Apple OSX on a pc?????????

So you can add Windows to a Mac using bootstrap.............

.............is there also a way to put the Apple OSX onto a pc with Windows?

OR.........can you put JUST the Apple OSX on a pc????????

if not,........then why????

 

Yes, it is possible to put OS X on a PC. Check out the OSX86 Project. It's not easy, but it is being done.

 

It's possible, but it's illegal.

 

As notebook_ftw said, it's possible, but it is illegal through the terms you agree to in the EULA of a copy of Mac OS X.

 

^^^And that's assuming you buy a copy of OS X.

 

Do a search, I tested on my Laptop, a Fujitsu.
It's possible, but there's few hardwares that are not compatible. So head over to OSX86 and check if your hardwares work.

 

Why does Apple make it technically "illegal" for you to but their OS and install it on a pc? Windows does not make it illegal to put their on a MAC. What is the deal with that?

Do they not want to sell more copies of their software?

So if you just bought a copy of the Apple OSX and tried to load it on a pc as the only OS, it would not work?

 

The reason they don't want you installing it on somebody else hardware is pretty simple in this case - money. Being as they have such a small percentage of the market share, if you are able to install it on any old computer then there is no incentive for you to buy a Mac, which would cut into their hardware sales and lose them a huge chunk of income.

 

I guess that part of the EULA can't be enforced. As long as you buy OS X, even the hatred DMCA allows you to modify the software for the specific purpose of inter-operation with other hardware - and that is probably why Apple have not succedeed with shutting down OSX86 Project completely. Besides, Apple limitations on the OS are completely artificial. It would only be "illegal" if OS X would be solely sold as of part of Apple hardware and not as a standalone product, and even then, I have some doubts.

That said, OS X in a normal PC is not quite the same experience as using Apple hardware. Driver issues mainly. It serves well as a trial I guess.

 

It's technically illegal in the EULA, of which you agree to when you buy the product, thus making it a contract of sorts. Of course it can't be enforced unless you go around shouting to the world that you did it and someone from Apple found out, they'd still not bother trying to try taking legal action against you on it because it'd be a waste of time and money.

It's just wether or not you strictly obey the laws even if they can't do anything about it or it makes no sense. Either way, I'd do it if I had the means, I don't really care much about it, and if I liked it enough, I'd show my approval to Apple in the form of buying one of their computers.

 

"Why does Apple make it technically "illegal" for you to but their OS and install it on a pc? Windows does not make it illegal to put their on a MAC. What is the deal with that?"

I believe Microsoft would have no qualms over having all computers running on their software. Mac depends on the OS X's incompatibility with non-Mac hardware as a market niche. Would you really want OS X running on a non-Apple product? Consider what would happen to Apple if they had to compete directly with Microsoft... they wouldn't last. OS X's incompatibility is what keeps Apple in business, not from losing money.

 

I would personally love to have OS X running on my M90. I think it's a great OS, far ahead of WinXP in many respects, but falling behind in many others. Variety is the spice of life; right now I'm running Ubuntu on an old laptop, XP and Vista on this one, and I would even put OS X on this one, though I might need to consider getting a bigger HDD then.

On the other hand, I know why Apple wants to keep OS X an Apple-only thing. They're already a small portion of the market, and to open up Mac OS on a non-mac computer would be hardware suicide. However, if Vista proves to be all it's cracked up to be (and judging by my experiences it should be a huge success IMO), I think Apple could see their sales drop even further. The things that I think most Mac users enjoy about OS X is the interface and the security. Vista is finally making leaps forward in both those respects for Windows. I think if Mac sales drop low enough, Apple will pull out of the computer hardware market and move to software (and OS) solutions along with iPod. Then you would probably see Mac OS (maybe not OS X) become a universal OS like Linux. And honestly, I think that would hurt Microsoft more than keeping it the way it is. For millions of users to suddenly be able to run Mac OS, a far more secure OS (and a pretty but low-requirement one) on their regular old Windows-based x86 boxes would cause a large shift in Microsoft's current monopoly. But that's just me. I think this may actually be a possiblity as well. Apple certainly seems to be doing a lot these days to try to keep business up, including moving to Intel chips and developing Boot Camp to run XP natively. But as long as their hardware is so expensive for really no better quality than a lot of other options out there, I just don't see them ever becoming a huge threat to Microsoft.

One thing to consider though. Could Apple have a lot to gain by perhaps out-sourcing their exclusive OS to another company and offer OS X as an option? For example, John Dell has expressed several times that he would love to be able to offer OS X on Dell PCs. Currently, Lenovo/IBM offer both Windows and Linux as OS options, so Dell could conceivably offer Windows and OS X as options on certain machines that used Apple-related hardware. Apple could expand its OS market to one of the largest manufacturers and retailers in the world but at the same time keep its OS exclusive to computers that use certain Apple hardware. A very far-fetched idea, but something to think about.