"Apple Mac OS" appears on Dell's driver downloads

Well, isn't that unusual? Dell offering OS X driver downloads on their site? Hmm. We know you want it, Mike, but somehow we don't think your company has Jobs in your pocket quite yet. Give it some time though, we're sure he's bound to come around now that he's in the PC business, himself.

P.S. The drivers listed on Dell's site don't actually appear to be files for use in OS X, so for now we're chalking this up to Dell-related error. But see for yourself, why don't you?

[Thanks, Nick F]

[Gus Pinto @ May 29th 2006 7:12PM]

I would guess it's related to Dell's printer drivers for Mac OS users?

[Ben @ May 29th 2006 7:13PM]

Don't call me a fanboy or anything because l'm not, but notice which OS is at the top of the list?

[Peter @ May 29th 2006 7:17PM]

Yeah, it's on the top because they're added in succession of date.

XP >>> 2003 >>> Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 >>> Apple Mac OS

Either succesion of date, or order that Dell adds them. They're jsut stacked like that.

[Matt E. @ May 29th 2006 7:20PM]

Looks like a prank or error. All the driver files (besides the printer one) are .EXE's -- and any Mac user knows that Macs don't recognize .EXE files.

But the files they list are interesting....system BIOS and a diagnostics app of some sort. Not sure what the dell Dock Bay is, but it's under firmware.

Nothing here makes sense. Must be a prank.

[Matt E. @ May 29th 2006 7:25PM]

Oh, and it looks like this is not under every system, but under more than just the Laditude X1.

Looks like downloads for OS X are up for numerous Dell linups...

interesting.

[VedicHymn @ May 29th 2006 7:31PM]

Matt -

How is this interesting? As other people have said, it's probably just an error, and the OS listing from their printers is leaking through to systems.

[Ben @ May 29th 2006 7:40PM]

perhaps this is a sort of viral ploy to increase consumer demand for OS X on third party hardware - Dell's way of strong-arming Apple

[kukito @ May 29th 2006 7:41PM]

There is one driver that shows up under the XPS 400 for a Dell 1815dn laser printer. It's in zip format but I downloaded it anyway, just to take a peek. It appears that Dell is now offering Mac specific drivers for at least some of their hardware, in this case a printer. Why would they appear under the XPS 400 rather than under the printer's own drivers is a mystery to me.

[DigiPimp @ May 29th 2006 7:42PM]

Apple might as well license the OS to other computer companies once they start allowing Windows to run on a mac. I mean once you're running a crappy OS your hardware doesn't matter quite as much.

[Bobak Kamaei @ May 29th 2006 7:44PM]

It looks like an error to me. Maybe they are planning on making OS X drivers for their PDA's MP3 players or printers and someone just put OS X on the driver list early in the wrong place.

[Joe Smith @ May 29th 2006 7:51PM]

6. RGP - Even worse... could Dell be BUYING Apple?!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

[Dave Zatz @ May 29th 2006 7:52PM]

Insane!

[atomic16 @ May 29th 2006 7:56PM]

well I plan on buying a mac soon and all I have to say is after my dispute with dell over a usb port and power adaptor I will never buy a dell again. To make a long story short first my USB port broke, I was told it would be 1000 to fix. A year passes and my power adaptor breaks, I call dell support and happen to ask about the USB port. Turns out it would have been alot less then 1000 to fix. Back to the power adaptor there is a replacment program for them. After two weeks of emails and phone calls I get my AC adaptor for free (that was what the replacment program was).

[anthony @ Jul 21st 2007 7:02PM]

well since i have just bought a dell d400 after a long running complaint with apple, i suppose i'm entitled to comment. ha..I would never buy apple ever again. they can so easily afford to pay off all the g4 ibook 800 owners who suffered the 'fan of death' total logic board failure just after the 1 year warranty runs out but there is no hint of a problem despite the court case in denmark that enabled all the danish g4s to be fixed. so apple are probably by far the worst in terms of not giving a fuck. Crappy hardware but osx isn't bad ...i'm owed so if there is a posibility of it working on dell i'll gladly d/l a copy

[Matthew @ May 29th 2006 7:59PM]

" 6. RGP - Even worse... could Dell be BUYING Apple?!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"

Considering that Dell's market value is roughly equal to Apple's, no its not very likely that Dell could be buying Apple. In fact, given the direction of the valuation of the two companies over the last two years or so, its more likely that Apple would be buying Dell.

[Jake Jarvis @ May 29th 2006 8:12PM]

Even if the files aren't for OS X, why would Dell have put OS X in their system in the first place?

[Jeff Croft @ May 29th 2006 8:18PM]

"Even if the files aren't for OS X, why would Dell have put OS X in their system in the first place?"

Because maybe they do offer -- are are considering offering -- OS X drivers for some of their products (MP3 players, monitors, etc.).

[R4V3 @ May 29th 2006 8:18PM]

Wasn't there a rumor going around that Apple would emulate the Win32 API to provide native support for Win applications?

...

That's a little too far off on my crazy-theorizing meter though. I'm guessing it's just a prank by a crazy Dell employee/h4x0r. Although we can always hope...

[poorfish @ May 29th 2006 8:20PM]

File Name File Size Download Time (56K) File Format
Driver_ONLY_Mac.zip 1 MB 4.4 min Hard-Drive

[ch424 @ May 29th 2006 8:25PM]

All of those programs have uses that run independently of Windows and OSX: the BIOS and Firmware programs run under Windows, but produce *stand alone* boot disks. Maybe "Mac OS" has just been filled in as a prank, when "Independent of OS" would have sufficed.

[Ein @ May 29th 2006 8:41PM]

It's a Mac printer driver for their 1815dn

http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/download.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=gen&releaseid=R126887&SystemID=DIM_CEL_1100&os=MAC1&osl=en&deviceid=10669&devlib=0&typecnt=1&vercnt=1&formatcnt=1&libid=40&fileid=169071

[Marc @ May 29th 2006 8:41PM]

Dell has some special upcoming product annoucement on May 31. Does anyone know what this event actually will feature? Of course, it's quite unlikely it's anything Mac-related, but anything's possible.

http://gear.ign.com/articles/710/710374p1.html

[John Sawyer @ May 29th 2006 8:50PM]

As far as I know, there's no way you can use a driver for OS X, no matter what it's for, on Windows--it's an oxymoron. If it's an OS X driver, it will run only under OS X, and if it's a driver that runs under Windows, then to call it an OS X driver doesn't make any sense. How can you have "an OS X printer driver for Windows"? How does OS X enter into the equation if you're simply connecting a printer to a Windows PC? You use a Windows printer driver when you're connecting the printer to your Windows PC, and an OS X driver if you're connecting the printer to a Mac.

[blahblah @ May 29th 2006 8:58PM]

# 19 (John Sawyer): Uh, yeah. H'okay...

It's a printer driver for OS X. I quitted out of Windows XP, booted into OS X on my Dell Dimension XPS Gen 4 system, and downloaded/extracted/ran the installer packages fom Dell's site. One is called "Dell Laser MFP Installer", and the other "Dell ScanThru Installer".

[Ein @ May 29th 2006 9:07PM]

Some people should just look up "Ockam's razor" :-)

[ian @ May 29th 2006 9:15PM]

it's gone from Dell's Site.

[DELL SUCKS @ May 29th 2006 9:18PM]

DELL SUCKS!

[whatever @ May 29th 2006 9:19PM]

No, it's not. *sigh* It's merely Engadget's link that's broken. Jesus, are you people really as stupid as you appear?

[DS @ May 29th 2006 9:23PM]

It would be a great move for Dell to preload OS X in their machines. They are however a *LONG* way away from apple design wise. I doubt That good old DS would buy one, but none-the-less a good move for Dell...

-DS

[adam @ May 29th 2006 9:23PM]

no, its still there. i just pulled it up with the latitude x1 as my selected computer. maybe dell did manage to strong arm apple into licensing the OS to dell as a way to increase osx's market share. apple has been known to do some pretty crazy stuff (example: kill off ipod mini, #1 selling mp3 player)

i hope they offer it in more than just the x1 if they do license though, because i'd like to get a 710m with out having to own a hackintosh, even though the macbooks are really really slick

[Michael @ May 29th 2006 9:24PM]

You fools! You're forgeting! You CAN run OS X on Dell... OSX86 that is ;)

[Michael @ May 29th 2006 10:03PM]

agreed, freaking sweet

[Cal @ May 29th 2006 10:22PM]

Of course you can run Mac OS X (x86) on a Dell. But.... Only if it is PATCHED!

You CAN NOT RUN Mac OS X (x86) on a Dell straight from the Developer DVD or DVD that apple give new customers.

[Grendel @ May 29th 2006 10:44PM]

Dell's big announcement on the 31st is fairly obvious. It's their XPS mobile concept. There have been tons of rumours about it being launched in May. Now about that it's not what you expect part, I'm not sure, but as you recall, the XPS Mobile Concept had a leather lid/Screen trim. Seems pretty obvious. I know it would be a beast but if I had the cash I would sure get one.

[Michael @ May 29th 2006 10:48PM]

#28: You CAN NOT RUN Mac OS X (x86) on a Dell straight from the Developer DVD or DVD that apple give new customers.

What if Apple made a special OSX that would run on Dell machines? It seems to me the big issue is the TPM chip, perhaps Dell has included that in the X1?

So many questions, but Dell would sell a lot of the X1s with OSX. With all of the craziness going on there right now (AMD) I think anything is possible...

[Fox McCloud @ May 29th 2006 11:28PM]

For those saying "you can't run a Windows EXE on OSX" might I need to remind you that MacOS X is little more than a souped-up UNIX with a nice GUI? Any intelligent MacOS user (that MIGHT be an oxymoron) could simply instal,l Darwin Ports, then install WINE, and they could run whatever they choose from windows (with some limite, of course.)

I run a dual boot system of Ubuntu Linux and Windows 2000 (for gaming only) and I must say that I tried the Dell Printer Driver on my Ubuntu Linux and it works fine (of course I have no dell printer, but I can complete most of the installer up to actually installing it.) It's a perfectly valid windows driver installer. A MacOS user could do the same thing and, more than likely, install this driver. Doing so, however, would only make the driver work on WINE programs, and only some of those.

Since OSX is based on UNIX and uses something similar to CUPS (I may be wrong about that, but I THINK it's CUPS) then it shouldn't need anmy "drivers" anyway. Linux/UNIX either supports hardware, or it doesn't, and no driver will change that. (Note you could compile a custom kernel, but I don't mess with Kernels)

In short, there's no reason to have a MacOS Printer Driver, but if there was, MacOS could run a windows EXE just the same as Linux can, with WINE. Any claim that it wouldn't run on a Mac is false. If a MacOS system is properly configured and has WINE, it will. Simply put, any Mac user who can't run this is just a dumb Mac user.

[Billy D. @ May 29th 2006 11:36PM]

I am very suprised that Engadget would post this.

These are just printer drivers. Yes, there are other downloadable items listed under "Apple Mac OS," but these are the same things that show up if you chose "Not Applicable" in the OS selection box.

This is no more than an odd, and slightly misleading, navigational choice by Dell. I doubt this is intentional, but, as mentioned, it could also be a lame attempt by Dell to start rumors and increase consumer demand for OSX on Dells (which they say they would love to have, but Apple isn't giving in).

Either way, this means nothing. Move along

[ron g @ May 30th 2006 12:06AM]

All posts about anything related to Apple here on Engadget annoy me. They are definetly slanted. I suppose that makes me a fanboy... but aside from my favoritism, it also comes across quite negatively because your political agenda is to obvious. As a consequence I have noticed my visits to this site decreasing. So your controversial articles that have increased in such abundance over the last month are having the exact oppisate affect on this particular websurfer.

Here's hoping you return to the Engadget of old.

[Alex Marchuk @ May 30th 2006 12:14AM]

I found another one, "Dimension 1100/B110" also has Mac OS X.

[Alex Marchuk @ May 30th 2006 12:20AM]

and "XPS M1710"

[scott @ May 30th 2006 12:21AM]

lets hope Dell doesnt own any elevators...

[Intrepid @ May 30th 2006 1:23AM]

Lol, I read engadget for the gadget news. Stop talking about Apple as I don't want to hear it. Make an EnApple site.

To #33. If you are complaining about what I think you are complaining about - get a life. Some of the Engadget writers are the biggest Apple fanboys arounds.
To all Apple fanboys, Dell is not the PC worlds version of Apple. Stop comparing. Sony or someone else with unreasonably high prices is a better comparison.

AND To #36. My thoughts exactly. They show a screenshot that completely contradicts what the article heading suggests.

[Alex Marchuk @ May 30th 2006 1:31AM]

Here is my semi-compiled list:
Dimension 1100/B110
Dimension 3100/E310
Dimension 5150/E510
OptiPlex 210L
XPS M1710
XPS/Dimension 200/5150C
XPS/Dimension 400/9150
XPS/Dimension 600
XPS/Inspiron M140/630m
XPS/Inspiron M170
Inspiron 1300/B130
Inspiron 6400/E1505
Inspiron 710m
Inspiron 9400/E1705
Inspiron E1405/640M
Latitude 110L
Latitude 120L
Latitude D400
Latitude D410
Latitude D510
Latitude D610
Latitude D620
Latitude D810
Latitude D820
Latitude X1
Dell Precision WorkStation 380
Dell Precision WorkStation 470
Dell Precision WorkStation 670
Dell Precision WorkStation M20
Dell Precision WorkStation M65
Dell Precision WorkStation M70
Dell Precision WorkStation M90

These are the systems i found that had "Mac OS X" listed. I hope you guys find more, or correct my errors (if any).

[Marian @ May 30th 2006 2:07AM]

No way Jobs will license OSX for Dell!

[HarryC @ May 30th 2006 2:19AM]

#41 you have way too much time on your hands. Get a job.

[ulle53 @ May 30th 2006 4:54AM]

idell HAHAHAHAHAHAHA the future is coming and it is a scary one :)

[Kevin @ May 30th 2006 4:57AM]

All of you are completely retarded except for 38.

None of the pages say Apple OS X. All of them say Apple Mac OS. It's either a prank or hopefully. Completely dumb though, and you are all morons (except 38)

[Kevin @ May 30th 2006 4:59AM]

of course, by "hopefully" i mean "sheerly out of hope"

[patrick sy @ May 30th 2006 5:02AM]

apple buying dell? i dont think so...dell is doing very well, even in government offices, they use dell. in fact LAX uses DELL.

[TZK @ May 30th 2006 6:00AM]

Alphabetical order dipshit.