LabVIEW
LV 8.5.1 is the last version for the PPC Mac!
The web page http://www.ni.com/support/lv8_51.htm states the following
"Note: NI currently plans for LabVIEW 8.5.1 to be the last release to support PowerPC-based Mac OS X computers."
This means that all future versions will only run on Intel based Mac computers. If think that it is too soon and too abrupt a change, please contact NI at any level from your sales rep on up.
The real question here, which is a user community question and is can you in good faith use NI products in an engineering solution? Just because you haven't personally been affected doesn't mean that NI corporate behavior will
We have a certain expectation about support for products. We make long term plans based on statements by vendors of what they plan to do. For the last several years, NI has declined to support MacIntels. They have only released "technology preview" products and any question of support has had the statement "we are evaluating the situation". Yes I have made purchases and plans based on these statements. Hardware support is a very different issue than software support, in terms of cost, I can update to supported OS much easier.
I am by no means asking for staying in the past, I was one of the early moves to VISA, DAQmx (base) and some of the other big changes. In this case I am trying to stay current, but tossing out $100K of hardware is not in an academic budget. These purchases were all made based on NIs statements of lack of commitment to moving to the MacIntel so purchases were made to extend the life of the systems we had. Now we get a hard 180 degree swing that not only is there a commitment to MacIntel but it is exclusive. I am being whipsawed and no, I see no reason to take it quietly. LV 8.2 barely was supported on Intel and LV 8.5.1 is the last version for PPC, come on, this is a very sudden transition.
If NI is going to switch policies on any user, is that good for the developer community. This is why I compare it to dropping XP support in the next release. It probably won't happen but when planning systems, should you be able to expect a certain number of years of support and updates? Is that number greater than 2 years?
There may be a lack of understanding in that other OS users replace systems much more frequently, those of us on tighter university budgets can't afford that. I have machines 12 or 13 years old still running and doing their job, I do not ask that these be supported, but a top of the line system that was purchased in April of 2006 is a different story.
Even dropping support should not be a simple release note that the just released version is the last. Does anyone think that there is some responsibility to give long range plans and not just spring surprises on their user community? A little thought about how anyone of the readers here would feel if support were *immediately* dropped for <insert favorite technology> with a simple release note.
"Note: NI currently plans for LabVIEW 8.5.1 to be the last release to support PowerPC-based Mac OS X computers."
This means that all future versions will only run on Intel based Mac computers. If think that it is too soon and too abrupt a change, please contact NI at any level from your sales rep on up.
The real question here, which is a user community question and is can you in good faith use NI products in an engineering solution? Just because you haven't personally been affected doesn't mean that NI corporate behavior will
We have a certain expectation about support for products. We make long term plans based on statements by vendors of what they plan to do. For the last several years, NI has declined to support MacIntels. They have only released "technology preview" products and any question of support has had the statement "we are evaluating the situation". Yes I have made purchases and plans based on these statements. Hardware support is a very different issue than software support, in terms of cost, I can update to supported OS much easier.
I am by no means asking for staying in the past, I was one of the early moves to VISA, DAQmx (base) and some of the other big changes. In this case I am trying to stay current, but tossing out $100K of hardware is not in an academic budget. These purchases were all made based on NIs statements of lack of commitment to moving to the MacIntel so purchases were made to extend the life of the systems we had. Now we get a hard 180 degree swing that not only is there a commitment to MacIntel but it is exclusive. I am being whipsawed and no, I see no reason to take it quietly. LV 8.2 barely was supported on Intel and LV 8.5.1 is the last version for PPC, come on, this is a very sudden transition.
If NI is going to switch policies on any user, is that good for the developer community. This is why I compare it to dropping XP support in the next release. It probably won't happen but when planning systems, should you be able to expect a certain number of years of support and updates? Is that number greater than 2 years?
There may be a lack of understanding in that other OS users replace systems much more frequently, those of us on tighter university budgets can't afford that. I have machines 12 or 13 years old still running and doing their job, I do not ask that these be supported, but a top of the line system that was purchased in April of 2006 is a different story.
Even dropping support should not be a simple release note that the just released version is the last. Does anyone think that there is some responsibility to give long range plans and not just spring surprises on their user community? A little thought about how anyone of the readers here would feel if support were *immediately* dropped for <insert favorite technology> with a simple release note.
