Linked by Thom Holwerda on Mon 2nd Nov 2009 18:08 UTC, submitted by poundsmack
Anyone who hangs around on websites with information about installing Mac OS X on non-Apple labelled computers has probably already encountered this report, but it's newsworthy anyway. The upcoming release of Mac OS X 10.6.2 will remove support for the Intel Atom line of processors from Mac OS X.
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Member since:
2006-06-21
The first mistake you make is thinking that OS X is sold. It's not, it's rented. Second, it's not regarded as a product, but as a service (the service of making your computer work and providing updates and so on). These two distinctions change the situation quite a bit.
Since you brought it up, the latest Windows versions are in the same situation and have been for years now (since XP if I recall correctly).
But it wouldn't be illegal. And as a matter of fact Microsoft imposes quite a few restrictions on copies of Windows. You can only install a copy on one computer and in the case of OEM copies you can't move them to another computer even if you uninstall from the original computer. And they don't let you transfer the ownership right from one person to another.
The Windows terms are more restrictive than the Apple terms for OS X actually. With OS X you can transfer ownership and you can transfer OS X from computer to computer as long as you uninstall and pass the DVD along.
I'm afraid I don't see what you have to complain about. As I pointed out, the terms for OS X are more generous than those for Windows. And there's no issue of post-sale restriction, as far as you, an end user, is concerned. In fact, Apple goes as far as to close their eyes at what is tehnically illegal behaviour from end users, such as installing OS X on more than one computer. They don't have copy protection like Windows has. They try to trust their users to do the right thing.
I must point out that they do not have a problem with end users installing OS X on non-Macs. Witness the hackintosh communities. Apple didn't go after them.
They have a beef with Psystar. But Psystar's situation is quite different from the average end-user's. They are not one person who tinkers with OS X for their own use, they are a business who is trying to undermine Apple's hardware sales. It's ok to mass-produce computers and compete with Apple's computers. But if you try to use Apple's operating system to do so, the copyright terms placed by Apple on OS X will stop you.