Is anyone worried that Apple's transition to their own CPUs will render these x86 machines obsolete very fast? How long did it take for the pre-x86 Macs to fall behind when the software started focusing on x86 instead?
Last PPC Mac: 2005
First x86 Macs: 2006, PPC apps work on x86 Macs
Adobe CS3 (first native x86 version): 2007
OSX 10.5, last OSX version released for PPC Macs: 2007
--
OSX 10.6 (x86 only, PPC apps still work): 2009
Adobe CS5 (x86 only): 2010
OSX 10.7, PPC apps no longer work: 2011
One area I can speak to now, which I'm heavily invested in, is audio applications. It's the main reason I still run a Mac. Upgrades are usually slow and cautious in this domain. I'm still on 10.12.6, and have no plan on upgrading anytime soon.
I, for one, am quite concerned. It used to be in regards to performance, but now it's all the applications and plugins that will need ported. There's a very real chance I'll go to Windows if it looks like a nightmare. Would love to see a Ubuntu variant come out of the ashes of such a thing, but that's probably a pipe dream.