Hackintosh - Rights and Wrongs

[Broadwave]

I didn't want to hijack the original thread, so I've decided to start the topic in the correct forum.

In an earlier post within the Kronos forums, I mentioned that you didn't need a Mac to run OSX, and was immediately flamed by a well known "contributor".

Thus:


If you want updates and support, Yes you do .

I can't for the life of me see why people are stupid and ignorant enough to take OS X and put it on a cheap piece of sh*t computer. Mac OS X is SEAMLESSLY Integrated with the hardware its on and its FAR superior to ANY Windows machine! You don't need as much RAM, there are some proprietary standards that INCREASE stability and reliability and you can run Windows as well on the SAME platform as well.

Remember Psystar? They got SUED by Apple and driven out of business, because they were pirating OS X and charging $150 for it!

So please, get your head out of your rear end, man!

Steve Jobs is gone and God knows where Apple is headed now. I DON'T want to see them go out of business over some f*cking idiots that pirate OS X on some f*ck*ng piece of s**t computer!

I pay GOOD money for my machines for a REASON and so do thousands of other high-end customers that use them, either professionally to pay the bills and run their business with, or power users such as myself who LOVE Apple and are willing to pay for them!


1) I'm running OSX 10.7.2 on an i7(K) CPU with 16Gb RAM... Hardly "some f*ck*ng piece of s**t". By that analogy, the latest iMac falls into that category, which it obviously doesn't.

2) "Pirated"... I'm not "Pirating" anything. I legitimately bought a copy of OSX 10.6, and a paid for an upgrade to 10.7 - But I'll admit that putting OSX onto a non-Mac maybe bending the terms of the license, but that's MY choice. If Apple wanted to stop this practise, they could very easily shut down the Hackintosh sites - they haven't because they know it's a waste of time.

3) Apple will not go out of business because of a few hundred people are experimenting (very sucessfully) with OSX. Did Apple go down the drain because I and many others decided to use a 30" Dell monitor instead of Apple's... no, they didn't.

I have been a long time Apple user, but my Quad Mac Pro died last year, and I just wasn't prepared or financially able (I had just bought my Kronos) to fork out a further £3000 to keep my studio going. I have invested in a great deal of software that runs on OSX, and It was my choice not to go back to Windows.

What I'm doing by running OSX on my extremely well built PC maybe morally wrong, but doesn't warrant a maniacal rant.

Message ends...

[tpantano]

I am typing this on an official Macbook Pro, purchased directly from Apple.

Hackintoshes are completely alright.

The morally best way would be to purchase a full copy/license of the Mac OS X, then go about installing it onto your hardware; wether or not you use a cracked image or the legitimate OS CD is up to you, you still paid for the software.

Even if you pirate the OS- well, piracy doesn't cost a company anything. If you never planned on paying for the OS in the first place, the company doesn't lose any potential profit; furthermore, it's not a physical item you 'stole' and therefore they don't lose the value of the product either.

I personally don't see piracy as the root of all evil people make it out to be; I see it as a great promotional tool. For example, I got a torrent of the popular game MineCraft; after a week of playing (with the fully working torrent), I decided to pay the full $21 to get the game despite the fact that paying for it wouldn't have given me any functionality. I wanted to support the developers after realizing that the product was good.

An artist who goes by many names, Dave Remmler- known mostly as Lapfox Trax or Renard- puts the majority of his albums up as 'pay what you want' (including free), despite having a large enough following that people would pay prices he sets. He makes a living off of it, and for the albums he puts at a fixed price, he encourages people who can't afford it to pirate it anyways.

Reaper, a fantastic DAW, followed this type of model as well. It was fully functional, and they simply asked you donate or pay for a license, not required it.

I feel that it is this mentality- the 'free' or 'pay what you want' mentality- that is the best business model. Morally, it makes the most sense to me- life isn't about money. But, from a business perspective- just look at the success Google experiences today with it's freemium service and advertisement funding.

Now, in regards to a Hackintosh's power itself- it is true that you won't be provided with updates and supports, and it is true that the OS is tooled for Mac's specific hardware setups. However, I still don't see why it's 'wrong' to use one.

Besides, the moment Microsoft starts selling their OS on hardware it's optimized for, the only thing that will keep Apple alive is iTunes.

As a closing thought, Steve Jobs was quite the crook himself- he essentially took other peoples' ideas, put them in pretty boxes and packaging, and marketed them. He was a genius, yes- but I wouldn't consider him a good basis for a moral standard. He was quite the pirate himself.

[Timo]

Re: the going out of business bit, ho ho.

Apple aren't going anywhere soon.

"Apple 'has more money than it needs', says chief Tim Cook":-

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/news ... -Cook.html

(Personally I think they should lower the price of iPads so everyone can have one!)

They surpassed Microsoft as the biggest computer/software giant the last several years, and even Bill Gates retired to become a full time philanthropist. (Incidently I never saw Steve Jobs doing any. That's not necessarily to say he didn't and just didn't publicise it, however). With iPhone 4S, App Store, iTunes, and the iPad3 literally just around the corner (early March) Apple aren't going to nosedive any time soon.

Apple's current market value is $500 billion.

Installing Hackintosh is far, far too technical for most. As Kronik said, people who do it are very thin on the ground. It's endemic, not an epidemic.

I've also been recently looking at a similar setup, specifically the official (legit) 10.6 + 10.7 OS upgrade path. The sole reason being I'm looking to program for iOS (I have iPad2 fully spec'd) and the native SDK is Mac-only. You wont prise me away from Windows for anything and everything else though, I love it too much. Yes, there I said it, I LOVE Windows!

[SanderXpander]

I'm pretty sure the license specifically states you can only install OSX on Apple hardware. Telling yourself it's ok doesn't make it legally right, you're still breaking contract.

Doesn't bother me much personally btw, just pointing it out.

Also, I don't think Microsoft will ever bring out specialized hardware (other than XBox), because the whole point of the Windows OS is that it supports nearly all hardware. That's one of its main selling points against OSX - that it'll run on pretty much any machine. If you've ever built a hackintosh you'll know what I mean. Have you ever wondered why it's so easy to put Windows on a Mac these days? It's not because the Mac is so excellent, despite what the fanboys might say. It's because Windows'll take anything and make it work. Of course, that's also in part why there tend to be slightly more stability issues (though 7 has been good to me).

[tpantano]

I'm pretty sure the license specifically states you can only install OSX on Apple hardware. Telling yourself it's ok doesn't make it legally right, you're still breaking contract.

Doesn't bother me much personally btw, just pointing it out.

Oh, of course- the person the OP is quoting is making it out as if it's a moral issue. It is illegal to install OSX on non-Apple hardware; my argument is that I don't see an issue with breaking this.

Also, I don't think Microsoft will ever bring out specialized hardware (other than XBox), because the whole point of the Windows OS is that it supports nearly all hardware. That's one of its main selling points against OSX - that it'll run on pretty much any machine. If you've ever built a hackintosh you'll know what I mean. Have you ever wondered why it's so easy to put Windows on a Mac these days? It's not because the Mac is so excellent, despite what the fanboys might say. It's because Windows'll take anything and make it work. Of course, that's also in part why there tend to be slightly more stability issues (though 7 has been good to me).

Perhaps they won't- but introducing their own dedicated hardware with a dedicated OS doesn't necessarily mean they have to make a version of their OS that runs on near-any hardware.

[SanderXpander]

It just wouldn't make sense from a business point of view.
But I suppose if they could convince the public that "their" hardware is worth more than equivalent hardware by a cheaper competitor... I mean it worked for Apple, right?

[Broadwave]

I certainly don't condone the use of pirated software, but I can only assume that the OP who ranted at me didn't quite understand the difference between "pirating" and "hacking"... although installing OSX onto something other than a Mac is not "Hacking" in the true sense, as none of the OS code is re-written.

It is a relatively simple task to install OSX (but then again, I was an IT Manager for 15 years).

I have been a Apple user since I first got my G3 followed by the G4, G5 and Intel Mac Pro, and I still rely on my trusty MacBook Pro and iPad.

The main reason for building my system was that the cost is significantly lower, and that my Intel Mac Pro was dodgy from the outset. The original Radeon Graphics Card that was installed was later deemed by Apple to have a manufacturing defect, the replacement went the same way, the the main logic board had to be replaced and then to cap it all the third Graphics Card (GT8800) burnt out last year.

Would I still support Apple... of course I would, they produce innovative products. But would I buy another Mac? Quite simply, no, not after that experience, but I love OSX.

As far as OS's go, Microsoft need a competitor, and I still hope that sometime in the near future Apple will see sense and release OSX for use on PC's.

[SanderXpander]

While it is relatively simple to go Hackintosh, you'll have to admit that most people would be lost having to reïnstall even the OS that came with their computer. There are a TON more driver issues, whether from googling beforehand which hardware is appropriate or from trying to make your hardware work after the fact. While I'm not an IT manager, I consider myself quite computer savvy but it took me at least a day or two till I had my pc run 10.5.8 with all hardware properly recognized and working. My ATI videocard and my wifi adapter specifically were a bitch.
My dedicated internal soundcard still doesn't work but that's E-MU's fault, they just never made Mac drivers.

To be honest I don't see Apple ever opening up their OS to non-Apple hardware. Their entire philosophy is built on the pairing of their hardware with their software, and on forcing people to upgrade both, with the coming of the latest gadgets. It works so well for them they have no reason to jeopardize it by allowing people to buy the OS for a fraction and run it on a computer that they bought elsewhere. I wonder if they might be cracking down harder on Hackintoshes if they weren't afraid the "general public" would find out it was so easy to make one.