Apple has announced Power-PC OS-X applications will run on the future Intel Macs via an emulation layer called Rosetta, developed by some ex-Manchester Uni people. Obviously there has to be a performance hit in doing so, but you’d hope by the time the Intel Macs hit the streets, processor speeds would have come along enough that it’s not very noticeable, at least over today’s Macs.

What may be interesting is how Virtual PC for Mac runs on Intel Macs. An upgraded Intel version I mean, not the PowerPC version under Rosetta!

It now sounds as if the new Macs will have not just chips made by Intel, but chips that are theoretically the x86 we all know and love. If so, and assuming Virtual PC gets a re-write, people who love Macs but have to run a little bit of Windows software may be in for a very pleasant surprise when the new Macs arrive.