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Mac OS X on x86 Videos Get Apple's Attention

RetrogradeMotion writes "The OSx86 Project is reporting that Apple has served a legal notice to MacBidouille, a French news site that posted videos and instructions on running Mac OS X on x86 hardware . You can find an English translation of the MacBidouille notice on the OSx86Project's forums. This is the first known legal action by Apple regarding the hacked version of OS X and calls into doubt the future of other news sites, similar to the OSx86 Project." Slashdot previously covered the story of hacking Mac OS X onto non-Apple hardware and followed up again a few days later.

18 of 758 comments (clear)

  1. Followed up? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is that new-speak for duped?

    1. Re:Followed up? by plj · · Score: 5, Funny

      War is Peace
      Freedom is Slavery
      Ignorance is Power
      Duplicates are News

      --
      “Wait for Hurd if you want something real” –Linus
  2. So it starts... by NickCatal · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Apple is going to have YEARS of this ahead of them... I'm just waiting for Apple Jobs to have about 300 postings for "Piracy Specialist" to open up. M$ has to have an entire building just for their piracy group.

    --
    -nick
    1. Re:So it starts... by Concerned+Onlooker · · Score: 5, Interesting
      This is all hilarious. Apple has at most 3% market share and everybody here wants to hammer them for trying to protect what they have. Until recently it seems Apple had a fairly decent rep on Slashdot. It is, after all, a really nice alternative to using Windows, which everybody also seems to hate.

      You can knock Apple wanting to control things as much as you want, but I can tell you that as an Apple consumer the reason I stay with Apple is because they control their hardware. Things work. I'm not interested in defending anything that leads to Apple quality going downhill because I want to continue using Apple products in the future.

      Talk about control, I see control freaks on the other side of this as well. If you want total control how about using Linux, which you can mod/change/hack to your heart's content. Or is it just more fun to try to do the "forbidden" thing?

      --
      http://www.rootstrikers.org/
  3. Apple HQ by Musteval · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Terrible news, sir! People are installing our OS!"
    "Quick! To the Applejet!"

    --
    Note to mods: I'm probably being sarcastic.
    1. Re:Apple HQ by bleaknik · · Score: 5, Funny

      No, they filed for the patent too late for those designs, and Microsoft swooped in to clean up. They scrapped them when they were required to pay $10 per mile...

      --
      Deja Vu
      n. 1. The sensation that you've read this very article before.
  4. Apple is not just ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful


    Apple is not minor league engineering department attached to a powerhouse marketing deparment.

    It's also attached to a powerhouse legal department.

    Think Different !!!

  5. Did this surprise anyone? by blibbler · · Score: 5, Insightful

    When has Apple been frivolous with their IP? They have already sued people for distributing Tiger over BitTorrent, and that was for an OS that would only run on hardware that they had sold.

  6. Re:Let's be honest... by joetheappleguy · · Score: 5, Insightful
    I don't see how Apple can hold people legally accountable for something that they should have predicted.


    So let me get this straight...According to your line of thinking, If I park my car in a shitty neighborhood and it gets stolen, even though I knew there was a chance and put an alarm in my car, I shouldn't have any legal recourse and the thief is not legally liable??

    It's obvious YANAL...
  7. Intel Mac for under $200 by levram2 · · Score: 5, Interesting
    OSx86 Project's CEpeep researched building a x86 machine that will run Mac OS X for Intel for under $200. The machine has the same Intel chipset on the motherboard and a processor with SSE3. Total includes CPU, MB, RAM, Case, HD, and DVD drive.

    http://www.osx86project.org/index.php?option=com_c ontent&task=view&id=27&Itemid=2

  8. Re:What the? by FLAGGR · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Then they go Intel and complain when someone figures out how to use it on Intel hardware.

    You don't understand. Apple is only switching to Intel because they were getting jacked in the ass by IBM, and Intel had a good roadmap. It's not like they're advertising it as becoming compatibile with PC hardware. The idea is to have it all the same as before, closed hardware and everything, just now Intel happens to be making the cpu's. What these people are doing is getting it to run on PC's instead of 'Macs'

    OSX would never survive as an OS if it went open to the x86 platform at large. Windows has too much market share, and o one cares enough to relearn things. Apple makes boatloads off of their hardware, and if they switched to being just a software company with an initial 0% marketshare, they would be fucked. Also, hardware support is a major issue. Everything would cease 'just working', which is a very nice benifit of osx.

    If you have a problem with Apple wanting THEIR os which is designed to run only on THEIR hardware, and to take advantage of the less open architecture for greater interoperability with hardware, and putting it all into a complete package, then shutup and just don't buy it, and I'll enjoy OSX for myself thank you very much.

  9. Re:Seriously, here's the solution to Apple's probl by panaceaa · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And after PC owners install it, they will conclude that OS X is stripped-down, unoptimized and poorly supported. That's exactly the opposite of the image Apple would like for OSX.

  10. Re:OSx86 Project Should be safe by Rude+Turnip · · Score: 5, Informative

    I swear to God we need a "bullshit" tag for moderating /. Your ignorance wrt EULAs, the GPL, licensing, copright law and basic tenets of private property is astounding. That or you are trolling. Please quite while you're ahead.

    1. Software is no different than any other intellectual property like a book or music CD.

    2. You own your copy of OS X, Windows, Linux, *BSD, including the physical media. It is only copyright law and nothing else that prevents you from distributing copies. However, the GPL is the author's public declaration that you may distribute.

    3. There is a whole wealth of information of what consititutes a valid contract, and a EULA is not one. If you press a "button" on your screen that says "I Agree," that does not mean you have agreed to anything in a legal sense.

    4. Apple, Microsoft, Linus own the *copyright* on their respective works. It means they get to dictate the terms of *distribution* and nothing else. Otherwise, you can use the software any way you want.

    5. The GPL only pertains to distribution of code and has nothing to do whatsoever with usage. If you don't agree to the terms of the GPL, you can still use the software.

    Bottom line is that anything you buy in a retail transaction is yours to own and use, although you are restricted from distributing copies per copyright law. There are *real* software contracts out there (ie Microsoft site licenses, Bloomberg feeds, etc), however.

  11. Re:Seriously, here's the solution to Apple's probl by khazad · · Score: 5, Insightful
    To satisfy the curiosity of the millions of PC owners who might like to try OS X, Apple should sell an unsupported version of OS X for $19.95.

    There are several problems with this.

    • Apple doesn't want a user's first experience with OS X to be full of frustration, incompatibility, and clunky graphics. They want a curious PC user's first experience to be like an Apple store - slick, white, and accessible
    • What happens when an OEM, in order to save money, ships the stripped down OS X with their boxes? Customers will experience problems and call Apple, only to be told that their OS is unsupported. Apple's great consumer relations score will go down the tubes.
    • Even stuck with a dumbed-down version of OS X, it would be hard for a user to part with $130 just to get a smoother ride.
  12. Re:Yes but... by GlassHeart · · Score: 5, Insightful
    it should be much easier to convince people to put up $100 to try an alternate, superior OS

    Linux doesn't beat Windows in every respect (and neither does MacOS X), but it's quite a bit cheaper than either. Why has it been so hard to convince people to even try Linux, and why doesn't MacOS X suffer the same problems?

    Most people would probably more readily dive for Linux than want to go out and buy all new hardware

    Nonsense. If this was the case, everybody would be running Linux now. The fact is that people are far more willing to continue using their old computer (which is why Windows 98 is still not quite dead), or buy a new computer. Linux is a distant third choice (and so is a Mac), in terms of popularity.

    for people with small budgets -- getting an off-the-shelf x86 system and slapping Apple's "starter" OS on it would be good for basic needs.

    Wouldn't people with these really small budgets rather run a free beer OS? Besides, even $300 Dell boxes come with Windows.

  13. Re:embrace it! by UniverseIsADoughnut · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Wow, you are so out of it.

    Apple is a hardware company first and foremost. But they also have a part of them that makes straight up software like the apps you mentioned. OSX does not fall in the later.

    OSX is made to sell the hardware. They make the other apps to make money and maintain viability.

    If they were to ditch the hardware and sell OSX as a stand alone, it would carry prices higher then their pro-apps. OSX is priced simply to keep things moving and selling hardware.

    And no, the benefit of going intel is not to repackage other peoples mainboards in a pretty case. They did it so they can have a real supplier who delivers product. Apple will still make very custom boards just like they always have. They do that for a reason, to make a good box. They have no interest in making ATX hack jobs like the developer boxes. Besides, creating their own boards is a non-issue to them. It's not hard for them, they have done it for ages, and they still use companies like ASUS as manufactures for them anyways.

    Its doubtful you will even see intel sockets in the intel macs. Expect cpus to be on daughter cards and such the same as they are today.

  14. Re:Not running their OS by justins · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Buy an Intel Dell PC ($999.00 from Dell)

    For $999 you can get two Dell PCs, a keg of beer, and a night with three Welsh hookers. Don't ask me how I know. The point is, you must be used to paying Apple prices, that figure is way off.
    --
    Now before I get modded down, I be to remind whoever might read this that what I am saying is FACT. - bogaboga
  15. Re:So Apple ARE evil!! by dr.badass · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I've always seen Apple as company selling pretty things to women who want to send email.

    And you've always been shallow and ignorant in making that assessment. They make some other stuff that you seem to have overlooked.

    They're picking on geeks with the desire to hack and make stuff work!

    No, they're picking on geeks with a willingness to break NDAs, pirate pre-release operating systems, and not pay for anything.

    --
    Don't become a regular here -- you will become retarded.