Microsoft has updated Visual Studio Code, adding support for Apple’s new Macs running on its M1 custom silicon.
Visual Studio Code is a free, open source programming text editor available for Windows, Mac and Linux. It’s based on Electron and supports a variety of programming languages, including Java, Python, C++, C#, Ruby, Go, Dart, JavaScript and more. In fact, Microsoft says Visual Studio Code supports virtually every major programming language.
The latest release, version 1.54 adds support for Apple’s new custom silicon.
We are happy to announce our first release of stable Apple Silicon builds this iteration. Users on Macs with M1 chips can now use VS Code without emulation with Rosetta, and will notice better performance and longer battery life when running VS Code. Thanks to the community for self-hosting with the Insiders build and reporting issues early in the iteration.
The default download of VS Code for macOS is now a Universal build that runs natively on all Macs. On the Downloads page, you can find more links to architecture-specific builds for Intel or Apple Silicon, which are smaller downloads compared to the Universal package.
Visual Studio Code is already a popular option for developers. This latest update will will be a welcome improvement for developers running Apple’s newest machines.
As we previously reported, Tim Cook announced what many had predicted: The Mac is officially moving to Apple’s custom silicon.
Apple has been rumored to be moving working on moving the Mac to ARM processors for years, especially as Intel has struggled to keep up with industry developments. In many ways, Apple’s current situation mirrors the situation it found itself in with its last line of chips, the PowerPC semiconductors.
Apple’s Semiconductor History
Used by the AIM alliance (Apple, IBM and Motorola), PowerPC was a RISC-based architecture that had a number of advantages over Intel and other x86 lines. Ultimately, however, Motorola and IBM fell behind Intel, in terms of development and processor speed. Regardless of how much more advanced the PowerPC chips may have been, Intel’s sheer processing speed eventually surpassed it.
To make matters worse, IBM was never able to solve the issues with heat. This was especially evident with the PowerPC G5 line of chips. While extremely powerful for desktop computing, it could never be used in a laptop, consuming too much power and producing too much heat.
After several years of falling behind, at the mercy of IBM and Motorola, Apple jumped ship to Intel. Once again, however, Apple is in the same boat. Intel has been struggling to keep up with demand and the move to 10nm processors, leaving room for its old rival, AMD, to make significant headway.
To make matters even worse, Apple has had issues with some recent MacBook Pro models not being able to sustain high-speed operations because of the heat generated by the Intel processors. Instead, the machines have had to throttle their performance, in some cases making top-end models run slower than low-end and mid-level MacBook Pros.
ARM Chips To the Rescue
The game-changing element for Apple is the rise of ARM chips, which the company uses in its iPhones and iPads. Arm Holding, the creator of ARM processors, was originally a joint venture between Apple and Acorn, before ultimately being acquired by SoftBank.
Unlike Intel or AMD, Arm doesn’t manufacture its own chips. Instead, it designs and licenses them for its customers to manufacture on their own. The company offers different license level, some of which allow customers to modify the designs to better suit their needs.
Apple, however, has the broadest license of all, essentially allowing it to do whatever it wants with Arm’s designs. The results are industry-leading chips that provide unrivaled performance. Case in point is Apple’s recent iPhone SE. Despite having an under-clocked A13 Bionic chip, it significantly outperforms flagship Android phones.
What’s more, Apple’s manufacturing process has been able to keep up with the demand for iPhones and iPads, which far exceed its Mac base. As a result, the writing has been on the wall for some time that Apple would eventually switch to its own custom silicon, taking its fate back into its own hands once again.
Performance and Power
One of the biggest benefits of moving to its own silicon is the ability to deliver Macs that offer better performance while consuming less power. For example, the current generation iPad Pro delivers better performance than most PC laptops on the market, and does so without a single fan to help manage heat.
Macs with Apple Silicon
In the large case of a MacBook, iMac or Mac Pro, the performance possibilities are thrilling. During the demo, Craig Federighi showed one of the new Macs running Final Cut Pro. Not only could he edit and add effects while the video was playing, but Final Cut could run three simultaneous 4K streams.
Final Cut Pro
Developers and Compatibility
While any processor change is a monumental undertaking, Apple has a history of pulling it off, with this being the third such transition.
Xcode Recompile
Federighi highlighted the work the company has done to help ease the process for developers, with many of them able to update their apps with just a few days of work. Microsoft and Adobe have already ported their software to run on the new architecture.
Microsoft Word
In addition, the company will make it possible to ship Universal apps that contain binaries for both Intel and Apple’s CPUs. Apple has labeled this Universal 2, and improved version of the Universal apps that contained PowerPC and Intel binaries during that migration.
In addition, macOS will include Rosetta 2, a translation layer that will run Intel-based software that hasn’t been updated yet. Again, Apple first introduced Rosetta during the Intel migration, allowing the Intel-based Macs to run older PowerPC-based software.
The new version of Rosetta is a significant upgrade, however. Whereas the original Rosetta translated an app at runtime, Rosetta 2 will translate the time of install. This will significantly improve performance of these older apps. Meantime, a just-in-time (JIT) compiler is still available if needed, such as when working with plugins.
In addition, Andreas Wendker demoed Parallels running Linux. This is an important factor, as it shows that virtualization is alive and well on Apple’s silicon.
Parallels on Apple Silicon
He also demoed Shadow of the Tomb Raider running in Rosetta translation mode. Despite running at 1080p, the game was flawlessly smooth.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
As an added bonus, the new ARM-based Macs will be able to run iOS and iPadOS without modification, thanks to the shared architecture.
Mac Running iOS Apps
Custom Silicon—A new Era of Mac Computing
Without a doubt, Apple’s move to its own custom silicon has been a long time coming. The move will help usher in a new era of Mac computing, with Apple firmly in charge of its own processor development.
As a company that has built its experiencing on tight control of the hardware and software, this is a move that will help usher in a new wave of Mac innovation.
Philae, European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Rosetta mission probe, has soft-landed on a comet. This is the first time in history this has been done.
It didn’t take Google long to whip up a Doodle to celebrate this amazing feat.
“Our ambitious Rosetta mission has secured a place in the history books: not only is it the first to rendezvous with and orbit a comet, but it is now also the first to deliver a lander to a comet’s surface,” said Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA’s Director General. “With Rosetta we are opening a door to the origin of planet Earth and fostering a better understanding of our future. ESA and its Rosetta mission partners have achieved something extraordinary today.”
“After more than 10 years travelling through space, we’re now making the best ever scientific analysis of one of the oldest remnants of our Solar System,” said Alvaro Giménez, ESA’s Director of Science and Robotic Exploration. “Decades of preparation have paved the way for today’s success, ensuring that Rosetta continues to be a game-changer in cometary science and space exploration.”
Here’s an ESA video featuring some highlights.
Rosetta was launched on March 2, 2014. It traveled 6.4 billion kilometers through the Solar System before arriving at the comet in August. ESA has a lot more on the mission here.
The European Space Agency (ESA) today announced that the Rosetta spacecraft has successfully reactivated. The probe has been traveling in a suspended state beyond the orbit of Jupiter since June 2011.
Rosetta’s internal alarm functioned as planned and the spacecraft was able to reboot itself this morning before sending a signal to Earth. Later this year the spacecraft will approach comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as it soars toward the sun.
“We have our comet-chaser back,” says Alvaro Giménez, director of Science and Robotic Exploration at ESA. “With Rosetta, we will take comet exploration to a new level. This incredible mission continues our history of ‘firsts’ at comets, building on the technological and scientific achievements of our first deep space mission Giotto, which returned the first close-up images of a comet nucleus as it flew past Halley in 1986.”
Rosetta will be the first spacecraft to attempt a landing on the surface of a comet. The spacecraft will provide data on the Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet for over one year, giving researchers plenty of data with which to uncover the objects’ mysteries.
Rosetta is expected to rendezvous with the comet in August. In the meantime, researchers will be checking the spacecraft’s systems and readying it for a “major maneuver” that will take place in May.
The European Space Agency (ESA) today marked a milestone in the Rosetta mission to study comets. After being launched nearly one decade ago the spacecraft is now nearing its main objective, comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. In 100 days time, the Rosetta probe will awake and begin the final leg of its journey to the comet. According to the ESA, the spacecraft has been in a “deep-space hibernation” since July 2011.
“We are very excited to have this important milestone in sight, but we will be anxious to assess the health of the spacecraft after Rosetta has spent nearly 10 years in space,” said Fred Jansen, Rosetta mission manager at ESA.
Rosetta is expected to wake up on the morning of January 20, 2014. It will then tune-up its navigation controls, point its antenna at Earth, and report its condition to researchers. At that point, the probe will still have around 9 million km (5.6 million miles) to go before reaching its target. It is scheduled to arrive at its destination sometime near the end of May.
Once the Rosetta probe reaches the comet, it will conduct a thorough examination of the object. In addition to thousands of pictures, the mass, shape and coma of the comet will all be examined. The surface of the comet will also be mapped extensively next fall, before Rosetta releases its Philae probe to the object’s surface in November 2014 – the first-ever comet landing attempt. The surface probe will use ice screws and harpoons to secure itself to the comet, then send back images of the surface while drilling into and analyzing the make-up of the comet’s surface.
“For the first time we will be able to analyze a comet over an extended period of time – it is not just a flyby,” said Matt Taylor, a Rosetta project scientist at ESA. “This will give us a unique insight into how a comet ‘works’ and ultimately help us to decipher the role of comets in the formation of the Solar System,”
