Apple is working on new desktop Macs, including a ground-up redesign of the tiny-but-controversial 2013 Mac Pro. We’re also due for some new iMacs, which Apple says will include some features that will make less-demanding pro users happy.
But we don’t know when they’re coming, and the Mac Pro in particular is going to take at least a year to get here. Apple’s reassurances are nice, but it’s a small comfort to anyone who wants high-end processing power in a Mac right now. Apple hasn’t put out a new desktop since it refreshed the iMacs in October of 2015, and the older, slower components in these computers keeps Apple out of new high-end fields like VR.
This is a problem for people who prefer or need macOS, since Apple’s operating system is only really designed to work on Apple’s hardware. But for the truly adventurous and desperate, there’s another place to turn: fake Macs built with standard PC components, popularly known as
“Hackintoshes”. They’ve been around for a long time, but the state of Apple’s desktop lineup is making them feel newly relevant these days. So we spoke with people who currently rely on Hackintoshes to see how the computers are being used – and what they’d like to see from Apple.
My 2009 article on building a hackintosh is still one of the most popular articles on OSNews. This movement is anything but new, and has always been far more popular than people seem to think – it’s only been brought to the forefront again lately due to Apple’s abysmal Mac product line-up.
We’re replacing the inconvenience of a cylindrical design with something much more practical. An apple.
That’s right our new servers will come in the shape of a fairly large apple with a bite taken of it. It even comes with new scentology which gives off a distinct apple odor. The server is not stackable by design in order to prevent common overheat scenarios. The stem can be hotswapped with a multitude of variations including J-plug options.
“Think different?”… no… we’re just different now.
I was under the impression that it was part of the ULA that MacOS could only be run on “official” hardware, that being the case what is to stop Apple detecting your shiny new Hackentosh and disabling *their* OS.
This is the thing that has always worried me about OS’s that have binary blobs, available from only one source, there’s nothing to keep them honest or even vaguely fair…
At least with *BSD or Linux there is a fair few eyeballs keeping things honest…
Yeah, sadly they don’t really invest in UI polish. A Linux server is usually rock solid, and you don’t care about polish there, you need the damn thing to do its job. If you want a unix command prompt with a non-annoying UI, all you can get is OS X.
Edited 2017-05-02 09:31 UTC
The UI in Sierra sure is consistent, but it is also the ugliest thing i have seen since…. well ever, or atleast Acorn Arthur. The Arthur was in an age where colours was limited and processors, memory and graphics was even more so. What is MacOS’s reason for regressing back into fuglytown?
The real problem of Apple is that it did not help to create a community around Darwin and distros like Gnu Darwin or Pure Darwin to flourish as a way to get back HW support. A lot of Hackintosh contributions could be directed in the OSes and Apple could benefit by the extra drivers, kernel tests, ports of software or configurations to extend it product line. They chose not to go down this path. Instead they Apple is the real reason Hackintoshes flourished. They could even charge a fee for the polished FOSS version of their components as an A/UX software subscription. Hackintosh brought no money to their pockets. FOSS could have brought more money from the tinkerers and power users willing to sacrifice the polish of official OSX for a cheaper A/UX FOSS Environment with community driver support and unstable packages.
TonyMacx86? They steal the work of our developers at InsanelyMac and rebrand it for profit.InsanelyMac is the original OSx86 community. TonyMac was one of our junior members (and still is, we haven’t banned him)
Not used Mac OSX on a Hackintosh since the early P4 switchover days. Wrote/Amended a few Kext for the community, but the need for stability eventually trumped the fun of making the systems
You guys were the go-to community
Edited 2017-05-03 09:28 UTC
Thanks