The port of VirtualRiscPC to Apple's glossy range of computers was delayed by illness and other projects, according to VirtualAcorn. A release of the Mac OS X version of the RiscPC emulator, pictured, was held up after VA boss Aaron Timbrell said he was laid low by illness, and programmer Graeme Barnes's time was spent on other work.Applistas had earlier called for more information on the status of the VRPC port. Aaron said he still intends to release the software eventually, but there are bugs and other issues to fix before then.
He revealed this week: "It has been delayed for a number of reasons. The main one being time. Both Graeme and I have been busy on other projects. Further delays have been caused because I haven't been very well."
Aaron added: "The current test version is far more advanced than anything that's been seen in public. However I am not going to announce a release date until we are happy with it and it's gone through the quality assurance test cycle. Currently there are still some things that need to be fixed and implemented.
"We want to release the product. We've spent a lot of time and money on it, and when it's completed to our satisfaction, it will be released."
The Mac OS X port of VirtualRiscPC first entered the public eye in a timid preview at the Wakefield 2005 show. Apple's decision to switch to the Intel platform was said to have had little effect on the release of the VRPC port, and it's understood the emulator now uses the platform-independent libSDL. In 2004, portions of VRPC became the copyright of ARM Ltd.
Links
VirtualAcorn website