Running OS X on the PC

[Apple Genius]

Being the proud owner of many many many Apple products- people have called me a MacHead for over 20 years. The idea of OS X for the PC really got the fanboy in my blood boiling... It was almost like, how could you put something so beautiful onto something so ugly? Surely, it would be a stupid move by Apple. People would stop buying Macs. A threat to our community's national security... But then a certain special interest group opened my eyes...

I acquired one of these little Micro PC's from Sony and I was messing around with it in a cafe. Turns out that owners of these little computers have their own little community too. This guy pulls up a chair like he's known me his whole life and says "check this out" and shoves this in my face:

Say it isn't so! My brain nearly had a Kernal Panic. That was 6 months ago. Today I own 6 Mac portables, 4 Mac desktops, 5 iPhones, about a dozen iPods and my SONY UX running Tiger. Looking back, I remember the Apple community thought iPod for PC was a threat to the Apple, but it turned out to be the greatest move for iPod sales in history.

To that, I say give them Tiger. Really, would it harm Apple Hardware sales to release previous versions of OS X for PC? Would it not serve as a gateway to buying a Mac? Maybe I'm totally off, but I don't see the harm in it.​

 

[djellison]

would it harm Apple Hardware sales to release previous versions of OS X for PC? .

If I could easily and reliably use OSX on ANY other laptop - I would. I don't like the hardware choices made on this Macbook. Not enough USB ports - the ones there are are too close together, and too close to the other sockets, the audio hisses (every Mac I've ever owned has done this), the viewing angle of the screen is worse than any screen I've ever used, and Apple still refuse to give me a BR drive, whilst at the same time giving me poor WiFi reception, no memory card sockets....I could go on.

The availability of OSX on non Apple hardware for sale - would result in an instant, massive reduction in Apple hardware sales without a shadow of a doubt.

 

[BongoBanger]

To that, I say give them Tiger. Really, would it harm Apple Hardware sales to release previous versions of OS X for PC? Would it not serve as a gateway to buying a Mac? Maybe I'm totally off, but I don't see the harm in it.

What would they want with Tiger?

 

[kate-willbury]

If I could easily and reliably use OSX on ANY other laptop - I would. I don't like the hardware choices made on this Macbook. Not enough USB ports - the ones there are are too close together, and too close to the other sockets, the audio hisses (every Mac I've ever owned has done this), the viewing angle of the screen is worse than any screen I've ever used, and Apple still refuse to give me a BR drive, whilst at the same time giving me poor WiFi reception, no memory card sockets....I could go on.

The availability of OSX on non Apple hardware for sale - would result in an instant, massive reduction in Apple hardware sales without a shadow of a doubt.

i also have the annoying hissing problem with my macbook. pisses me off to no end.

 

[cluthz]

It would require much more work to make macos for generic pcs.
Just due to the enormous amounts of different hardware out there.

 

[tooz]

if your saying apple should let people use tiger on PC's, i.e. changing the T&C's of it, I would have to say that tiger is so obsolete now that I really doubt that apple is going to come after anyone who installs it on a PC

 

[Apple Genius]

It would require much more work to make macos for generic pcs.
Just due to the enormous amounts of different hardware out there.

There's people out there right now, doing it for free on hacked versions. Developers would be all over it like it was the plague. But that's not the discussion. People want OS X on the PC and they'd settle for a crippled or oven a previous version. You should see what OSx86 users are dealing with now. The question is Would it hurt Apple?

 

[Andy348]

Do it - it'd make the hardware cheaper. I'd be glad if they released Snow Leopard for desktops fully functional. Then we could all build wonderful machines at a quarter of the price of a Mac Pro.

I doubt it'll happen though.

 

[Bear Hunter]

I'm doing it right now on a Dell mini 10v Netbook. I'm running Snow Leopard 10.6.1. It is not crippled in any way...100% fully functional just like on my MBP and iMac. There are also no hardware modifications required, and everything works, and I mean everything (bluetooth, wireless N, etc). Your going to have to take my word when I say I this thing performs fantastic. I use it more than my MBP because it's just so convenient. It is not slow and it is not buggy at all. Can't complain for $260 (refurb from Dell Outlet) total investment.

Desktop showing wifi speed:

Screen sharing with my MBP. You will also note that I have enabled Remote Disk just like the Macbook Air:

Running Photoshop CS4 Extended:

 

[Dont Hurt Me]

Perhaps apple wants to market the os to pc user's? How hard was it to install the os?

 

[Bear Hunter]

Perhaps apple wants to market the os to pc user's? How hard was it to install the os?

The key is that the mini 10v's hardware specs are compatible. Not all PCs are compatible. The 10v is the only netbook that I know of that works 100% straight out of the box. Other netbooks have been made to work, but they have quirks (sleep, sound, bluetooth, wifi issues).

Installation on a 10v is a breeze. Format the HD (GUID, 1 partition), install OSX, Run Netbook Installer (installs necessary extensions), and your done.

 

[Andy348]

The key is that the mini 10v's hardware specs are compatible. Not all PCs are compatible. The 10v is the only netbook that I know of that works 100% straight out of the box. Other netbooks have been made to work, but they have quirks (sleep, sound, bluetooth, wifi issues).

Installation on a 10v is a breeze. Format the HD (GUID, 1 partition), install OSX, Run Netbook Installer (installs necessary extensions), and your done.

I'm looking to do this for my brother. Looks great.

 

[Bear Hunter]

You might want to pick one up for yourself while your at it, because you'll want one after you see and use it.

Great if you travel a lot, compact, cheap, or for just sitting on the couch

 

[Dont Hurt Me]

I bet Steve is screaming at someone.

 

[Bear Hunter]

Nah, I don't think so. Apple chooses not to enter the Netbook market. Now I know theres rumors about a tablet coming out. I guess it will be interesting to see how that all works if it comes to fruition. Will it be a full blown OSX or some variant like the iPhone (blah). Personally though, I don't know how effective word processing would be on a touchscreen.