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by Chris Barylick
September 27th, 2005
The Future, a Bit Ahead of Schedule:
My girlfriend possesses a server farm in her basement and is effectively nerdier than myself. These are things you attempt to take in stride, but the day she updated her blog with nigh-screaming news of success in having her Sony Vaio laptop run a developer version of Mac OS X for Intel hardware, my stomach dropped to slosh around my ankles for the next few hours.
Hardware purism aside (and, let's face it, this becomes a moot point given Apple's decision to adopt Intel-based hardware for its machines and Steve Job's declaration that we'll see the new hardware in 2006), I didn't know what to think.
Windows and Linux have served her well on the dual partition configuration she'd set up for herself, and I wondered what more she could want, despite the fact that her main computer was a G4 running OS X. Citing the desire to sort an extensive photo collection through iPhoto on the Vaio and a natural urge to explore the next new thing, she ventured forth, much to my terror at the idea of using an alpha-stage operating system.
She's not alone. The OSx86 Project, a volunteer-based group focused on discussing ways to run Mac OS X on current Intel-based PC hardware as well as future uses for the operating system, has emerged to provide tutorials and other forms of guidance through its active forum and wiki boards with live chat setup instructions being offered through their IRC page.
The project uses code and ideas from the OpenDarwin project, Darwin being the open source code that composes the core of Mac OS X save for Apple's proprietary technologies such as Quartz, Quartz Extreme and Rosetta. Where source code meets unsupported hardware, compiled kernel extensions are being developed to be used on Intel-based hardware while modified drivers are written for other functions.
And as scary as the idea of running an operating system still over a year away from an official Intel-compatible release may be, there is a point to all this. Despite the painful transition period that must be gone through by the developer community (something Apple has set up the Developer Transition Resource Center to help assist), this shows promise from both sides.
Mac OS X may be regarded askance for a bit by PC users, but they're offering something that people want and seem willing to buy into, even if only by experimentation at this stage of the game. Mac users, on the other hand, will be able to gain access to some incredible new hardware on their terms through OS X, and to anyone who ever wondered why the SATA 2 drive technology has made it onto name brand PCs and has yet to hit a G5 near you, this is your chance to level the playing field.
Please keep in mind that the OSx86 project and efforts to place Mac OS X on your PC is not endorsed by Apple, nor is it the safest idea by any means. But for those looking for a better idea as to what's out there, what to expect and a community in which to bounce your ideas and questions off of, this might be just the resource you've been looking for, even if this does seem a bit like entering Muppet Labs and hoping to leave completely unscathed.
Still, enthusiasm is just that and there's no killing an idea once it's germinated, and it'll be more than interesting to see what it grows into.
As always, if you see anything cool or worth comment in the Mac universe, please let me know.
Chris Barylick covers games for The Mac Observer, and has written for Inside Mac Games, MacGamer, UPI, the Washington Post, and other publications.
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Observer Comments
Tue Sep 27, 2005 4:48 pm Subject: more than not endorsed
Apple will stop at nothing to keep you from doing exactly what you're trying to do if they don't want you to. They have a bottom line vested interest in keeping anyone and everyone from installing OS X on hardware they deem inappropriate. And why not, it's their hardware they're selling and their software to boot. (ok, cheap pun!)
Sounds reasonable...you won't see MS Access running on a Mac (natively). Works for Microsoft. Works for Apple.
Tue Sep 27, 2005 5:10 pm Subject:
I would personally be too scared to run a pirated operating system. This is something for people with way too much time on their hands, and a lack of moral fortitude.
I personally don't steal, Chris Barylick's girlfiend obliviously doesn't share my opinions on morality, but that doesn't make her right by any stretch of the imagination. If I did steal stuff I surely wouldn't brag about on my blog, if my girlfiend stole stuff I wouldn't write an article on TMO about it.
Thieves suck and drive the price up for those of us who don't steal.
Tue Sep 27, 2005 6:15 pm Subject: you got that right. . .
Tue Sep 27, 2005 6:39 pm Subject: A lot of people are playing with it
The question is how many are PC users that have never touched a Mac or played with OS X? I would guess quite a few.
Personally I'm not too worried, When the final release comes out the fun will end and these users will either get a Mac (actually a Mactel) or go back to Windows. The current version will be something like running Win 95 - let em do it if they want.
What would be interesting though would be to find out how fast these PC boxes are compared to XP. I would like to see some comparisons, but I doubt if MS wants to - it just adds pressure to keep Longhorn (I still prefer that name) "robust".
I think it would be unbelievably devious for Apple to look aside as this goes on. As you can read, most users won't bother to wade through installing OS X on a non-Apple machine (nor would I for a mission-critical machine). That leaves the hard-core PC and Linux enthusiasts and the white-box builders, the exact market that would be last to purchase a machine from Apple. If they get a taste of OS X, it might be enough to make them consider buying a legit machine, especially given Apple's lack of authorization and their aggressive update schedule.
Bottom line - I don't see much downside, and only a potential increase in user base. Not a bad plan at all.
Quotedoggerel wrote:
Grow a spine! Please. While I don't condone theft your reaction here is a bit over the top dude. Nerds will be nerds. I tend to think that someone doing what she's doing will drive the market forward, not back. No harm done IMHO. This thing is alpha... way alpha!
Agreed. This is the type of thing that might run on TechTV for the hard-core Unix/Linux/do it yourself solar-death ray crowd. Apple should and will discourage it, but it will in no way negatively impact Apple.
P.S. yes, the solar death ray IS a real thing:
www.solardeathray.com
One of the primary drivers for people trying to get OS X running on non-Apple Intel hardware is the lack of form factors within Apple's products.
Intel has had sub notebooks for years. I personally carry around one of the sub-sub-notebook Sony Vaios (PCG-TR1A) - and I wouldn't trade it for a 12" powerbook for the world. Apple does not currently have, nor as far as I know ever plan to have, hardware that supports this not so niche market.
As part of the OSx86project.org pages, you'll find many individuals contributing time and effort to write kernel drivers for various hardware (wireless cards seem to be the prevalent ones) - you don't think Apple's going to take advantage of this?
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