“There is nothing at all that prevents the version of Mac OS X that runs on the developer transition machines from running on any PC with compatible components,” Jeff Harrell writes for The Shape of Days. “The Intel-based Power Macintoshes that Apple is showing at their developer conference are based on an Intel motherboard, generic Intel graphics and off-the-shelf Pentium 4 CPUs… I estimate that we’re down to a matter of hours before Mac OS X 10.4.1 for Intel hardware is available for download on Internet software piracy sites and peer-to-peer piracy networks. (Update: A reader who for obvious reasons wishes to remain anonymous just demonstrated to me that the software is, in fact, already available on Internet software piracy sites.) If I can think through this stuff, Apple’s management can think through this stuff. This is the most awe-inspiring stealth marketing move I’ve ever seen.”
“According to reports, Apple’s bundled iLife applications, major selling points for the Mac operating system, are already Intel-native and run at full speed… Given Apple’s experiences with software piracy, particularly the rampant software piracy that spread developer builds of Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger all over the Internet this past spring, Apple’s management from the top down knows full well that this developer preview will be in the hands of every kid with a cable modem within days of its release. Most of them will be able to install it on their own computers and run it and the full suite of iLife ’05 applications at full speed, and run most existing Mac software in translation. As a result, Apple will give thousands, possibly millions, of people a taste of Mac OS X running full speed on their own PCs. Apple’s giving their potential future customers a free taste, that’s what they’re doing. It’s a try-before-you-buy deal,” Harrell writes.
Full article here.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Is Apple setting up the ultimate “Switcher” campaign by preparing to let Mac OS X speak for itself? – June 10, 2005
Intel-based Macs running both Mac OS X and Windows will be good for Apple – June 10, 2005
Twin Mac website debuts, dedicated to dual booting Intel-based Macs running Mac OS X and Windows – June 10, 2005
Cringley: Apple and Intel to merge; Steve Jobs finally beats Bill Gates – June 09, 2005
Fortune: Apple’s switch to Intel processors to accelerate Windows users switching to Mac OS X – June 09, 2005
Will developers stop writing Mac applications if Apple ‘Macintel’ computers can run Windows? – June 08, 2005
Why buy a Dell when Apple ‘Macintel’ computers will run both Mac OS X and Windows? – June 08, 2005
That’s supposed to say idiot… <Nelson’s voice>haha</Nelson’s voice>
Will Unix-based Mac OS’s run on Intel processors?
“Will Unix-based Mac OS’s run on Intel processors?”
Considering that all Apple sells now is Unix-based Mac OS’s, I’d put eleventy-billion dollars on it.
mAN, this DRANO feels AWESOME when I SNORT it up my nose!!!!
Apple is brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.
why do most people on this thread sound like cultists. most either sound like haters or even that they are “superior” because of a fucking computer platform. i understand macs are the minority but damn!
especially the “almighty mac” thing. holy shit if that ain’t a cultist i don’t know what is. wonder if he’s ever lived in Waco, Texas. praise Allah for the mac!!…..lol what a retard.
praise Allah for the mac!!…..lol what a retard.
You sound like a jealous POS who just loves to hack his way to whatever he wants……
The simple fact of the matter is that these are merely opinions, think of the definition of the word cultist and then reapply it to your statement….cultist? I doubt it highly.
Maniacal fan of something that “just works” unlike the bloated, patch laden, grey haired, resting on its laurels hulk that is windows XP?
no thanks, Ill stick with Mac osx, on the almighty Mac
I guess my PC is now a Mac
hmmmmm i wonder what will stop apple popping a kill switch for this pirated build in with a special update in a few months time and starting again
perhaps giving developers a bootable cd that can only be run for 24 hours on intel hardware would have been a better idea
The point is, Apple is going to sell the OS X division to Intel. Apple will get enough extra cash to cover the short term loss of Mac sales several times over. Intel will no longer depend on Microsoft. MS will become an application developer on OS/Intel, just like Adobe, Autodesk and Quicken. Longhorn will sell like another OS/2 at best. Intel will put AMD firmly back in their place. That’s the plan. Winners Apple Intel Adobe. Losers Microsoft, AMD, Toshiba, Sony. Business as usual: HP, Dell. Apple will keep enough iApps etc to justify a premium price for their version of the Intel PC.
Megacorps like these don’t move without being able to retrace their steps if it isn’t working. So they want OSX Intel to leak; they want to know if it can beat Windows or not. They need it out there to find out what they haven’t thought of. Right now, they haven’t done the deal yet, and Apple can even go back to PowerPC if they want, putting OSX firmly back in the bag.
The reason it hasn’t been announced, is that they want everyone to go crazy for as long as possible communicating in a frenzy, working out the details for free, before they lift the curtain, and reveal the new world order.
Or not.
looks like someone got offended. your simply laughable. just beacuse somebody with an opinion says something outside of what makes you warm and fuzzy with that means automatically they are “a jealous tool” huh? well i did more than “think” of the word cultist you POS. here you go ass,
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=cultist
now don’t you think number 5 sums up some of the posts in this thread nicely, how about number 6? seems as if your high doubt was wrong. BTW none of this is insulting to any of these users, just an observation. with the exception of you being an ass and all. OSX is Beautiful you tool.
@ IONLYUSEOSX: You’re right, it has an expiration date – it just isn’t in DDMMYY format. It’s the fact that it uses 10.4.1, when 10.4.2 (PPC) is already developer-seeded, and – by the time the first Macintel’s hit the streets – we’ll be anywhere up to 10.4.5.
Let cheap PC P2P leeches get hooked on their free dime-bag, and then they can come back and either pay for the real thing on a Mac, or stick with 10.4.1 (or whatever) which is probably more stable than the Windows OS that they’re using now.
Even in the worst-case scenario, that’s money that Apple were never going to earn from people too cheap to pay for something that’s well engineered, but the flipside is the mindshare.
@ Applesauce:
One word: Bloomfield. Not much info as yet, but the term “cores-a-plenty” is being quoted over @ endian.net, sourced from The Register.
Personally, I can’t imagine having more than four cores to a processors or more than four processors in a desktop Macintosh and one processor on a laptop, so the question I have to ask myself is “Is 16 cores on a mobo enough for my desktop needs. and would four cores be enough for my mobile needs?”. Given that the answer is probably Yes (let’s face it, most of us are currently surviving on one effective core, and the tip of the iceberg might be lucky and have two), I’m not going to get all sniffy about why Apple decided not to take 32-cores on what is probably going to be server-only chip from AMD.
MCCFR sez: “I’m not going to get all sniffy about why Apple decided not to take 32-cores …”.
Because maybe it didn´t want to be an Apple that was rotten to the core….
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Bad pun…bad pun.
Why doesn’t Apple just make a bootable OSX CD for Intel PCs similar to what Knoppix (http://knoppix.org) does for
Linux? Run OSX in memory and if you really like it buy OSX.
I like the headline:
APPLE PUTS ITS TANKS ON THE LAWN IN FRONT OF THE MICROSOFT HQ
This developer version on a few million WinXP’s will do more than all the TV advertising in history!
Go Apple…
So, where we can take it?
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Just a joke
Statements like “No one would ever need _blank_” sounds like that famous quote about computers never needing more than 640k. Just a few years ago, who would have thought that a Mac would “need” a decent graphics card with a good sized chunk of VRAM?
Maybe Microsoft will just take the S out of OSX and instead of shipping longhorn, they’ll ship OX.
I still think it’s AMAZING that most of the cool features that longhorn PROMISED but aren’t going to ship with is IN OSX NOW. Who KNOWS what greatness awaits us in 10.5.
As my MW magic word says, this is one heck of a “trial”
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“By the time the first Macintel’s hit the streets – we’ll be anywhere up to 10.4.5.”
Actually didn’t Steve say the first Macintels would ship with Leopard?
Uh, Microsoft never did anything else. Just look at how crap their anti-copy protection schemes really are and how little they do about it.
Microsoft mustn’t feel particularly threatened if it’s porting Office to Macintel (unless it figures that will be its only source of income when everyone switches).
Bunk. I could just as well put a bloated File on the P2P sites with the name “MAC OSX 10.4.1 INTEL EDITION”. Maybe I could make it a ripped version of an OSX DVD. But until I see it working on a PC, I call Hoax.
Listen .. Apple could give away OS X for free to all Windows users and they wouldn’t use it. Doesn’t anybody have a clue in here? Windows users only want two things; the same exact apps that they already have … and speed. They don’t even care about virus contamination. They are accustomed to viruses. Which of them has ever acted like it’s the end of the world just cause a frightening new virus emerges on their platform? None of them. They chuckle and act like it’s just another day.
When and if the Mac platform has both speed and every single one of the currently existing Windows applications … that’s when they might switch to Mac, but not before that. Windows users simply are not interested in a better OS. They don’t care about that part.
Well i’m a windows user and i’ve been screaming for this for years. I dont know why apple has been so slow in jumping on the IBM bandwagon. True competition benifits us as consumers. The only reason i havent switched to apple is because i refuse to pay $1,700+ for a system that i can build out of Generic IBM componets for under $1000
Well, after much research on many sites that are VERY private and checking many IRC, and some very private bitorrent sites, I have not found it. I *understand* that “Mac OS X 10.4.1 8B1025” is the Intel version…reliable source. but I am yet to obtain it for testing purposes. I should just cough up the $1k for the dev kit and whatever it is for a dev membership that lets me buy it.