Mac OS under VirtualBox?

**Tom_ZeCat** · January 3rd, 2014

I have a Lenovo laptop with Kubuntu 13.10. Most of the time I run Kubuntu only with Linux-based software and do just fine. There is one program (Treepad Business) that I run under WINE, and it runs great. I don't miss my Windows days. However, there are a few Windows-based programs that I still need which do not run well under WINE. Those are:

Quicken
Photoshop
Final Draft
ConvertXtoDVD
PhotoImpact

When I run Windows 7 under VirtualBox, I'm able to get all these apps to run. However, every time I do so I'm reminded why I jettisoned Windows in the first place. It takes a long time for Windows to boot up, and then it pesters me to let it update. Then my antivirus software has to use up system resources to update. It's much nicer when I can just run Kubuntu.

I have Windows 7 on lock-down. I have the AV program's firewall set to block Windows 7 from accessing the Internet. If I need to use the Internet, I do that with Kubuntu. However, I do temporarily unblock Windows' net access to let it install its latest updates and to let the antivirus program update its defs.

I'm still not comfortable running Windows without an AV program. Before switching to Kubuntu I used one of the best AV programs available (Kaspersky) but Windows must have still somehow contracted an undetectable virus. I would be working in Windows and suddenly it would slow down and then I would notice that my antivirus had been disabled. I finally formatted the thing and installed Kubuntu.

I do notice, however, that the first three Windows-based apps on my list have Macintosh versions. I've googled around to learn that nowadays it's possible to run Mac OS X.[whatever] under VirtualBox. The Youtube demonstrations I've seen are of running it under Windows, but I'd bet it could be run under Linux. And, like Linux, Mac OS is not highly vulnerable to malware, and, like Linux, it is Unix-based.

Maybe Mac OS would make a good secondary OS. I could run Quicken, Photoshop, and Final Draft with it, thus reducing my need to turn on Windows. Alas, there is no Mac or Linux version of ConvertXtoDVD, and it does not run well under WINE (despite what is claimed at winehq.com). Mac does have an equivalent known as Toast, though I have no idea how good it is. The Linux equivalent, DeVeDe, still does not give you as nice of control over subtitles as ConvertX does, and I watch a lot of foreign films. They don't make PhotoImpact anymore, and there's no Mac or Linux version, but I'll likely use it less and less over time since it's orphaned.

What I wonder about is:

Does Mac OS X.x handle updates well, better than the clumsy and intrusive way Windows does it?
Have others successfully used Mac OS X.x as a secondary OS under Linux/VirtualBox? A search of previous posts has shown people unable to get Mac OS to run, but those posts are rather old.

I know Mac considers running their OS on hardware other than their own to be an EULA violation, but pffft to that noise. If you've paid for a copy of it, you should be allowed to run it on any hardware you can get it to work on. If I buy a Canon DSLR camera and I can get a Nikon lens to work on it, I should be allowed to.