Intel-based Macs: How to tell if you are running an application in Rosetta

A common question among MacFixIt readers has been how the user can tell whether an application is running in the Rosetta emulation environment or as a native Intel-optimized application.

According to our sources at Apple, both System Profiler and Activity Monitor (located in Applications/Utilities) will provide this information.

Activity Monitor will display a "Kind" tab that will show either "Intel" or "PowerPC."

System Profiler will display a similar "Kind" tab that will display either "Intel" or "Universal." In fact, this information can also be displayed on PowerPC-based Macs that are running Mac OS X 10.4.4.

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

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