Hackintosh!

Sorry tried to find the original topic rather than start a new one but the search function is not being my friend.

But after reading the topic on converting a Dell mini9 to Mac the other day and the wife jonesin for a macbook I talked her into buying a Dell Inspiron 1525 instead. $500 plus $190 for OS10/iLife/iWork bundle to keep it legal.

After I figured out how to burn an iso image to a DVD the rest was a walk in the park. I used the iPC version of the installer and follwed the directions here http://macyourpc.com/ and honestly it was faster and simpler than if I was just reloading it with windows. I do still have to make some tweaks for some of the drivers but the base install was finished in under and hour and now it thinks its a Mac...Im impressed.

Yeah Hackintosh baby! Posting this from my Mini9 hackintosh - wonderful, cheap little netbook that Apple will never build. I even slapped a spare Apple sticker on the case to cover the Dell logo, but white on white doesn't give much contrast.

Hey, I have an Inspiron 1525 and enjoy it as I got it. But I'm computer illiterate. Why should I go Mac? I mean it, not being a smartass.

cwh wrote: Hey, I have an Inspiron 1525 and enjoy it as I got it. But I'm computer illiterate. Why should I go Mac? I mean it, not being a smartass.

You're probably asking the wrong guy in me, Im a dedicated PC geek, but my wife went to the dark side and I didnt stop her because since Im not a Mac guy I not longer have to play tech support for her. She has a Mac desktop and wanted a laptop but the 2000-3000 price was prohibitive. $500 for a Dell, $190 for the software and a little time beat Apples price. Heck even the salesguy at the Mac store near us was telling one of her friends to do this rather than shell out the bux for a mac.

But if you are computer illiterate Macs can generally be easier to use, almost virus proof and other lotsa non geeky kinda things. The downside is...you need to be somewhat literate to configure all this on a PC, but there are some pretty good online tutorials out there.

That's interesting. My forte is CCTV. Generally speaking, the high end digital recorders are PC based. Guess what? They crash, they get viruses and worms, they can be a total pain. My favorite units all use Linux based. And I don't even know what that is!

cwh wrote: That's interesting. My forte is CCTV. Generally speaking, the high end digital recorders are PC based. Guess what? They crash, they get viruses and worms, they can be a total pain. My favorite units all use Linux based. And I don't even know what that is!

well basically these days OSX (Mac OS) is just a real pretty front end for Linux if that helps you see the benefits. I think its using BSD Linux as the core if I remember correctly.

JThw8 wrote:

cwh wrote: That's interesting. My forte is CCTV. Generally speaking, the high end digital recorders are PC based. Guess what? They crash, they get viruses and worms, they can be a total pain. My favorite units all use Linux based. And I don't even know what that is!

well basically these days OSX (Mac OS) is just a real pretty front end for Linux if that helps you see the benefits. I think its using BSD Linux as the core if I remember correctly.

UNIX.

Linux spawned from GNU, if memory serves.

Yes, OS X is based on the Mach kernel, which is an evolution of BSD UNIX. Linux != UNIX, although they behave very similarly.

Also, I hate to break it to you, but running OS X on non-Apple hardware is a breach of the EULA, and therefore technically illegal, even if you purchased the copy. Nonetheless, Mac On!

billy3esq wrote: Yes, OS X is based on the Mach kernel, which is an evolution of BSD UNIX. Linux != UNIX, although they behave very similarly. Also, I hate to break it to you, but running OS X on non-Apple hardware is a breach of the EULA, and therefore technically illegal, even if you purchased the copy. Nonetheless, Mac On!

Yep, my bad, I knew it was Unix, my brain was fried last night.

As for the ELUA and other such, if they want to come after me they can.

JThw8 wrote:

cwh wrote: Hey, I have an Inspiron 1525 and enjoy it as I got it. But I'm computer illiterate. Why should I go Mac? I mean it, not being a smartass.

my wife went to the dark side and I didnt stop her because since Im not a Mac guy I not longer have to play tech support for her.

That's exactly why I went mac. I was sick of high-end widows trash beingn scrap after 2 years. mac lasted 6 years with not 1 update, not one virus, not one day down, not one hiccup that registers in my memory. I could d/load a song, watch a movie AND burn a DVD at the same time and see no drop on performance.

billy3esq wrote: Also, I hate to break it to you, but running OS X on non-Apple hardware is a breach of the EULA, and therefore technically illegal, even if you purchased the copy. Nonetheless, Mac On!

I've always wondered... how well does a post-purchase EULA hold up in court? You can't read it until you've already bought and unpacked the software. If you were to actually read the EULA, and disagreed with it, would the Apple Store/Best Buy/etc be obliged to refund your money (typically, they're not keen on returns of opened software). Is a lay-person really expected to read and understand the mind-numbingly long EULAs? There are long and cumbersome as mortgage papers, but at least with a mortgage, you usually have a lawyer and real estate agent present to hold you hand - no such support with software.

Usually post purchase EULAs hold up because you have to click on "agree" when you install them, giving you plenty of time to read the fine print before installing them. It's a crappy distincition, because as you point out, its hard to return opened software, but that's what the courts have generally said.

psteav wrote: Usually post purchase EULAs hold up because you have to click on "agree" when you install them, giving you plenty of time to read the fine print before installing them. It's a crappy distincition, because as you point out, its hard to return opened software, but that's what the courts have generally said.

utter bullshiet.

If you click "disagree" then it bombs on you. Essentially you're saying "No" to installing software you've already purchased and cannot install nor return to reseller.

CrackMonkey wrote: I've always wondered... how well does a post-purchase EULA hold up in court? You can't read it until you've already bought and unpacked the software. If you were to actually read the EULA, and disagreed with it, would the Apple Store/Best Buy/etc be obliged to refund your money (typically, they're not keen on returns of opened software). Is a lay-person really expected to read and understand the mind-numbingly long EULAs? There are long and cumbersome as mortgage papers, but at least with a mortgage, you usually have a lawyer and real estate agent present to hold you hand - no such support with software.

Quite well.

Yes.

Yes, although you may have to send it back to the manufacturer rather than the retail outlet.

Yes.

Life's tough and the law is an ass. That's why I take a lawyer with me everywhere I go.

billy3esq wrote: Yes, OS X is based on the Mach kernel, which is an evolution of BSD UNIX. Linux != UNIX, although they behave very similarly. Also, I hate to break it to you, but running OS X on non-Apple hardware is a breach of the EULA, and therefore technically illegal, even if you purchased the copy. Nonetheless, Mac On!

So has any one ever been successfully prosecuted over this, and how would apple ever even know who's pile of silicon your are using?

People build home brewed PCs all the time, and IBM, Microsoft and who ever don't bother them. I can understand apples position of not endorsing this, but if a legal copy of OS software is used they should be happy that they made a buck, and have zero liability if anything goes wrong, unlike if your completely on the up and up mac-book bursts into flames. I don't know apple, but if I were apple, I would take the Sgt. Schultz approach to the hackintosh builders, so long as they are not making a commercial venture out of it.

One way they could know is when the OS talks to the mother ship when it downloads an update, for example. Assuming the OS copy is registered they know where to find you. Even if you didn't register, or used a bogus name/address, they'll have your IP address and can track you down the same way RIAA does.

The reason Apple isn't likely to go after individuals is that the benefit they would get isn't worth the cost. You can't collect boatloads of damages for infringement from an individual who is likely judgment-proof (i.e., not wealthy). That said, the breach of the EULA still renders the installation and/or use of the operating system an act of copyright infringement.

The reason Apple cares about running their OS on other hardware than theirs is: (1) they didn't make a profit on selling the hardware and (2) they lose control of the user experience. OSX running on hardware other than what Apple uses might have issues that would lead the user to believe that OSX is a POS and they tell their friends and before you know it everybody thinks OSX sucks.

Incidentally, part of the reason that Macs are more stable than PCs is not that Apple's programmers are better than Microsoft's, but rather that Apple has compete control of the hardware and software and can extensively test the relatively few combinations, whereas Microsoft has no control over the hardware or even many of the drivers and can't possibly test even a statistically significant subset of the combinations.

Apple has sued commercial entities for selling PCs with purchased copies (notice I didn't say legal copies) of OS X pre-installed. IIRC, Apple won but the result is on appeal, where, in my opinion, they will still win. It may have been finally resolved and I just missed it, though.

OSX doesn't have copyright restrictions or require registration though. I'm not sure that they even know which copy is on which machine, nor do they seem to care. I'm not too concerned about it from a license standpoint. If anything they will use it as a reason to deny support or disclaim responsibility if a software update breaks your system. Anyhow, I'll find out soon enough :).

billy3esq wrote: Incidentally, part of the reason that Macs are more stable than PCs is not that Apple's programmers are better than Microsoft's, but rather that Apple has compete control of the hardware and software and can extensively test the relatively few combinations, whereas Microsoft has no control over the hardware or even many of the drivers and can't possibly test even a statistically significant subset of the combinations.

Well said. That's also one of the reasons why I prefer PCs, easier to build your own due to the wider selection of parts, easier to upgrade for the same reason and I don't like someone dictating what hardware I can or can't use. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a Mac hater I just don't really agree with their business model.