Really?
Follow this one:
1. An iTouch requires iTunes version 10.x or better (which, from the store displays isn’t readily apparent)
2. iTunes 10.x on PowerPC-based Mac requires the “Snow Leopard” version of the Mac OS. (Side comment: get off the cutesy names – really, how many regular people refer to versions as “Snow Leopard“, “Tiger”, “Spotted Peacock” ?). “Snow Leopard” turns out to be version 10.6 which by many is a minor revision number upgrade to 10.5 (“Leopard” – at least name it something different, more than an adjective prefix. However, Apple considers 10.4 to 10.5 or 10.5 to 10.6 a major revision release. Convention in the software industry is XX.YY.ZZ where X is a major revision number, Y is a minor revision number and Z is a patch revision number).
3. At this point, to upgrade from “Tiger” (10.4) to “Snow Leopard” (10.6), one has to buy the Mac Box Set ($129)*
4. “Snow Leopard” was a release aimed at improving performance and speed and is generally reported to require more memory. Roughly, $50 per Gig of memory, provided you have space.
So the total cost of trying to get an iTouch and sync it to your PowerMac = $299 for the iTouch plus taxes plus $129 and the time and effort required to upgrade your Mac OS (which not all reports are smooth sailing).
Result, said iTouch is now synced to a Windows Vista machine. Cost = $299 for the iTouch plus taxes. No additional effort or costs.
Conclusion, the old battle cry of the Apple faithful about device drivers and how easy the Mac is has turned around and bit them with the slight nuance that Apple device drivers equals Apple Operating System.
Oh, and if you think I’m alone in this, just surf on some of the Apple support forums.
* – on a side note, I do realize that some of this is due to the cost of letting software and operating systems get out of date. However, one should note that while iTunes 10.x will not install on an Apple OS that is 5½ years old (Tiger was released on April 29, 2005), it runs on Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2. This is an operating system that is just over 9 years old (released October 25, 2001) with free service packs.
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