Sparc-on-Intel translator due next week

Transitive, a start-up known for its Apple Rosetta software, will soon release software that lets programs written for Sun Microsystems Sparc chips also run on Intel Xeon and Itanium chips. When using Linux, Transitive's software also lets customers run their own scripts, not just commercial-quality applications. There's no word yet on pricing but the Xeon version will launch this quarter and the Itanium version should be ready later this year, officials said. Transitive also has Silicon Graphics and IBM as partners, so it's quickly becoming the little start-up that could. But is there enough demand for this sort of thing?

For more on Transitive's new software:
- read this cNet article