No Macs? Holy crap did WotC do the math wrong!

[drothgery]

And it does NOT take more than 10% extra work to make something cross-platform. It's relatively trivial if you decide to make the effort.

If you define cross-platform as 'it works', then yeah, it's not a major effort for a simple desktop app or a command line app. But if you want a complex desktop app that looks and acts like a Windows app on Windows, and looks and acts like a Mac app on the Mac, that's a whole different ballgame.

 

[Patlin]

Just to be completely unreasonable, I insist that all D&D insider content be usable on my Treo using the Palm OS!

 

[krissbeth]

My understanding is that Macs now use Intel processors and can run Windows . . .

Yeah, if you BUY Windows.

Having to buy an additional OS just to run DDI? Ick.
(I have no other reason why I'd use Windows. Why bother for something like this?)

 

[Kae'Yoss]

More likely, they knew they weren't up to the challenge of creating software that would be acceptable to the more discerning and sophisticated Mac user base.

I rest my case.

 

[jaerdaph]

My laptop is a Mac AND a PC.

Thank you, Parallels!

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

I don't want to sound cruel or anything, heck, I was an Amiga user for many years, and appreciate how annoying the second tier status can be. At the same time, no one made you buy a Mac...that was a decision you and others made for yourselves. For all of the great things about the Mac, the problem is software in certain areas, especially in game terms. It's not WotC's fault, it's not the gaming industry's fault...it's an issue of size and numbers, and that's it. If I were working in video editing, complaining that I couldn't get software on the level of Final Cut Pro for my PC would be much the same thing.

Yeah, if I were buying a mac, I don't think I'd be saying to myself, "oh boy! I can do a lot of gaming with this thing!" I also wouldn't be getting upset when it turned out I couldn't.

Also, Amiga users represent!

 

[BluSponge]

Well technically Mac users can access all the D&DI goodies through Boot Camp. Of course, this requires you to have an Intel mac. You could also go through Parallels and never leave OS X.

That's not an ideal solution for me, but then I'm not really the target audience.

Tom

 

[reanjr]

If you define cross-platform as 'it works', then yeah, it's not a major effort for a simple desktop app or a command line app. But if you want a complex desktop app that looks and acts like a Windows app on Windows, and looks and acts like a Mac app on the Mac, that's a whole different ballgame.

Not really, it's a matter of using the right tools and frameworks. Check out wxWidgets (formerly called wxWindows) for example. Native GDI, Cocoa, GTK, KDE look and feel. Most of this app seems to be 3d graphics anyway - OpenGL looks the same on any platform.

 

[krissbeth]

My laptop is a Mac AND a PC.

Thank you, Parallels!

But one would still have to buy the "guest operating system," yes? The same would be true for Boot Camp, I believe.

$80 + $240 for Windows... Just so a Mac user can get in on the "digital initiative"?

Frowny.

Virtual PC isn't an option either, is it?

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

They have decided to use the last DirectX iteration that doesn't work in virtual machines or emulators yet

And there's still over 8 months for the mac fans to pester the emulator companies to support it.