This page is intended to help you pick the right version of the software package for your Macintosh (or the right Macintosh for your software package).
Software written for OS X on the PowerPC should run under emulation in most cases. What will not work are programs written for pre-X systems (OS 9, etc.), or written for Classic, or that contain or rely on:
SPSS appears to run just fine on the Intel-based Macs, according to indirect reports — though SPSS itself apparently failed to realize that Intel-based Macs were coming, hadn’t purchased any hardware to test SPSS on even after the Intels came out! They did say they would be releasing Version 13 on the Mac, and we assume they'll make that Universal.
With large data sets and complex calculations, performance can be a major issue for statistical analysis. Software packages have often been optimized for the class of main processor, and there may be several different versions of a package.
Optimization has gotten less prevalent with the fall of Mac market share and the speed increases of computer chips; while SPSS 4 had two versions, one for Macs with coprocessors and one for Macs without them, SPSS 6 and up do not seem to have any optimization at all. Most companies now seem to follow Adobe's example with Photoshop, and if they do optimize, they do it for selected CPU-intensive plug-ins or subprograms.
The main variants are:
As far as we know, nobody is still making software for the 680x0 Macs, and we honestly don't expect development to continue for the PowerMacs much longer.
Altivec, which is only used on G4 and G5 processors, is a vector coprocessor which, like a math coprocessor, shows incredible speed gains on certain operations. Altivec optimization is wonderful for math. The G5 has a different internal architecture from the G4 and software can be tuned specially tuned for the G5 to gain a speed boost. Some programs are designed to detect the processor and then use different methods to optimize performance.
For statistics, software that uses Altivec well will probably beat the same software on faster Intel-based systems. However... it's hard to say who really optimizes for Altivec.
The ability to use dual processors was most important under the "old" OS (through version 9) where the system itself was not really designed for dual processors. Under OS X, even without special programming, most programs will take some advantage of the dual processors, but software written just for that purpose will do better.
A true OS X program will gain considerable speed on a dual-processor system, but OS X itself introduces speed blocks. If you can boot into OS 9, you may well find that not having OS X’s overhead helps, but newer machines that can’t boot into OS 9 are generally fast enough to make up for the hog we call X.
New Macs are easy to check. First, you can tell what kind of processor the machine has (if you are running OS X) by going to the Apple menu, selecting "About This Mac," and looking at the display it gives (e.g. Dual 1.25 GHz PowerPC G4). You can always go to More Info if you don't see what you need. OS 9 has a similar function; you cannot run OS 9 on a G5 or MacTel.
To display the configuration of your older computer, you may download Macintosh statistics configuration checker software. This software will tell you what type of processor and FPU you have and make recommendations as to the software type to use: PowerPC native, 68k with FPU or 68k without FPU. (All Macs made in the 21st Century are at least G3 models.)
(Note that PowerMacintosh here includes all Macintosh "clones", such as those from Power Computing or UMAX).
The ideal option for PowerMacintosh owners is to purchase fully "PowerPC native" software, which is the fastest and most compatible solution. It is nearly always possible to run statistics software that’s not "PowerPC native", i.e., software that’s intended for a 680x0-based Macintosh. This used to be slower on 601 and 603 based machines, but since the 604 and the G3, the inherent processor-speed advantages more than make up for it, and newer software is often written less efficiently. More seriously, the PowerMacintosh emulator of a 68040 processor does not include FPU emulation, so you may need to get an FPU. emulator such as SoftwareFPU or PowerFPU. A PowerPC native version of your software never needs SoftwareFPU.
Again, there has been no new 680x0 software written in quite a while. However, even the newest PowerPC Macs are able to run most of the old 68000 software.
If you have a Macintosh with a 680x0-series processor, you cannot run "PowerPC native" software, but instead must use a package designed for 680x0-based computers (which includes all software released before 1994).
Among such 68k family computers, the best performance will be obtained with machines equipped with a FPU. Many packages, in fact, require an FPU to operate. How do you know if your machine has an FPU? Well, the 68000 and 68LC040 have no FPU; so the SE, Classic, Powerbook 100, and LC are out, along with the IIsi, Quadra 605, Duo 210 and 230, Performa 605 and 630, and Powerbook 520 and 540. On the lighter side, the Mac II, SE/30, IIci, Powerbook 170 and 180, and Quadra 700, 800, and 900 can all have an FPU, either as standard equipment or as an option. The 68040 (but not the 68LC040) has a standard built in FPU; other machines have the 68881 or 68882 added. (PowerMacs emulate the 68LC040 which has no FPU). Some machines have been upgraded already with a simple swap of the LC040 to the standard 040 - I did this myself with my Quadra 605. Also, some machines in that list came with an FPU.
To determine whether your computer has an FPU, you can download the configuration checking software provided. If you do not have the computer handy, you can look up the the exact specifications of your machine in Apple’s online spec sheets for its desktop and portable computers. If your 68k Macintosh does not include an FPU, you must either run statistics software that does not require an FPU (rare) or obtain an FPU emulator such as SoftwareFPU (which will be slow).
How many of you are using a 680x0 machine? None? Oh, well.
A series of products published John Neil & Associates provide software emulation of your FPU, i.e., fools your stat package into thinking that an FPU is installed. They are called PowerFPU and SoftwareFPU; both are Control Panels that install emulation software at the time your computer is restarted.
PowerFPU is a fully-native FPU emulator for the PowerMacintosh computers. The cost was $75 plus shipping the last time we looked, and it's probably not for sale any more. Even using PowerFPU your software will run more slowly than if you bought a PowerPC native stat package.
SoftwareFPU is shareware, with a recommended payment of $10 (which you can mail to the publisher). The publisher requests $20 for the "fat" version of the software, which is so named because it includes native software for both 68k and PowerPC computers. The 68k version (3.04 as of 9/97) is available online. As a convenience for readers of this page, you can download a copy of SoftwareFPU 3.03 (created on Feb. 2, 1996) here. For PowerMacintosh owners, the "fat" (68k/PowerPC) version of SoftwareFPU is available only from the publisher. You can use the regular (68k) version but it will be slow. I do not have enough information to be able to say whether the PowerFPU ($75) will produces results that are so much better than the "fat" SoftwareFPU ($20) to justify the difference in price.
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