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Hackers enable Atom processor compatibility for Mac OS X 10.6.2

Friday, November 20, 2009 · 12:57 pm · 22 Comments

“Hackers have circumvented the changes in Mac OS X 10.6.2 to allow the latest upgrade to Apple’s Snow Leopard to run on netbooks with Intel Atom processors,” Sam Oliver reports for AppleInsider.

“When Apple released Mac OS X 10.6.2 earlier this month, Intel Atom support was missing from the release,” Oliver reports. “Though no Apple-sanctioned hardware uses the Atom processor, some low-cost netbook users would use the hack to install OS X on their systems.”

Oliver reports, “The hack applies only to a select number of ‘Hackintosh’ users, as not all who install Mac OS X on unauthorized machines use netbooks with Intel Atom processors.”

Full article here.

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Comment Feed

22 Comments

1 2 Next »

Paul Johnson

Friday, November 20, 2009 - 2:03 pm · Reply

Apple has to defend its licensing system or the courts will take it away from them. No more crocodile tears from the Hackintoshers, please.
Beowulf

Friday, November 20, 2009 - 2:45 pm · Reply

Maybe I’m a little naive here but, why doesn’t Apple just go back to putting a physical chip in their hardware and make is so the OS won’t install or work without that chip?
Yakov

Friday, November 20, 2009 - 3:08 pm · Reply

@ Beowulf

The initial difficulty with using Apple’s OS X was that it was built to run on IBM Power PC processors, which don’t use the same x86 architecture that most Intel and AMD processors utilize. By switching to an x86 architecture, Intel has opened its OS up to being ‘hacked’… if you can really call it hacking.

@Paul Johnson

Give me a break. The relatively small segment of people running OS X on non-Apple hardware are looking to fill a need that Apple hasn’t addressed. Apple knew that switching to Intel’s architecture would result in small amounts of non-official usage…it’s not going to make a noticeable difference for a company with $25 bn in the bank, especially with the increased switching over to Mac.

Does Apple have the right to try to defend its product? Sure. But users will continue to circumvent the relatively mild obstacles and use OS X on non Apple hardware. If you purchase OS X, and you’re clever enough to run it on your system, more power to you. That’s the tech trend, and Apple either has to open up, or deal with the “hackers”
Steve Hix

Friday, November 20, 2009 - 3:17 pm · Reply

@Yakov,

While OS X initially shipped on PowerPC Macs, NeXTStep/OpenStep ran primarily on Intel hardware, although it had been ported to a couple of other architectures, including SPARC.

It was a non-trivial exercise to bring up OS X on PowerPC, and its Intel port continued to be developed in parallel for quite a while before the intel version was released.
easyeye

Friday, November 20, 2009 - 3:17 pm · Reply

lol fanbois are angry now
Proud Puppy

Friday, November 20, 2009 - 4:37 pm · Reply

I thought the Atom cpu was used in toys?
LordRobin

Friday, November 20, 2009 - 5:14 pm · Reply

“Circumvent” implies that Apple was actively disabling the ability of Atom processors to run OS X. I thought it was merely that Atom processors couldn’t handle the latest update, because it used instructions that the Atom processor didn’t support.

——RM
Atom Ant

Friday, November 20, 2009 - 5:53 pm · Reply

This is great news as the hackers win yet another battle against Apple. They bitchslapped Apple pretty good this time. OS X must be freed from Apple’s INSANE monopoly.
G4Dualie

Friday, November 20, 2009 - 5:53 pm · Reply

Apple is paying attention, why wouldn’t they, this is part of the R&D;.

Go Hacintosh!
kevt

Friday, November 20, 2009 - 5:56 pm · Reply

As is pointed out in the feedback below the linked MacWorld article, there is a much simpler fix. And it is relatively old news. Hackers very quickly provided fixes at least for the Dell Mini 9 & 10 (whose hardware make them two of the best candidates for running OS X).

If apple was deliberately trying to exclude the atom (i suspect they were), then they weren’t very serious about it. As I understand it, the fix was just to chanfe the reporting of the processor to the OS to make it think the atom was an intel core solo. There was no real problem with the atom per se.
G4Dualie

Friday, November 20, 2009 - 5:58 pm · Reply

@atom ant

They bitchslapped Apple pretty good this time.

Put down your pom poms, k cupcake? Otherwise, I’ll send Ferocious Flea after you.
G4Dualie

Friday, November 20, 2009 - 6:00 pm · Reply

@kevt

the fix was just to chanfe the reporting of the processor

whatever the fsck that means… what’re you making stuff up now?
atom Ant

Friday, November 20, 2009 - 8:58 pm · Reply

G4 Duelie is just a stupid apple fan boy. He doesnt care about freedom the way the hackers do when they fight Apple. G4 duelie is more interested in protecting monopolies like Apple and Microsoft.
Predrag

Saturday, November 21, 2009 - 1:01 am · Reply

Atom Ant:

wrong forum. Go away.
atom Ant

Saturday, November 21, 2009 - 5:44 am · Reply

Predrag—another piss poor apple fan boy. What a complete jerk.
mo money

Saturday, November 21, 2009 - 7:07 am · Reply

@ [atom Ant®™] piss poor is anyone buying a cheap ass crap toy with an Atom inside.
twilightmoon

Saturday, November 21, 2009 - 1:09 pm · Reply

I’m a proud 20+ year card carrying Apple fanboy. I was drinking Flavor Aid when you weren’t even a sparkle in your daddys eye before he knocked up your mom and went to prison.

Adam Ant you are not qualified to lick the bottom of my boots you little hemroid on a fleas butt. Now piss off and go play in traffic before I turn on my vacuum cleaner and suck you up and deposit you into the bottom of a ladfill.
I'm a PC

Saturday, November 21, 2009 - 5:25 pm · Reply

Hello CRAPple,

Welcome to the world of Microsoft. Soon, very soon, you’ll gather enough interest that the hackers, trojan writers, malware players and general nasties will come your way.

Good luck. You won’t win.

http://www.bing.com When it comes to decisions that matter, Bing & Decide
I'm a PC

Saturday, November 21, 2009 - 5:28 pm · Reply

You must be able to see it, Mr. Jobs. You must know it by now. You can’t win and same with your little company . It’s pointless to keep fighting. Why Mr. Jobs? Why do you persist?!

http://www.bing.com When it comes to decisions that matter, Bing & Decide
KingMel

Sunday, November 22, 2009 - 1:29 am · Reply

@I’m a PC
Already infected, I see… Well, Mac attacks are not going to happen just because you keep saying that they will along with thousands of other PC’s. Nor will it happen just because you want it to happen in order to justify/satisfy your desire not to be wrong in choosing an inferior computer experience and then defending it to the death.

MDN refers to this malady as Stockholm Syndrome. I perceive it to be the same weakness that leads the gambler to keep going at the table until every last cent is gone because his/her luck “has” to change sooner or later.

The MacOS is not invulnerable. But it will never be as porous as the Microsoft OS either. And nothing that you can do, say, write, or wish will make it otherwise. You have hit bottom in the AA sense of computing, and it is now time to start fresh with the MacOS…if you can bring yourself to admit that you have a problem.