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HOW TO: Convert a Mac into an x86

Posted by timothy on from the apropos dept.

inventgeek writes "With the recent announcements Apple has made regarding its operating environment, Inventgeek.com has a mod that seems rather fitting. They have converted a Mac G3 to an Intel P4 System capable of running Windows or Linux. Full how to is available on there site for those brave enough to bask in what many say could be Apples greatest folly, and a blow to Linux." Update: 06/08 17:53 GMT by T : A few further Mac-OS-X-on-Intel notes, about the new Intel development kit from Apple: Readers jimboman78 and shooflot sent in, respectively, links to (mostly positive) comments on the front page of Accelerate Your Mac and a more skeptical but equally preliminary description at Think Secret.

10 of 296 comments (clear)

  1. RTFA by allometry · · Score: 5, Insightful

    RTFA, the description here is misleading.

    The case mod for the G3 was interesting for the most part. The author includes several pictures and descriptions of the mod and is nice enough to include price points and a scale that makes no sense.

    --
    http://www.allometry.com
  2. Not impressed by building_970 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is just another "fit a PC in a mac" mod. It has nothing to do with Apple's decision to move to Intel chips, nor is it a particularly inventive thing to do. And, ooh, he put an LED in the case. That's *classy*.

    --
    Area IV, here I am
    1. Re:Not impressed by jc2it · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I agree, When I first read the slashdot post I thought, "Cool, somebody figured out the pinouts of the G3, and shoehorned an Intel chip in it's place." Unfortunately, I was sorely disappointed. All they did was gut the G3 and put in a Pentium mobo. That is all fine and good, but why do we need to know about the latest case modder's dream at slashdot? Unless the whole point to this is a politically motivated tecnilogical statement. (Say that ten times real fast;-)

      --
      jc2it "Humor is mankind's greatest blessing." -Mark Twain
  3. Or.... by FortKnox · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...save yourself a few bucks and just buy an X86 box for much, much cheaper....

    --
    Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
    1. Re:Or.... by Wildfire+Darkstar · · Score: 4, Insightful

      True, but this is rather less impressive than most case mods, as far as it goes. At least trying to stuff the innards of a x86 PC into a Mac mini, or an old iMac, or whatever has the benefit of the different form factor. The G3 Mac chassis is pretty much just another a case: it's styled a bit differently, but there's not really much of a "wow!" factor to it. ::shrugs::

      --
      Sean Daugherty "I have walked in Eternity -- and Eternity weeps."
  4. I don't get by SQLz · · Score: 4, Insightful

    How is Mac OSX going to hurt Linux? I mean, people buy Macs to install Linux on them and its not like Apple is going to allow people to install OSX on commodity hardware. Apple is still a hardware company. If anything, the new machiens will just be overpriced commodity Intel gear. $500 for 512 megs of RAM, shit like that.

    If anything, its hurts Microsoft bad. Linux is a server OS first, desktop second. There are far more Linux servers out there than desktops and the enterpise is looking for Linux servers to interoperate with their Windows desktops. I don't see OSX making any inroads into the Linux server market, hence, I don't see it to be a threat.

    On the other hand, those company's looking to move an alternative desktop may choose OSX over Linux but might have anyway. Not to mention, in a recent survey post people choose Linux to avoid vendor lock in, which is Apple's specialty.

  5. Re:This will be made illegal by kfg · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Hardware is not used under license. It is yours.

    KFG

  6. Can We please stop! by asv108 · · Score: 4, Insightful
    The X86 OSX is going to be a blow to Linux crap? How does changing the processor for OSX make it more or less of a threat to Linux? It simply doesn't make any sense. All the advantages/disadvantages of Linux over OSX remain constant regardless of what processor Apple chooses for their systems.

    Now if Apple decided to allow OSX to be run on commodity hardware, that would be threating to both windows, linux and every other OS. If Apple decided to open up the propriatary components that really define OSX, that could lead to people switching to OSX. As it stands now, the likelihood of Apple doing either is very slim.

  7. It WON'T be a "Blow to Linux" by Omega · · Score: 4, Insightful
    This "Blow to Linux" issue is just blowing smoke. If FREE Solaris for the x86 wasn't a blow to Linux, then $115 Mac OS X won't be a blow to Linux.

    Companies don't use Linux because they like the UI. Companies go with Linux because it's highly customizeable, they have full access to the source and there are no royalties or licensing fees. Mac-Intel won't impact any desktop Linux users because you won't be able to run Mac OS X on an Intel whitebox.

  8. Re:Did you read the article? by Have+Blue · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The obvious answer: These machines bear no resemblance internally to the machines Apple will release to end users in 2006. They're just dev kits hacked together to let developers get a crack at the x86 architecture and get their apps ported in time, like the Yikes machines were hacked together to ship more G4s while working out the kinks in the next-generation Sawtooth motherboards. The final x86 Macs will probably use EFI, for one thing, and other custom parts that Apple hasn't developed yet and will never be available on the open market.