NI commits to Mactels

(NI) today announced that it would bring its full line of professional audio products to the Mac. "NI welcomes Apple’s move towards new, powerful processor technology and is already working on enabling its products for use on the upcoming iMac and MacBook Pro computers." All future product releases will include "Universal" versions that will take full advantage of the new Intel-Mac platform while maintaining compatibility with PowerPC-based Macs, according to the company. Existing NI products will be updated to support Intel-based Macs within 2006, with flagship products such as Guitar Rig, Reaktor, and Traktor DJ Studio due in the second quarter of this year.

NI said that the updates will be available in the form of either a dedicated Intel-Mac update that will be made available for a small fee, or as part of a major product update for all platforms.

Native Instruments, however, does not recommend, or offer technical support for, using its products within the "Rosetta" environment on Intel-based Macintosh computers.

"Although NI software might generally run within the emulation layer, the reduced performance makes it unsuitable for use in a professional audio production environment."

Native Instruments said it will also continue to support PowerPC-based Macintosh computers with new product releases and updates for an "unspecified amount of time and until further notice."

Users of third-party instruments based on KONTAKT, KOMPAKT or INTAKT technology should contact the respective manufacturers for information about the planned availability of updates for Intel-Macs.

by MacNN Staff