22 and have no issues in Lion.

July 26, 2011 at 01:23 pm - Permalink