PowerPC Architecture Emulator Unleashed

Sebastian Biallas writes "We have finally released version 0.1 of our PowerPC architecture emulator: PearPC. The emulator itself is (prepared to be) architecture independent but only tested on x86s (here you go porters...). It also features a must faster just-in-time compilation unit for x86 hosts. This means that you can now run your favourite PowerPC-OS on x86: Mandrake Linux (9.1), Darwin (6 + 7) and Mac OS X (10.3)! And the best things is: it's GPL'd. But be warned: it's experimental.."

Comments

Re:Why not use it natively?

[Anonymous Coward]

Uhm because apparently powerPC's are much better architecture than x86 so it's nicer to run PowerPC in emulation on x86 rather than raw x86 because then it's more like running a mac. It will also run faster if you put blue bits on your case and call it "blueberry".

Re:Why not use it natively?

[johnnliu]

Because it won't be nerd enough.

You've got to have:

Mandrake running
on PowerPC
on PearPC simulator .. throwing several flavours of linux distros
on Virtual PC
on VMWare
on XBox
on ...

To get be reported on /.

The trick then, is to withstand the /. effect on your machine.

And take a screenshot of the smoking machine.

Then you get the "Immortal" rating.

Then, just may be, you can get rooted.

Re:Why not use it natively?

[node 3]

Why not just run it natively on the x86 architecture?

You must be new here.

major bug

[austad]

From their docs: PearPC currently only supports two-button mice (i.e. middle-button click and the scrollwheel will be ignored).

They are going to have to figure out how to disable that second mouse button if they want to truly emulate OSX. :)

Re:Not the first

[Duty]

I think it's more that emulating a CPU on another CPU with fewer registers is a less appealing prospect to the average coder then being flogged in the blistering sun for a week straight with barbed wire.

Re:Panther on x86?

[Seahawk]

But i just read the website. Its 500 times slower than the real thing :(

When I was first trying to make the decision to buy a mac, spending 5 minutes or 30
minutes "playing" with it at the store wasn't enough. I wanted to spend several days
on it, using it to do all the things i do now, but in a different enviornment. You
can't do that in the shop.

Hmm - But you could play a total of 45 hours of "testing" in this emulator - and still havent done as much as 3½ minut on the real deal? ;)

yeah!

[roskakori]

soon i can install mac os x on my mighty pizza box mac with its powerful 68040 cpu. hah, apple! me not gonna buy new hardware!

OK, so it's slow, but look how CHEAP it is.

[dpbsmith]

Apple stuff is so overpriced... why, the lowest-cost OS X platform you can buy from Apple is a $799 eMac.

With just a little bit of work and a decent motherboard you can put together a smokin' Wintel box for $400, tops and, well, sure, the eMac includes a monitor but you probably already have one.

So what if it runs at 1/200 the speed of a Mac? Hey, put a cooler on the chip and overclock it, then it will run at 1/100 the speed of the Mac!

And for less than half the price!

Well, OK, for $0.50 more than half price.