Psystar founders claim they cracked OS X, hackintosh scene is 'all wrong'
By Nilay Patel 
posted Nov 11th 2009 5:03PM
posted Nov 11th 2009 5:03PM
Really? Because we think there's a very large, very active hacking community out there that would disagree with you, Rudy.Rudy scoffs at the idea he borrowed from the Hackintosh scene. "The first thing you have to do is unlearn everything you've read online about how to make this work," Rudy says, "because it's all wrong."
P.S.- A full list of every other mistake in this piece after the break.
[Thanks, Chris]
- "Robert cracked the code behind Apple Computer's elegant operating system, OS X." Yeah.
- "Psystar legally buys the software..." That's not in question, really. The issue is what happens after Psystar buys OS X, when it modifies and redistributes it. You know, the specific thing Apple's suing about.
- "[Apple] filed a 35-page lawsuit in California claiming Psystar was selling "unauthorized" versions of OS X." Why is unauthorized in quotes? That's exactly what Apple claims.
- "As with Microsoft, which lost a multimillion-dollar antitrust decision in Europe in 2004, Apple is protecting an illegal monopoly, Psystar claims." Psystar has already lost this part of its case in California, and in the new Florida case Psystar only claims Apple has a monopoly on "premium personal computers," which pretty much invalidates the pricing argument and has driven the company to sell more expensive machines.
- "Robert says he found his own way around Apple's built-in security devices. The breakthrough meant that, among other things, the cheap machines were virtually immune to viruses and hackers." This is simply not true. OS X is vulnerable to hackers in its shipping form, and hacking EFI doesn't change that.
- "Psystar pays full price - $29 - for each copy of OS that it installs on its computers." $29 is the Snow Leopard upgrade price. The full price is $169 with iLife and iWork.
- "What's more, Apple holds that consumers who purchase an operating system don't actually own the software...It's a dubious-sounding arrangement that courts, at least so far, have upheld." It's not dubious to the courts, who've been upholding EULAs for over a decade across the country. (And striking some down, to be fair.)
- "Pretty much anyone with basic computer knowledge can make a cloned Mac for just the cost of a full tank of gas in an SUV." Actually, anyone can do this for free, without having to pay Psystar.
Now, don't get us wrong -- the personal story of Robert and Rudy Pedraza laid out in the article is moving stuff, but when the chips are down, we're picking the hacker and enthusiast community over a couple guys trying to make a buck selling unlicensed software, and that Hackintosh quote struck us as impossibly arrogant and extremely foolish. The OSx86 community is already wary of Psystar, and we're guessing no one's going to rush forward the next time these jokers need some help.
hmmmm, right.
Bye bye Psystar, you may have just nailed your coffin shut!
Well, when this is all over, I think the Dictionary definition of Psystar will read something like this:
Psystar |ˌsīstär| - (pronounced 'pwnd')
adjective:
company who's employees suffered hallucinations and apparent expansion of consciousness beyond normal reality. (*see nut-jobs)
• relating to or denoting a style of misinformation, characterized by arrogance and possible drug-related dementia. (*see omgimsohigh)
• denoting or having an intense, vivid colors or a swirling abstract star pattern : (*see psychedelic hippy T-shirt)
noun:
a stupid company.
• the first against the wall when the revolution came.
• Hans Reiser's cell mates (*see prison bitches)
What's the deal with hating on Psystar?
If someone really wants OS X without giving Steve Jobs an arm and a leg why not consider a Psystar?
Because they are profiting for stealing code, not just from Apple but from all the programmers allowing this to exist. And they even manage to say they made it themselves and managing to piss off Apple. I'm glad Apple has them by the neck. Psystar I got two words for you guys:
FUCK YOU!!!
@John Titor -- Because what they're doing is illegal? Maybe that plays into one's decision?
it may be illegal but so is jailbreaking so who cares if its illegal
it's not exactly stealing when they are buying the retail product, and you guys don't seem to rate down comments about regular Hacintoshers
they sure will leave a legacy behind if they open-sourced their bloody boot loader ... i feel apple needs to buy this company and get rid of it ... i want apple to make money so that they keep providing s/w of this quality
meh
Your Avatar disagrees
Fine, then it's an enthusiastic meh
"selling unlicensed software"
Pretty much a truism when you consider that Apple doesn't offer a license.
Not using Product Keys is not the same as not offering a license. There is a license that comes with the software.
just because they don't offer it doesn't mean you can step up and do what you want without asking.
what is amusing is that they lack the paper trail to prove that they actually bought anything. for all we know they pulled a five finger on those disks. and even if they did pay, they are still breaking several laws. regardless of the state of the EULA decision
frankly it seems pretty clear that they copied from the hackintosh community and violated the open source license. I hope they get sued over it.
as for the Florida case, I won't be shocked if the notion of a Premium Computer Market is tossed or at least deemed moot since they are selling out of that market. and if the judge rules that for all intentions and purposes Snow Leopard is the same as Leopard and follows the guidance of their sister court in California.
@Chris: Just because the software is legally obtained, and that it contains a license, does not mean that Psystar is using it within the terms of the license agreement.
The license only allows for installation on Apple-branded hardware. And, the license only allows for upgrading your current Mac OS X software... there is no boxed version of OS X that allows for a non-upgrade install. And Macs are the only computers that contain a licensed OS X installation, therefore they are the only computers eligible for an upgrade.
I believe that's what Sisyphus meant by that comment. Argue all you want whether that's right or wrong or fair or unfair (I'm not arguing either way), but that's what the license says.
Sounds like someone needs to tell Psystar there is more than one way to peel an apple.
Thank you for that :D
I audibly laughed at that hackintosh statement when I read it also, good to see I wasn't the only one.
I wouldn't touch Psystar now with a ten meter cattle prod.
"they cracked OS X,"
Thats a big twinkie!
I don't know why this is any surprise, these guys had 'asshole' tattooed on their foreheads from day one. Why are people just now figuring this out? Has anyone bothered to take apart their new software tool and find all the Hackintosh FREE software being used inside? Who wants to bet what percentage it is?
Who wants to lead the torches and pitchforks to their door?
I'm from Ft. Lauderdale, and I have never heard of Miami New Times until this article. That should tell you something.
same here. sun sentential, Miami herald, those are two of the bigger papers down here, there are others, i'm just not naming them.
It's a free street press that you can pick up in boxes at the side of the road. Not exactly pro journalism. It's likely the author is making articles for free for New Times as an inroad to becoming a journalist.
@Chris Living in Ft. Lauderdale does not qualify you as knowing anything in or about Dade County or Miami. Broward people can be so clueless about Dade just like Chapel Hill and Raleigh folks are about Durham.
Miami New Times in my opinion is bird cage liner for the most part but that paper has been around for sometime.
New Times is only good for upcoming event ads and the majority of it consists of phone sex/hooker ads in the back. I feel sorry for the author as this probably wasn't intended to make it to Engadget.
lol psystar blows. if you want a mac either buy one, or build one yourself.
The WWW was invented by Tim Berners-Lee who is most definitely not American.
That wasn't supposed to go there.
Making money off someone else's work and taking all the credit for the work.
That's the American way!
No, I think that's the Chinese's way. Americans are actually innovators of the world.
Lawl.
When america invents something other than the sandwich board let me know.
hey, leave Apple alone!
@sam: When america invents something other than the sandwich board let me know
You mean other the the personal computer that you are typing that message on and the world wide web that you are sharing this message with? Or perhaps the AC power distribution system that provides power to your computer?
@Sam
umm... lets see, for starters something called the light bulb, the modern televison, and to cut the list short the internet.
@tmarks11, not to undo your wonderful argument, but Sir Tim Berners-Lee - the creator of the world wide web - is British. Americans have invented an awful lot, but not the WWW. ;)
I believe America invented: The Lightbulb, The Telephone, The Telegraph, The Artificial Heart, The Sewing Machine, The Computer, The Flashlight, The Microwave Oven, The Escalator, Credit Cards, Cotton Candy, Blue Jeans, Bubblegum, Crayons, Blaclights, The Zipper, Nuclear Weapons, Napalm, The Videotape, The Airbag, Ferriswheel, etc etc. Electricity was discovered in America. Where would we be without Electicity, the lightbulb, telephones or computers...?
America, America, you mean the world to me.
America, America, from sea to shining seaaaaaaaaaaaa!
I agree. Sure America has invented plenty, but those who make the money off the inventions are rarely the inventors themselves.
Just read about Tim Paterson and QDOS, Microsoft wouldn't be who they are today if it wasn't for him. What did he get for his work? $75k...
@Dale -
Al Gore is American.
@derrik : Sorry to point you out but Graham Bell is from Canada not US. As for electricity, AC was invented by Nikola Tesla who is SERBIAN not American.
@Goopy
Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Edison are basically the fathers of Electricity and bell was born in Scotland and moved to Canada so he isn't Canadian
No, that's the British way of making cars. America invented the first modern car - the 1919 Cadillac- with the modern, three-pedal layout you see today. The British merely took that and implemented it in the cheaper Austin 7.
@derrik
I think you will find that Americans invented all of those things. America hasn't invented anything, being a country. You can keep your nuclear weapons. There is only so much destruction you can inflict.
As for discovering Electricity, I think the first guy to be hit by a lightning bolt would argue that he discovered it first. Americans may have found a use for it, however I am sure he felt it first...
Per capita, you probably cannot beat Australians anyway. Periscope, Penicillin and others are pretty good, however I wouldn't take credit for them just because the people who developed them were born in the same nation as me...
grey invented the telephone. bell stole it
@Zero : Thanks for the correction but still he wasn't american like Derrik claim. For the invention of electricity, Edison invented DC not AC. He despised AC more than anything else that's why he invented electric chair for New York state prison to make it looked bad.
@everybody!
America is populated by people who moved here and the descendants of those who moved here, so if you are all going to get all OCD on the matter, true american's have no recorded inventions because everyone else moved in, killed them all off, and took credit for anything that they did.
i thought the American Way was to make buttloads of money off frivolous lawsuits...
@Derek that's quite a long list of mostly incorrect 'American' inventions right there...Alexender Graham Bell was Born in Scotland, worked in the US and stole his 'invention' from an Italian. The first computer design is considered to be over 2k years old and greek but babbage got a bit further in the 1900's with his incomplete mechanical computer and the brits undoubtable made the first valve based computer furing ww2 as part of the enigma cracking effort. Nuclear weapons is an interesting one. Ofc the first ones where made in the US as part of an international effort but the Heisenberg principles behind it are German in origin but thats just one of many countries contributions to it. Mechanical sewing machines existed in europe long before the US based on printing press designs. In the grand scheme of things the US hasn't 'invented' a great many things in comparison to its population but has certainly developed ideas further in thousands upon thousands of cases.
If you want a country with a ridiculously high invention rate check out Scotlands list. population of 5million and it woops most countries asses in the field of inventors!
1900's should be the 1800's*
Americans invented fake tits!
somewhat eh about it. Makes you think though, if a company can claim to build an app that will install on any pc machine, and seems to be working for a lot of the people I know, they JUST MAY be onto something.
Im not arguing about the rest of your story, which is mostly on the way they redistribute the software (purchasing buying & modifying) just about your first statement:
"Rudy scoffs at the idea he borrowed from the Hackintosh scene. "The first thing you have to do is unlearn everything you've read online about how to make this work," Rudy says, "because it's all wrong."
Really? Because we think there's a very large, very active hacking community out there that would disagree with you, Rudy."
Or they could've phrased it as reinventing the wheel....
N41
First Apple's doing it wrong, and then the Hackintosh community they steal from is doing it wrong?
You point out the full cost of the OS, but then say that this can be done free. Certainly, that's true if you already have purchased the OS, but if done legally is never free.
Sure, sure -- I specifically meant that you don't have to pay for Rebel EFI to build a hackintosh.
You're violating the EULA either way, though -- "done legally" is a bit of stretch.
Question: if you were going to do this on a netbook right now, it wouldn't matter anyway right, because once you upgrade to 10.6.2 you wouldn't be able to boot regardless, am I correct?
Well at least with the Hackintosh community, this is only one of the few things they should "unlearn". And how to do that best? Swap the kernel out. Or do a few patches. Or wait for Apple to update the kernel source at opensource.apple.com.
I just don't get Psystar. They seem like they WANT to get spanked by Apple. Or even the FTC. Sure, the Hackintosh scene isn't something for everybody, it requires a bit of knowledge, but it seems to work better than this product.
Search around. Many people are saying that Psystar's product just doesn't work as advertised.
Does that make them those who need to "unlearn everything"?
Psystar's product worked for one woman who wanted to get a Hackintosh working but needed a working Mac to prepare a file to make it happen. I understand she used the free to try ISO from Psystar to get a sort of working copy of Mac OS installed. Then from that working but crippled installation she created the files she needed in the Hackintosh community to have a properly working Hackintosh. She installed Chameleon 2.0 from that working copy of Snow Leopard and rebooted without the Psystar disk.
Boom she then had a correctly working Hackintosh version of Snow Leopard with dual boot into various other OS like Windows and Linux too. IMHO that was a true hacker trick that was easy to do. With a wink she threw the Psystar disk away before I could stop her.
The hackintosh community started hacking the intel build of OS X almost from the moment Steve put up the 'Its True' slide. Discussion boards came up, then the developer build leaked and the scene got going for real. Things have come a LONG way since those early days, and we - collectively - learned a hell of a lot. The methods and patches have gotten extremely sophisticated and there is simply no way that these two *pricks* can claim they've figured it all out alone.
Many, many extremely intelligent people have come (and some, sadly, gone) from the scene, each adding patches, code, and gratuitious mental prods, always pushing the whole thing forwards. Its a community effort and one I am proud to have been part of from the very beginning.
Psystar are exactly what they appear - scumbags looking to make a quick buck.
- Rory
aka 'munky' on insanelymac / hackint0sh / projectosx
I dunno why, but hearing things from the opposite, correct side is really, really soothing.
I can't boast to have been a part of the community, but I can thank you for the benefits I've reaped. My "Mac Pro" was a hell of a lot cheaper than Apple would charge.
That's because it's not being regurgitated by some scumbag with ill intentions.
The coders and hackers that push OSS or freedom of code aren't in it for the money. They are in it to fill gaps they feel need to be filled. Bringing Mac OS X to every PC on the market doesn't have to be about mansions, diamonds, and fame. For most, it's about exercising freedom, nothing more.
Legal or not, there is still something heartwarming about those that spend their time increasing the quality of life for others in this maddening world where everyone is trying to turn a buck.
Hackers are there to prove that "where there's a will, there's a way"".
You have to love the effort they put in for free.
OK, why is the hackintosh community not considered scumbags for taking advantage of Apple? The hackintosh community is misappropriating Apple's intellectual property to Apple's financial detriment, and the communities gain. Is that not what Pystar is doing to the hackintosh community, only the community isn't suffering any real financial loss from it, so in a way what Pystar is doing to them is less evil then what the hackintosh community is doing to Apple?
Actually, its a lot simpler than that, and its nothing to do with freedom. While I can't speak for everyone in the scene (nor would I wish to), for me it was always about pure intellectual challenge. I dont want a hackintosh as a 'cheap mac' and in fact I actively dissuade people who pursue building one if its just for that reason.
I think the motivation for most was simply that classic hacker ethic - to see if it can be done.
Why did Steve Wozniak hack the phone system in his college years? Was it because he was too cheap to pay for phone calls? Of course not. He simply figured it could be done, so he did it.
"Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them, disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them."
Which group does that sound more like - the hackers pushing the boundaries of whats possible, simply for the love of their hobby? Or these Psystar leeches, pushing the boundaries of good taste, simply for the love of money?
Peace.
- munky
WmPenn,
Because Apple's losing close to $0 to the hackintosh community. Hell, it might even be making them money.
Very few people are going to go hackintosh INSTEAD of buying a Mac. They might do it because they're curious but refuse to give Apple money. Or maybe they already have a Mac, or two, or three, and want to play with a hackintosh too.
Then there are the folks putting it on Netbooks; Apple doesn't even sell a competing product.
There are probably quite a few people who got their start on a hackintosh and then liked it enough to buy a computer directly from Apple.
I've got a hackintoshed T60 and 2 Macs (one at work, one at home). I love using the hackintosh, but it's only cemented in my mind that I need to buy an Apple laptop. I'm just not interested in having to worry about having to reinstall and redo my tweaks every time i want to upgrade some software.
Frankly, $1200 sounds damn reasonable for a 13" MBP that I'll keep for many years to come.
I somewhat appreciate Tom's response about his hackintosh being a LOT cheaper. I've really wanted a MAC but upgrading a $999/ configuration for going from 2gb ram to 4gb ram for $100/- when other pc makers charge 50 or even 25 for such an upgrade is somewhat too much for me. (and it's not the upgrade price that bothers me, it's the 999 that affects the entire package first)
I see pc makers leap frogging each others prices and using product differentiation strategies via marketing avenues and providing better customer services TO THE CONSUMER and such which brings them business. It becomes an EVEN playing field.
But Mac sticks to the upper end of the price spectrum. RE: the MAC ads, apple's customer service will be #1 for the simple reason is that there is no1 else who creates Macs and therefore no one else who will have a call center for Mac support.
It seems that while these folks are charging money for putting Mac on a pc, there continue to be folks who will advance the community and we appreciate them for who they are. While the hackers require as put up on a website that folks learn it from the ground up etc and vanilla kernels etc,
the folks charging a buck at least "make it easy" for THE CONSUMER. The consumer "wins" with this competition and that's what makes me root for them.
They are providing the ability for more people to get a mac at less, which is more power for the consumer and to me that matters.
I for one wish them well.
What? Now wait, wait... You're not here to hate?
A well? Now that would be a "dream-come-true" :D:D:D
Eh, I'm not in to people picking apart an already written story. It leaves the other party with no room to effectively argue or clarify themselves. It's a bit cowardly.
Besides, since when wasn't a bit of published 'news' written without added flair? Most of us would yawn. They've got to make it more interesting for readers who don't normally hear about this stuff.
Every word I write is picked apart every single day in these comments, and I'm hung out to dry for even the smallest errors -- which I actually love, since it forces me to be better.
Forgive me if I'm not sympathetic to other journalists making stuff up to move papers.
If you want news:
www.cnn.com
If you want amusing, witty reporting on technology
www.engadget.com
I could care less if you're sympathetic, it's still cowardly and quite lame to argue line-by-line like a 13 year old troll on a fan-site forum.
Ooops, that's right, I forgot where I was. I better hop on my roflcopter and be on my merry way.
Journalism is about facts.
Don't want the facts? Go read the Miami New Times.
Isn't Rebel EFI (or more specifically the Darwin Universal Boot Loader) illegally based on the open source boot-132 loader? I guess its not enough to steal someone else code, they have to actively insult the community that developed it for them.
Illegal, yes, because they haven't released their source code, and are thus violating the original Apple open source license on the source code.
But thats barely even a footnote on the great book called 'Why Psystar Are F**ktards And Are Going To Hell' ;)
You've gotta appreciate the irony of needing an activation code for a hacked OS, when the non-hacked OS does not ask for one :)
That quote from Rudy contradicts a sworn statement he made with the Court where he swore under penalty of perjury that any ole' user could circumvent Apple's security measures in OS X with info gleaned from the web
http://www.edibleapple.com/psystar-president-rudy-pedraza-contradicts-sworn-legal-statement-in-newspaper-article/
I still think the hackintosh community being outraged at what Pystar is doing to them is comical. Here they are ripping off Apple by hacking their proprietary OS to run on generic Intel hardware thereby costing Apple hardware sales and $$$. Then along comes Pystar using what they've learned to make a quick buck, and they cry bloody murder about Pystar using them? LOL, sounds like a fight among thieves to me!
Would you Apple hackers like some cheese with your whine?
I don't think that OSx86 does cost Apple "$$$" [sic].
I think that people who install OSx86 just love the OS, or hate windows, and would not have bought the hardware in the first place. Or they try it out on a netbook or similar, love it and go for the plunge by buying a MB.
I had a netbook running Tiger, loved it, and now have a MBP running Snow Leopard
You.... just dont get it do you?
I see you've started your own thread. Good, now you'll get notification of replies. You're wrong, the hackintosh community probably makes money for Apple. I've got a hackintosh, a Power Mac G5 and a Mac Pro. I'll be buying a MBP soonish (waiting for Arrandale).
Apple doesn't seem to mind. They sure haven't been doing much to antagonize the hackintosh community -- I think they're happy to have hobbyists enthusiastic about their software, but want to make it JUST difficult enough that people don't go hackintosh rather than buying a machine from Apple.
They're distinctly NOT happy about someone ripping off their IP and trying to sell it. This probably would have been legal before the DMCA, but it's not anymore.
How is it stealing if I buy OSX and run it on a computer with a Core2Duo? That's not generic Apple hardware, that's essentially what Apple's using.
Plus, with those numbers Apple's been posting, I don't think they're too worried about the $$$ - I mean, it's not like everyone and their aunt is building a Hackintosh.
You really think that way? Really?? Like others say the community doesn't cost apple money. Not sure about now but when the community first was still growing everyone would buy a copy of OS X, just to "own" the operating system and use the communities work for themselves, and not try to make a profit over others works. Being in the community as well, for so long, i know how hard these hackers work. and get what we all want. (for me graphics drivers for the nvidia geforce 8800gts), and being a college student i was able to benefit from a well priced computer and running mac. (and also still support apple)
obviously why apple hasnt really done anything against the community
even as a Mac User I admire the people who take their time to figure out how to make something work on a non-native system and offer their lets call it product to everybody else who is interested in using it. thats the way how innovation and skilled software engineers are generated. and of course not everybody wants to pay a premium for hardware so thats also why I'm okey with the Hackintosh scene. but Pystar is really just a scam. bullying around and making basically everybody pissed of because it draws attention the way nobody wants it. Before they appeared the hackintosh scene was blossoming just fine and I'm sure even Steve J. didn't mind the play since it is also interesting for them to see how their hardware runs with different hardware components without having to invest too much into development (take it as outsourcing of research)....
The quality of the article by the Miami New Times is very poor. I would not trust what is said in it.
I'm not defending Psystar, I'm simply looking at the quality of the article.
"This is simply not true. OS X is vulnerable to hackers in its shipping form"
WRONG. Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.
Go to that link, read it, and then UNDERSTAND THIS: That hole in Safari was only available to be used to gain access to the OS because this was day 2 of the competition in which the hackers were given LOCAL ADMIN ACCESS to the Mac.
LOCAL
ADMIN
ACCESS.
If somebody gives you the admin password to their Mac and lets you sit in front of it and click a link in an email that opens Safari to access a malicious site which then requires you to ENTER YOUR ADMIN PASSWORD, is that a "hack"? REALLY?
Day 1 of the contest was for hackers to try to remotely access the Mac. Nobody could do it. NOBODY. That's why this "hack" didn't happen until day 2. I honestly can't believe that to this day there are still some people (apparently "Chris") that think Macs are vulnerable to hackers.
Yes, it's still a hack.
You don't need to be sat in front of the computer, you just need the user to enter the local admin password. Which you can do through confidence tricks and social engineering.
The average computer user doesn't challenge the guy calling from tech support to prove he's from tech support.
The average user doesn't check email headers to make sure the email from Auntie Beth orginated from Auntie Beth's email provider.
The average computer user is wide open for exploitation and manipulation because of their lack of knowledge and naivety. The same applies to other life situations like gaining access to a building.
people are scared that what they have been taught is all wrong. and believe it to be true. what is true is that you conform to what others want you to believe and refuse to think for yourself and disagree
No one is a saint here. The Hackintosh community is producing tools to break Apple's EULA, Psystar comes along and (maybe) broke their license. Neither party can really claim the moral high ground. Additionally the original Hackintosh EFI loaders were based off Intel's EFI SDK so, again, both parties are using someone else's work. I'm not sure what license the original Intel EFI SDK was under so perhaps the Hackintosh community gets a free pass here. (Intel pulled the SDK offline 2 years ago) The Hackintosh community is almost exclusively non-profit so that definitely gives them a more noble role in all this. Either way though they exist to break Apple's EULA. They can't cry when someone breaks theirs.
yes they can cry about it when Psystar try to make money off of it. the whole point is that they do it for free and apple ever since they first hacked Mac Os X to run on a PC, apple has not done anything to really stop the hacintosh community. but with the down fall of intel's Atom not working in 10.6.2 and Psystar doing what they are doing, they might just try and lock everyone out after Apple is done with Psystar.
this is what they don't want to happen.....
They must be cubans this got damn 90 mile swimming experts talk a lot of shit. Stealing the idea and then saying they did the ground work because years and years of community involvement is just WRONG..
Pricks i tell ya
Anyone who seriously believes that the motivation of the vast majority of the scene hackers is harm Apple, or take away their sales, is a fool. And i'd argue the scene in general is GOOD for Apple.
There are, broadly speaking, two paths through the hackintosh scene:
1) Hackers, who are in it for pure intellectual challenge, or 'shits and giggles', call it what you will. They are excited and motivated by pushing the boundaries, to see what advances can be made, to push forward the State of the Art. Generally these people will already have 'real' Macs, or will buy one very shortly after beginning their journey.
To get an idea of the mind of the hacker, and why 'screwing Apple' is not high on the list of motivations, consider this: did Steve Wozniak hack Ma Bell because he was too cheap to pay for phone calls? ( http://woz.org/letters/general/03.html ) No, of course not. But he thought it could be done, if he just tinkered and hacked and ..... you get the idea. I see a lot of similarity between the modern-day osx86 scene, and the phone phreaking scene of the 70's - geeks, turned on by the idea that they could use nothing more than knowledge and their own skills to get a system to work in ways it wasnt meant to.... big names, revered and talked about in hushed tones (Captain Crunch anyone? Maxxus?).
In short, these people are the 'square pegs in the round holes' - the ones who have 'no respect for the status quo'. Sound familiar?
2. n00bs. These vary between the type who seriously do want a 'cheap mac' but are willing to put in exactly ZERO effort. Generally they'll realise its beyond them and go buy a MacBook or whatever. Then you get guys who get sucked into the scene and start to really contribute - helping more 'junior' members out, keeping up to date with the latest and greatest advances, even graduating to writing helpful scripts or GUIs to the more technical hacks and patches. Then you get the guys who evolve into hackers.
At the end of the day, though, the one thing I can honestly say I see again and again and again in the scene is this:
dude joins; dude gets hooked on OS X; dude buys a real Mac.
Why? Because Apple make great hardware. And hardware sales is what they want.
Peace.
- munky
Jesus, a group of un-employed wasters steal a product and hack it around to pass on as there own genius and then they get glorified like someone like Donald Trump in a newspaper review!
Sometimes I really think it would be great if the world ended on Dec 21st 2012, cause it just gets worst and more screwed up daily. But I've seen plenty of criminals glorified these day's so it shouldn't surprise me really, we'll have a biography of a mass murderer for sale on Amazon soon.
I'd think a social conservative would at least be able to use proper grammar.
I guess you're just another sign of the downfall of common decency.
wow, he just lost the support of a huge community that could have been some of his biggest support. Ironically that quote sounded very Jobsian.
psystar steal code & fail to even credit the original creators or share their source..
http://netkas.org/?p=310