“Did you hear the one about the Dell Mini Netbooks that run Mac OS X? You didn’t? The Dell Mini 7 and 9 (and probably the 10 also) can be easily modified with a small software download, which allows the user to install and run Apple’s Mac OS X v10.5. And it runs very well, too. Although this is actually quite old news, there’s an interesting aside to this that could have major implications,” Robert Peckham blogs for PCR.
“The question that begs asking in light of that is why is Apple are allowing this? The software download comes from Dell itself – not some small independent ‘hackintosh’ developer, and full instructions are available via Dell’s website. It’s very unlikely Apple would allow this without approving it, and there’s no Apple alternative to Dell’s excellent ‘Mini’ series of netbooks – not yet, anyway,” Peckham writes.
“But at the same time, Apple is preparing to do battle with three very small clone makers who have got Mac OS X running on Wintel hardware using a similar software modification to Dell’s,” Peckham writes. “So if Dell is allowed to broadcast the fact you can run the Mac OS on its netbooks via its website, I have a feeling that the legal teams for the clone makers will be watching developments very closely.”
Full article here.
I love the grammar police. I nearly snorted liquid out of my nose. Thanks 2stroker. It is a shame auramac…
Hallelujah !!!
the Mac Evangelists are here!!!
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Why is Apple allowing this? Probably because there is nothing that they can do to stop it. Duh.
Dell is not selling Mac OS X. They are not installing it on their computers. They are just simply giving away software that they developed in house. Apple has no Copyright on something Dell Produced themselves. Further, there is nothing illegal about a set of instructions. Instructions are instructions. Dell could put online a set of instructions for preparing heroine. THey are not selling heroine, nor are they administering the drug. It’s just simply a set of instructions.
Unlike Psystar Dell does not resell OS X. There’s no legal play here and neither Dell nor Microsoft benefit. Dell does not want to piss off MS now or ever.
theloniousMac writes, “Apple knows that it isn’t the hardware that we go back for, it’s OS X.”
Actually, it’s both. Compare, for example, Apple’s iMac against the poor all-in-one imitations offered by Dell and HP. Compare Apple’s notebooks for sheer “sweat the details” design against the rest . And anyone who’s looked inside a Mac Pro or Xserve knows that form can be far more than function; it can inspire.
@@Nice Grammer,
Maybe he likes GMILFs.
@ rattiemouse, you’re assuming Apple’s hardware is overpriced. I’d like to think that it’s very competitive for what you get.
Or, I suppose you could look at it this way. Apple sells it’s hardware at a large discount over what Dell, HP and the generic PC market charges for similar hardware. Then they build in the cost of OS X, bringing the total cost of a Mac to what you see in the store. If Microsoft can charge something like $400-500 for Vista (for the full version, retail), Apple can “charge” $400-500 for OS X built into the cost of their computers.
Apple’s $129 is an “upgrade” after all. They assume you’ve already bought an earlier version of OS X with the Mac you’re going to upgrade.
Please say, “raises the question” when that is what you mean, save “begs the question” for the real meaning.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begging_the_question
Oh never mind, it’s the internets. Can’t expect too much from people who write for the general public. I guess.
“Apple hints at OS X on PCs?”
Umm . . . they did no such thing.
And if Dell is aiding/assisting users in violating copyrights then they’re in for trouble.
Hardware? Come on, the new Mini Dells are running the same chipset as the MacBook Air…when you fire it up the first time, run through the OS setup..Apple “thanks you” for registering your “new” Mac Book Air. So very funny. It’s the OS that matters!!!!
“The EULA for Leopard states that it may be installed only on Apple labeled hardware”
—————-
Exactly.. Not to mention that the retail box of Leopard OSX is only $129 because it is an UPGRADE for consumers who have already purchased a Mac with an older version of OSX.. If Apple had intended it to be installed on non Apple hardware, it would cost a heck of a lot more than $129.. Psystar doesn’t stand a chance.
Big difference between offering a bootloader to customers, and actually installing OS X on your computers and selling them as Mac “clones”.
“This is great news for those who want to be freed from Apple’s overpriced and low grade hardware.”
That is a Psystar you bought putz…..
Shit bogus story. MDN should just pull it. A mistake to publish it.
Honestly though, if Apple were to release PC OS X, they would kill Microsoft in the “netbook” market. Not only that, allow a lot of PC uesers to “upgrade” their systems without throwing out any previous investments, because it could still run their old version of Windows using bootcamp or a virtual application.
@ auramac,
I don’t live in your country asshole.
In my country it’s is possessive.
Americans are so insular it hurts just communicating with them.
It won’t happen because it’s too late to release OS X for PCs. The fight is over. The web won. From now on, applications will run on all browsers and will be compatible with all computers. The OS as we know it is becoming irrelevant. The browser is the ultimate platform. Google realized that and is one step ahead of Apple and Microsoft with the Chrome OS. All people gonna need in the future is a browser.
“All people gonna need in the future is a browser.”
————————–
And how are people going to open a browser app without an OS?
MikeK, browsers will only use the kernel of OSs to run on top
@ Big Als MBP:
“In my country it’s is possessive.”
Citation needed. I suggest you check one of your country’s dictionaries.
“browsers will only use the kernel of OSs to run on top”
———————————–
It is going to be many, many years before pro’s in audio and film begin working with gigs and gigs of audio and video data in cloud based apps..
To all,
Just a thought here…….. Microsoft does lots of crap to keep people from stealing their software. Its hard to protect software because of its very nature.
Apple sells hardware that comes with software. You mostly need their hardware to run their software.., easy.
Now maybe that is why Apple is staying away from selling or giving away their software to run on pc crapola. No, I repeat NO MONEY in it for Apple. And a big loss cause why pay for good Apple hardware when you can steal the OS and use it on your cheap PC. ???????
However, Apple does not fight what people do with stuff in their own home….. just do not go public and try to sell it. PS, While Apple may one day sell the OS for pc systems (what an MS Killer
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” /> ) I do not see it happening for a long time. Not unless there is a way for Apple to lock the two parts together. THEIR PC hardware and their PC version of the OS.
Just a thought.
en
…”In my country it’s is possessive.”
I don’t know which country that would be, but in original (“queen’s”) English, as well as in the American official version, as well as in most other English-speaking lands, the rules are as follows:
it’s an abbreviated form of it is (as in: “It’s a boy!”)
its a possessive form for it (as in: “Apple and its products are leaders in the tech field”)
The confusion may come from the usual rule for forming possessive form (adding ‘s after a noun: “Microsoft’s big mistake”, or “Apple’s perceived monopoly”).
I have never seen it’s users in the possessive form.
Let’s not forget PCs, CDs, Macs and others; notice the lack of apostrophe (‘) in the plural. Four out of five posters in MDN’s forums tend to say “Mac’s” when they mean two or more Macintosh computers.
Poor English most effectively and quickly reduces the credibility of a message (and it is often easy to tell a simple typo from sloppy language).
</end of rant>
I doubt that anyone is buying a copy of MacOS X to install on a Hackintosh. There are plenty of ways to download a copy on the web so people who are bothered to get the bootloader will likely not pay for the OS.
Apple probably don’t care because the number of PCs running OS X is small. If this becomes a major issue there will probably be some activation required for everyone.
“All people gonna need in the future is a browser.”
You realize that your vision of the “future” is a rehash of terminal computing circa the 1970’s, the only difference being that this time the dumb terminals connect to the mainframe over the internet?
The whole idea of “browsers as the ultimate platform” is thin coat of new paint over a geriatric paradigm that was displaced by the personal computer a long, long time ago.
Your “way forward” is the way backards into the stoneage of computing.