Hackintoshes spreading

"Unless something drastically changes, Hackintoshes are only going to become more popular."

and make life hard for honest mac users, that will brunt the extra cost of osx and potential new security problems (serialisation / authntication

Apple should abandon the retail box version of OSX and supply updates similar to the way the iPhone is updated. If you have a valid piece of hardware, you get the update. Point updates are handled in this way now, not a big leap to do version upgrades.

I'm always astounded at how ignorant the general populace and even people who should know better are of exactly what an EULA actually is. It is *not* a piece of legislation signed into law; it is a contract. A contract is much more open to interpretation than a law. Buying OS X and loading it on non-Apple hardware is not an illegal (i.e. criminal) activity, because (DMCA aswide) there is no law stating you can not do so. The onus is on Apple to prove that the user who chose to engage in said activity violated the contract between the user and Apple. And then, if that can be successfully argued by Apple, the courts would have to decide what (if any) damages to award Apple. Damages are civil in nature and typically based upon any income Apple would have lost from the breach of contract. So, if I bought the Leopard DVD from the Apple store and loaded it on my non-Apple hardware, what exactly did Apple lose in income from my alleged breach of contract? A smart defense lawyer could probably successfully argue that Apple has lost nothing, and in fact Apple gained income. Bottom line: so long as Apple continues to *not* offer the product that people want, people are going to create the product they want, sometimes through very clever means that are difficult to combat. The day Apple releases a kick@ss netbook, this tricky problem for Apple will nearly evaporate. But the longer they delay, the harder it is to combat.

The talk about the EULA calling it a contract is right. And the fact that people miss is that it is a contract that you can take or leave. Apple is saying in the EULA essentially "If you want to use OS X, you need to use Apple branded hardware. You have a problem? Don't use OS X." Any argument that Apple has a monopoly is wrong, there are other operating systems, you just don't want to use them. It's like ripping a song off a CD and putting it into a movie you do. Just because you bought the song and have the ability to use it elsewhere doesn't mean you have the right to. OS X is Apple's intellectual property.

And to answer the what does Apple have to lose question from B3ND3R's post. Apple's business model is a closed "ecosystem" of products. They can argue that they're losing profits because they charge a lower cost for their OS disc due to it being an upgrade off of a previously sold license and so they have subsidized a portion of the cost. And flat out on contracts, if you accept the contract you accept it. You can't renege just because you feel like it on some random day. To use OS X, you need to use Apple hardware. It's just part of the deal you accept when you boot it up. Got a problem? Find a new operating system to use.

Wrong? I don't think so. I have a p35-d3l/quad core system I built to play games with. As it turns out, the p35-ds3l is one of those motherboards that is almost 100% compatable with OSX and boot 132. I installed from a vanilla OSX disk I purchased and have "mac" that's 100% compatable and uses software update just like any other Mac. And I paid a fraction of the cost for it, and can update the hardware to my hearts content.


I was so happy with it I went out and bought a Apple aluminum keyboard so I could use the Dashboard keys,etc. Does this mean I would spring for a full blown Mac? Never. Never in a million years, especially now that it's been shown that they can be built and run on hardware that's a fraction of the cost of the "real thing". I fully plan to purchase a mini 9 and put OSX on it as well.


The os is golden, but the hardware is just marked up PC parts and a whole lot of people are starting to realize that, especially in this economy when it pays to be frugal and make intelligent decisions when making a big purchase.


I'm not sure how Apple is going to take on this Notebook thing, people clearly love them and want OSX on it yet Apple continues to shun that market because frankly it's too low brow and low price for them to bother with without cannibalizing their upstream sales. Such is the price you pay when you artificially control the market you operate in.


Rock and a hard place for Apple here. My prediction is an all out legal assault soon on the websites and people making all this possible. There's nothing else they can do.

@ Vis

"Wrong? I don't think so."

"The os is golden"

I'm glad you think so. I also wonder what OS you'd choose if Apple decided to drop out of the PC market because it's model had been defeated by wide spread hanintoshism?

Apple can only afford to make such a great OS, and keep a boxed retail version affordable, because of the hardware profit.

I would also argue that Apple can be more radical with it's OS updates because it's not the only reason people choose to upgrade - people upgrade to get a fancy new machine too. If they don't like a feature of the new OS they'll have to cope because they want a glass track pad.

M$ can't afford to take such risks as there are fewer reasons to upgrade.

I think that for the mainstream, OS's are less and less important anyway. We're already seeing netbooks bypass the OS to offer mainstream functionality.

So,let´s get started:

How exactly is your duct-taped gaming rig a Mac?
Because you installed OS X from a disk you "purchased" (read: downloaded from some torrent site) on your machine?
A Mac has always had both software and hardware components,you chose to implant one part of said components into your computer.
This combination is both the Mac´s strength and weakness,however,it is completely up to Apple to choose their business model.
As some others have already pointed out, by buying the OS you are entering into a contract with Apple,one nobody really forces you to enter in the first place.

You are implying that due to "the economy" people will suddenly flock to building their own systems.
This requires time , motivation and skill.
I for once have built plenty of rigs over time but am certainly not motivated to do that anymore,also I do not really have the time for it.
Buying a complete package means I do not have to deal with multiple warranties (as is the case with building your own system), no need to fart around with configurations and the like.
Since you probably still inhabit Mom´s basement time is not an issue for you.

Apple has plenty of ways to at least reduce the number of Hackintoshes .
There are ways included in Leopard,there are the court of laws and of course potential business strategies.
Most of all there is the option of extending their product line.
Should Apple ever decide to go nuclear via Software,you will of course be the first in line to complain on "the Intaweb" and to your mom about how evil Apple is for keeping you from ripping them off.

This covers most of it I suppose.

I have a MacBook Pro, I'm quite happy with it, I don't need a little tiny notebook. I've been using Macs since the Mac Plus, and even worked for Apple for 5 years. Wife and son #2 have notebooks, son #1 has an LCD iMac.

I still want to build a Hackintosh. I want a rack mounted home theatre PC, like this: http://www.atechfabrication.com/atech_6000_order_form.htm

If you look at the prices, I'm not lusting after one of these to pay less than I'd pay for a Mac.

My Xserve sits in a rack at a data centre. It's too loud to have in the house. It doesn't fit into my stereo cabinet.

I want a Mac with Blue Ray Drive, Rack Mounted, HDMI out to run a 52" Sharp LCD. I want lots of drive space for all my music, movies, photos. I want PCI based Digital Audio out.
I want a Tuner card in it and I'd use it as a DVR.

I'd like to use it as my Time Machine backup repository.

It would also be AppleTV, Airport Extreme and home based router. With multiple NIC's it could handle and route to both Cable Internet, HSA DSL, NAT'd home network, and WPA2 Wireless.

The Mac Pro is about as close as you get. It doesn't fit into my stereo cabinet. It's also not black, like the rest of my gear, and it's not rack mountable.

An HTPC form factor case would be a god send for small office server, musicians, editing suites, post production houses, and yes, even ISP's. (Yes people run ISP's using Macs. I have since 1992)

I've actually had custom made rack mount cases manufactured in the past for G3's and G4's. I was a big customer of Marathon when they made rails and rack kits for Macs.

The only option at the moment to comply fully would be to buy a Mac Pro, gut it, and stick the bits into the ATech case. That would probably end up costing close to $10k.

Sometimes if they don't make what you want, you have to make it yourself.

Some people might do it to save money, I just want a form factor they don't offer. If this was available from Apple, I'd buy it tomorrow.

Oh, and Steve, this is what I meant by convergence. Not "Watching TV on your Toaster"

I would like to know if the majority of hackintoshers out there aren't Mac owners and users in the first place. After all, as neat as trying a different OS on your netbook is, you end up living with your usual apps and compatible data. If you are primarily a Windows user, I don't think you are too keen to netbook with OS X long term, really.

I am a Mac owner (from an Apple IIe to my current Mac Pro) and I intend to go hackintosh as soon as the new Ion platform gets out there (either I get an Ion-based netbook or an older generation one if they get cheaper). I bought a Samsung NC-10 as a present to my brother, and it was a supersweet machine, so I don't think the segment is crap at all. Plus I am not so enamored of Apple's hardware as to get religious about it (I've suffered some expensive HW catastrophes): certainly, i wasn't going to buy a MacBook anytime soon before the netbooks appeared in the market.

If Apple decides to produce a MacBook Mini, they better price it reasonably. And I think they'll have to do something: their educational market is going to feel the pressure, at the very least.

interesting. where did my previous comment go? it was here the day i posted it and now it's gone. WTF??