Apple finalizes PowerPC divorce with OS upgrade

Apple, a company that's rarely namby-pamby about making technological changes, has put its foot down once again with its Snow Leopard upgrade to Mac OS X due in September.

When the new operating system arrives in September, it'll work only on Intel-based Macs. That means Mac OS X 10.5, aka Leopard, will be the end of the line for those with Macs that use PowerPC processors.

Though the move led to some teeth-gnashing among those who felt left behind, it's not unreasonable in practice.