Posted by
CmdrTaco
on from the i-don't-hardly-believe-it dept.
Slashfan writes "It has been widely reported allovertheInternet that it is extremely easy to get the Intel port of Mac OS X to run on regualar PC boxes.
Some of the hackers are running the tweaked version of the operating system on their PCs natively." Pardon my skepticism ;)
Not Surprising
by
RumGunner
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
I've suspected this was Apple's plan since the Intel announcement. They're going into direct competition with Microsoft.
About damn time.
It's been said before
by
digidave
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
and I'll say it again: Apple wants OS X to be pirated. First, you pirate OS X and start to like it, then next time you go to buy a computer you choose an Apple because, hey, you get some advantages to running a legit copy and you can still dual boot Windows or Linux if you want.
Apple should start sending out OS X on CD AOL-style. If they really are a hardware company, that will sell them a lot of hardware later on. If they're really smart, they'll send out Panther on CD to everyone. People will pirate Tiger anyway, but that would at least get OS X onto computers that would otherwise have never pirated it, then those people can buy Apple hardware in a year or two when they upgrade.
-- The global economy is a great thing until you feel it locally.
Re:Congrats
by
danheskett
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
You speak the truth. "Back in the day", in many vertical markets (and still a lot today), there was "one" platform for any given application. That meant a specific model of a given PC or a line. I worked for a place who originally had the one true platform which was an IBM PS/2 Model 30 with certain revisions only allowed.
It was pretty strict. The software checked all over the place to make sure it was being fooled. Really, really, really paranoid about it.
But in the end, maybe it was worth. Worked like a charm for 10+ years. When that product was discontinued they went to generic Dell boxes where two apparently identical models will have different video cards, hard drive brands, or even motherboards. Very annoying when you are trying to get a very good idea of what happens with a specific machine over time.
What you can do is charge for it, if it's good enough to charge for, or else "let" people steal it. The last bit is the really really clever bit of marketing.
I run a rather successful software business (for the niche, mind you), and early on made the decission not to copy protect the software per se, but to personalize each copy sold with a user name. This way, anyone who wants to steal it can, but will have to look at someone else's name every time they start it. If they can live with that, they either can't afford the software anyway, and are welcome to it - it's assistive technology, which no-one sane or normal uses for "fun" - or they are just the kind of people who don't pay for software, and never will, so why bother trying to stop them?
Make it easy for them to steal it: The thrill will make it seem even sweeter to the last category - the people who just have to try stuff - and make them love, and thus recommend, it even more. You can't stop them anyway, and trying is only going to make them mad and negative.
Re:The same could be said about linux.
by
strstrep
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
> In the past, these drivers has access to critical > sections of the kernel and so if for example, they > had a buffer overrun, it was possible that it > could write a critical section of the kernel > space, thus bringing down the machine. With > Vista, this is going to change.
Wait? Didn't they say that about Windows 95? And Windows NT 4? And Windows 2000? And Windows XP? I've had blue screens on all of those (except NT4, which I've never run).
Buying a Mac
by
Eminence
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
This whole thing helped me decide to buy a Mac. You see, I have a two year 1.3 Gig Athlon based PC, so to really benefit from this hack I would have to upgrade it. That would mean I would have to spend about a $100 on a new processor, like AMD 64, and a new motherboard, possibly new memory and another hard-disk (to move stuff from my older, smaller drives to make room for the OSx86 image). I think I would reach $500, maybe less, but what I really need at this point is a laptop, not a beefed up desktop. So, I would be looking for laptops with Centrino Pentium 4M, like the Vaio they run it on, that would be at least $1000, but closer $1400 - $1500 I think. Whatever I choose I would be left with a PC while what I really want is a Mac, not a PC, I want to have a stable workstation, Unix based and pleasing to use - that's why I bother at all with OS-X.
So, in the end, I'm just buying a PowerBook next week. Unless I hear a really good rumor that a new major version of these would be coming out in Paris next month.
OS X is BY FAR technically and usably superior to Microsoft Windows in every aspect. A hardware driver is a hardware driver. If a company, such as ATI, can make a stable hardware driver for Windows they can make a stable hardware driver for OS X. The simple fact that until OS X Apple has had a small hardware market does not imply that Apple's are only stable because they only have to run on a small market of hardware.
Whoah, tone down the zealotry. Of course Mac OS X is technically superior to Windows, Apple chooses to actually push the technology envelope instead of repeatedly patching the old piece of shit for 25 years in order to maintain compatibility (which coincidentally is one reason some people choose Windows).
The fact of the matter is that, amazing though Windows driver support might be, it's still not perfect. Sure most work on 99% of Windows boxes, but on that last 1% it doesn't, or it jacks your hard drive, or something else horrible happens. You need to come out of your fantasy world and realize that the reason this doesn't happen on Macs is because the hardware is strictly controlled and well-tested. And just to offer some legitimate proof... I had one of those Motorola Mac clones back in the day, a StarMax 3000. That bastard wouldn't even install a Mac OS upgrade that I needed to run a program. The installer just crashed out every time.
When I pay the premium for Apple computers (they're all I've bought in the last 8 years), I do so with a full awareness of the benefits that I'm getting and why. Instead of running around like a chicken with your head cut off spouting unfounded hyperbole, you should get your facts straight. There are plenty of reasons Macs are awesome, divine intervention isn't one of them.
Re:What's the point
by
radish
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
Apple puts serious time into making their product work, and to making it work, every single time. Well, then they've failed. Apple's crash. Apple's have hardware failures. Hate to break your rose-tinted bubble but they are JUST COMPUTERS, like all the others. Why do I read so many problems about PowerBook logic board failures if they're perfect? Why the tint problems on their amazingly over priced LCD displays? Why did my girlfriends ibook just need a battery recall? What's with the ipod mini recall from a while ago? Do I even hame to mention the cube?
They put serious effort into making their machines fast (as that's the number one driving force to x86 today) Again, they've failed. There is not an Apple in production today, for any price, which can beat a decently high end Athlon or P4 based PC.
They put serious effort into making sure the ram your system uses is of quality Oh please. It's the same (perfectly decent) generic ram everyone else uses, it just costs twice as much.
Look, if you want to buy an Apple go ahead, it's no skin off my nose. But DO NOT give me all this crap about how if I prefer a PC I'm being cheap, or I don't appreciate the perfection of Apple. I don't want an Apple because I think they're too expensive, too slow, I don't really like OSX, and I don't think they look particularly great. I've dealt with their support - it's nothing great (waiting in line for an hour to speak to a "genius" who really doesn't know what he's talking about is not a win in my book). I've dealt with their failed hardware and I've dealt with their insane pricing. When the Intel based Apples come out I'll take another look, but right now I've thought about it and decided no.
--
----
Den ene knappen er powerknapp, den andre er Bender voice knapp "Bite My Shiny Metal Ass"
Slashdot Mirror
I've suspected this was Apple's plan since the Intel announcement. They're going into direct competition with Microsoft.
About damn time.
and I'll say it again: Apple wants OS X to be pirated. First, you pirate OS X and start to like it, then next time you go to buy a computer you choose an Apple because, hey, you get some advantages to running a legit copy and you can still dual boot Windows or Linux if you want.
Apple should start sending out OS X on CD AOL-style. If they really are a hardware company, that will sell them a lot of hardware later on. If they're really smart, they'll send out Panther on CD to everyone. People will pirate Tiger anyway, but that would at least get OS X onto computers that would otherwise have never pirated it, then those people can buy Apple hardware in a year or two when they upgrade.
The global economy is a great thing until you feel it locally.
You speak the truth. "Back in the day", in many vertical markets (and still a lot today), there was "one" platform for any given application. That meant a specific model of a given PC or a line. I worked for a place who originally had the one true platform which was an IBM PS/2 Model 30 with certain revisions only allowed. It was pretty strict. The software checked all over the place to make sure it was being fooled. Really, really, really paranoid about it. But in the end, maybe it was worth. Worked like a charm for 10+ years. When that product was discontinued they went to generic Dell boxes where two apparently identical models will have different video cards, hard drive brands, or even motherboards. Very annoying when you are trying to get a very good idea of what happens with a specific machine over time.
People are going to wonder what's wrong with it
What you can do is charge for it, if it's good enough to charge for, or else "let" people steal it. The last bit is the really really clever bit of marketing.
I run a rather successful software business (for the niche, mind you), and early on made the decission not to copy protect the software per se, but to personalize each copy sold with a user name. This way, anyone who wants to steal it can, but will have to look at someone else's name every time they start it. If they can live with that, they either can't afford the software anyway, and are welcome to it - it's assistive technology, which no-one sane or normal uses for "fun" - or they are just the kind of people who don't pay for software, and never will, so why bother trying to stop them?
Make it easy for them to steal it: The thrill will make it seem even sweeter to the last category - the people who just have to try stuff - and make them love, and thus recommend, it even more. You can't stop them anyway, and trying is only going to make them mad and negative.
> In the past, these drivers has access to critical
> sections of the kernel and so if for example, they
> had a buffer overrun, it was possible that it
> could write a critical section of the kernel
> space, thus bringing down the machine. With
> Vista, this is going to change.
Wait? Didn't they say that about Windows 95? And Windows NT 4? And Windows 2000? And Windows XP? I've had blue screens on all of those (except NT4, which I've never run).
So, in the end, I'm just buying a PowerBook next week. Unless I hear a really good rumor that a new major version of these would be coming out in Paris next month.
OS X is BY FAR technically and usably superior to Microsoft Windows in every aspect. A hardware driver is a hardware driver. If a company, such as ATI, can make a stable hardware driver for Windows they can make a stable hardware driver for OS X. The simple fact that until OS X Apple has had a small hardware market does not imply that Apple's are only stable because they only have to run on a small market of hardware.
Whoah, tone down the zealotry. Of course Mac OS X is technically superior to Windows, Apple chooses to actually push the technology envelope instead of repeatedly patching the old piece of shit for 25 years in order to maintain compatibility (which coincidentally is one reason some people choose Windows).
The fact of the matter is that, amazing though Windows driver support might be, it's still not perfect. Sure most work on 99% of Windows boxes, but on that last 1% it doesn't, or it jacks your hard drive, or something else horrible happens. You need to come out of your fantasy world and realize that the reason this doesn't happen on Macs is because the hardware is strictly controlled and well-tested. And just to offer some legitimate proof... I had one of those Motorola Mac clones back in the day, a StarMax 3000. That bastard wouldn't even install a Mac OS upgrade that I needed to run a program. The installer just crashed out every time.
When I pay the premium for Apple computers (they're all I've bought in the last 8 years), I do so with a full awareness of the benefits that I'm getting and why. Instead of running around like a chicken with your head cut off spouting unfounded hyperbole, you should get your facts straight. There are plenty of reasons Macs are awesome, divine intervention isn't one of them.
Apple puts serious time into making their product work, and to making it work, every single time.
Well, then they've failed. Apple's crash. Apple's have hardware failures. Hate to break your rose-tinted bubble but they are JUST COMPUTERS, like all the others. Why do I read so many problems about PowerBook logic board failures if they're perfect? Why the tint problems on their amazingly over priced LCD displays? Why did my girlfriends ibook just need a battery recall? What's with the ipod mini recall from a while ago? Do I even hame to mention the cube?
They put serious effort into making their machines fast (as that's the number one driving force to x86 today)
Again, they've failed. There is not an Apple in production today, for any price, which can beat a decently high end Athlon or P4 based PC.
They put serious effort into making sure the ram your system uses is of quality
Oh please. It's the same (perfectly decent) generic ram everyone else uses, it just costs twice as much.
Look, if you want to buy an Apple go ahead, it's no skin off my nose. But DO NOT give me all this crap about how if I prefer a PC I'm being cheap, or I don't appreciate the perfection of Apple. I don't want an Apple because I think they're too expensive, too slow, I don't really like OSX, and I don't think they look particularly great. I've dealt with their support - it's nothing great (waiting in line for an hour to speak to a "genius" who really doesn't know what he's talking about is not a win in my book). I've dealt with their failed hardware and I've dealt with their insane pricing. When the Intel based Apples come out I'll take another look, but right now I've thought about it and decided no.
---- Den ene knappen er powerknapp, den andre er Bender voice knapp "Bite My Shiny Metal Ass"