OSX for x86 limited to MAC platforms?

[TheBaron]

apparently OSX will be limited to MAC machines only (http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2137787/security-chip-block-non-macs)
I can imagine a crack will be out shortly after the OS is released, but its still kind of depressing that as an x86 enthusiast and system builder, you won't be able to legitimately put OSX on any of your machines (unless you shell out the [probably ridiculous] extra charges for a MAC)

[primesuspect]

Does this even remotely surprise you? Apple would have to be in REALLY dire straits to give up being a computer company. I think they would close the doors before they did that.

[entropy]

There probably will be a crack for it. If that's what it takes... :(

C'mon Apple. You could do both, couldn't you?

[TheBaron]

Does this even remotely surprise you? Apple would have to be in REALLY dire straits to give up being a computer company. I think they would close the doors before they did that.

apple needs to not kid themselves about this, if they're moving to x86 then a mac is nothing more than a pc with a shiny case. im not at all surprised by it, but i think by doing this apple is keeping themselves out of an enormous market of people who would be willing to switch their OS to something more ergonomic

[primesuspect]

I still don't think there's any money to be made in the retail OS market. The only way apple would allow OSX on a non-apple-made computer would be if they got some incredible contract with Dell or HP - something like that. And that would have to be if their hardware sales were HURTING BAD.

[entropy]

Why? Jobs keep saying it, "The heart of the Mac is the OS." Why wouldn't they open it up to regular PCs? I mean, sure, the idea so far behind Macs has been the "elitist" concept - "Ha! You suckers can't run it on your PeeCees!"

Without that, I don't see why they don't just open it up. TheBaron is right. It's nothing more than a regular PC, with the possibility of a certain chip in there somewhere to prove that it's still somewhat different.

Hell, I wouldn't put a dime into Microsoft anymore. But think about it. If Apple opened OSX up to us, I think I'd get a "evaluation" copy for a bit, then go out and buy it. Hell yes I'd support the underdog, especially if it makes being on the computer that much more interesting. I'm not sure I like the idea of another $100 or whatever every time they "upgrade," but oh well. Eh... one kid's opinion won't make a difference to them. Too bad, too.

[TheBaron]

I still don't think there's any money to be made in the retail OS market. The only way apple would allow OSX on a non-apple-made computer would be if they got some incredible contract with Dell or HP - something like that. And that would have to be if their hardware sales were HURTING BAD.
of course theres money to be made in the retail os market! i mean hey, apple is basically admitting at this point that intel's chips are superior to the PowerPC chips they were using before, so all that mumbo-jumbo about MACs being faster machines is all tossed out the window. and think about it, you'll now be able to bench 1:1 comparisons between OSX and Windows, on the SAME HARDWARE, how cool is that. you could prove, fairly definitively, that OSX is superior in pretty much every way. i mean hey, we already know that the sleeker interface is something many people will flock to, and it sounds like application support will be fairly easy to enable via some small patches (I was reading something on the [H] about a patch for UT2k4...)

[deicist]

you'll now be able to bench 1:1 comparisons between OSX and Windows, on the SAME HARDWARE, how cool is that. you could prove, fairly definitively, that OSX is superior in pretty much every way.

Maybe Apple are worried that 1:1 comparisons will show the opposite. Think about it, according to rumour Apple already have a version of OSX that runs on x86 systems, they must have benchmarked it against windows (why wouldn't they?).... if OSX came out on top don't you think we'd have heard about it? Unofficially at least via 'leaks'. From what I've heard (and I admit I don't know enough about operating systems to have an informed opinion on this) OSX's thread management and memory locking systems are a nightmare to work with and not very efficient, maybe OSX actually runs slower than windows on equivalent hardware. Something to think about anyway.

[TheBaron]

so you're saying its possible OSX and MACs were slower all along? ;D

[Nomad]

MAC shows comparisons of things in percentages, not raw numbers.

[Jengo]

stupid apple. omg... They are just like Nintendo... always making stupid decisions... omg...

but dont get me wrong, i am a big Nintendo fan, i was just hoping i could use Tiger on an any old PC

[deicist]

And, just to be pedantic, it's Mac, not MAC. It's an abbreviation, not an acronym. :D

[TheBaron]

stfu :D

[Lincoln]

I think it's quite intelligent, myself. Why would Apple want to commodify the best part of its package? Why would it want to allow something like *gasp* a driver conflict to occur on someone's mongrel PC when it can keep control of everything and keep its OS's image nigh flawless?

Apple is all about package deals. If they did the commodity thing, they'd be a different company.

[GHoosdum]

If they did the commodity thing, they'd be a different company.

...and the world would be a better place for it.

[RWB]

I read that the top dogs at Dell claim that if OSX was made available on PC they would use it, though they also said that this is not an official claim as well since they just can't say that stuff.

I'd use it. But once again they shot their own foot on this one, or however that saying goes :p

[TheBaron]

apparently Michael Dell agrees with me
http://www.fortune.com/fortune/fastforward/0,15704,1072719,00.html?promoid=cnn

[muddocktor]

apparently Michael Dell agrees with me
http://www.fortune.com/fortune/fastforward/0,15704,1072719,00.html?promoid=cnn


Yeah, I read that too. IMO, Stevie boy Jobs is missing out on a large market share of the x86 crowd by not coming out with a version of OSX that will run on other people's x86 products. Whenever it's cracked to run on my own machines, I fully intend to download and run a cracked version of OSX if for nothing else but to see if all the hype you hear about OSX is true. If they would sell an OSX version that would install on any x86 machine they would definitely get my money instead for the copy as I generally don't go for pirate software unless my hand is forced by circumstances like this.

What Apple will never do is get me to buy 1 of their computers just so I can see what OSX is all about. After my experience with Amiga computers in the late 80's and early 90's, I vowed then to never buy another machine that locks me into a sole-source supplier for both software and hardware. The Amiga was a great machine for it's day and it's OS was much more advanced than any PC or Mac OS of the time, but was locked into proprietary hardware for it's OS and had Commodore as it's parent. :rolleyes: