Hacking OSX something I do not get

[Supergoo]

Now I just do not get something, You have people hacking OSX to get it to run on non apple hardware, the question is why ? When you have Ubuntu that you can install and make your own, you can make it look like anything you want including OSX , if you want to. These guys are smart, I just wonder what spurs them. May it be the challenge ? Was just pondering it.




Supergoo

[Erunno]

There are people who have the opinion that Mac OS X is far superior to Ubuntu but don't want to pay for genuine Apple hardware either because it's too expensive or they already have capable hardware.

EDIT:

Stealth edit to fix the sentence structure although I have been quoted already ;-)

[Demio]

They're the people who mock Mac users, yet put Mac OS X on their PCs. In a sentence: cheap bastards ;)

[Chrisj303]

There are people who have the opinin that Mac OS X far superior to Ubuntu but don't want to pay for genuine Apple hardware either because it's too expensive or they already have capable hardware.

Exactly.

Many people want to run OSX as it is a cool OS and has some excellent software, such as Logic/Final cut - but just don't have the means to buy a new (Apple) computer.

I would never buy a PC. But if I was given, or won one - the first thing I would do would be to attempt to install OSX on it.

[Alfa989]

When you have Ubuntu that you can install and make your own, you can make it look like anything you want including OSX , if you want to.

It is called "Look & Feel", not just "Look", for some reason. Something many Linux users haven't thought of. Yet.

[atlascomplete]

A lot of people enjoy using the Mac OS because it is simpler in many ways to the Microsoft competitor. I guess some people wouldn't want to pay a premium on Apple hardware.

[3rdalbum]

Apple created a DRM system to attempt to stop people from being able to install Mac OS X onto ordinary PCs. So some innovative people took up the challenge of breaking the DRM and getting Mac OS X going on their machines.

It's done to kick sand in Apple's face, and also because it's a challenge and makes good conversation at parties.

[ghindo]

People hack OS X so they can say "hackintosh."

[RTSnLV]

Because people want OSX but want it on a computer that has better hardware than what Apple offers, or are unwilling to pay for a mac when they can build it themselves cheaper

[madscientist032]

A lot of people enjoy using the Mac OS because it is simpler in many ways to the Microsoft competitor. I guess some people wouldn't want to pay a premium on Apple hardware.

That is true, however I quite enjoy the ability to dual-boot Tiger and Gusty Gibbon on my mac (thank you Boot Camp beta.) Yes, macs aren't cheap, but they do have their advantages and disadvantages. One of the advantages is that macs rarely get viruses. Keyword is rarely. There is a slight possibility that PC users get fed-up with paying for anti-virus software so they hack the system to run OS X.

Understanding the true reason as to why people continually hack software to ruin it for the rest of us is beyond me. Can you think about what would happen if these people put that much energy and effort into something productive?

[RTSnLV]

That is true, however I quite enjoy the ability to dual-boot Tiger and Gusty Gibbon on my mac (thank you Boot Camp beta.) Yes, macs aren't cheap, but they do have their advantages and disadvantages. One of the advantages is that macs rarely get viruses. Keyword is rarely. There is a slight possibility that PC users get fed-up with paying for anti-virus software so they hack the system to run OS X.

Understanding the true reason as to why people continually hack software to ruin it for the rest of us is beyond me. Can you think about what would happen if these people put that much energy and effort into something productive?


Hacking isnt really about being destructive, its about exploring the software and making it do things it wouldnt normally do.

[madscientist032]

Hacking isnt really about being destructive, its about exploring the software and making it do things it wouldnt normally do.

I agree - that is true. However, the majority of hackers will never realized that their intended actions can become destructive. Look at the X86 project. Hell, look at the people who made Mac OS X Leopard run on a P.C. That may be their ultimate achievement and I give them credit for doing that so quickly. Remember the kid who hacked the iPhone? Kudos for him too. Hackers and other computer-savvy people do these things for the good of heart. Unfortunately, the media and whatnot have a bad habit of making these brilliant minds look completely different and sometimes view them as 'bad' people.


Maybe people hack OS X and other software just to get an adrenaline rush. I know I had one when I installed Feisty Fawn on my iMac - and didn't disrupt any of my data!

[boast]

hackers allow me to have linux on my xbox, linux on my ipod, a custom firmware on my linksys router, etc...

[ErusGuleilmus]

I run a few OS's at home, OS X being one of them. The reason that I have OS X on my pc is for nothing more the novelty of it.

[madscientist032]

hackers allow me to have linux on my xbox, linux on my ipod, a custom firmware on my linksys router, etc...

That, my friend, is a pure product of productivity!

[cprofitt]

That is true, however I quite enjoy the ability to dual-boot Tiger and Gusty Gibbon on my mac (thank you Boot Camp beta.) Yes, macs aren't cheap, but they do have their advantages and disadvantages. One of the advantages is that macs rarely get viruses. Keyword is rarely. There is a slight possibility that PC users get fed-up with paying for anti-virus software so they hack the system to run OS X.

Understanding the true reason as to why people continually hack software to ruin it for the rest of us is beyond me. Can you think about what would happen if these people put that much energy and effort into something productive?

sigh.

Some people are just dense.

Macs are computers.

OSX is an operating system.

Macs can't get viruses, but then again Dell and HP computers can't either.

OSX can get viruses. Windows can get viruses. Both OSes can get viruses regardless of the hardware they run on... and connecting them to the internet with a 'dumb' user in control is a sure fired method of contracting a virus.

I would never 'hack' OSX, but I find it intellectually dishonest for Apple to sell an OS and then disallow it from running on hardware that COULD technically run it. Then again I see Apple as true evil and Bill Gates / Microsoft as just hated because they were successful.

Apple packages a browser and several media players with OSX, but I do not see any anti-trust cases being brought against them the way Microsoft faced cases for media player in Europe. (iPods / iPhones have been a different story though)

[Alfa989]

Some people are just dense.
Yep


Macs are computers.
Ok...


OSX is an operating system.
Mmm... Correct...


Macs can't get viruses, but then again Dell and HP computers can't either.
The second sentence is wrong... I suggest you correct it...


OSX can get viruses. Windows can get viruses. Both OSes can get viruses regardless of the hardware they run on... and connecting them to the internet with a 'dumb' user in control is a sure fired method of contracting a virus.
There are 0 (zero) viruses out there for Mac OS X... Zero. Really, zero...
And proofs of concept that are announced by anti-virus making companies to lead us to buy their products, are not viruses...


I would never 'hack' OSX, but I find it intellectually dishonest for Apple to sell an OS and then disallow it from running on hardware that COULD technically run it.
Agreed

Then again I see Apple as true evil and Bill Gates / Microsoft as just hated because they were successful.
Micro$oft are hated because they've been holding computing backwards for years...


Apple packages a browser and several media players with OSX, but I do not see any anti-trust cases being brought against them the way Microsoft faced cases for media player in Europe.
The difference is that you actually CAN uninstall Safari and QuickTime...

[Depressed Man]

Unless there's a hardware virus out there, no computer can get a virus. The operating system you install or the one that comes preinstalled on a computer can get a virus.

But never the actual computer itself.

My Sony VAIO never gets a virus, and it never will.. Well unless I sneeze on it and then it has viruses on there. Though I suppose I can sneeze on anything. So even Macs would get a virus that way. Either way it's the operating systems on it that get viruses. Not the computer.

[Alfa989]

Unless there's a hardware virus out there, no computer can get a virus. The operating system you install or the one that comes preinstalled on a computer can get a virus.

But never the actual computer itself.

My Sony VAIO never gets a virus, and it never will.. Well unless I sneeze on it and then it has viruses on there. Though I suppose I can sneeze on anything. So even Macs would get a virus that way. Either way it's the operating systems on it that get viruses. Not the computer.

Lol

It's a computer. It's made out of hardware and software, which includes the OS... So yeah, a computer CAN get a virus... Hardware can't.

According to Wikipedia:

Software refers to parts of the computer which do not have a material form, such as programs, data, protocols, etc.

Your VAIO can get a virus. If it runs Windows, for example. And that applies to Macs too...

[bonestonne]

OS X cannot get viruses? someone needs to do lots of reading then!

while its a small number, there are still very destructive viruses for Apple OS.

While hacking the Apple OS may seem stupid to some, there are many people who swear by it. it depends on what you're into. I'd choose a 64bit Linux distro over anything else, but i keep windows around so i can use my printer.

every OS has its flaws, some people run them all to make up for that.

[rchar66]

Hacking isnt really about being destructive, its about exploring the software and making it do things it wouldnt normally do.

"Hacking = clever playfulness" - Richard Stallman

[Niklas Schröder]

they do it because they want the excellent software that mac already has, the virus protection, and eye-candy it offers (which makes it better than ******* and linux to some people). they choose to take the hard road instead of waiting for the linux world to "catch up."

[Alfa989]

OS X cannot get viruses? someone needs to do lots of reading then!

while its a small number, there are still very destructive viruses for Apple OS.


Show us... Any real virus that's out there in the wild attacking Mac OS X machines...

Oh, and BTW:
http://technicallytrue.blogspot.com/2006/05/mac-os-x-virus-contest-year-lateran.html

[3rr0r]

Why do people solely consider viruses when considering/comparing OS's? You can still hack your way into an OSX box. Game over.

http://secunia.com/product/96/

As for no viruses... what is this ? (http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/analyses/shrenepoa.html) or (http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/analyses/osxleapa.html)

[madscientist032]

I think when people say virus they refer to a "program that executes and replicates malicious code, therefore overriding the infected operating system."

No offense to any of the users that have posted here but the true definition of a computer virus has so much "gray area" that it is unable to have a specific definition that meets today's standards/issues.