Can Mac OSX run on I386 hardware?
- Thread starter her209
- Start date
No, it cannot.
Yes, it's based on unix, but it's still Apple's privately owned code, and if they don't feel like compiling it for x86 processors, then it's not going to run on x86 processors.
They will never release a PC version because it would kill thier hardware business.
Yes, it's based on unix, but it's still Apple's privately owned code, and if they don't feel like compiling it for x86 processors, then it's not going to run on x86 processors.
They will never release a PC version because it would kill thier hardware business.
OS X works well because it runs on almost standard hardware. Throw and unlimited combination of hardware at it and it will be as unstable as Windows.
Professionals. People who need OS X and the software that only runs on it.
Not high school and college kids who play lots of vieo games.
So that apple can sell the OS for $129 and the hardware for $0 a opposed to the current business model of selling the OS for $129 and the hardware for $2999?
The Darwin kernel (which is open source) works with x86 for sure. OS-X is based off the NeXt OS which was able to run certain programmes on different architectures by compiling the apps on the fly. The apps only needed a translation file that had in it the differences needed to make a successfull compile of a programme on a different CPU. Of course those apps weren't very fast though but the technology worked to some extent (remember this was in the early to mid nineties). So it is conceivable that a full OS X and some apps can run on x86 hardware.
If Apple did do a brain-fart and go x86 (all the issues of running existing PPC programmes aside) you can bet that they'd still make their own chipsets and not bother with a standard BIOS but continue to rely on their Open-Firmware system thus while making their machines run with x86 hardware still keeping OS-X locked to their plattform (OS X is highly integrated into the workings of the on Board firmware while in the x86 world the system BIOS is very autonomous).
If Apple did do a brain-fart and go x86 (all the issues of running existing PPC programmes aside) you can bet that they'd still make their own chipsets and not bother with a standard BIOS but continue to rely on their Open-Firmware system thus while making their machines run with x86 hardware still keeping OS-X locked to their plattform (OS X is highly integrated into the workings of the on Board firmware while in the x86 world the system BIOS is very autonomous).
The selling point of the notebooks at least is the elegance of the hardware. I see people paying Apple prices for Viaos, why not for PowerBooks? Find my something to compete with my 12" PowerBook for the price.
Enough that Apple is a billion dollar comapny that's been around for 25 years and doesn't show any signs of failing anytime soon.
But apparently that business model is flawed and they would do better if they stopped selling computers, right?
All G5s have AMD chips in their chipset.
How long would it be before their DRM-like setup is hacked?
I hear they make something like a 30% margin on hardware sales. That's not something I'd want to give up.
You might not know, but how open is it? In the past (g[34]s), it's been quite closed. Apple didn't write it, but how much technical information can you find on it?
A OS is too expensive to make and survive as a company off of. MS can only do it because they have a stranglehold on the market and started during a time when people were whilling to pay hundreds of dollars for something as crappy as DOS.
Every other commercial OS maker ALWAYS sells hardware with a OS to run it. Apple is just one in a dozen other companies.
And if you think that 3k is to much to charge for computers then you haven't checked out the ads for hardware in PC magazines. Plenty of machines cost over 3k. Your just outside the target audiance.
For some people 3k for a computer is cheap if it allows them to worry about getting work done vs worrying about keeping porn pop-ups away.
Sure it has. There are a hell of a lot more computers running Linux then are running OS X. About 20+% of the server market, 3-5% of the desktop market vs Apple's 3-5% of the desktop market,
The reason most people here don't use it is becaue they are so used to how Windows works (their entire experiance with computers always involved Windows computers that changing is difficult. It's tough to be a newbie again.), and gaming support for linux is bellow the windows par.
Every other commercial OS maker ALWAYS sells hardware with a OS to run it. Apple is just one in a dozen other companies.
And if you think that 3k is to much to charge for computers then you haven't checked out the ads for hardware in PC magazines. Plenty of machines cost over 3k. Your just outside the target audiance.
For some people 3k for a computer is cheap if it allows them to worry about getting work done vs worrying about keeping porn pop-ups away.
Sure it has. There are a hell of a lot more computers running Linux then are running OS X. About 20+% of the server market, 3-5% of the desktop market vs Apple's 3-5% of the desktop market,
The reason most people here don't use it is becaue they are so used to how Windows works (their entire experiance with computers always involved Windows computers that changing is difficult. It's tough to be a newbie again.), and gaming support for linux is bellow the windows par.
Originally posted by: n0cmonkey
You might not know, but how open is it? In the past (g[34]s), it's been quite closed. Apple didn't write it, but how much technical information can you find on it?
I don't know anything useful... I only know it's an AMD part for the Hypertransport bridge. I was just pointing out that Apple makes very little of their hardware. Standard drives, standard video cards... I doubt they design very many of the ASICs (chipset, IDE controllers, gigE controllers, sound stuff, etc.) on their boards.
Either it's that open, or someone is signing NDAs again...
Apple's been tight lipped about their chipsets in the past.
Huh? I thought windows was stable nowadays?
(and for that matter, it's not like osx stability problems are unheard of, they're just not the norm)
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