Dell Studio 17 quickly hacked to run OSx86
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted Jul 30th 2008 10:56AM
posted Jul 30th 2008 10:56AM
Update: We had to pull the read link here due to the "Engadget Effect" -- sorry Ken!
posted Jul 30th 2008 10:56AM
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
Sacrelidge!
fail!
oh, and it's "sacrilege"
double fail!
@Joshua Topolsky
I have OSX on a portable 2.5" usb drive that boots with 95% of systems I plug it into with most if not all "main" features working.
That "super-magical fantasy world" is the world of OSX users only. Vista runs on every single laptop out there, including Apple Macs.
Vista was designed to be run on all x86-based PCs, OS X was not. Voted you down for not knowing what should be obvious.
it's actually the world of *mac* users only, not OS X users, as there are OS X users out there (like this dell Studio) who run OS X86. But, I've had several osx86 machines, and it just really is too much of a pain in the ass as far as drivers, etc. go.
Yeah, it's awesome, and mainly stable (+no viruses, duh), but I always find myself back on my macbook, and use boot camp if i need something else, which I find to be a VERY rare occasion.
apple FTW
Im pretty sure it was OSX that had to be hacked, not the laptop.
@ Bender Bending Rodriguez: You've just defined "super-magical fantasy world", thank you.
I plan on getting one of these studios and ripping out Windows Shitsta on it and replacing it with Hardy or openSUSE 11
It isn't that way for OS X users only... Linux fans feel the same way. Dell had only good intentions releasing some Inspirons with Ubuntu on them... and this is just plain cool.
When the newest Windows OS admittedly flopped, it isn't fair that it has a stranglehold on the PC market, and that the vast majority of computers are sold with no choice but to have Windows on it. So people are paying to downgrade to XP, and/or are buying computers with an operating system on it they have no intention of using. Lame.
oh yawn, Vista on the new beige boxes from Apple... real choice for all for those with an Aluminum fetish. Anything you want as long as it's Grey what a choice! Though to be fair sometimes you can get black!!! or White!!! wow so cool. Why bother buying anything but Apple? So much choice. Watch the dock bounce.
For all those that think your safe by not running Windows, check out this stuff:
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/111202/mac-and-linux-viruses-to-rise-significantly.html
http://money.cnn.com/2006/04/25/technology/business2_browser0425/index.htm
http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=376
Or just do a Google search and educate yourself. Security through obscurity is not security.
@retro77
With all due respect, sir, I think I'll wait until a virus or worm appears that is effective against my computer before pushing the panic button. In the meantime these predictions or simply that - predictions.
People have been predicting viruses for OS X since it came out. Eight years later, nothing has changed...
@retro77:
1) People have been "predicting" this for years. It still has not happened.
2) There "security" experts obviously have a vested interest here. To stay in business people need to be afraid of malware.
@Retro77
Two years of running Macs and guess what...
Nothing.
If you want to run OSX, why not just run some other UNIX based OS like Linux, There is little difference.
Linux + Google Docs / Lotus Symphony is better than OSX and more stable.
So why bother.
retro,
OS X and Linux are far from immune from viruses, you are absolutely right.
Fortunately, in 13 years using Linux and 6 using OS X, I haven't had a single virus, piece of spyware, or any kind of malware. Worst I've had is the occasional pop-up ads, and sometimes Safari downloads some sketchy file that would autorun if I was using Windows. It just sits there on my desktop and I laugh.
It will be a sad day for me when I have to start running AV software on my desktop, and I'm sure that day will come if market share continues to increase.
Until then, I will enjoy having CPU cycles for software I want to run, not software I *have* to run.
kccboy,
OS X does everything my Linux systems ever did, and more -- far more. I run Office 2008 which works great with my corporate Exchange system. I play DVDs without needing special hacks. Every piece of commercial software I've ever needed runs fine on OS X, and the shareware and freeware is both worlds more functional AND more polished than most of the stuff I've used in Linux.
Plus, I've got X11, and run hundreds of my favorite little Unix utils (rsync, scp, ssh, nmap, nc, ad nauseum) natively.. built-in, or thanks to Fink.
I've never had to worry about printer drivers or mounting my USB drive manually.
No doubt a homemade box with Linux would have been cheaper, but I often keep my systems for 5 or so years, and, frankly, the few bucks extra I paid to Apple is well worth the time I save on a daily basis.
I love Linux and truly enjoy working with it at my job... but it's just that, a job, not a lifelong fascination I want to spend all my free time on. YMMV, but the tradeoff of a few extra bucks for a really polished functional system is well worth it to many in my field. Go to an OSS conference and see how many Macs there are.
You could easily switch the conversation around and ask why you'd put up with Linux as a day-to-day desktop, with all of the compromises involved, just to save a few bucks.
Also, to fan the flames, why is this particularly engadget worthy? I get that it happened faster than usual, but I didn't get the feeling anything about this laptop made it especially hard from a technical standpoint.. no crazy architecture or anything.
@Unixsystemsengineer,
What a great measured response. Intellect exists on Engadget !!
@peternj
You're criticizing Apple for not having a rainbow of color offering for their computers?!? That's so 90s, been there done that. How old are you?
@Kizorblade @ Jul 30th 2008 1:50PM
Five years of running Windows and guess what...
Nothing.
not even antivirus
I've been running OSx86 for two months as an experiment and never switched back.
It actually gives me a warm fuzzy feeling that Symantic Antivirus for MAC is just to scan files you plan to put on a PC running windows.
"lack of full video support, sound, WiFi, Bluetooth, and Ethernet"
Uh. That's not exactly running OSX, is it? ;)
no, that's what running OSX on non Apple hardware is. Apple locks you in to their hardware and so unlike Microsoft, they don't have to support anything else at all. It just works so long as you don't do anything they don't want you to do.
No John, that's not exactly what running OSX on non-Apple hardware is like, that's just running OSX with hardware drivers that haven't been patched, probably no kext hacking. I'd look at the Read link, but it isn't loading for me.
I'm running OSX on my Acer Aspire 3690 and pretty much everything (bar the build in camera) works without much of an issue at all. I'm actually quite shocked by how well it runs. The only thing I can't do properly is updates and since this is an sse2 machine there's not update via the usual sources either.
TBH running this faux Mac and playing with OSX is probably likely to get me buying a real Mac in the end.
P.S. I don't like Apple but I do like OSX.
That's what happens when you just install OSX. I know you can make it run regularly with hacking over drivers, but that always happens when OSX is put on a new set of hardware.
Sources say it's actually running Oh Shit X.
Actually, the sound was working. The Video functioned, but not at native resolution. It 'detected' the Wifi Controller and Internal NIC, but identified them as unknown. Other than that, weird things did work, like the finger print reader, the Web Camera and the SD Reader...
Allow me to correct myself, we didn't actually check the sound, but Ken has reminded me that the Sound controller went detected as 'unknown' as well.
Thank you,
But does it have dual core support?
This would be a huge leap for the osx86 project, as almost all dell bioss prevent the osx86 kernel from running with both cores enabled. Its a problem that is specific to dell laptops, and if it were not for this issue, I would be running osx86 right now.
I thought the whole point of a Mac was the stability of a closed architecture. If you thought the nightmare of driver support was bad for Vista.....
You mean the MYTH of nightmare driver support?
Patrick: Future Mojave lover.
You got low-ranked for this? I say, spot-on old chap. If I wanted to spend all my free time messing with drivers for my machine, I wouldn't have bought a Mac.
No broli, it's not a myth. I have hardware that STILL doesn't work in Vista. Because MS requires certification for all Vista drivers, it can be a real pain to make them available.
@cockboy
Two points:
1) Ditch the tape deck. You don't need them for PCs any more.
2) Certified drivers? My beta forceware would like to talk to you.
Oh good, I like how your "solution" to Vista's ongoing issues with drivers is to hack it. That's awesome, and it completely absolves Microsoft of any culpability for these aforementioned ongoing driver issues.
Oh wait, no it doesn't. Apparently my point still stands. Oh, and it's not a tape deck. Nice try though. Care to try again when you have something worthwhile to say?
@Zak
Jesus Christ you really are like 13 aren't you...?
In general in he - only " the occasion of the time has " up to the modern transportable computer for which First-class Windows of the life precertainly, he also comes in the surgical system X-ый gets the century, he was organized in it, but for the study Делл, this occasion of the time was short very much. 17 témoine of the study the leopard which is unterpulled except the box, the awake soldier for some repeated problems like the absence of the support, the sound, WiFi, Bluetooth,
ahaha translated to spanish, to fench, to spanish again, to russian, to german back to english.. and we lost a few sentences somewhere along the line...
god i'm fucking bored
That's the magical world I want to live in where i chose the OS i want. If i buy a computer, i should have the option to have all the OS's on the market.
Which means if you buy a Mac you should have the option of a LINUX or Windows OS.
If you by a PC, you should have the option of OSX (and have it worked).
It seems like Apple is the problem point though.....
I seem to recall a time where Apple tried that whole licensing MacOS to other OEMs in the past...
> If you by a PC, you should have the option of OSX (and have it worked).
Apple invested billions of dollars developing Mac OS X. It is their intellectual property, which they license to users for a fee.
One of the terms of their license is that you can only run the Mac operating system (which, to remind you, is their intellectual property) on Mac hardware.
Running Mac OS X on any other hardware is a violation of their license agreement.
Why is that so hard for you to accept?
quag...Did you read my comment or are just quick to defend Apple?
I was suggesting in a magical world everybody would have the choice of the operating system they like on the hardware they like.
That's why Linux and Windows are so good in this aspect.
I know many people who like OSX, but would love to build their own system to run it they way they want.
kjb434... Yes, I did read you comment, but I didn't take the "magical world" part literally since I don't live in a magical world.
But, if I did live in a magical world the whole point would be moot because I wouldn't do any work that required a computer. I would just sail around the Caribbean on my magical, 70-foot sailboat and dine on unicorn steaks every night.
kjb434, I suppose my mistake was taking you seriously.
@quag
Im sure you know already but the EULA dosen't say Mac hardware. It Says Mac BRANDED hardware. Put an apple sticker on it and its 100% legal.
I do wish this world existed. I am using vista and happy with it but if Apple were to release OSX to use on any PC then I would certainly look into it.
@Skyride
Actually, I wasn't sure, so I looked it up and here's what Apple's EULA says:
"This License allows you to install and use one copy of the Apple
Software on a single Apple-labeled computer at a time."
http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/MacOSX.htm
Frankly, I am surprised at how loosely worded this is, but Apple does own the trademark for the use of the word "Apple" in the field of computers so they seem to have that angle covered.
>Put an apple sticker on it and its 100% legal.
Interesting theory... one could argue that slapping a white Apple logo sticker on a Dell computer would then legally enable you to install Mac OS X on it. It's silly, but would seem to meet the terms of the EULA.
The real question, though, is who want to test this in court?
quag, don't fuck with the unicorns or we'll have perpetual winter and the legend Tom Cruise will come kick your ass
this is why Apple is talking about dumping Intel as their chipset now... too much of this thinking outside the Mac box and hacking the OS to work on your own hardware.... shame on your guys for wanting to think different!
http://atlanta.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2008/07/28/daily44.html?ana=yfcpc