 - Rosetta is a translation program that makes it possible to run most PowerPC application programs on Intel-based Macintosh computers as non-native binary code. When an application is run using Rosetta, the translation is not apparent to the application user. When using an application through Rosetta, the user may notice that the application runs more slowly than it would on a PowerPC-based computer with similar clock speed and memory. The difference is smallest with applications that demand the least processing power, such as word processors and spreadsheets, and greater with applications that have complex user interaction, such as high-end graphics programs. Applications that involve processor-intensive functions, such as ray tracing, high-end gaming, and 3-D modeling, are incompatible with Rosetta, as are applications built for Mac OS 8 or 9, the Classic environment, code written specifically for AltiVec, applications that require G4 or G5 processors, and kernel extensions. Rosetta takes its name from the Rosetta Stone, a stone tablet on which Egyptian hieroglyphics were also written in other languages, making it possible to decipher the hieroglyphics. The name is used by a number of projects and initiatives that are concerned with translation in some context. The Rosetta Project, for example, is an initiative seeking to create an online archive of every language in the world. RosettaNet is an organization set up by leading information technology companies to define and implement a common set of standards for e-business.
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19 Jul 2005
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