OSX Spotted on a PC
by Donovan Beery, (11 comments)
Wired news ran an interesting story today on OSX running on a PC.
As has been known, the new Macintosh computers due out next year will be based on an Intel chip. Obviously the hardware between the Windows and Mac machines will be more alike than thought if a simple hack can convert one computer to run the others’ OS.
Will this make writing programs for both platforms easier as well? But more importantly, as the hardware comes closer together, I wonder if it will make it easier or harder to convince corporations to buy Macs for their designers. Will they say, “Use a Dell, it’s basically the same, right?” or, “Well, I guess if the Mac’s Intel, our tech guys can hook it up to the network.” I myself hope for the second one.
Comments (11)
drs18 said:
My hope is, after Steve Jobs recovers from the coronary this news will surely give him, he sees that building really cool looking computers could be a separate business from building great operating systems. There may be some folks who want to buy a cool looking iMac that runs Windows… and some Mac designers that need to put money into software instead of fancy looking hardware.
It could be the beginning of a new era… I hope Steve sees it.
Posted on August 12, 2005
Adrian said:
I can’t help but be pessimistic about this news to the extent that I could see this being the end of Apple as we know it (as a maker of computers). When people realize that the only difference between a Mac and a PC computer is basically only the way it looks, and that an Apple costs much more, who would they buy it? The design of the computer doesn’t justify the cost when the guts are identical to a PC. Still, I have been amazed that their isn’t a single PC manufacturer that has ever even attempted to compete with Apple on design! My prediction is that Apple is giving up the fight for the computer market (in terms of being a vastly different machine) so they can focus on software and gadgets like the iPod. Look for a legal version of osx to be released in a PC version in the near future. Why wouldn’t they? I would buy it. On the bright side, this should drive the cost of Apple computers down.
Posted on August 12, 2005
PXLated said:
In the end, I think Apple will make it very difficult (but not impossible) to run OSX on a standard PC. So difficult that only the real dedicated geeks will even attempt it. But, Apple will allow you to install Windows so you can run anything you like on a genuine Mac.
Posted on August 12, 2005
Bennett said:
My prediction is that Apple is giving up the fight for the computer market so they can focus on software and gadgets like the iPod.
Adrian, I think you are way off here. Even if there is truth in it, Steve Jobs is very stubborn. Apple is a computer company, not a software company. They have been very adamant that they only create unique software so they can sell their hardware. You don’t even have to enter a serial number to install their operating system. I predict that iTunes will remain the only Mac application that legally runs on a PC.
This will not be the end of Mac.
Posted on August 12, 2005
Adrian said:
Bennett, I hope you are right. Apple used to be a computer company. Their recent shift towards an “iLife” shows their new broader focus. I don’t think it is the end of Apple, just the beginning of a new evolution…
PXlated, Making it hard or impossible to run osx on a PC really doesn’t benefit Apple in any way. It just makes them look like greedy over-protective jerks. This story shows that there is no reason why osx should be exclusive to a Mac. The only thing stopping cross platform compatibility is the restrictive and intrusive systems built into the PC and Mac framework. The only way Apple can benefit from being exposed as a “pc in mac’s clothing” is to open the doors to the PC world. Maybe that was their plan all along. Hence, the shift to a unix-based OS. Hence the switch to Intel. Hence the iTunes for PC users. Hence the partnership with HP. They have tasted the PC users money with the iPod, and it tasted good…
Posted on August 12, 2005
Chris Rugen said:
This is a case of people doing the hack to show they can. It has no real world applicability and Apple knew it would happen the moment it decided to go Intel. OSes are worthless without the hardware support (drivers, etc.), and I don’t see that happening for this experiment. OS X normally won’t run on PC hardware because it’s designed to run on Apple hardware, drivers and all. End of story. This is one of the biggest reasons why the Mac OS is so much tighter, cleaner, and better integrated than Windows.
Honestly, not running OS X on PC hardware is a blessing. Apple trying that would just crud up the OS. Keeping the Mac OS off of hardware they don’t control is exactly what Apple should do, because it’s what makes Apple…well, Apple. They thrive on the concept of ‘total design’. Only hackers and curious CS people will get any benefits from this interesting hack. It would be too much hassle for anyone else.
Posted on August 12, 2005
PXLated said:
Sorry Adrian, don’t agree with most of your last post. Chris, do agree with you :-)
Posted on August 15, 2005
Kyle said:
I love Macs, and OS X. I’ve used Macs since I was a wee little boy. I wouldn’t be suprised if someday (but not yet) there will be just one OS. It takes a lot for met to admit this, but I’m starting to like Windows more and more, especially for personal use. There are still things that bother me, and there are still many, many, things I love about OS X. But you have to admit XP and X keep getting more similar. They’ve both borrowed things from the other to make it easier for users (for example, red/yellow/green being similar to maximize/minimize/close…the fuctions are just represented differently). Yes, XP and X are still unique OSs. And I still personally think it’s easier for anyone to use X over XP. But either could work, if you had to use them.
Along the same lines as the original post, will we now see Win XP running on a Mac natively? I’m not sure what would be involved in making that work How different are the rest of the components inside the computer? See http://www.apple.com/powermac/architecture.html.
Posted on August 15, 2005
jyoseph said:
“I wonder if it will make it easier or harder to convince corporations to buy Macs for their designers”
I won’t hold my breath on this one. Not as long as there are IT guys who worship all things Microsoft.
Posted on August 24, 2005
Adrian said:
Here is an interesting article that ties into this conversation. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10794396/from/RS.3/ It says that you will be able to run windows on the new Intel macs.
Posted on January 11, 2006
disway said:
You can run Panther on a PC under an emulator right now. Some PC users says it actually run pretty good. Mac users will never run OS X on a PC (hopefully you as a Mac user has already own a Mac). Only curious PC users would be interested to play in that field. And there is only a small hand full of those. On the other hand, why would I run WXP on my Mac, taking up space and hog over the speed when I can just throw $200 for a Win box and it might run better than on a Mac…? Plus I don’t want all the virus and spyware on my Mac neither. The point is, Mac will alwyas be Mac and PCs will stay as PCs.
Posted on January 12, 2006