Mac OS update breaks hackintoshes
Apple's latest update to Mac OS X - 10.6.2 - is set to remove support for Intel's Atom processor, breaking hackintosh netbooks.
The Atom chip is, of course, a staple of inexpensive netbook devices from a range of manufacturers - some of which enterprising hackers discovered were close enough to a Mac in hardware terms that they could run Mac OS X and be turned into so-called 'hackintosh' machines. While an official Apple netbook is unlikely to ever see the light of day, many Mac OS fans found the combination of portability with their favourite operating system a big enough draw to skirt the legalities of running Mac OS on non-Apple hardware.
Sadly, Apple is looking to stop all that: according to Wired.com the latest update includes a modification to the kernel which restricts the processor types on which Mac OS X is capable of running. The biggest change is the removal of support for Intel's low-power Atom processor, which has never been used in any official Apple device. Any hackintosh netbook upgrading to Mac OS X Leopard 10.6.2 will find their system no longer boots.
While the update isn't yet live for download - the news regarding its removal from the kernel build is taken from the latest developer build - it makes sense from Apple's perspective: the company has long held to the claim that installing its operating system on any hardware which it has not personally approved is against the terms and conditions of the licence, to the extent of suing companies that offer systems with legally purchased retail copies of Mac OS X pre-installed.
Do you believe that this move from Apple is a dirty trick, or does the company have the right to remove support for non-authorised hardware without warning? Share your thoughts over in the forums.
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Discuss in the forums ReplyApples who business model seems to treat customers with contempt. Force them to use iTunes, force them to keep their iPhone with one provider (no SIM change), force people to use certain hardware if they want their software.
And people say that MS used to abuse it's market position.
I don't get Apple. It's not like they manufacture the hardware! They're just a system builder just like any other oem (Dell, HP, you name it) and they put on their own OS.
Nothing special.
To me they're just a Pc Housing manufacturer and OS developer.
Apple has been making lot's of bad decision in my opinion while Microsoft is opening up and adopting a much leaner poilicy.
i think this is going to cause resentment with a lot of microsoft os ussers
becasue its not very nice that students get it for £30 and the rest have to pay £200
(im a student but i dont think i can get it becasue i dont have an ac.uk account)
I don't see any problem with lower-priced software for students. I back them up on that matter.
To get the most out of your study (in computer science) you need to work with a decent versions of software other thanExpress editions. And we all know students need money to finance their studies, etc.
I know that not every student does have an ac.cuk account, but I don't see Apple selling their Macs for fifth of its value to students.
... and retail, full copy of Win 7 Home Prem. can be bought just under £80 and not £200. You'd almost buy a netbook with Win 7 for that price
It's ironic that Apple most famous ad campaign, the 1984 hammer ad, was all about sticking it to the corporate man. Over the last few years, Apple has become more proprietary and controlling than Microsoft ever was.
(usually music though not operating systems)
What, because it's so hard to download and install another browser using IE?
- TomTom and patent FUD?
- Who backed SCO financially?
- ODF vs. OOXML and the ISO vote-rigging shambles?
- Continued denial of interoperability protocols & the European Commission?
- IE, the European Commission and who actually initiated the benefit to consumers?
These are but a few. Do your homework before you make such outrageous statements.
Back to the article - it would be interesting to see the proportion of Mac users appearing on the data from yesterday are running hackingtosh. I would think it would be quite high in which case this is a bit silly - particularly as support for the Atom isn't going to make their OS any less stable.
Is there a way to turn off what information a motherboard supplies to the OS in the BIOS? There are a load of options that sound like it might but nothing concrete that I can think of.
Stands to reason someone could just mess with the BIOS enough for, say, an Atom board to report itself as an iMac board. But then, that's not something most users are comfortable with doing.
Ninja edit: Here's the link for the Foxconn fiasco - http://ubuntu-virginia.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=869249
Law suites over what? There is absolutely nothing illegal about only putting software you developed on devices you make. Try any cell phone aside from android. Microsoft sells software, Apple sells hardware, they just have different business models. It sucks that Apple did this, but I would say they have every right to do it if they chose, and as a company they are doing amazingly right now. They are making a killing selling expensive machines in a recession. I would also be very surprised if hackintoshes were more than a tiny amount of the market, its still too difficult for most consumers.
looks like i'll have to wait for the hackers to work harder, use make a patch that keeps 10.6.1's kernel
I'm sorry, this has nothing to do with monopolies.
Apple and Microsoft ARE NOT COMPETITORS, believing they are is going to be the death of Microsoft. They have completely different business models in what regards computers and software. Actually, the Zune is probably the only MS product that directly competes with one Apple product.
If Apple would try to get into MS niche - openly selling its OS - they would not survive. When people say "Apple is overpriced", that is because the MS and Apple operate on completely different value networks (with apple users willing to pay higher to get their computing needs satisfied).
I like Windows. Actually, it is a very nice app for the Mac OS - actually, I do run winxp on my macbook, under a virtualization solution. If you don't want to go into virtualization, there is always Crossover, a commercial implementation of WINE that enables you to run several windows apps within OSX (and Linux, for that matter). How's that for giving people choice?
MS is going crazy believing that Apple is its competitor and is failing to see the real competition - Linux and it's soon-to-come-Google-backed distribution, Chrome OS (just add some WINE and it is ready to run windows apps...). What would happen if people became used to paying $0.00 for their OS, instead of hundreds of dollars? It is the issue of value networks all over again, and in this case, keeping OSX hardwired to Apple hardware is what may ensure Apple's survival.
Check out this rather insighful interview with Steve Ballmer:
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/09/24/microsoft-ballmer-interview-exclusive-techcrunch-bing-mobile-azur/
(I can't shake the feeling that MS is about to be blindsided by Google)
And some pointers on the issues of Disruptive Innovations and value networks:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disruptive_innovation
(be sure to check out Christensen's book, "The Innovator's Dilemma")
Pulling out Hitler because Apple tried to block hackintoshes? You, sir, lose this argument just for playing the Hitler card. Have a good day.
I could see this coming like a sun rise...
you, sir, hit the nail on the head
@frojoe
there is also absolutely nothing wrong with mandating that your OS runs with your web browser, despite the fact that it is technically possible for it to run something else. you made it, you get to decide what runs on it (at least that is apple's philosophy it seems, and they back it with lawyers). the EU is only suing Microsoft over all this instead of apple because Microsoft has deeper pockets, not because Microsoft is worse in terms of limiting consumer choice. windows is actually a far more open platform than mac, on almost every level. the fact that the EU only ever targets Microsoft show that they are only after money, and it is morally reprehensible.
@Shagbag
Microsoft is pretty much like every other company in this regard (and no, that is not an excuse for them, just a fact). they only go with the standards as long as it is convenient for them to do so. they also have been know to use underhanded tactics to get their own standards approved, also par for the course in the computer industry, shamefully enough. my point is that you can't just single out Microsoft when you make these claims, as it is misleading (though you can make the claim that Microsoft changing its ways could turn the industry around. i would only believe you, though, if you manage to convince me that consumers care about that kind of thing).
You sir, win the argument :D. The length of any internet discussion/argument is directly proportional to the length of time it will take someone to make a comparison to Hitler or Nazis.
To get back to the point... I thought that some macbooks, like the macbook air, used the Atom processor?
Either way, it won't make a bit of difference to the Hackintosh community. OSx86 already runs on processors it was not designed to, such as AMD processors, and they've managed to bypass the Apple EFI requirements. Given time, they will bypass these restrictions also.
Apple has brand power. They can afford to charge more for their systems because people recognise it as a premium & luxury brand, and will therefore be willing to pay for it - even if it's just for the bragging rights. Even their OS comes with bragging rights; you can't get OSX, which is portrayed as being better than the competition, without buying their hardware. There are plenty of people left in the world who will be prepared to buy into the brand and while they still exist, Apple will never open up OSX. I'm not saying this is completely shallow; it's just human nature. People will want the best and most exclusive, and Apple's brand represents that. I'm even guilty of it myself. I bought an iPod touch recently, when I could have spent the same money on a far more capable media player with better sound quality and more storage capacity. I didn't, because I wanted a slab of good-looking shiny-shiny.
I say Hitler like because of Steve Jobs and the way he talks to people with a slide of hand, saying pretty words to "motivate" or rather manipulate people but then his actions completely do the opposite of what he was saying. The man is the biggest hypocrite on this planet. Come on the man wouldnt even acknowledge his own daughter because he was afraid it would hurt his image. It wasnt until she was about 12 that he finally admitted to having a daughter, heck even one of his earlier attempts at easing his guilt was to name a computer after her. The company is a monopoly, they control the hardware, the software, the repair, heck to some degree the people, its ridiculous, the justice department should be all over the company.