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Bounty For Booting XP on the Intel iMac

An anonymous reader writes "The race is on. You can try to get the bounty for booting Windows XP on iMac. At this moment there is $2773 waiting for the winner. However several people have brickified their iMacs when playing with EFI." I imagine those tech support calls are hysterical ;)

348 comments

  1. Charity Suggestion: by TripMaster+Monkey · · Score: 3, Funny

    From TFA:
    If it is determined impossible to boot Windows on the Mac by March 23, 2006, all donations will be donated to a charitable cause (please send suggestions to charity@pintmaster.com).
    Here's a suggestion for a charity...how about a charity for all the poor saps who've hosed their iMacs trying this stunt? ^_^
    --
    ____

    ~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey

    1. Re:Charity Suggestion: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      sure, "You did something dumb. Have some money!"

    2. Re:Charity Suggestion: by Aokubidaikon · · Score: 0

      Or how about the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation? ^_^

    3. Re:Charity Suggestion: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      YES!!! YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES I did it!!! but for charity pupouse I'll never tell to anybody...

    4. Re:Charity Suggestion: by samkass · · Score: 1

      The bounty, currently being over $4,000, is now twice the price of a near-fully loaded Intel iMac itself. It's almost tempting to buy one and go for the win to get the machine free. (No pun intended.)

      --
      E pluribus unum
    5. Re:Charity Suggestion: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You seriously ruined slashdot for me. I can no longer use my moderation points the way I want to anymore. Thanks to you, I have to mod down EVERY SINGLE +5 comment you have. I'm just too sick and tired of seeing you try to FP on every single thread that I watch. Sure I can block you, but that defeats the purpose of having an ideal slashdot.

      You see. You're a wanker. You're prime goal in life right now is to be a whore on this site and nothing else.

      Please go outside and get some sun. Lord knows your pasty white ass needs it.

    6. Re:Charity Suggestion: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I support a donation to the Labotomies For Karma Whores Who Continue To Use Anime Smiles That Piss People Off Foundation. I think that an equal donation to the Centers For First Post Narcissism And Addiction should also be made.

      I realize that these are both charities that are very close to your heart and that you're a founding member of them.

      And I have to agree with the post above that you really are starting to have a negative impact on the Slashdot experience. I, too, feel compelled to waste my mod points to knock you down for your posts, except for those that truly should be modded up or left alone. Sadly, those posts are few and far between as far as I'm concerned.

  2. I'm sorry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Who would want to boot Windows XP normally?

    1. Re:I'm sorry by FidelCatsro · · Score: 5, Funny

      I don't know sounded fun so I tried it .
      But a little boot on the iMac's stand ,then proceeded to use it to kick a Windows XP CD around the room.
      Unfortunately due to a technicality , I can't claim the prize money.
      I assume though I am the first person to boot windows with an iMac

      --
      The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
    2. Re:I'm sorry by markiv34 · · Score: 0

      This prove a point people cannot live without blue screen of death, anyways can one not boot Linux. I thought Linux supported EFI.

      --
      No Black or White only shades of Gray
    3. Re:I'm sorry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      and the people who would want the chance at getting any of the 70,000+ viruses available to them.

    4. Re:I'm sorry by Jamil+Karim · · Score: 2, Funny

      Just what we needed... Fidel Castro giving the boot, instead of getting it...

    5. Re:I'm sorry by AgNO3 · · Score: 1

      Seriously that is the funniest thing I ever read on /.

      --
      OMG Ponies!!! with Glitter!!!! I miss Pink :-(
  3. Brickified? by SpooForBrains · · Score: 3, Informative

    Not to be too picky, but the correct word, I believe, is "bricked". Although whether there's an actual dictionary definiton of the word in this context I do not know.

    --
    "The dew has clearly fallen with a particularly sickening thud this morning"
    1. Re:Brickified? by FidelCatsro · · Score: 4, Funny

      It's a cromulent Neologism

      --
      The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
    2. Re:Brickified? by The+Only+Druid · · Score: 1

      While I agree that "bricked" is both more common and more aesthetically pleasing, I think that the verb "to brick" is sufficiently new that it could be considered not to be dominant.

      "Brickified" has a faux-nostalgic feel that may be intentional, I dunno.

      --
      "Stumble before you crawl"
    3. Re:Brickified? by minginqunt · · Score: 5, Funny


      Enbrickened.

      Fracked.

      Made to exhibit a Brickish form.

      Relegated to brickhood.

      Elevated to the Platonic ideal of "Brick".

      Invited to join the elite group of formerly functioning Von Neumann machines now inculcated in the eternal, static realm of Brick. (FFVNMNIRSRB: pron. Fuff-van-man-IRS-Rub)

      DEAD BRICKED.

      Seriously, kids. Do try this at home. It is big, it is clever. And it will give us a laugh. Let's see you try and do that with your $3000 Alienware rig.

      Muhahahahaha.

    4. Re:Brickified? by TheRealMindChild · · Score: 5, Funny

      Not to be too picky, but the correct word, I believe, is "bricked". Although whether there's an actual dictionary definiton of the word in this context I do not know.

      This is a new low for a grammar nazi... trying to correct a word that isn't even a word. Brilliant.

      --

      "When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
    5. Re:Brickified? by ettlz · · Score: 2, Informative

      Um, doesn't the verb "to brick [it]" mean to crap oneself in en_GB?

    6. Re:Brickified? by i.r.id10t · · Score: 5, Funny

      That Mac isn't dead... its pining for the fjords..

      --
      Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos
    7. Re:Brickified? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sort of. It's the same as shitting yourself i.e. scared.
      Haha my captcha is simile, should be metaphor really.

    8. Re:Brickified? by ronanbear · · Score: 1

      No THIS is a new low for a grammer nazi. The correct form should be slabbed because of the shape of the iMac.

      --
      the more they over-think the plumbing the easier it is to stop up the pipe
    9. Re:Brickified? by vjzuylen · · Score: 4, Funny

      Then wouldn't it be "to embricken"?

      --

      Hee-hee. Dying tickles!
    10. Re:Brickified? by cbiltcliffe · · Score: 2, Funny
      This is a new low for a grammar nazi... trying to correct a word that isn't even a word. Brilliant.
      No, but if it wasn't for these stupid grammar-challenged /. morons, it would be a real word, and people would know how to use it, dammit!!!
      --
      "City hall" in German is "Rathaus" Kinda explains a few things......
    11. Re:Brickified? by mjpaci · · Score: 5, Funny

      embricken

      It could be one of those detached (or whatever it's called) German verbs...

      Wann hast du deine iMac emgebricken?

      Die iMac verbindung bricken em.

    12. Re:Brickified? by boring,+tired · · Score: 1

      What do you expect? He's got SpooForBrains. :)

    13. Re:Brickified? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Watch your language in front of the lady, punk!!!

    14. Re:Brickified? by Golias · · Score: 1

      Um, doesn't the verb "to brick [it]" mean to crap oneself in en_GB?

      In America, that would mean to clang a basketball shot off the back of the rim with no shooting touch or backspin whatsoever, so that it humiliatingly bounces away from the basket. For an example, watch footage of almost any Shaquille O'Neal free-throw.

      --

      Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

    15. Re:Brickified? by Golias · · Score: 1

      But even if it's working, it's kinda slab-shaped.

      I agree, however, that there's nothing particularilly brick-like about the iMac, working or otherwise, apart from the fact that it's... sort of... rectangular.

      Besides, we already have tons of perfectly good words for rendering a computer inoperable: Fry, hose, kill, toast, install Windows, etc.

      --

      Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

    16. Re:Brickified? by DancesWithBlowTorch · · Score: 1

      Sorry be nitpickenen, but the proper German verb would be "zerbröseln", with the correct form for use in this sentence being "zerbröselt". "Hast Du deinen iMac zerbröselt?"

    17. Re:Brickified? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In that case , I am off to clang a basketball shot off the back of the rim in the toilet

    18. Re:Brickified? by bazorg · · Score: 1
      nah... it's brickalized. check your dictionary next to: "paralyze", "brutalize" and "vandalize".

    19. Re:Brickified? by PastAustin · · Score: 1
      Watch your language in front of the lady, punk!!!


      Wow. Has this person set a precedent? Are ALL ACs of the female gender?! This will create shock waves and there will be uproar amongst the people here in Slashville.
      --
      Firefox 2.0 - Spell Rightly.
    20. Re:Brickified? by aaronrp · · Score: 1

      Even for Slashdot, using "in en_GB" for "in British English" is too geeky to live.

    21. Re:Brickified? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I am the annonymous coward that submited the story.

      "Brickified" has a faux-nostalgic feel that may be intentional, I dunno.

      Yes, it was intentional.
      I couldn't explain it beter myself.
      "Brickified" sounds a little bit like "Petrified".

    22. Re:Brickified? by davidsyes · · Score: 1

      Well, in the bigger scheme of things, these could be "bricklets"...

      image word: affronts

      --
      Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
    23. Re:Brickified? by pornking · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Hmm...

      "to brick" already has the meaning of using bricks to block something off. for example, bricking up a window.

      If were to "brick up a building", you would not be turning it into brick or building it out of brick. You would either be enclosing it in brick, or walling off all entrances and windows.

      I think "to brickify" is clearer in this case since the suffix indicates a literal or figural transformation.

      --
      pornking
    24. Re:Brickified? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Sorry be nitpickenen,


      Ich nitpicke
      Du nitpickest
      er/sie/es nitpicket... u.s.w...

      I am a dervish of declension and a conjurer of conjugation, with a million hit points and maximum charisma!

    25. Re:Brickified? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Die iMac ist tot!

    26. Re:Brickified? by DancesWithBlowTorch · · Score: 1

      Right. That was definitely übernitpickt.

    27. Re:Brickified? by Gargish+Dragon · · Score: 2, Funny

      Us germans love to mess with the original English words, so I'd conjugate this verb like zwicken:

      to brick -> bricken
      he bricked his iMac -> er brickte seinen iMac
      I have bricked my iMac -> ich habe meinen iMac gebrickt
      the iMac is bricked -> der iMac ist gebrickt

      Yes, I love it and I'll use it, as others apparently already do:

      http://www.google.de/search?q=gebrickt

    28. Re:Brickified? by complete+loony · · Score: 1
      --
      09F91102 no, 455FE104 nope, F190A1E8 uh-uh, 7A5F8A09 that's not it, C87294CE no. Ah! 452F6E403CDF10714E41DFAA257D313F.
    29. Re:Brickified? by SpooForBrains · · Score: 1

      I'm British you insensitive clod ...

      --
      "The dew has clearly fallen with a particularly sickening thud this morning"
    30. Re:Brickified? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...joined the course invisible...

    31. Re:Brickified? by sr180 · · Score: 1

      I never wanted to be a computer salesman anyway! I wanted to be a Lumberjack!

      --
      In Soviet Russia the insensitive clod is YOU!
  4. the opposit by servo335 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I would prefer to see booting osx86 on a non intel mac then ruining a perfectly good mac with xp.

    1. Re:the opposit by wvitXpert · · Score: 1

      I can just imagine what a mess the lack of compatible drivers would be. Not to mention Apple would have to do everything in thier power to try to shutdown the people responsible.

    2. Re:the opposit by Daniel_Staal · · Score: 2, Interesting

      That'll probably have to wait until Apple is selling an Intel-compatible version of OS X. At the moment they sell machines with one loaded, but they only come with recovery disks, not full installers. (And the recovery disks are probably locked to that particular model, which limits your options when you hack.)

      The next version of OS X will have it on the DVDs, and that is when the real hacking will commence...

      --
      'Sensible' is a curse word.
    3. Re:the opposit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I just got finished installing a lab of iMac G5s. The "restore" DVD contained a normal Mac OS X 10.4 installer and additional software installers for the other software that came with the iMac, as well as a Classic install CD.

      I'll bet the Core Duo iMac features a similar DVD without the Classic CD.

    4. Re:the opposit by marco.antonio.costa · · Score: 1

      I would prefer to see booting osx86 on a non intel mac then ruining a perfectly good mac with xp.

      You meant running osx86 on a non MAC intel, right?

      --
      Send your spendthrift head of state this
    5. Re:the opposit by Golias · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The "restore" DVD contained a normal Mac OS X 10.4 installer

      It has recently been established that the "normal" Mac OS X 10.4 DVD which comes with the new iMac will not work on other Macs.

      I believe that's what the grandparent post wast bitching about.

      --

      Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

    6. Re:the opposit by NitsujTPU · · Score: 1

      I believe that's what the grandparent post wast bitching about.

      Eh, I'd note that the gp wasn't bitching so much. People bandy about that term as if every time you say something that isn't a perfect ray of sunshine, that you're lambasting everyone in sight with your mindless rant.

      Oh yeah? Well, I've had it up to here with that behavior. Stop running around destroying the english language by nullifying every statement that you disagree with. I can't stand this behavior. I'm seriously going to lose it next time someone does that, then you'll see. I'll call my lawyers, and my hitmen, and the president. I'll take my traveller's cheques to another resort. I'll put strychnine in the guacamole!!

    7. Re:the opposit by Golias · · Score: 1

      Stop running around destroying the english language by nullifying every statement that you disagree with.

      I said he was bitching. I din't say he was wrong to do so.

      --

      Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

    8. Re:the opposit by NitsujTPU · · Score: 1

      It was really more of a joke.

      Hence the quotes from Office Space toward the end of the post.

  5. Bricks are useful too by FullMetalAlchemist · · Score: 3, Funny

    [...]However several people have brickified their iMacs when playing with EFI.

    Aha, but don't worry, just ask these nice people to add bricks to their existing set of architectures ;-)

  6. Re:BartPE by TheRealMindChild · · Score: 4, Informative

    No, it shouldn't. You apparently either have no idea what BartPE is, or ou completely failed to even read the article summary.

    BartPE is simply a custom version of XP that can boot from removable media. The EFI rom on the MacTel machines seems to forbid booting an El Torito volume.

    --

    "When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
  7. Don't they have this backwards? by SlickCow · · Score: 5, Interesting

    What I want is to boot MacOS on my PC. How about a bounty for that?

    1. Re:Don't they have this backwards? by $ASANY · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Absolutely. Booting windows on a mac is sort of like booting OS/2 Warp on a mac. An interesting exercize, but of doubtful usefulness.

      Hey honey, guess what? Our Mac is now vulnerable to the Kama Sutra worm! Aintcha proud of me?

    2. Re:Don't they have this backwards? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      What I want is to boot MacOS on my PC. How about a bounty for that?

      Shouldn't you be the one offering the bounty in that case?

    3. Re:Don't they have this backwards? by Hosiah · · Score: 1

      Hey, how about MacOS on a live CD? After all, I have Linux, BSD, and Solaris live CDs already, why can't I try out MacOS on my toaster without having to go out and buy a special computer just for it?

    4. Re:Don't they have this backwards? by Jozer99 · · Score: 1

      Already been done, with the late developement versions. You can have 10.4.3 running on basically anything (drivers, of course, are a problem, so don't expect great performance). The thing is, NO ONE has ever gotten any version of Windows running on the production Intel Mac (without Virtual PC type software). This seems as good a motivator as any. I am starting to doubt Apple's claim that they didn't leave "any" obsticals to people trying to run windows, as they have canabalized EFI to make it incompatable, and somehow, made it so that loading fixed versions of EFI "brickify" the mac.

    5. Re:Don't they have this backwards? by davidsyes · · Score: 1

      No, they have it "brickwards"...

      But, yeh, now your laptop can experience compulsory kamasalila and saspanda.... (Yeh, these two words are in the realm of Kama Sutra...)

      image word: predict

      --
      Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
    6. Re:Don't they have this backwards? by 4D6963 · · Score: 1
      Dude, lots of ignorant people replied to you.

      This link is all you need http://www.osx86project.org/

      --
      You just got troll'd!
  8. Re:the opposite by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hell yes.

    There's a bunch of x86 machines here ready to receive...

  9. I suggest the Free Software Foundation by ettlz · · Score: 4, Funny

    in a twist of irony. Or the EFF.

    1. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Shouldn't it be illegal for a computer vendor to force you to only use a particular OS on your computer? Isn't that like a car manufacturer forcing you to only use a certain brand of fuel, or a certain brand of tyres?

      Maybe the EFF could use this money to raise a case against Apple.

    2. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      I think this is more like an engine and apple says, change it if you want, but nothing else will fit under the hood and we're using custom motor mounts as well as our own transmission, fuel injector... and everything else.

    3. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by HuguesT · · Score: 4, Insightful

      > Shouldn't it be illegal for a computer vendor to force you to only use a
      > particular OS on your computer?

      Apple isn't forcing anybody to run OS/X. I'm quite sure people buying Macs do it of their own volition. Furthermore I'm pretty sure Linux will be booting on these machines quite soon, this should answer this worry.

      On the other hand there is no requirement on hardware manufacturers that their machines must be made to boot Windows, just because they have an x86-compatible chip inside.

    4. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by SteveAyre · · Score: 4, Insightful

      More like the choice of using unleaded petrol or diesel in your car, or a particular tire size.

      You can use the other if you like, just don't expect it to work as well anymore if at all.

      The fault is with Windows AFAIK not supporting the hardware anyway, which is hardly surprising when it was written several years before Apple announced that they'd be moving to Intel.

    5. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Shouldn't it be illegal for a computer vendor to force you to only use a particular OS on your computer?

      Umm, they don't. They said they won't preclude someone running other operating systems on the new macs. That doesn't mean they have to make it easy. But certainly linux will run on it if nothing else, and Apple doesn't attempt to stop this.
      They do, however, try to prevent OS X to be run on non-Apple hardware, which could be a legal issue, but once again, even if they allowed it, that doesn't mean they have to support it.

    6. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, the complexity of the OS is much more like an engine+transmission than like a tire with 5 lug nuts or a simple fill-er-up with gas. It is very important that Apple never be liable for supporting user-selected third-party hardware or third-party OS on their hardware. Suddenly, they would need to answer for all of Microsoft's mistakes or all of Dell's mistakes in addition to Apple's mistakes...that is just insult on top of injury. GM isn't liable for people who shoe-horn a Porshe engine into their Geo Metro. BellSouth isn't liable if I try to get cable TV out of my phone jack and cry about it. Etc.

      Just like Solaris+Sun, AIX+IBM, etc., people just don't buy an Apple 'cause comes in a pretty box. They want something that is fairly well integrated and has a higher probability of working well, relative to a white-box PC with Windows on it. Whenever I visit my dad and try to get to a website on his PC, I have to fight with McAffe nonstop, Windows Update is always popping up in the corner of the screen, the virtual memory is crap and it's always paging, etc.

      I even write this as a non-Mac owner (I'm a geek and got me Solaris, ATM), but at least I can appreciate why Apple needs to fence off their area of responsibility.

    7. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      "Running Windows" isn't "prohibited" by the "BIOS".
      1) There's no fucking BIOS.
      2) That's the problem.
      3) Windows prohibits itself from booting on EFI (by not supporting it)

      Fucktard.

    8. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by JonathanBoyd · · Score: 4, Insightful

      When did they remove BIOS? Macs have never used BIOS. People haven't bought a computer that Apple have come round and pulled a chip out of. They designed a computer that doesn't use BIOS... just like all the other computers they've been designing. In what sense can they be said to have removed something that was never there in the first place?

    9. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by Hosiah · · Score: 1
      Shouldn't it be illegal for a computer vendor to force you to only use a particular OS on your computer?

      Gee, yes, so we'll throw it on the pile of 972,358 OTHER things the robber barons of the tech industry do with impunity that should be illegal. Thankyouforyourinput.

    10. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by skribble · · Score: 1, Funny

      Damn dude, that bullet just went off in your head!

      Apple didn't remove anything, or do anything sinister as you suggest. Apple used the latest BIOS technology available, rather then the dinosaur archaic BIOS's used in Win/Tel computers today. Why not bitch about the fact that they have no 8" floppy drive either so now you can't even play you vintage TRS80 games on it.... I'm mean HOW DARE APPLE... not letting you run you TRS 80 Applications.

      --
      --- Nothing To See Here ---
    11. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by gh0st1nth3mach1n3 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      There's a big difference between removing things and not bothering to put them in in the first place.

      Apple isn't doing anything to prevent anyone from running Windows on their systems, but they're not spending money to help anyone either. Why should they? Spending money to add legacy functions that aren't necessary for anything but Windows just doesn't make sense for them.

      They switched to Intel, not WinTel.

    12. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by Richard_at_work · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Did Apple say the current version of Windows? No, they didnt.

    13. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by linuxelf · · Score: 1

      Think of it this way. Apple has never been on Intel before. This is their first step into the Intel world. Naturally, they're going to go with the latest/greatest Intel has to offer. Why would they intentionally go with an older chip just to make their hardware Windows compatible? The Linux/Windows crowd will eventually be using this same technology. Apple just got there first because they didn't have to rewrite anything to use the new Intel standard. They were going from scratch anyway, so it just made sense to use the new stuff.

      --
      - "That's just the kind of fuzzy-headed liberal thinking that leads to being eaten."
    14. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by Fujisawa+Sensei · · Score: 1

      You mean Apple should be using an ancient, machine cripplling hack that was obsolete more than 20 years ago?

      If you've dealt with any other hardware would know how really bad and crippled the PC is thanks to legacy compatibility of the bios.

      --
      If someone is passing you on the right, you are an asshole for driving in the wrong lane.
    15. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by Jimbroskee · · Score: 1

      That is a good point, maybe they were referring to vista.

      I was thinking if apple wanted to have control over thier OS, and not let it run on other machines, they could approach Microsoft and have them make a version of windows that runs on the mac... and make them support it.

      On a sidenote, one of the things I always think about when I hear the "Mac is much more stable OS" comment,
      Of course it is, windows would be a lot more stable too if you could only buy your machine from Microsoft.

      I was really hoping that the time was here to be able to Legally boot both Apple and Windows on the same machine.

    16. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by rworne · · Score: 1

      What version of the TRS-80 did you use? The most common ones (Model I and III) used 5 1/4" floppies (if the option was purchased). The Model II used 8" disks, and it really wasn't intended or marketed to be a game computer.

      Sorry - had to set the record straight here...

      --
      I tried every decent and legal way I could think of to resolve the issue w/the business before I rented the chicken suit
    17. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by PastAustin · · Score: 2, Informative
      Isn't that like a car manufacturer forcing you to only use a certain brand of fuel, or a certain brand of tyres?



      Was it ever illegal before to not be able to run Windows on a Mac?
      Nope. Because it wasn't because they were trying to make sure that you couldn't, it was because the os was incompatible with the hardware. Not illegal, incompatible.
      --
      Firefox 2.0 - Spell Rightly.
    18. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by linuxfanatic1024 · · Score: 5, Informative

      On the other hand there is no requirement on hardware manufacturers that their machines must be made to boot Windows, just because they have an x86-compatible chip inside.

      EXACTLY!!! Most people don't get the idea that two computers can be completely different even if they have the CPU in common. Some examples:

      - Z80: Game Boy, Game Gear, TI graphing calcs, and CP/M machines all have the same processor but totally different architectures.

      - Motorola 680x0: Classic Macs, Amigas, and 68k-based TI graphing calcs are all different

      - PowerPC: Power Macintoshes and PREP machines are incompatible.

      Perhaps the x86 Macs are PC-compatible, but nothing says they HAVE to be. Just look at history.

      --
      Microsoft-free since March 28, 2004
    19. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by PastAustin · · Score: 0, Troll
      Isn't that like a car manufacturer forcing you to only use a certain brand of fuel, or a certain brand of tyres?



      ps: I've never seen it spelt like that before. Tires? Is that what you're talking about?

      It's just like how a 205/55R15 tire will not fit on a 17"x5 rim...
      --
      Firefox 2.0 - Spell Rightly.
    20. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by Ruphuz · · Score: 0

      Dear Mr. Troll:

      Running Windows is not prohibited by the BIOS. Instead, it is the lack of a BIOS which forbids Windows to run. Being this the case, a Linux that relies on a BIOS will not be luckier.

      But (and it is a great 'but') Linux CAN be modified to run on something that's not a BIOS, whereas Windows cannot. In fact, Linux runs on OpenFirmware on, for example, PowerBooks.

      In fact, Linux has been proven to run on almost anything, Mr. Coward.

      --
      My other post is a First.
    21. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by PastAustin · · Score: 0, Troll
      "Running Windows" isn't "prohibited" by the "BIOS". 1) There's no fucking BIOS. 2) That's the problem. 3) Windows prohibits itself from booting on EFI (by not supporting it) Fucktard.


      Tuesday Tuesday Tuesday!#!@#!#!
      Fucking AC SHOWDOWN!#!@!$!#
      Tickets go on sale for $10!@@#!$!$@ Real AC-vs-AC ACTION!!!!!!
      YOU WON'T WANT TO MISSSSS IT!!!!!!!!!

      Windows prohibits itself from booting on EFI (by not supporting it)



      From dictionary.com:
      prohibit:
      Pronunciation Key (pr-hbt) tr.v. prohibited, prohibiting, prohibits
      1. To forbid by authority: Smoking is prohibited in most theaters. See Synonyms at forbid.

      I don't think prohibits is the right word for the job. That would say that Windows EXPRESSLY disallows EFI. It doesn't, it just doesn't understand it. Simply say:

      3.) Microsoft Windows XP does not support EFI.

      It is also good to note a version since Windows Vista will support it. Don't want to look stupid now, do you?
      --
      Firefox 2.0 - Spell Rightly.
    22. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by PastAustin · · Score: 0, Troll
      Instead, it is the lack of a BIOS which forbids Windows [Windows XP] to run.



      From dictionary.com
      forbid:
      Pronunciation Key (fr-bd, fôr-) tr.v. forbade, (-bd, -bd) or forbad (-bd) forbidden, (-bdn) or forbid forbidding, forbids

      1. To command (someone) not to do something: I forbid you to go.
      2. To command against the doing or use of (something); prohibit: forbid smoking on trains.

      Windows XP does not forbid itself to run. You people keep saying the wrong word for what you mean. It's incompatible. Windows XP does not say, "NO! I DON'T want to play with your new age character EFI." instead it says, "Hey man, who the hell are you and can we please talk about interrupts already?"

      Big difference.
      --
      Firefox 2.0 - Spell Rightly.
    23. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by Ruphuz · · Score: 0

      I clearly said it is the lack of a BIOS which forbids Windows to run, and not, as you state, that 'Windows forbids itself to run'.

      I could have used 'prevent' or 'impede', but the post is mine and I take literary licenses wherever I see fit.

      --
      My other post is a First.
    24. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by PastAustin · · Score: 1

      Still the wrong word. Just trying to help you make your point.

      --
      Firefox 2.0 - Spell Rightly.
    25. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by yerfatma · · Score: 2, Funny

      The rest of the world called. I tried to forward them to you, but this damn rotary phone, y'know?

    26. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Windows - Ease of use = Linux

    27. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      1. To command (someone) not to do something: I forbid you to go.
      2. To command against the doing or use of (something); prohibit: forbid smoking on trains.

      3. (of a circumstance or quality) make (something) impossible; prevent: the cliffs forbid any easy turning movement.

      (oxford dictionary)
    28. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by samkass · · Score: 1

      We live in a free country. Don't be ridiculous... These things should *not* be illegal. If I build my own machine and write the OS, I shouldn't be required to make sure it boots Windows. If I build a machine that lacks support for booting anything but linux, I doubt Slashdotters would be saying it should be illegal.

      --
      E pluribus unum
    29. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by Sunda666 · · Score: 1

      whatever this 'windows vista' is... but linux has EFI suppor for quite a while, and (ooh) used to boot and run just fine on powerpc-based macintosh... so I expect little trouble booting on this new macs.

      linux is not braindead like windoze.

      cheers

      --


      ``If a program can't rewrite its own code, what good is it?'' - Mel
    30. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by Radak · · Score: 1

      I've never seen it spelt like that before. Tires? Is that what you're talking about?

      You nitwit. Tyre is the British (and therefore more defensible as correct) spelling of what the United States spells tire. Need a crowbar to help dislodge that clodhopper from your mouth?

    31. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by PastAustin · · Score: 1
      You nitwit. Tyre is the British (and therefore more defensible as correct) spelling of what the United States spells tire. Need a crowbar to help dislodge that clodhopper from your mouth?


      I'm actually okay. Maybe you could use the crowbar to hit something to get rid of some of that anger though. If this is the British spelling I agree it is the best spelling. I guess an attack is what I get for trying to repair what I thought was someone's error. Instead of being a total asshat you could have calmly explained to me that tyre is the European spelling instead. I would have respected that. Now I am simply pissed off. Nice work. If you're really European maybe you can explain and then attack. Instead of just shooting shots off into the sky?
      --
      Firefox 2.0 - Spell Rightly.
    32. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by camperslo · · Score: 1

      My TRS-80 model I had both 5 1/4" and 8" floppies, but I was running a third-party OS called NEWDOS80 v2.
      It supported four floppy drives and worked with everything I tried, it just had to be told the drive parameters.
      The machine didn't ship with 8" drives, but that didn't stop us from using them.
      Ah those were the days... when a computer came with schematic diagrams!

      I can't fault Apple for using current technology instead of ancient PC BIOS.
      People wanting to run Windows shouldn't complain about Apple using UDF instead of FAT32 or NTFS either.
      I think it's best that Windows be kept in a sandbox instead of dual-booted. The last thing Apple or users need is support issues arising from Windows malware loose with access to the whole filesystem.

      I wonder if Apple has released the latest Darwin source? Examining that might reveal a few more things they're doing.

    33. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by Smurf · · Score: 1

      Yup, and to the list of 68k based computers you can add the NeXT machines, an Atari computer (Atari ST, I think?), and the original Sun workstations (Sun-1, Sun-2 and Sun-3). All originally designed to run their own OS.

      On the PowerPC side, the BeBox used PPC 603 processors. Again, designed to run a proprietary OS.

    34. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by Radak · · Score: 1
      This is Slashdot. You need to:

      - Have a sense of humour.

      - Be prepared for snide responses to anything you post.

      - Realise that Europeans never justify their irrational behaviour.

    35. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by mick129 · · Score: 1

      The "Developer Transition Kit" used BIOS.

      --
      Move along, no sig to see here.
    36. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by MPHellwig · · Score: 1

      NT kernel + unix + zealots = Linux

    37. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by skiddie · · Score: 1
      tyre is the European spelling instead

      Well, no, the Europeans actually have several different ways to spell each word. Those crafty Europeans, they have these language things...

      Sorry, I couldn't help it...

    38. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So then it is just the users?

    39. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by rworne · · Score: 1

      I can't fault them either. It's marketed as a Mac and it's sold as a Mac and nothing more - especially not as a backwards-compatible PC.

      If you can put Windows or Linux on it, it's just an unsupported bonus feature. It may eventually happen, but just sharing a bunch of common hardware with a PC does not make it a PC. Look at the XBOX. It's just a legacy-free PC with a special BIOS. I don't recall anyone running Windows on that and they had years to hack away at it.

      --
      I tried every decent and legal way I could think of to resolve the issue w/the business before I rented the chicken suit
    40. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by Hosiah · · Score: 1
      We live in a free country.

      HAAAAAAAAAAAAA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA...

      Don't be ridiculous... These things should *not* be illegal...I shouldn't be required to make sure it boots Windows. If I build a machine that lacks support for booting anything but linux, I doubt Slashdotters would be saying it should be illegal.

      Completely different issue. Nobody's asking anybody to support doodly. Just stamp out your motherboards, sell them to me for something less than my first-born child, and stay out of the way and let me do with them what I want. If you're trying to chase me with lawyers and prosecute me because I wanted to run my own OS, or you rig booby-traps into the hardware so that it delberately blows up without running your software, then you are "forcing me to only use a particular OS on your computer", as the quote put it.

      If I build a machine that lacks support for booting anything but linux,

      Why DO people who hate Linux so much that EVERYTHING becomes a Linux-vs-everything debate even COME to Slashdot? God, go to the beach and complain about the sand!

    41. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by toddestan · · Score: 1

      To me, when apple said they did not do anything to prevent windows from running, that should mean not remove bios, udf, and el tsomething......

      Why? All that statement meant to me is that they wouldn't use DRM or something to prevent you from booting other OSes. I could just as easily say that Amiga hasn't done anything to prevent you from booting Windows on a A1200. Of course, they haven't done much to help you either.

    42. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by jibjibjib · · Score: 0

      Therefore, NT kernel + unix + zealots + stupidity = Windows.

    43. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by NutscrapeSucks · · Score: 1

      Most people don't get the idea that two computers can be completely different even if they have the CPU in common

      What's your point? Except for BIOS-compatibility, Macs are IBM PC-AT architecture computers (or "PC99" or whatever the current version of the spec is called).

      Certainly one could design a completely different architecture around an Intel chip ... SGI did, but Apple did not.

      --
      Whenever I hear the word 'Innovation', I reach for my pistol.
    44. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by Ruphuz · · Score: 0
      Just trying to help you make your point.

      What is exactly the part of 'Windows won't run without a BIOS' that is not clear?

      Well, I think I can retire from this game.

      Oh, and you can have the last word (post), if you feel the urge. No one will forbid you.

      --
      My other post is a First.
    45. Re:I suggest the Free Software Foundation by dangitman · · Score: 1

      No, the money should definitely go to Richard Stallman, to buy him a new PPC-based Mac, with unremovable copy of MacOS X. We know what flying chairs do, but I don't believe anyone has investigated the aerodynamic properties of a Powermac yet.

      --
      ... and then they built the supercollider.
  10. You Just Have to Wait by briggsb · · Score: 1

    for Apple's Windows based Mac later this year.

    1. Re:You Just Have to Wait by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In other news, every seat at the next MacWorld conference will have a piece of freshly chewed gum stuck on the seat, the vending machines will serve only urine, and Steve Jobs will dress up as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. Every attendee will be required (read the fine print!) to hop everywhere they go chanting "I am Steve's love child" in the loudest voice they can muster. On top of that, yes, the next Mac will run Windows.

  11. Maybe... by thepotoo · · Score: 3, Insightful
    It's to prove you can. Just like the people who hack IE to run on Linux in WINE, there's a lot of geek credit (and 15 minutes of fame) to be gained by doing this. If I had a mac, I'd try for it.

    Short answer: Because you can.

    --
    Obligatory Soundbite Catchphrase
    1. Re:Maybe... by level_headed_midwest · · Score: 1

      People want to run IE under WINE on Linux so they can visit sites that only work with IE while being able to use their OS of choice (Linux) since there is no native form of IE for Linux. Now if they were trying to run the Windows version of Firefox under WINE in Linux, that would be dumb as there is a native Linux version. I run an entire installation of Windows XP from within VMPlayer so that I can start up IE and view that one page that requires it or open that one out of 400 documents that does not show up 100% correctly in OpenOffice.

      --
      Just "gittin-r-done," day after day.
  12. No EFI backwards compatibility module on iMacs by Randall311 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Therefore getiing XP to boot natively won't happen. There is still a chance at booting Windows Vista though, as it supports EFI. The only thing to overcome is the ACPI requirement that Vista has. The intel chip and mobo inside the iMacs stupport ACPI, but of course it has been removed from Apple's version of EFI. Find a way to get ACPI support onto the Mactel's EFI, and you should be able to have a dual boot config with Windows Vista.

    1. Re:No EFI backwards compatibility module on iMacs by Bert64 · · Score: 1, Informative

      I'm sure macs support ACPI, i seem to remember that even the PPC ones did...
      The difference however, is that they support ACPI and MS-ACPI which is quite different (and the reason why linux acpi support doesn't work on some machines, since it strictly follows the intel acpi specs)

      --
      http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
    2. Re:No EFI backwards compatibility module on iMacs by NutscrapeSucks · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Correct me if I'm wrong, but the only part of XP that needs the BIOS is the bootloader.

      So, only one of two things need to happen: Either someone rewrites NTLDR for EFI systems, or someone needs to create a fake BIOS enviornment. The LinuxBios people had a way of faking a real BIOS to boot XP, so going EFI -> Linux -> Windows might be possible also.

      --
      Whenever I hear the word 'Innovation', I reach for my pistol.
    3. Re:No EFI backwards compatibility module on iMacs by djdavetrouble · · Score: 1

      I'm no hardware hacker, but the way I see it, we could just get one of these BIOS things from an old dell and sort of hotwire it into the motherboard, or uh maybe this daughterboard thing that Wikipedia talks about. I learned everything that I know about hardware architecture from Wikipedia. ITS SO GREAT. Anyway, it would be like using an Atari ST with the Magic Sac. Except backwards. And upside down. Kind of like putting a VW engine in a burned out Benz.

      --
      music lover since 1969
    4. Re:No EFI backwards compatibility module on iMacs by wild_berry · · Score: 1

      I used to think in agreement with your first statement, but someone challenged me to consider what does Windows use to detect hardware and build its HAL? I think that it uses BIOS calls, and so the hackers will need to write a whole new HAL for WinXP or write a translation table to answer the questions WinXP asks as it starts.

    5. Re:No EFI backwards compatibility module on iMacs by Golias · · Score: 1

      Therefore getiing XP to boot natively won't happen. There is still a chance at booting Windows Vista though, as it supports EFI.

      Yeah, but some people want to get Windows running on an iMac this year. Good news for their children, though.

      --

      Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

    6. Re:No EFI backwards compatibility module on iMacs by Detritus · · Score: 1

      I believe you are wrong. If ACPI is a requirement, then you need a BIOS that supports ACPI. ACPI is at least partially implemented in BIOS code that runs in System Management Mode. The operating system has no direct control over System Management Mode. The designer of the motherboard and BIOS control what software runs in System Management Mode. You may think that the operating system has absolute control over the CPU and other hardware, but you would be wrong. The operating system is preempted when the motherboard tells the CPU to switch to System Management Mode.

      --
      Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
    7. Re:No EFI backwards compatibility module on iMacs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      as usual, the people saying it is impossible should get out the way of the people doing it.

    8. Re:No EFI backwards compatibility module on iMacs by jonwil · · Score: 1

      Perhaps the ReactOS team has code or knowledge that would help in this area...

    9. Re:No EFI backwards compatibility module on iMacs by NutscrapeSucks · · Score: 1

      ACPI is a requirement for all EFI implementations, so if Apple is really using EFI, then it should have some form of ACPI which is possibly compatible with XP-32.

      --
      Whenever I hear the word 'Innovation', I reach for my pistol.
  13. UNBRICK your Intel iMac by Knytefall · · Score: 5, Informative

    From Dave Schroeder, posted to http://nak.journalspace.com/?cmd=displaycomments&d cid=407&entryid=407

    By following these steps, the iMacs that had difficulty with certain EFI modules appear to have been restored to a functioning state:

    1. Disconnect the internal hard disk
    2. Disconnect the iMac from AC power
    3. Plug in AC while holding the power button
    4. Power up the iMac and zap NVRAM (cmd-opt-P-R)
    The hard disk can be reformatted and the operating system restored.

    1. Re:UNBRICK your Intel iMac by twbecker · · Score: 1

      Why do you have to reformat the hard disk? Although it's nice there's a solution, getting inside the iMac to disconnect the HD (or do anything else other than add RAM) is a real chore from what I've heard.

      --
      "The problem with internet quotations is that many are not genuine" -Abraham Lincoln
    2. Re:UNBRICK your Intel iMac by gEvil+(beta) · · Score: 1

      Why do you have to reformat the hard disk?

      From my understanding, it's because the EFI modules are loaded on the HD. It sounds like there's a small EFI/boot partition on the disk. Mucking around in there renders the machine unbootable. Reformatting/reinstalling would reset this partition back to it's proper state. Note that this is all conjecture - I don't have one of these to play with, nor do I particularly know what I'm talking about.

      --
      This guy's the limit!
    3. Re:UNBRICK your Intel iMac by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Note that this is all conjecture

      This is Slashdot, we understand that statement's pretty much a given...

    4. Re:UNBRICK your Intel iMac by Kankraka · · Score: 1

      I had a Powerbook Wallstreet do a similar thing. Every time the batteries died, the open firmware would reset. Seeing as there had been a few upgrades done on the machine, the machine wouldn't boot, because it would be searching for a different hard drive. The fix was re-install OSX, a total pain in the ass. It's sick when you have to tell your teacher you'll be late for class because your install isn't done yet.

    5. Re:UNBRICK your Intel iMac by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      OK, so how do you reformat the hard disk while it's disconnected???

    6. Re:UNBRICK your Intel iMac by Zantetsuken · · Score: 1

      I'm no expert at Mac or Linux, but last time I checked, if you unplug the IDE (whatever generation of drive data ribbon cable its at now) ribbon cable from your drive while it still has power to it, it kinda does a little thing called turning every platter on the drive into a coaster (the same kind a cd becomes when it doesnt burn right or it gets so many scratchs it skips more than it plays music)...

      Unless its true, and most likely its not, its just another one of the many people like me that thinks Macs are evil do to experiences with crappy old PowerPC 750s and first generation iMacs and suchforth that middle and high schools kept around for countless years after they should have ditched them...

    7. Re:UNBRICK your Intel iMac by gEvil+(beta) · · Score: 1

      You should have been able to get the machine booted by holding down the option key when powering it up. This performs a search for any attached volumes that the machine can be booted from and then displays a selection screen. Not that it matters anymore... : )

      --
      This guy's the limit!
    8. Re:UNBRICK your Intel iMac by skribble · · Score: 1
      I'm no expert at Mac or Linux, but last time I checked, if you unplug the IDE (whatever generation of drive data ribbon cable its at now) ribbon cable from your drive while it still has power to it, it kinda does a little thing called turning every platter on the drive into a coaster

      good thing iMacs use SATA rather then IDE then isn't it.

      --
      --- Nothing To See Here ---
    9. Re:UNBRICK your Intel iMac by Zantetsuken · · Score: 1

      I also said "whatever ribbon data cable is in use now", as wouldnt matter a damn whether its IDE, SATA, or much of anything else, the platters would be fried - fars I know anyway... why dont you try it with your Mac (assuming you have a Mac, since you knew that, or maybe you're kinda like me, you just know random crap for no apparent reason)

    10. Re:UNBRICK your Intel iMac by daveschroeder · · Score: 3, Informative

      Um, you don't.

      Sorry the instructions weren't more specific.

      After you plug in the iMac while holding the power button (at this time that appears to be the equivalent of the old PMU/motherboard reset) and zap the NVRAM (probably not required after the reset, but I included it because that was in the series of steps I performed), you can reconnect the hard disk. You can then boot from the DVD installation media, reformat the drive, and restore the OS.

      You don't disconnect or reconnect the hard disk while the machine is running.

    11. Re:UNBRICK your Intel iMac by cwj123 · · Score: 1

      Isn't SATA supposed to be hotpluggable?

    12. Re:UNBRICK your Intel iMac by Suppafly · · Score: 1

      It can be but isn't always.

      Regardless, unplugging the data cable doesn't guarantee a coastered harddrive like the original parent is implying. It might coaster a drive to pull the data cable, but I've witnesses several instances where it hasn't.

    13. Re:UNBRICK your Intel iMac by crayz · · Score: 1

      Yea, I've had a couple situations where I've needed to reformat a Mac drive and the machine wouldn't boot with it connected, and I've unplugged the drive, booted the comp past the point where it chooses the boot disk, and then plugged in the IDE drive and formatted it

    14. Re:UNBRICK your Intel iMac by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Literally hundreds of Xbox owners have successfully installed alternative software on their hard drive by booting their Xbox, switching the drive to another system, and booting it, or something like that. While the drive is on. These are all standard ATA-4 (IIRC) drives. Also, FWIW, any SCSI is pretty goddamn hot swappable; if you get a ground pin connected before anything else then you should be golden, and half the pins are ground (IIRC, the bottom row on a header.)

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    15. Re:UNBRICK your Intel iMac by Kankraka · · Score: 1

      hehe, tried that and it didn't work. just got the diskette with the flashing ?. I may purchase another, or fix my wallstreet. I love em, nice little machines, good battery life and cheap to buy. Thanks for the tip though.

  14. For the last time... by copponex · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If I could have a dual core machine with a really nice graphics card, and the machine was also cool, quiet, and attractive for $1300, and I could boot any OS I wanted on it (OS X, Linux, XP), I think I don't qualify as perverse. The iMac is a compact and powerful machine, and there's nothing available like it at the moment. Furthermore, give me the choice between carrying around two laptops or one (especially for developers or on-site technicians), can you possibly guess which one would be less expensive?

    So, please, just drop this joke. It's been told a million times. If you don't have anything useful to say, just save your breath.

    1. Re:For the last time... by spge · · Score: 1

      If you want a Mac mini that will run Windows, try an Evesham Mini series PC. I doubt the company ships outside the UK. This is a PC, not a Mac, but it is as close to a clone in terms of size and appearance as I've seen.

    2. Re:For the last time... by Jearil · · Score: 1

      But that doesn't really solve the grandparent's problem. He wants to be able to run both OS X and Windows (or linux) on the same machine so that he doesn't have to carry around 2 computers, one for each OS. Sure you can get a mini-sized PC. But can you get a Mini-sized PC that will run OS X and Windows? Otherwise you have to carry around 2 mini-sized PC's, and that's just not as appealing.

    3. Re:For the last time... by blueflash2o · · Score: 1

      he could just have it boot osx http://www.osx86project.org/

  15. Re:I'm sorry, but... by mrchaotica · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    So that you can run games produced by brain-dead companies (e.g. Half-Life [2]), but still use Mac OS for everything else?

    --

    "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

  16. Why? Seriously by G4from128k · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I've always heard that I would "need" Windows for something or other. In my business it seemed prudent to own/install a copy of Software Windows and so a bought a succession of versions starting in the early 90s.

    In more than 10 years of having a copy of Windows, I've needed it all of 3 times (using content on 2 MS-only CD-ROMs and some MS-Access work). Now I don't even need the emulator -- I bought a Pentium-III laptop at a garage sale for $10. It's sat unused now for 3 years.

    I can understand the "because its there challenge," and I suppose some people really need to play PC-only games (I don't), but otherwise putting Windows on a Mac seems like a waste of good hardware.

    --
    Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.
  17. Xen and Vanderpool by affinity · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Does the "Core Duo" processor include the Vaderpool virtualization extensions.
    And if Xen is able to use Vanderpool to transparently support WindowsXP/2003 then, would using Xen be the best way to go, with out having to deal with the Boot issue.

    --
    no sig yet
    1. Re:Xen and Vanderpool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Does the "Core Duo" processor include the Vaderpool virtualization extensions.

      O.K., prepare to be confused ...

      Dmesg on the iMac says the Core Duo supports Vanderpool (the VMX flag is there - http://www.appleintelfaq.com/#10.1 ). However, "terry" in this thread contacted Intel and they say this stepping doesn't contain Vanderpool - http://forum.osx86project.org/index.php?showtopic= 6700&st=100 . The Register also says "To Be Decided" for T2400 and T2500 chips - http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01/16/intel_core _duo_vt/ .

      But then _why_ is the actual chip claiming to offer VT extensions during the boot sequence ?

    2. Re:Xen and Vanderpool by Jozer99 · · Score: 1

      I believe that Core Duo does support Intel's Virtualization technology, whether or not that is the "Vanderpool" stuff you mention, I don't know.

    3. Re:Xen and Vanderpool by affinity · · Score: 1

      Confused, yes...now where's that damn decoder ring?!?!?!?!

      --
      no sig yet
  18. How to report a brickified iMac to Apple by pvera · · Score: 4, Informative

    1.Walk it into any Apple store or Apple authorized repair shop.
    2. Tell them your mac stopped working.
    3. When they ask you for the symptoms, tell them it showed a spining ball in many colors, like a rainbow. Then it beeped. Then it told you to reboot in many languages.
    4. When you rebooted it, it refused to power up.
    5. The proper answer to any probing questions is "uh, I don't know."

    Under any circumstances are you to give the impression that you know more about macs than the guy taking your repair order. If the contents of the drive are an issue, take the drive out, connect it to another machine and delete the partitions. Check out the "user installable parts" document for your mac, it will tell you the exact procedure for pulling a drive without voiding the warranty. For the first generation iMac G5 it even tells you the color of the 3 screws that you need to remove, I bet that has not changed with the Intel version.

    --
    Pedro
    ----
    The Insomniac Coder
    1. Re:How to report a brickified iMac to Apple by mrchaotica · · Score: 1
      Check out the "user installable parts" document for your mac, it will tell you the exact procedure for pulling a drive without voiding the warranty. For the first generation iMac G5 it even tells you the color of the 3 screws that you need to remove, I bet that has not changed with the Intel version.
      Actually, the Intel iMacs (and 2nd-gen G5s) are much harder to work on than the 1st-gen ones.
      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    2. Re:How to report a brickified iMac to Apple by ZachPruckowski · · Score: 2, Informative

      Wrong. There is no warranty-safe user access to the iMac HDs. You can't get past the iSight cable or something. All it allows is memory under warranty, which is actually less than my iBook allows (memory+AirPort)

    3. Re:How to report a brickified iMac to Apple by pvera · · Score: 1

      s/Under any circumstances/Under no circumstance/g;

      --
      Pedro
      ----
      The Insomniac Coder
    4. Re:How to report a brickified iMac to Apple by wvitXpert · · Score: 1

      The new iMacs (since they added the iSight) are nearly impossible to open. The only thing even a rather handy person can do is add RAM. It's dissapointing really, considering how easy the original iMac G5 was to open.

    5. Re:How to report a brickified iMac to Apple by Richard_at_work · · Score: 3, Funny

      Yes, lets advocate fraud. Good one.

    6. Re:How to report a brickified iMac to Apple by squiggleslash · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Or alternatively, you could call them and tell them what actually happened. That way they can diagnose the fault, and fix it. In the event that the person you talk to is someone who reads Slashdot and is therefore convinced that someone experimenting with different commands on their computer is actually doing something illegal, immoral, or just "against the Man(tm)" and that Apple is perfectly within their rights to not honour a warranty under such circumstances, you ask to speak to their supervisor.

      There is no reason why typing commands at a prompt should completely brickify a computer. Result in data loss? Yeah. Mean you have to reinstall the OS? That's fine. But render a computer utterly incapable of being restored to a usable state by the user? Absolutely not. We're not talking about plugging the AC cable into the Firewire slot here, or dropping it from the top of the Empire State Building, we're just talking about experimenting with the subsystem that boots the computer in order to try to, legitimately, boot another operating system.

      This isn't a slam against Apple here. I suspect these machines do, indeed, have a by-pass somewhere in them to restore the firmware (there's already a supposed fix circulating which may actually be the solution), and there are plenty of companies that also make it relatively easy to brick their systems (would it be too fucking much to add a $5 ROM to your $800 laptops that contains a "good" version of the firmware in case there's a problem with the flash?); far from it: I have great difficulty believing Apple would refuse to honour a warranty over such an issue, and I suspect, ultimately, they'll have a KB article up soon enough ensuring users can fix the issue themselves. In the event they do not, I'd be surprised if they're not seeing this as a design flaw, rather than a user issue.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    7. Re:How to report a brickified iMac to Apple by Shawn+Parr · · Score: 0
      For the first generation iMac G5 it even tells you the color of the 3 screws that you need to remove, I bet that has not changed with the Intel version.
      Actually since Intel designed the motherboards they required Apple to buy Genuine Intel screws which have quite a different hue than the regular Apple screws. As such several weeks of meetings between engineering and marketing (with Steve present of course) was spent ensuring that the new screw color scheme would match well with the color of all the cables and the circuit boards themselves.

      (Sorry, I couldn't resist)

    8. Re:How to report a brickified iMac to Apple by Speare · · Score: 0, Troll

      There is no reason why shifting into reverse at 80 MPH should completely brickify a car. Result in speed loss? Yeah. Mean you have to start the engine again? That's fine. But render a car utterly incapable of being restored to a usable state by the user? Absolutely not. We're not talking about pouring sugar in the gas tank here, or driving it off a bridge, we're just talking about experimenting with the subsystem that adjusts gearing ratios in order to try to, legitimately, get into fourth gear.

      --
      [ .sig file not found ]
    9. Re:How to report a brickified iMac to Apple by Golias · · Score: 1

      It's also worth noting:

      1. Attempting to install Windows does not void your warranty.

      2. Pulling apart your iMac does.


      This guy is giving advice which ensures the exact opposite result from what you would want.

      --

      Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

    10. Re:How to report a brickified iMac to Apple by HogGeek · · Score: 1

      That has to be one of the worse analogies I have ever read!

      That compares with droping it off the emipre state building, or slaming down on a desk whil e it is running...

      Now, if you compared it to replacing the code on the cars computer, maybe while running, you might get closer...

    11. Re:How to report a brickified iMac to Apple by Overly+Critical+Guy · · Score: 1

      There is no reason why typing commands at a prompt should completely brickify a computer. Result in data loss? Yeah. Mean you have to reinstall the OS? That's fine. But render a computer utterly incapable of being restored to a usable state by the user? Absolutely not.

      Excuse me? So you don't think hacking into the booting firmware's shell prompt, manipulating the EFI partition, and loading in a bunch of random .efi drivers found from third-party sites on the Internet wouldn't, you know, risk corrupting the booting of the computer?

      When you're dealing with the computer's controlling firmware--in this case EFI, a modern BIOS replacement controlling the low-level infrastructure--I don't see why it's hard to understand that messing with that could corrupt it, as would flashing a BIOS chip or doing any other crazy things in a computer. You can also make a brick of my router if you screw up when flashing the firmware.

      --
      "Sufferin' succotash."
    12. Re:How to report a brickified iMac to Apple by Overly+Critical+Guy · · Score: 1

      Intel didn't design the motherboards in these new Intel-based Macs. According to Apple, they still designed the motherboard and everything else.

      The PowerMacs, however, are reported by the rumors sites to have been contracted out to Intel.

      --
      "Sufferin' succotash."
    13. Re:How to report a brickified iMac to Apple by kponto · · Score: 1

      Won't matter, the Apple warranty and AppleCare don't cover software issues for the exact reason that people do weird shit to it. Some by using their advanced knowledge to hose the EFI, and some by using their complete lack of knowledge to delete their System folder.

      --
      This too, will end.
    14. Re:How to report a brickified iMac to Apple by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      FWIW an electronically controlled automatic transmission - by far the most common kind in production and perhaps also use today - can be programmed to simply not shift until your RPMs are in the proper range. So yes, it is 100% possible to design a transmission that fits the bill.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  19. OH NO, The slashdotters cometh. by colin_n · · Score: 4, Funny

    I just got a message from a friend of mine saying I have been /.ed . Now my life is complete

    --

    --------- I have no signature
    1. Re:OH NO, The slashdotters cometh. by TristanBrotherton · · Score: 1

      Yes you have. But technically to complete your life you need to be on boingboing.net as well.

  20. Booting is fine, but where's the bounty for... by Panaphonix · · Score: 0

    ... running OSX and XP simultaneously? Those new Macs have dual-core for a reason ya know.

    1. Re:Booting is fine, but where's the bounty for... by colin_n · · Score: 1

      Maybe that can be the next contest. However, I think it will be won by vmware or microsoft.

      --

      --------- I have no signature
  21. Plug in AC while holding the power button??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Yeah right. Sounds more like a troll hoping to trick people into frying their Macs.

    1. Re:Plug in AC while holding the power button??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Be skeptical of anything daveschroeder posts on the topic. Per his slashdot posts, he's a totally hardcore Mac zealot and against the idea of booting Windows natively, yet he's hosting a page of information on how to do so. Could just be planting disinfo.

    2. Re:Plug in AC while holding the power button??? by daveschroeder · · Score: 3, Informative

      Um, I'm one of the people who originally was left with an Intel-based iMac that would no longer boot. Both the blog's owner (Nakfull Propaganda) and one of the other posters in the comments also had the exact same issue when attempting to load EFI modules that presumably were unsupported by, or otherwise disagreed with, Apple's EFI implementation.

      The steps I posted apparently reset something related to the NVRAM or firmware in the machine, and allow the machine to be revived (albeit after formatting the hard disk). Considering my contact information is everywhere, and I posted all of my contact details in every blog post I made, it's ridiculously easy for people to contact me and/or see who I am and what I do.

    3. Re:Plug in AC while holding the power button??? by daveschroeder · · Score: 2, Informative

      Please directly me to any place I've ever been against booting Windows. Second, I don't "host a site on how to do it". Nakfull Propaganda is not my blog. winxponmac.com is not my site. If you're referring to appleintelfaq.com, that is not a site about "how to run Windows on a Mac". It's a FAQ addressing the Apple/Intel transition. Once Windows is able to be installed directly on an Intel-based Mac, there definitely will be a FAQ entry about it, since that is indeed, well, a "Frequently Asked Question".

      In fact, all of my posts here (and on the blog) on the topic are specifically FOR booting Windows on Intel-based Apple hardware, or using Windows in a virtual machine:

      http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=173774&cid=144 55455
      http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=174115&cid=144 83527
      http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=174203&cid=144 91243

      At the end of this post, I even enumerate the reasons why people might want to run Windows directly, as opposed to in a VM:

      http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=174845&cid=145 43786

      I've also been trying to install Windows directly on Intel-based Macs since the first day we were able to begin testing. Anyone can see the log of the various tries here:

      http://nak.journalspace.com/?cmd=displaycomments&d cid=407&entryid=407 (Note: that is NOT my blog)

      And finally, even though some of the EFI testing rendered the iMac unbootable (after someone else already had the same issue), I then posted my steps for recovering both in the story here and in the above blog entry's comments.

      Nice try, though!

  22. jlebrech by jlebrech · · Score: 0

    compile WINE on MAC. done!!!!

  23. Tech support brickfied call by digitaldc · · Score: 4, Funny

    However several people have brickified their iMacs when playing with EFI. I imagine those tech support calls...

    UserX: Hi, is this Apple tech support?

    Tech Support Operator 213453098: Yes, how can I help you?

    UserX: Well, I was trying to win a contest by booting Windows XP on my iMac and then totally brickified it.

    Tech Support Operator 213453098: Oh that's too bad, can you please start from the beginning?

    UserX: Okay, I had XP copied to a disc, I put it in the iMac and fiddled with the EFI a bit to boot XP and all of a sudden I had a screen with a bunch of letters and numbers on it. I tried to hardboot it and get back OSX, but it failed...so I brickified it.

    Tech Support Operator 213453098: So you corrupted your iMac to the point will it will not boot at all?

    UserX: No, I got so mad I just threw a brick at it - now it's just a pile of sparking wires and smoking plastic.

    Tech Support Operator 213453098:
    Please hold, let me transfer you to our anger management department. You estimated wait time is... thirty-five .... minutes. Have a great day, sir.

    --
    He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
    1. Re:Tech support brickfied call by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0



      lol u made teh funnis he trew a brik at it

    2. Re:Tech support brickfied call by saider · · Score: 1

      UserX: Hi, is this Apple tech support?

      Tech Support Operator 213453098: Yes, how can I help you?

      UserX: Well, I was trying to win a contest by booting Windows XP on my iMac and then totally brickified it.

      Tech Support Operator 213453098: Oh that's too bad, can you please start from the beginning?


      UserX: Um, okay. Billions and billions of years ago, the universe was created with a really big bang that flung all the material and energy of the universe out at great speed. Scientists later called this "The Big Bang"...

      --


      Remember, You are unique...just like everyone else.
    3. Re:Tech support brickfied call by Detritus · · Score: 1
      I'm going to have to try that the next time I call tech support.

      When a Mommy Universe and a Daddy Universe really love each other...

      --
      Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
    4. Re:Tech support brickfied call by Golias · · Score: 2, Funny

      Wow, did you blow a shot at the "oblig." Airplane reference there!

      "Well, let's see... First the earth cooled. AND THEN THE DINOSAURS CAME. But they got too big and fat, so they all died and they turned into oil. And then the Arabs came and they bought Mercedes Benzes. And Prince Charles started wearing all of Lady Di's clothes. I couldn't believe it... "

      I don't want to live in a world where that's considered too obscure.

      --

      Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

    5. Re:Tech support brickfied call by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Only a 35 minute wait time? You've never been with Earthlink...

    6. Re:Tech support brickfied call by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I was thinking more along the lines of the Aquateen Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past...

      CG: "Thousands of years ago before the dawn of man as we knew him there was Sir Santa of Claus, an ape-like creature making crude and pointless toys out of dino-bones and his own waste, hurling them at chimp-like creatures with crinkled hands regardless of how they behaved the previous year. These so called toys were burned as witches and defecated upon and hurled at predators who were awoken by the searing grunts of the children. It wasn't a holly jolly Christmas that year, for many were killed!"

      FL: "Wait, that doesn't tell me why..."

      CG: "I am not finished! You should've gotten a snack!"

  24. When "because we can" gets tired... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I thought the whole point of getting OS X to Intel hardware was to propogate OS X? Why are we so concerned about getting the iMac to run Windows?

    Seriously, if you "brickify" your iMac while trying to Windoze-it, good... I laugh at you from a far... you deserve to own a $1300 paperweight.

  25. Re:Why? Seriously by LurkerXXX · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Right, because no one else has other software needs than yours.

  26. Re:Don't they have this backwards? Here you go by mobby_6kl · · Score: 3, Informative

    Installing and booting OSX on PCs.
    I expect to receive my rightfully earned $2500 by midnight.

  27. Small bills please... by toupsie · · Score: 1, Interesting

    You can already boot XP on your Intel Mac.

    --
    Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.
    1. Re:Small bills please... by mh101 · · Score: 2, Informative

      They mean installing and booting it natively, so you can dual-boot OSX or Windows, not simply running it in an emulated or virtualized environment.

      --
      Duct tape is like the Force. It has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the universe together.
    2. Re:Small bills please... by rainman_bc · · Score: 1

      Uhm, I think they mean natively, not through an emulator.

      Or were you trying to be funny?

      --
      09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
  28. Re:Why? Seriously by NutscrapeSucks · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Turn your argument around. Nobody really "needs" a Mac in the first place. We could get everything we need to get done on a standard Windows PC, but instead we buy Macintoshes because we *want* to, not because we need to.

    Surely you will admit that there are some very popular Windows packages that have not been ported to the Mac. As well about a million inhouse and vertical software packages designed for Windows. A lot of people in the Mac community see this as something that would be legitimately useful to them, and not just "because it's there". They're doing this because they think it would add value to their Mac system.

    --
    Whenever I hear the word 'Innovation', I reach for my pistol.
  29. Wine? by millahtime · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Now that macs use an intel chipset and the backend is BSD based, can't one just use wine to run their MS apps? Just like in freebsd/linux/unix? When I get my MacBook that is one of the first things I will be taking for a spin.

    1. Re:Wine? by TClevenger · · Score: 1

      If Apple is smart, they are working on a port of Wine written to Aqua, that would allow Windows apps to run seamlessly from within OS X and interact with OS X apps. That would certainly fix their 5-year Microsoft Office support problem.

    2. Re:Wine? by shawnce · · Score: 1

      Mac OS X has user land tools from FreeBSD and various aspect of kernel subsystems are from FreeBSD but that is about it. The kernel proper, the driver environment (IOKit), the windowing environment (Quartz / Aqua), etc. are Apple's own technology, some of it rather different then any other unix.

      In the case of something like WINE one of the bigger issues is having to meld it to Quartz/Aqua for its graphical environment (Mac OS X is not X11 based but you can host X11 apps in Aqua if the user has installed X11).

    3. Re:Wine? by entrox · · Score: 1

      And why, pray tell, would this be a smart move for Apple?

      "Oh look, perfect Windows emulation! Why maintain that Photoshop port if we can just run under the emulation layer."

      Yeah, great.

      --
      -- The plural of 'anecdote' is not 'data'.
    4. Re:Wine? by evilviper · · Score: 1
      Now that macs use an intel chipset and the backend is BSD based, can't one just use wine to run their MS apps?

      Good luck. OS X isn't even X11-based, so you're going to have a hell of a porting job to do, or else endless layers of compatibility software.
      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    5. Re:Wine? by millahtime · · Score: 1

      X11 is included with OS X on the install DVD and I already use in on the older systems where needed. Hey, it's better than nothing.

    6. Re:Wine? by millahtime · · Score: 1

      OS X is not X11 based but you can install X11. X11 is included on their install DVD and with that you can run all your X11 needed apps. I already have X11 and use it with some of my current apps.

    7. Re:Wine? by TClevenger · · Score: 1

      Yeah, it is great. Why should Adobe have to maintain a separate port if the Windows version can be made to work at full speed on the Mac?

  30. Bill Gates for one! by cyberbian · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'm sure that ole Bill and Steve would like to see it boot normally, AT LEAST ONCE since its been coded.

    --
    if I claimed I was emperor just because some watery tart lobbed a scimitar at me they'd put me away!
  31. Re:Why? Seriously by PFI_Optix · · Score: 0

    I've always heard that I would "love" Macs for some reason or another. In my business it seemed prudent to own a Mac and so bought one in the late 90s.

    In almost 10 years of having a Mac, I've never needed it. Now I don't even use it. I picked up a Mac laptop off eBay a few years ago for $150. It's sat unused--except for very occasional ventures into Macland to answer a customer's question--ever since.

    OSX is a nifty OS and all, but even with the hefty G5s I supported at my last job I've never been so impressed by a Mac that I wanted to shelf my Windows system for it. The only Macs with performance on par with my $1,500 computer cost $3,000 and up, the OS isn't THAT impressive compared to Windows, and options are limited.

    --
    120 characters for a sig? That's bloody useless.
  32. Lots of fields need Windows software... by everphilski · · Score: 1

    In my business

    what business?

    Lots of good software in a lot of fields, like engineering (the one I can cite examples off the top of my head), has no mac replacement.

  33. No it wouldn't by Andy+Dodd · · Score: 2, Informative

    1) domU instances don't get access to the graphics hardware. If you want hardware video acceleration, virtualization is currently not an option. There's a chance that you can do it in a case where your system has multiple video cards, but so far there is no solution for concurrent access to the same video card.

    2) dom0 instances (generally considered the "host") OS actually run under Xen too. Apparently (according to the Xen mailing lists) dom0 OSes actually need more modifications than domUs. Thus, it may not be possible to use OSX as a dom0.

    --
    retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
  34. Bounty & booty by Conanymous+Award · · Score: 2, Funny

    I actually first thought the topic was "Get booty for bounting XP..." Now there's a challenge for nerds!

    1. Re:Bounty & booty by jratcliffe · · Score: 1

      "Get booty for bounting XP..."

      What, because the nerds wouldn't know what to do with the booty, or because nobody has any clue what the hell bounting is?

    2. Re:Bounty & booty by Conanymous+Award · · Score: 1

      "...what the hell bounting is?"

      Hmmm, a good question. Maybe it's the act of eating a Bounty bar?

  35. Installing Windows on new Macs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Even for a reward, it seems ludicrous that anyone with a new Mac-Intel would want to install Microsoft Windows. This only goes to show that Microsoft Windows users (generally) do not have a clue as to really superior and great software. Somehow I feel they think that Windows will work better and be less buggy if running on MAC machines - without consideration that the answer lies in the OS - Unix-based.

    Wendell

  36. "I imagine those tech support calls are hysterical by Caspian · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...you insensitive clod!

    --
    With spending like this, exactly what are "conservatives" conserving?
  37. Correct order UNBRICK your Intel iMac by ronanbear · · Score: 1

    1 Disconnect the iMac from AC power 2 Disconnect the internal hard disk 3. Plug in AC while holding the power button 4. Power up the iMac and zap NVRAM (cmd-opt-P-R) The hard disk can be reformatted and the operating system restored. The instructions to UNBRICK yourself are slightly more complicated.

    --
    the more they over-think the plumbing the easier it is to stop up the pipe
  38. Re:If you do this... by cyberbian · · Score: 1

    Exercise your commercial rights and ask for a complete refund for this crippleware with undocumented features like TPM and EFI crc checking hint hint (llamas for not listening) while you can. I've worked with engineers at IBM for boot sequence problems while employed by them, and understand a fair bit about what happens during a boot sequence. This doesn't make me a name dropping hack, it means that I'm actually approaching this problem with some low level understanding of the hardware as it lights up. As I've stated earlier, I believe that the TPM unit checks the EFI to ensure it's Apple standard EFI (/. ers would all understand this) and then opens the system devices up based on a correct check. It seems to me the failure and 'non-bootable' status only comes after actually altering the EFI. I guess we're all /. ing and not connect the . ing. rent a clue day coming soon to a planet near you!

    --
    if I claimed I was emperor just because some watery tart lobbed a scimitar at me they'd put me away!
  39. Re:BartPE by larkost · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Change "forbid booting" to "not have support for". Apple has not done any work to support booting, that means they don't include things that they don't need, but might be needed for Windows. they are not hindering you from booting Windows, just not helping you either.

  40. $2773 for bounty? Try... by Vexler · · Score: 1

    $1337. And have them write the check entirely in Leetspeak.

  41. Re:Why? Seriously by plumby · · Score: 1

    There are plenty of apps out there that only run on Windows. You may not use any of them, but that doesn't mean that they don't exist.

    As a user of a combination of PC, Mac and Linux for my 'home' development stuff, the most obvious app that has kept me doing a fair amount of the work on Windows is the EMS Postgresql Manager. Sure there are Mac/Linux apps for developing on Postgresql databases, but in my view there's none that even remotely come close for user friendliness. And I'm not going to use clunky apps to do my work simply to avoid using Windows.

  42. Linux + VMware by Skinkie · · Score: 1

    So what about booting Linux and start VMWare directly after Linux boots?

    --
    Support Eachother, Copy Dutch Property!
  43. Windows first, then get others. by Shivetya · · Score: 1

    It is not a waste of hardware. I tire of this damn complex some mac-heads have. OS/X isn't the end all of operating systems.

    There are those of us who would like to have a computer that can boot all the operating systems. As it stands now the most limited as to where it can boot will be the OS/X system. Eventually someone will get it to boot on a PC but then your forever stuck trying to get drivers.

    So the best solution is to get Windows on the Mac. It will be the most difficult. Then probably one of the many linux variations.

    Now for me I can buy a macbook, have windows loaded, and be able to vpn/5250/3270 in to work with a supported platform. I am sure many others are wanting to splurge but need some sensibility in our purchase. I need a new laptop, I don't need a new "OS/X" only machine. I don't want to be trapped into one vendor for just an OS.

    --
    * Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
  44. Erm... you forgot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    5. Profit

  45. Linux on Macintelintosh by SgtChaireBourne · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Probably this bounty for Windows XP on the Intel Mac is prompted in a reaction to Linux on the Intel Mac. Can't have the press paying attention to that, now can we?

    --
    Beta is broken and the link to classic doesn't work. Stop wasting our time or there won't be anybody left here.
    1. Re:Linux on Macintelintosh by Overly+Critical+Guy · · Score: 1

      Macintelintosh

      ACK! My eyes! My eyes! They're bleeding!

      --
      "Sufferin' succotash."
    2. Re:Linux on Macintelintosh by Zanthrox · · Score: 1

      So here's a silly question..Does Darwin boot on the Intel Macs? Perhaps an analysis of whatever needs to be done to make that happen would help get linux booting on the intel macs.

      If not..perhaps Apple can be coaxed into providing a recompilable installation cd/process for Darwin.

  46. Pirates want in on this by digitaldc · · Score: 3, Funny

    A bounty for booty ye say?

    ARRRRRRRRRRR!

    --
    He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
    1. Re:Pirates want in on this by ricosalomar · · Score: 0

      Mod UP ^^^

  47. booting linux by penguin-collective · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Frankly, booting Linux on one of these is a whole lot more important to me than booting Windows.

    1. Re:booting linux by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Really?

      Being able to boot Windows on a mac means people who need a windows laptop for work might now consider a Mac, and it also means those who need certain programs that are only available on Windows can also consider buying a Mac instead. And vice versa as well, those who require a Mac for work but also likes playing games may be able to combine all that into one computer, rather than a Mac and a PC. There's a bunch of reasons why booting Windows is important.

      Now with Fink I already have access to the most popular programs available for Linux, and many of the bigger Apps already have a native OS X port (which I'd imagine will be Universal soon enough), so why is linux more important?

    2. Re:booting linux by In+Fraudem+Legis · · Score: 2

      Amen.

      --
      Per Aspera Ad Astra.
    3. Re:booting linux by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Now with Fink I already have access to the most popular programs available for Linux,

      Fink works like shit even for the subset of applications it supports, and it doesn't support a lot of important applications at all (no Evolution, for example). DarwinPorts is even worse. X11 on OS X is also seriously broken; it's impossible, for example, to give full-screen presentations with OpenOffice on a 15" PowerBook.

      In short, you don't know what you're talking about.

  48. Speaking of Which... by Greyfox · · Score: 1

    Has anyone gotten Linux booting on one of those things yet? I expect it'd be a lot easier, and being able to dual boot between Linux and OSX is a lot more interesting to me than being able to dual boot between OSX and Windows. Maybe not interesting to anyone else, but certainly to me.

    --

    I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?

    1. Re:Speaking of Which... by FictionPimp · · Score: 1

      I plan on ordering an intel mac once I get confirmation that linux is booting on them and what the steps are if it is different then the normal install with a liveCD. But if that takes to long I might just have to give up. I can't wait forever for a new machine.

    2. Re:Speaking of Which... by Jozer99 · · Score: 1

      No, they haven't gotten it to boot linux. Believe it or not, the problems faced booting Windows and Linux are somewhat similar. The problem is the EFI BIOS. Linux can support this quite easily, and so do the beta builds of Windows Vista. The problem is that Apple has modified EFI into a very nonstandard implimentation. For instance, the iMac will not boot off of ISO9660 CDs, only Apple CD formatted CDs. This means that in order to install an operating system, one of the following has to be done:

      1. Get Windows/Linux Installer to work on an Apple formatted CD (unlikely)
      2. Fix the broken EFI BIOS on Apple Intel Macs (looking less and less likely, but still the most popular avenue of research)
      3. Create some sort of boot loader that will meet the Mac's boot specifications, then boot another operating system that does not.

  49. Games. by Alcimedes · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Maybe they want to play games on occasion, but want the OSX experience the rest of the time. I know a LOT of people in that boat.

    1. Re:Games. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Buy a playstation 3 or an xbox then.

    2. Re:Games. by _Pablo · · Score: 1

      Hear hear!

      --
      $2B OR NOT $2B = $FF
    3. Re:Games. by Alcimedes · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Ok, let me load up WoW.....

      Oh, that doesn't run on an Xbox or playstation. How about I bust out my old copy of Master or Orion.... Hmm, nope not that either. Ok, I'll play some CSS. Crap, no again.

      Sorry, I could do that all day but the majority of games I want to play don't exist on consoles, and either don't run, or run like ass under OSX.

      Dual booting would be a god send to me. Instead of buying the low level laptop (work needs) I'd be a lot more likely to spring for the top of the line laptop so I can game on it as well. I'm not going to buy a laptop exclusively for gaming, or a desktop for that matter. However, I'd be more than happy to drop an extra $200 - $500 on a machine that will do my work AND play games well.

  50. Re:Why? Seriously by qwertphobia · · Score: 1

    I have several devices and applications which only support Internet Explorer 6 as a web client.

    While a majority of the functionality is there when I connect with Firefox or Safari, I cannot complete all the tasks I need to get the job done. In addition, the vendor typically refuses to provide me with any support unless I'm using IE6 on a Windows computer (no virtual pc, either).

    Once I upgrade to a Windows-friendly Mac, I can get rid of that extra case under my desk. Also, with the possibility of multiple concurrent OSes running in their own virutal hardware partitions, I can run a test environment with a server and a client on the same machine.

    Now I can get rid of three CPUs under my desk, along with the KVM switch and the Ethernet hub.

    --
    Never ask for directions from a two-headed tourist! -Big Bird
  51. Linux and VMWare... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How about get Linux running on it, and then run Windows under VMWare?

  52. Re:Brickified -- "bricked" may now be a word by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If we are now using the word "bricked" to mean "turned a piece of HW into a useless brick", it is now a word. Languages evolve (except French) and this is a prime example of that evolution.

  53. Re:Don't they have this backwards? Here you go by somersault · · Score: 1

    you've got it the wrong way round

    --
    which is totally what she said
  54. Bricking A Camel by Esion+Modnar · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Is that anything like brickifying an iMac? Don't want the iMac sucking mud.

    --

    They say the first thing to go is your penis. Well, it's either that or your brain. I forget which...
  55. Hope you're good at programming drivers. by ZombieRoboNinja · · Score: 1

    Because I'm guessing that OSX, even the Intel version, has minimal to no support for most non-Apple hardware. Which is probably a big part of WHY there's no OSX for standard PCs, and why OSX has such a rep for reliability - they have a very limited set of hardware they can focus on.

  56. Why emulate on the same processor platform? by toupsie · · Score: 1
    Uhm, I think they mean natively, not through an emulator.

    Why would you emulate an Intel on an Intel?

    Or were you trying to be funny?

    Duh...

    --
    Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.
  57. dead or Alive by MECC · · Score: 1

    Is that one of those Clint Eastwood 'dead or alive' bounties?

    --
    "We are all geniuses when we dream"
    - E.M. Cioran
  58. But not as useful... by toupsie · · Score: 1
    They mean installing and booting it natively, so you can dual-boot OSX or Windows, not simply running it in an emulated or virtualized environment.

    Why is dual booting better than running both at the same time? This would not be a emulated environment but a virtualized one. There is no need to emulate the Intel chip. I am looking forward to VMWare jumping on the Intel Macs.

    --
    Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.
    1. Re:But not as useful... by carlislematthew · · Score: 2, Interesting
      It's not just the Intel chip that's the issue. Things like graphics card access and hard drive access *are* emulated, or at least abstracted and go through additional APIs. SLOW.

      I've run VMWare many times on x86 hardware and it runs VERY SLOWLY when you need to access the hard drive, usually because the "hard drive" is actually a fragmented file sitting on the host OS hard drive, which is the only convenient way of setting it up.

  59. Wow, the ultimate bad combination! by ami-in-hamburg · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Running an OS from the Evil Empire on a Cultist piece of equipment! Wow, truly the odd couple!

  60. Re:Why? Seriously by petmo960 · · Score: 1

    You said it: games. If I can play the next Windows version of Elder Scrolls or GTA on my iMac, I don't need a PC anymore. Games games games! I could care less about running IE7 or MS Project.

  61. Brickify = Poor Design by Nom+du+Keyboard · · Score: 1
    have brickified their iMacs...

    If you can so easily brickify your Mac into a difficult-to-impossible to recover state, then the Mac is poorly designed and needs improvement.

    --
    "It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
    1. Re:Brickify = Poor Design by DorkusMasterus · · Score: 1

      I agree wholeheartedly. I mean, it's so easy for me to Brickify my car when I use it in the non-intended way as well. So that must mean my car is ill designed too!

      I know I could probably brickify my relationships as well, if I start doing things I shouldn't be... So my interpersonal relationships are faulty too.

      In fact, I believe that I must be the only well designed thing in the whole universe...

      Yay for solipsism!

    2. Re:Brickify = Poor Design by vga_init · · Score: 1
      Ah, the fallacy of false analogy.

      Bricking a device like a MacBook Pro would require you to alter the firmware or boot settings to the point where you can't change them back or load any operating system. A well designed electronic device will have a hardware mechanism for manually re-flashing the firmware/boot settings to a factory defaults (if they can be changed in the first place) or simply make the critical firmware read only.

      From the specs I've read on Intel's site, EFI is a level above the firmware itself, which makes it even more terrible to think one can brick the device just by changing settings on that.

    3. Re:Brickify = Poor Design by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah. Kind of like how you can brickify any PC if you hose your BIOS.

      No normal person would ever come close to mucking up an iMac like this. This is like pulling a panel off your car and clipping some cables. It may be "easy", but it's also something that nobody is ever likely to do without knowing they're fucking it up.

      I'm still surprised we build computers as boxes of single-points-of-failure (the CPU, the RAM, the hard disk...), but hey, that's how all desktops and laptops are these days.

    4. Re:Brickify = Poor Design by zpok · · Score: 1

      You used the word "if". any chance a fix is as simple as you describe it should be? Just curious, not really interested in the debate (and no, I didn't brickify my iMac, I'm still in the wait and see what the next revision and my wallet say phase... ;-)

      --
      I think, therefore I am...I think.
  62. No, because... by daveschroeder · · Score: 3, Informative

    - there is no legal way to do it (there is also currently no way to buy a standalone copy of Mac OS X for Intel, even if you choose to ignore the license agreement)

    - the Mac OS X license agreement specifically states that Mac OS X can only be installed on a single Apple-branded computer

    However,

    - the Windows license agreement allows for this

    - it is legal to purchase a license for Windows and use it on any machine desired, including an Intel-based iMac

    Microsoft is a software company. Apple is a hardware company.

    1. Re:No, because... by ciroknight · · Score: 1

      Apple is: A Consumer Electronics company first and foremost (iPods). Then it is a Computer Hardware design and manufacturing firm (Macs). Then it is a software design and creation firm (Mac OS X, iLife, iWork). Then it is a service and support company (AppleCare), and then it's a multimedia distribution company (iTunes).

      Microsoft is: A Software design and creation firm (Windows, Office, games). Then it is a game computer design firm (XBox). Then it is a consumer electronics company (Mice, Wireless equipment).

      Putting either company in a box and saying "This is what they do" is highly inaccurate. Apple's core business is designed around the user experience, and thus, their software must be bound to their hardware. Microsoft's gaming division is much the same way; their hardware must mate perfectly with their software in order for other programs (GAMES) to run on top of it. Microsoft sells the Xbox like Apple sells the Mac Mini, only they are targeted at two different audiences.

      In finality, I'd like to point out that this article was on Digg.com about 8 times yesterday, and each time was debunked; Microsoft has no commercial interest in making an old operating system such as Windows XP run on hardware as new as the new iMacs. However, Vista already has the framework of support there, and by the year out (if Microsoft meets its goal, which at this point is a big if), both Apple's line will be fully Intel-ized, and Microsoft's operating system will be fully EFI compliant, most likely including Apple's specific implementation. As Microsoft's interest is in selling software licenses, they will probably not make the EFI patch retroactive, forcing users who buy a new Mac to also buy a new license for Windows, and thus filling Microsoft's coffers.

      If I were this guy, I would have listened the first time someone said it was practically impossible, and improbable at best. Now he's got 2k in other people's cash, hoping his ill-fated idea pans out, and even IF he does return the money (and not just use it to pay for another new laptop aside his new Mac), what he could have done with those people's money in the time being makes me very ill. It would have been nice to see it go towards a better cause.

      --
      "Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is." G.W.Bush
    2. Re:No, because... by daveschroeder · · Score: 1

      That's really not the point I was trying to make.

      The point was that it is "legal" and allowed by the Windows license agreement - and a Microsoft representative even commented for a ZDnet article about this very issue - to purchase a full copy of Windows (XP, Vista when it ships, whatever) and install it natively on an Intel-based Mac (assuming technical hurdles are overcome).

      It is not "legal", or at the very least not allowed by the Mac OS X license agreement, to install Mac OS X on a non-Apple computer.

      This is an important distinction, and the general reason why this is correct in the context of operating systems is very generically summarized in my closing statement: Microsoft makes money by licensing/selling software, and Apple makes money by selling hardware (in this case, computers, but this is even true in the context of iPod/iTunes: Apple has said numerous times that the iTunes Music Store is a driver to sell iPods).

      It's perfectly appropriate in a general sense to say that Microsoft is a software company and Apple is a hardware company. Of course they do other things. But either you wish to split hairs for the sake of doing so, or you missed the point I was attempting to make.

      As for booting Windows XP in particular, it may in fact be possible. There ultimately may be some way to cajole Windows XP into booting directly on these machines by doing some tricks. As for the people giving money to the winxponmac.com guy, they know perfectly well what they're doing, and they've made a judgement call to do so. Delicious Monster - an group of very experienced Mac OS X software engineers and programmers - even gave $1000. They chose to trust the guy, and that's their choice. And if anything, the pot so far and the discussion of it is indicative of just how many people want to run Windows directly on the hardware (as opposed to in VM) for various reasons.

      Also, the articles (I'm assuming it's the bounty you're referring to) on Digg were never "debunked". No one knows for certain whether or not it will or won't be possible to, for example, load a Compatibility Support Module (CSM) in Apple's EFI implementation, and perhaps get Windows XP to boot that way. Note when I say "no one", I mean no one who has commented on it so far. I certainly don't know. Perhaps the engineers who implemented Apple's EFI know. Perhaps some EFI developers at Intel know. But we don't have anything definitive that tells us this is not possible, period. It's clear that a 32-bit version of Windows that actually supports EFI will probably be the way to go in the future, but Vista isn't shipping yet, and frankly, people do want to run Windows now. There are reasons people might want to do this, and I hope they get their wish.

    3. Re:No, because... by RzUpAnmsCwrds · · Score: 1

      the Mac OS X license agreement specifically states that Mac OS X can only be installed on a single Apple-branded computer

      That particular provision is likely unenforcable. However, Mac OS X for x86 has DRM restrictions that must be circumvented to install it on a non-Mac system, which may be a violation of the DMCA (or it may not be - Lexmark attempted to claim that the DMCA should make modifying their cartridges illegal; it was ruled that the DMCA only relates to cases involving copyright infringement).

      So, basically, it's unclear at this point. Except of course if you're downloading Mac OS X from Bittorrent, in which case it's pretty clear that there is infringement.

    4. Re:No, because... by davidsyes · · Score: 1

      I'm hazy on this...Someone please remind me...

      When I buy a boxed/retail set of software, and I buy a one-for-one matching to the hardware, why do I further need to obtain a license?

      Let's suppose I (for sake of argument, but I don't foresee a need for me to) buy 15 expensive, legit retail copies of ms office to run them in (a legit copy of) VMWare or Win4Lin, which would run on Mandriva (or, pick your distro if this scenario can apply to you).

      Now, suppose either ms or their henchmen/women at the bsa get wind and they want to shake me down. Can they? Can they tell or compel me to order up copies of licenses? Or, is the licensing just to get me discounts, cause me to be registered in their marketing and support databases...?

      But, for larger companies that purchase large volumes of desktops and laptops... why aren't they already legitimately registered to ms or whomever that this/that product ID/serial number went to company a/b/c...? If the end-user dumps their license or loses it, then a software vendor with honesty and integrity will have less impetus to harangue a company in the name of shaking the dollar tree.

      But, if I choose to deploy large numbers of legit copies of software via a large contract, and I don't call in for licensing and don't register the stuff, but I keep my invoices, product serials, what is licensing for?

      --
      Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
    5. Re:No, because... by daveschroeder · · Score: 1

      When I buy a boxed/retail set of software, and I buy a one-for-one matching to the hardware, why do I further need to obtain a license?

      Well, you can't buy Mac OS X for Intel as a standalone product.

      And someday, when you can (say, with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard), you don't own Mac OS X. You are buying a license for it, and the license stipulates how it may be used.

      After all, if you own it and think you can do whatever you want with it, why should you even follow the one-to-one principle? You should be able to do whatever you want to do with it, and install it on as many machines as you want, right?

      If not, why not? Why buy multiple copies for multiple machines?

    6. Re:No, because... by 4D6963 · · Score: 1

      Dude, sorry if I sound rude, but 4, Informative for that? All you're talking about is legalness of that but don't nobody care. We've been running leaked versions of Mac OS x86 since last summer. http://www.osx86project.org/

      --
      You just got troll'd!
    7. Re:No, because... by ad0gg · · Score: 1

      You could try to transfer out the hard drive to a regular pc. You're not making copies so copyright law doesn't apply even though making personal copies is allowed under fair use. EULA is legal agreement and therefore only enforcable through civil court and injuctions. DMCA is the biggest problem.

      --

      Have you ever been to a turkish prison?

    8. Re:No, because... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's perfectly legal to install OS X on any computer, because in my country EULA's are not enforceable.

      Of course you'd need a copy of OS X, but you can get one already (you need to buy a Mac too, but that will change soon enough).

    9. Re:No, because... by davidsyes · · Score: 1

      I was operating under the assumption that the bsa might come after companies that are found to be using multiple copies of the software, and during the audit, there will be found to be a 1:1 relationship between software boxes and computers.

      But, some software companies might ignore small, single users but think that they can "go after" companies because there's more money to be made there. So, under that theory, a company which is not interested in saving $$ on multi-copy reductions, but instead thinks it can operate "fairly anonymously". Or, let's say it's an association or practice where many individuals use their own copy (in a mixed home/practice environment, but they never share their laptops' images and don't permit remote multi-user connections...)

      Now, this is where I'm hazy. Does the bsa try to hammer or ring up companies for $$$ when the company or association of users say "To heck with bothering with licenses; I'll just buy it at XYZ store and install it."?

      Is licensing more than about offering discounts and instead more about tracking for marketshare and trying to entice users to be entrapped and unable to migrate? Then, if such users be 'contemptable' by not "falling for it", does the bsa and the software company try to ring them up.

      (And, OK, let's assume I'm just trying to be a non-conformist by not pleasing the software company, but I at least don't use pirated copies, and I don't mind wasting $40 to $100...)

      --
      Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
    10. Re:No, because... by po8crg · · Score: 1

      Is licensing more than about offering discounts and instead more about tracking for marketshare and trying to entice users to be entrapped and unable to migrate? Then, if such users be 'contemptable' by not "falling for it", does the bsa and the software company try to ring them up.

      Yes, licensing is about more than offering discounts and things.

      You need a licence to copy software. Since you copy software from the CD-ROM to the hard drive when installing it, and from the hard drive to RAM when running it, you need a licence to run software.

      That's why, when you buy software in a box, there's a "shrinkwrap" licence and, when you buy software via download, there's a "clickwrap" licence.

      Even with FOSS, there are licences - GPL, and the like. The only software that doesn't require a licence is public domain, and the only public domain software is that which has been intentionally released to the public domain, as copyrights have not expired on anything (they expire either 95 years after the code was written, or 70 years after the programmer died, depending on the authorship).

  63. Re:Why? Seriously by Sublmnl · · Score: 1

    Let's see....with 3 years of depreciation should make that laptop worth about $5---interested in selling?

  64. Excellent by joeytsai · · Score: 2, Funny

    This is a very good idea. Clearly, there are not enough machines that run Windows XP right now; any effort to increase its use is certainly for the best.

    --
    http://www.talknerdy.org
    1. Re:Excellent by nexxuz · · Score: 0

      I just know that when they can get winblows on the Intel Mac, then I can get my favorite flavor of linux up and running with OSX. Why? Because I have the right to do so if I so choose. And thats why people want this. Not to increase the MS stranglehold but to give people choices.

      Just my 2 cents.

      --
      I love random hex numbers! Just like this one, 09f911029d74e35bd84156c5635688c0.
  65. Don't encourage Steve any more than neccessary by elrous0 · · Score: 0, Flamebait
    It will only expand his already dangerously unstable ego and agitate his cult followers. Best to endure the occasional "I use Mac and that makes me better than you. Would you like some of our Koolaid?" rant politely than to risk what he and his hollow-eyed Mac-fanatics might do if we set them off.

    -Eric

    --
    SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
  66. Re:How to get XP working on an iMac by level_headed_midwest · · Score: 1

    I bet that Microsoft will not patch XP to work with EFI. We all know that Vista will support EFI, so MS will want to make people get Vista to run on the x86 Macs instead. MSFT will make money on two fronts: they will sell more copies of Vista and not have to spend money to patch XP.

    --
    Just "gittin-r-done," day after day.
  67. Re:DEAR FRIEND by elrous0 · · Score: 1
    If you had RTFA, you would have seen that they already addressed that point.

    -Eric

    --
    SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
  68. Re:Don't they have this backwards? Here you go by Golias · · Score: 1

    You should probably change your reading preferences to "threaded" or "nested" so you have a clue as to what he was replying to.

    --

    Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

  69. Re:Don't they have this backwards? Here you go by somersault · · Score: 1

    actually I do but forgot that his post had a parent. Doh >_ it was the way he asked to claim the bounty without being promised one

    --
    which is totally what she said
  70. Re:Don't they have this backwards? Here you go by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Too bad that's for installing the leaked prerelease 10.4.3 beta, instead of a system that actually has a good chance of being livable.

  71. This is a first by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Fore years, /* covered all the weird gadgets that people got *LINUX* to run on. Now, suddenly, everyone at /* is concerned about whether XP can run on EFI? What the hell? Did Microsoft suddenly buy a lot of OSTG stock or something? Let's get back to whether Linux supports it or not - who gives a flying &$(#( about whether Microsoft can run on it!

    1. Re:This is a first by 5plicer · · Score: 1

      Don't you mean /. (as opposed to slash-asterisk)?

      --
      The bits on the bus go on and off... on and off... on and off...
  72. I tried this.. by saboola · · Score: 0

    I tried this on my new intel mac, and it turned it into a ZEOS 486/DX2 66. Can I get a replacement?

  73. OS.X propagation and Nerds by Savage-Rabbit · · Score: 1

    I thought the whole point of getting OS X to Intel hardware was to propogate OS X?

    Assuming that by 'propogate' you mean sell OS.X to run on generic PC's from bulk vendors like DELL,

    The short answer is: NO

    The long answer is: The move to Intel was done to enable Apple to market competitive, powerful, well designed and highly compact laptops. They still won't tolerate OS.X being run on non Apple computers.

    Why are we so concerned about getting the iMac to run Windows?

    So we can dual boot it with OS.X and use Windows to get maximum performance and stability out of Windows only PC games. Why else?????

    Seriously, if you "brickify" your iMac while trying to Windoze-it, good... I laugh at you from a far... you deserve to own a $1300 paperweight.

    You are new to this whole Nerd thing aren't you? The whole point of being a Nerd is to try to do tings to see if they can be done. Nerds never have, do not now and never will need a reason to do nerdy things and the same goes for stopping to think about the consequences. If we did stop to think about what we are doing so many of mankind's greatest discoveries and achievements would never have happened, the Manhattan project for example would never have been sucessfully concluded.

    --
    Only to idiots, are orders laws.
    -- Henning von Tresckow
    1. Re:OS.X propagation and Nerds by TeknoHog · · Score: 1
      > > Seriously, if you "brickify" your iMac while trying to Windoze-it, good... I laugh at you from a far... you deserve to own a $1300 paperweight.

      > You are new to this whole Nerd thing aren't you? The whole point of being a Nerd is to try to do tings to see if they can be done. Nerds never have, do not now and never will need a reason to do nerdy things and the same goes for stopping to think about the consequences. If we did stop to think about what we are doing so many of mankind's greatest discoveries and achievements would never have happened, the Manhattan project for example would never have been sucessfully concluded.

      IMHO, doing this with Windows is very unnerdy. No self-respecting nerd/geek should waste their talent with Microsoft products. If this were Linux, BSD or any other nerdy OS, I would understand, but with Windows it is just sad.

      --
      Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
    2. Re:OS.X propagation and Nerds by edflyerssn007 · · Score: 1

      > > > Seriously, if you "brickify" your iMac while trying to Windoze-it, good... I laugh at you from a far... you deserve to own a $1300 paperweight.
      > > You are new to this whole Nerd thing aren't you? The whole point of being a Nerd is to try to do tings to see if they can be done. Nerds never have, do not now and never will need a reason to do nerdy things and the same goes for stopping to think about the consequences. If we did stop to think about what we are doing so many of mankind's greatest discoveries and achievements would never have happened, the Manhattan project for example would never have been sucessfully concluded.

      >IMHO, doing this with Windows is very unnerdy. No self-respecting nerd/geek should waste their talent with Microsoft products. If this were Linux, BSD or any other nerdy OS, I would understand, but with Windows it is just sad.

      Isn't darwin a child/spawn/something along those lines of BSD?

      Yeah, I was in class and i had OSX running on my Gateway laptop, and the teacher came over while it was running and asked why I had OSX running, my answer: "Because I can."

      That's what geeks are all about, doing it something to see if it can be done, otherwise why would linux run on a toaster?

      --
      So you see what had happened was....
  74. There are many reasons. by pavon · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If you do webdesign, you need to check your pages in Explorer.
    If you do application software, and your users are on windows.
    If you do embedded software, and the dev kits are windows only.
    If you do electrical design, you will probably need to run OrCAD.
    If you do drafting, you will probably need to run AutoCAD.
    If you teach and your school requires a specific application for grades.

    Since MS Office was ported to the Mac, most business people will probably be able to get by without using windows. For graphics work, all the professional tools are also on the Mac, so they can get by just fine as well. There are also many good audio tools as well, although most professionals use a mix of Mac and Windows software (plus that one that boots up without a seprate OS).

    However for many people, they really don't have that option. Even if there are replacements apps on the Mac that are as good or better than the windows based industry standards, compatibility with others pretty much forces you to have a copy around.

    1. Re:There are many reasons. by Bassman59 · · Score: 1
      "If you do electrical design, you will probably need to run OrCAD."

      Wrong! If you do electrical design (and I do), then you do your best to avoid OrCAD. PADS, PCAD, Protel DXP, Mentor, Electronics Workbench--anything but OrCAD!

    2. Re:There are many reasons. by Geoffreyerffoeg · · Score: 1

      If you teach and your school requires a specific application for grades.

      That reminded me of my friend with a Linux machine who spend quite some time explaining to his English professor why his document wasn't in Times New Roman -- because he didn't have Times New Roman.

  75. Re:DEAR FRIEND by Unski · · Score: 1

    Well now I just feel silly Eric. Thank you for pointing this out, amongst your myriad other posts for today and indeed all of January. And a very big thank-you for using that choice pissing Slashdot phrase - 'RTFA'. Also, yes, I have no doubt that Captain Picard would miss Data, only real question is, would anyone miss you on Slashdot, or indeed out there in the corporeal world?

    Pleasure to make your acquaintance.

    Regards,
    Unski.

  76. Re:Why? Seriously by Savage-Rabbit · · Score: 1

    I have several devices and applications which only support Internet Explorer 6 as a web client.

    While a majority of the functionality is there when I connect with Firefox or Safari, I cannot complete all the tasks I need to get the job done. In addition, the vendor typically refuses to provide me with any support unless I'm using IE6 on a Windows computer (no virtual pc, either).


    I have the same problem. I still don't understand why somebody would bother to create a webapp that will only function properly on IE6 on Windows? I have seen several such monstrosities and they completely defeat the idea of a well designed webapp which, for me at least, has always been complete independence of browser type and the undrelying OS.

    Once I upgrade to a Windows-friendly Mac, I can get rid of that extra case under my desk. Also, with the possibility of multiple concurrent OSes running in their own virutal hardware partitions, I can run a test environment with a server and a client on the same machine.

    Now I can get rid of three CPUs under my desk, along with the KVM switch and the Ethernet hub.


    I hear you brother.

    --
    Only to idiots, are orders laws.
    -- Henning von Tresckow
  77. Unless the firmware has a BIOS compatibility layer by nkpatel · · Score: 1

    Good luck getting XP to boot if the firmware is a true EFI (legacy-free) implementation. If it has a BIOS-compatibility layer (I forget exactly what it's called) - which is basically just a BIOS plunked into the firmware so it can support the legacy BIOS interrupts, you may be in luck. Otherwise you'll have to do some pretty major hacking of the firmware OS interface.

  78. Article: Will Macs boot Windows? by DECS · · Score: 4, Informative

    EFI isn't the only problem for the new Macs to run Windows. I wrote an article that looks at a range of problems: http://www.roughlydrafted.com/Jan06.IntelMacsWin1. html

  79. This would require me to actually buy an iMac by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why would I want to buy an overpriced piece of hardware to try and boot XP on? I certainly don't want to run Next OS anyway. I'm surprised it even supports color if Steve Jobs was involved.

    Lame, they finally admit their hardware is junk and still charge a premimum to the Mac zealots when they go to an industry standard platform.

    WOW! I can boot XP on a $299 PC why bother with an Intel iMac.

  80. Bricked your iMac? That's nothing... by ivan256 · · Score: 1

    When I was working on the ia64 port of linux back in 2000, I bricked a prototype 'Lion' quad ia64 server with a small, seemingly harmless EFI application that happened to hit a bug in the (still beta) EFI firmware for the machine. It was a $40,000 fix. Oops.

    iMacs are small potatos. :)

  81. I can't... by argent · · Score: 1

    We could get everything we need to get done on a standard Windows PC, but instead we buy Macintoshes because we *want* to, not because we need to.

    I have tried hard to do this, using Interix to give me as close as you can get to a real UNIX environment on Windows, but I was still unable to get a real UNIX networking environment even by restricting myself to POSIX. The software I use wouldn't run, and would require more work than I have time for to port to Windows... even UNIX-under-Windows. I pretty much had to have a UNIX box for real work and a Windows box for games (at home) or pointy-haired-management software (at work).

    When I was able to switch to a Mac running a real UNIX with a real supported commercial GUI and applications, I could quit having to use two computers at home. Still got two at work, because of pointy-haired-management software that doesn't run on OS X, but it's so close...

    I'd rather run XP under virtualisation, than boot to it, though.

  82. [OT] Car analogy by Experiment+626 · · Score: 1

    There is no reason why shifting into reverse at 80 MPH should completely brickify a car. Result in speed loss? Yeah. Mean you have to start the engine again? That's fine. But render a car utterly incapable of being restored to a usable state by the user? Absolutely not.

    When in reverse, the differential and layshaft spin in opposite directions relative to each other than in normal driving because reverse has a small idler gear not present on the other gears which reverses the direction of motion. If you try to shift into reverse on a car already revved up and/or in motion, the gears will be spinning the wrong way and the dog teeth on them unable to engage. Rather than bricking your car or causing the transmission to explode, you get a horrible grinding noise and stay in neutral.

    1. Re:[OT] Car analogy by Durf · · Score: 1

      Technically speaking, cars can't be bricked. They end up on bricks in your front yard, maybe, but it's different.

  83. Re:How to get XP working on an iMac by laffer1 · · Score: 1

    I'm sure you are right, but I'd like to see xp boot. I have a pc now for gaming and .net programming (web apps). If I could consolidate down to one machine, it woudl be quite nice. Of course vista will do .net, but i have a bad feeling about games running. I mean they ditched the registry, pulled open gl out, etc. I figure i have to dual boot either way to play my games so it might as well be OSX.

  84. Dead Parrot Sketch by dosquatch · · Score: 0, Redundant
    Quoth Taco: I imagine those tech support calls are hysterical ;)

    Dear God, forgive me, I can't help myself...

    customer: I wish to complain about this iMac what I purchased not half an hour ago from this very boutique.
    Apple: Oh yes, the, uh, the Intel iMac...What's,uh...What's wrong with it?
    customer: I'll tell you what's wrong with it, my lad. It's dead, that's what's wrong with it!
    Apple: No, no, it's, uh... it's resting.
    customer: Look, matey, I know a dead computer when I see one, and I'm looking at one right now.
    Apple: No no, it's not dead, it's resting! Remarkable computer, the Intel Macintosh, idd'nit? Beautiful GUI!
    customer: The GUI don't enter into it. It's brickified.
    Apple: Nononono, resting!
    customer: Alright, then, if it's resting, I'll boot it up! (shouts) HELLO, COMPUTER! (presses power button) Hello, computer, I've got some nice software for you...
    Apple: There! It came on!
    customer: No, it didn't! Do you see anything on that screen?
    Apple: Well...
    customer: (picks up mouse and bangs repeatedly on the desk. Throws it up in the air and watches it plummet to the floor.) Now that's what I call brickefied. Bricked. Embrickened. Pick one.
    Apple: No, no... it's just stunned.STUNNED?? It's not stunned! It's passed on! This iMac is no more! It has ceased to be! It's kicked the bit bucket! It's duo core processor is now history! THIS IS AN EX-COMPUTER!
    Apple: Well, I guess I'd better replace it, then. (looks about) Sorry, sir, we're right out of Intel iMacs.
    customer: I see. I get the picture.
    Apple: We've got this nice Windows machine, though...

    --
    "Hey, the third matrix movie would have been good except for the plot,story, and acting." --AC
    1. Re:Dead Parrot Sketch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      PLEASE mod this up!

  85. to further illustrate by cyberbian · · Score: 1

    a little digging finds treasures... https://www.trustedcomputinggroup.org/groups/tpm/T PM_1_2_Changes_final.pdf this means in short that the efi has been signed by apple and the only one that they will allow (currently) to boot their hardware. perhaps they need to get their legal team working on a disclaimer of liability for unsupported platforms and loosen their shorts a bit? I can't foresee anyone actually suing apple because windows crashes! that would be akin to suing ford because your chrysler spontaneously combusted. easy steve et all, we like the work, lets keep it going :D c. -Disclaimer: the statements made here are entirely suppositional based on personal experiences with corporate mentality, similarities to any real product incidents is entirely coincidental and statements made herein do not represent an endorsement or criticism of any persons, products or companies. comments distributed under creative commons license dot the i's and cross the tees

    --
    if I claimed I was emperor just because some watery tart lobbed a scimitar at me they'd put me away!
    1. Re:to further illustrate by cyberbian · · Score: 1

      now I guess all we've got to do is hack the efi to give the image a cryptographically identical (read supercomputer style impossible) reading for the tpm module to say 'green lights means go kids, enjoy your apple hardware'. now it's up to l33t hax0rs to do just that arrrgh I want half me bounty for providing the map c DMCA alert: this statement is made by a person living in Canada, it is NOT recommended, nor endorsed as a methodology to reverse engineer or otherwise subvert a previously 'secure' platform. It may be illegal for you to read or have possession of this information in some countries. Liberte egalite fraternite. We are all brothers after all. -Disclaimer: the statements made here are entirely suppositional based on personal experiences with corporate mentality, similarities to any real product incidents is entirely coincidental and statements made herein do not represent an endorsement or criticism of any persons, products or companies. comments distributed under creative commons license dot the i's and cross the tees

      --
      if I claimed I was emperor just because some watery tart lobbed a scimitar at me they'd put me away!
  86. Cars aren't computers. by argent · · Score: 2, Funny

    If cars were enough like computers to make that kind of analogy meaningful, you'd be able to buy a car at Walmart for about fifty bucks, it'd go Mach 3 at ground level and be capable of reaching any point in sublunar space on a cupful of gas. And every few days it would just stop working for no reason, sometimes to the accompaniment of gouts of livid flames from the engine compartment, and occasionally fall apart and need to be rebuilt from scratch... and people would consider that normal.

    But since they're not, you get zero points and have to leave the island.

  87. Du Arschloch! Proper (sortof) German translation by Savage-Rabbit · · Score: 2

    Wann hast du deine iMac emgebricken

    My German is a bit rusty, I am not a native speaker, but I think that should be:

    Du Arschloch ! Hast du meinen iMac Verziegelt?

    If this post has offended your sentiments please accept my (complete lack of an) apology.

    --
    Only to idiots, are orders laws.
    -- Henning von Tresckow
  88. Re:Why? Seriously by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Back in the day, if we "needed" software, we wrote it,
    and forced everyone to use it, on vt100 terminals, and LIKED IT !

  89. well i was talking about the bios support in EFI by badriram · · Score: 0

    old bios module can be supported under EFI too. Like i said i am not blameing them for not supporting it, i am blaming them for telling people they did go out of their way to prevent running windows

  90. VMWare? by Adam1115 · · Score: 1

    Wouldn't it be fairly easy to port VMWare to OS X x86? Then running XP would be much less complicated...

  91. Re:Don't they have this backwards? Here you go by Skuld-Chan · · Score: 1

    This doesn't look like the retail version of OSX?

  92. Re:well i was talking about the bios support in EF by halo1982 · · Score: 1
    old bios module can be supported under EFI too. Like i said i am not blameing them for not supporting it, i am blaming them for telling people they did go out of their way to prevent running windows

    Legacy BIOS support in EFI is completely optional.
    Apple doesn't need BIOS to boot Mac OS, so they simply did not add the extra software needed for it., the same with UDF and El Torito support. They are not going out of there way to keep Windows from booting on a Mac, but they also aren't doing any extra work to help people boot Windows. Why should they?

  93. Re:Out of their minds I guess by Kunt · · Score: 0, Troll

    As I predicted, I was instantly moderated a troll for that. I will try to be more sensitible in my reasoning: Will somebody please inform me why it is a good thing to install Windows on a computer running Mac OS X? And no, "Because you can" is not a valid argument. You can wear a paper bag over your head for a week, but it will only make you look ridiculous.

  94. Be careful what you wish for... by weierstrass · · Score: 1

    >Of course it is, windows would be a lot more stable too if you could only buy your machine from Microsoft.

    It might just come true.

    --
    my password really is 'stinkypants'
  95. Re:Out of their minds I guess by geniusj · · Score: 1

    Games, for one.. Options are nice..

  96. Embricken is... by Colourspace · · Score: 0, Redundant

    ...a perfectly cromulent word.

  97. Tech Support Call by mkiwi · · Score: 3, Funny

    This is a really great story. Here is my example Apple tech support call:

    Apple: Hello, Apple Tech Support this is iMac, how can I help you?
    Nerd: My new iMac Core Duo won't boot up.
    Apple: Ok, could I get your name and telephone number?
    Nerd: ...Ok (gives name and telephone number)
    Apple: Hmmm....
    Nerd: What?
    Apple: Have you called about problems with this computer before?
    Nerd: Yes. It's been very buggy.
    Apple: I'm showing 10 other tech support calls and 10 replacement iMac's sent to you.
    Nerd: Yeah, like I said they are really buggy machines.
    Apple: You know what? Do I look stupid? DO YOU THINK WE WEREN'T TOLD THIS WOULD HAPPEN?
    Nerd: Well I just....
    Apple: (interrupts) Stop messing with the EFI!!!
    Nerd: But I WANT to boot Windows!! How else am I supposed to do it?
    Apple: I think we need to start seeing other people.
    Nerd: What... WHY?
    Apple: I need some space, and I feel like you can never be honest with me.
    Nerd: I'm honest with you most of the time....
    Apple: It's over guy, get a new girlfrield. Maybe you can go back to Dell, I hear she's available.
    Nerd: But iMac you are so sexxxy!! You're breaking my heart!
    Apple: No, you are literally breaking mine. My motherboard > you. (click)
    (Nerd goes into corner, cries, and calls Dell.)
    Dell: Hello you have reached Dell Tech Support.
    Nerd: My iMac just dumped me, I need a friend....

  98. Re:Out of their minds I guess by Hrothgar+The+Great · · Score: 1

    About 65 people asked this question already. It's in that discussion up above. People gave the EXACT SAME answers in almost every case.

    I am not going to answer you. I am going to simply ask WHAT IN THE LOVE OF FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOUR BROKEN FUCKING BRAIN?

  99. Does anyone remember loadlin? by brokeninside · · Score: 1

    The approach I would take would be to boot a Linux that hosts a variation of the Linux BIOS and then try to use that to boot WinXP.

  100. What a great scam! by jeremyp · · Score: 1

    Now I'm not suggesting that this is what is actually happening, but it would make a great idea for a scam. All you have to do is solve some "hot" technical issue e.g. running WinXP on an Intel Mac and then post a heartfelt plea on the internet for somebody to do the same thing, putting up some money and adding that other people are free to donate their money to get the answer too.

    Wait a bit until you have the donations roling in nicely and then use your alternative e-mail account to submit the solution. You get to keep all the donations. In the event that somebody else manages to solve the problem, some e-mail header and log fakery will make it look ike your entry just got in first.

    I'd like to reiterate that I have no grounds whatsoever to supose that this is what is actually going on here, I'm sure it's genuine, if only because I don't think it'll be technically feasible to get WinXP to dual boot with OS X on a Mac.

    --
    All I want is a secure system where it's easy to do anything I want. Is that too much to ask ~~ Randall Munroe
  101. Can't we just wait till by Enrique1218 · · Score: 1

    Microsoft releases Windows XP, Macintosh Edition or Virtual PC for Intel Macs. You really need to up the bounty. I know I would go through at least 2 iMacs before I figure out how to boot XP. 2800-2400= 400 which is not worth it.

    --
    You don't have to be smart to use a Mac, you just have to be smart enough to buy one
  102. Dumping garbage on the beach by baomike · · Score: 1

    Why do it? it a lot like the subject line.

  103. Re:well i was talking about the bios support in EF by Smurf · · Score: 1
    Like i said i am not blameing them for not supporting it, i am blaming them for telling people they did go out of their way to prevent running windows

    The 64-bit version of Win XP and Win 2003 support EFI (but Core Duos are 32 bit). Vista is expected to support EFI too. There is no technical reason that prevents Microsoft from modifying the normal XP to support it too. It just doesn't make sense for them to invest in that (relatively very small) effort since Vista is right around the corner (so to speak).

    Apple said that they wouldn't do anything to impede Windows (or any other OS for that matter) from running on Intel Macs. They also said that they weren't going to support them officially anyway, and thus they didn't commit to include obsolete technology to make things easier for them.

    I can guarantee you that Linux will boot on these Macs in a matter of weeks (well, some developers may be waiting for their MacBooks, so it may be a couple of weeks on top of that). NetBSD will be running soon after, and maybe FreeBSD also. And Windows in a virtualized machine will be running at almost-native speeds before July (but of course that doesn't count as booting the OS).
  104. Re:Out of their minds I guess by Kunt · · Score: 0

    I advise you mind your language.

  105. Re:Out of their minds I guess by trianglecat · · Score: 1

    I think i just peed my pants! Is a guy named KUNT telling someone to watch thier language?

  106. Here's How I'd do it by Chaset · · Score: 1

    I'm no expert, but I'm guessing that there will be plenty of other x86 OEMs who will make a Core Duo based system using the same chipset. Unlike Apple, they'll need to support the currently shipping version of XP, and therefore, will have to create the BIOS compatibility module for their machines. Because the Intel Mac is mostly standard Intel design, I'd take that compat module from a different machine and somehow shoehorn it into the Mac. Then, it should be just a matter of installing XP on it as you would with the other OEM's machine.

    If anyone uses this method, please give me a cut of the prize. :)

    --
    -- "This world is a comedy to those who think, a tragedy to those who feel."
  107. Re:How to get XP working on an iMac by cnettel · · Score: 1

    The registry isn't ditched, nor is full-screen OpenGL. Windowed OpenGL is a quite sad story.

  108. are peopel going about this the wrong way? by thogard · · Score: 1

    Why not build a one of the open source bios kernels so that it looks like the mach_kernel and have it then boot something else like Windows, Lilo or Grub?

  109. Because they're dull little people by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well, here's the problem. The Mac OS, and in fact the entire Apple experience, is intuitive for a certain kind of person. Artists, fashion mavens, scientists, and other creative personalities can sit down with a MacBook Pro running the latest dot-update of Tiger and comprehend its sensitive, tasteful aesthetic. It's a rare instinct, this appreciation for beauty and truth; unimaginative, dogma-bound drones haven't a prayer.

    In summary, unattractive squares should stick to Linux and Windows.
    Macs are for different thinkers.

  110. FYI, you're completely wrong by daveschroeder · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Actually, to those people who think Apple is using TPM/Trusted Computing to actively *prevent* anything other than Mac OS X from booting on the Intel iMacs, you are categorically, one hundred percent wrong.

    Apple has done NOTHING to prevent other OSes from booting, as long as there are booters that support Apple's EFI implementation.

    There will be Linux distributions, BSD distributions, and Darwin distributions that will definitely run on Intel-based iMacs once EFI (and Apple's EFI implementation specifically) is properly supported in their bootloaders. And it will be.

    Apple is doing NOTHING to actively prevent (or allow) the booting of alternate operating systems, period. Including Windows.

    Now, you might say, accurately, that Apple is doing nothing to help, either. But it has no need for legacy BIOS, and EFI is the firmware of the (foreseeable) future on PC platforms as well. It's just that Apple is really on the cutting edge here, and is, again, the first manufacturer to deploy a technology in a widespread, mainstream way. In this case, it's EFI.

    Can a novice or recreational user easily get it to boot other OSes without some further development of, e.g., bootloaders? No. But that will happen, and it's only a matter of time.

    I just wanted to clarify this point, because Apple is certainly not going to disallow Linux, *BSD, Darwin, OpenDarwin and other UNIX variants from booting on Intel-based Macs, and it's not doing anything specific to prevent Windows from booting, either. It's also not doing anything specific - indeed, anything at all - to SUPPORT Windows booting on these machines.

    Apple knows full well that people will be running Windows in virtualization on these things, and that will be *far* more useful to *far* more people than dual booting, and it's certainly not going to be stopping that, so why would they stop people from booting Windows and only Windows natively? Think for a second, people.

    Now, the REVERSE is true, however: Apple IS using TPM to tie Mac OS X to Apple hardware. But it is NOT using TPM to *prevent* other OSes from being run on Apple hardware.

  111. Brickified by 2443W · · Score: 1

    Maybe the iMacs were brickified because they succesfully booted windows :)

  112. FORGET THAT! by hangingonwords · · Score: 0

    im still trying to boot into windows xp on my pc!

    --
    fact: microsoft > linux
  113. Re:Out of their minds I guess by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why to boot Windows on a Mac? Because all of the professional software packages that many of us technically-inclined folks use run ONLY under Windows (schematic capture, PCB layout, VHDL development, etc), and unless/until I can run these on a Mac I will not be buying a Mac.

  114. Re:Out of their minds I guess by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    '... You can wear a paper bag over your head for a week, but it will only make you look ridiculous.'

    Ridiculous? Maybe. But in BushWorld, it's the best way to enjoy some private space, completely unfettered by face scanning cameras and extremely short range microphone surveillance.

  115. donated by moebis · · Score: 1

    We just donated $50 we're hoping to move our pc's to the Intel Mac, and if we can get XP to boot on these, even better. Ours is the link with http://www.zangani.com/

  116. You people are pathetic by davebarnes · · Score: 1

    So, "8 million readers" have read this post and the amount is under $5K.
    Pathetic.
    If everyone coughed up $10, the total would be way more than a lousy $5K. ,dave

    --
    Dave Barnes 9 breweries within walking distance of my house
  117. Re:well i was talking about the bios support in EF by jonwil · · Score: 1

    I wouldnt be surprised if someone writes a bootloader of some kind that is compatible with the new macs. Basicly, the macs would load said bootloader and then that could be used to call the normal windows bootloader.

  118. Re:If you do this... by jcr · · Score: 1

    What utter tripe. Apple doesn't support end-users flashing the BIOS, unless they're using an Apple-supplied firmware updater. If you break it, it's your own damned fault.

    -jcr

    --
    The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
  119. Re:Why? Seriously by paperclip2003 · · Score: 1

    I use Mac OSX, Windows and Linux everyday -- I have to support Mac and Windows users everyday at my job and I sure as hell would be happier if I could have both OSes on one computer that I could take with me without all the KVM bullshit,emulators or a multitude machines.

    Apple has had a many chances since 1978-79 to take over the market with either better interfaces ,better machines, or better ways of doing things, but always manage to "fuck it up" because of either arrogance of Macintosh users or Apple's own "I want to controll everything attitude".

    Why not help the community by helping Apple embrace more openess; please make it easier to install what we want, when we want, on our computers. Anything else is just crap. TPM, EFI with no backward compatibility modes, shame on Apple.

    -Ron

  120. Yup by FredFnord · · Score: 1

    Aimed, one presumes, at the one person on slashdot with a sense of humor.

    (No, not me.)

    -fred

    --
    Sign #11 of Slashdot overdose: You see the phrase 'moderate Republican' and you wonder if that would be a +1 or a -1.
  121. Perhaps... by FredFnord · · Score: 1
    All you're talking about is legalness of that but don't nobody care.

    Perhaps, and this is just a guess, the universe is not entirely composed of people like you?

    Get over yourself.

    -fred

    --
    Sign #11 of Slashdot overdose: You see the phrase 'moderate Republican' and you wonder if that would be a +1 or a -1.
    1. Re:Perhaps... by 4D6963 · · Score: 1

      no man, really, nobody cares, ask anyone on that site that i provided the link.

      --
      You just got troll'd!
  122. Re:Out of their minds I guess by Kunt · · Score: 0

    It's my real name, you insensitive clod. Kunt, Clark Kunt.

  123. iloadwin by bfree · · Score: 1

    If the lack of a bios is the problem ... how about performing the equivalent of loadlin by loading windows from osx/darwin letting it take care of dealing with the initialisation of the hardware? A program could "emulate" gathering the information a bios would supply and pass that to windows? I hearby suggest the name iloadwin :-D

    --

    Never underestimate the dark side of the Source

  124. This is SICK by samantha · · Score: 1

    And not in a good way. Why oh why would someone take a perfectly good Mac and hack on it to run an inferior OS? Why would having shown that Mac hardware can run Windoze be a Good Thing? I can think of a lot of more interesting ways to gain cred.

    1. Re:This is SICK by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Very simple - love the look of the iMac (style personified, quiet and all the good hardware design features) without the hassle of learning a new OS, buying new apps, etc. I would love to have an iMac that could run Windows XP natively.

  125. Re:Out of their minds I guess by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So why are we running windows on a mac anyway... ?

  126. Re:Out of their minds I guess by edflyerssn007 · · Score: 1

    Do you ever get superman jokes because of your name?

    --
    So you see what had happened was....
  127. Re:well i was talking about the bios support in EF by PipsqueakOnAP133 · · Score: 1

    Disclaimer: I work for a division of Apple unrelated to hardware or system design.
    2nd Disclaimer: In the Apple architecture wars, I side with the PPC supporters.
    3rd Disclaimer: I not only own a Mac, I build my own PCs.

    Apple has said they have in no way attempted to prevent Windows from booting.
    Unless your post is a typo, you need to go back and check what has been said.

    Secondly, despite not preventing Windows from booting, they have no obligation to the EFI standards nor to their customers (Mac users) to implement any additional features to support backwards compatibility with traditional BIOS. Why should they? It's not necessary in a Mac. The less work necessary to get a new design out, the better. Plus, from what articles say, it sounds like they have their hands full getting power management working.

    Thirdly, as a PC user and one who has studied the history of modern desktop architectures, dropping support for BIOS has to be encouraged eventually. (While I would have preferred OpenFirmware over Intel's NIH-fit-induced EFI, EFI will have to do.) PCs have to move on eventually. Being one of the few manufacturer of legacy-free PCs will encourage the development of EFI support in PC OSs and hopefully move along development towards whitebox legacy-free PCs in general. Much in the same way that the original iMac spurred development for USB, the iMac Core Duo will hopefully spur the transition to a much cleaner PC design. Do you really want to have you PC depend on code written for a 8088 for yet another decade?

    Heck, I recall there being some Register or Slashdot article which said something about the number of people who know how to write proper x86 startup code for traditional BIOSs has dwindled to less than 5. (this means that less than 5 people know how to startup a x86 processor through the modes in the correct order to implement the traditional BIOS)