Hackintosh
From Mod Mania
Consumer Communities
Ben Sabo
S3240031
The “Hackintosh” or “OSX86” community is based around a group of computer enthusiasts who install the Apple Macintosh operating system onto generally stock x86 based Intel PC’s. The word “hackintosh” is derived from the hacking of software involved and the name “Macintosh”.
In 2005, Apple Computer announced that they would begin a transition to move away from the PowerPC chipset and towards the intel x86 line of processors. The reasoning behind this was mostly due a characteristic of the PowerPC chipset; they drew too much power and generated too much heat to be put into portable computers. This move spawned an interest among enthusiasts to make OS X run natively on their low cost, often home built computers, as opposed to specific Apple hardware, which usually tends to cost more and be less powerful.
In order to make OS X run on a conventional PC, it must be modified. This is an extremely time consuming process, and would be too much for a single person to do from scratch each time they wanted to make an OS X install. Because of this, online communities have risen in the form of newsgroups and forums. These people communicate not just ideas, but files, patches and builds which they work on, and then contribute to the other members. The basic process of making an x86 build of OS X involves modifying and building kernel extensions as well as patches and drivers, which enable a standard computer to recognise OS X. Because of the varying software modifications required, different people with different skill sets work on specific areas of a build, before sharing their work with others. Once a build is successfully completed, it is seeded to online peers and given critique and discussed by other people.
This community approach means that modifications and builds can be made quickly and are usually very stable. Two of the most common online communities are [www.hackint0sh.org] and [www.osx86project.org]. On these forums, experienced members share information and tutorials on the process of making a hackintosh with less experienced members who may have a hard time doing a particular process. This information may be in the form of written articles, videos or photos which outline the specific procedures. Due to the nature of hacking OS X (it is stated in the EULA that it is prohibited to install OS X on non-Apple hardware], articles are commonly taken down or deleted, usually under the request of Apple, however they often resurface on another forum or blog. This recirculation of information is quite common.
Because modification of OS X is illegal, it would be hard to store a modified copy on a server, without being prosecuted by Apple. Because of this, the most common medium for file distribution is through a technology called ‘torrents’. A torrent works by hosting a “cloud” of information over several machines, which download separate bits of information at different times. This means that no information is ever stored on a server as a whole: it is always being moved in a fragmented form between the users downloading it. It is much harder for Apple Inc. to target a torrent file than a server-stored file. Communities almost exclusively use torrents to distribute their work across the community. One of the most tentative aspects of a hackintosh is the choice of hardware. Because an almost infinite amount of different hardware combinations are possible, users must be careful to choose components which are compatible with OS X and which work with each other correctly. Many of the communities compile spreadsheets documenting a specific piece of hardware’s characteristics and compatibility with OS X. This makes the process of building an OS X compatible PC much easier, especially for inexperience users or those who don’t have the funds to experiment with different configurations. Some people document the process of building a computer from scratch in order to further clarify the processes involved.
The notion of a low cost OS X compatible computer has excited many entrepreneurs, who would like to market hardware for consumers, whether it be complete computers or just OS X specific parts. The most well known of these companies is a small start-up called Pystar, who, in April 2008, announced an “Open Computer” which had the option of OS X being pre-installed. These computers were priced significantly lower than comparable Apple hardware, yet still ran OS X flawlessly. Apple was quick to start a lawsuit against the company, claiming that “…Pystar is in violation of the EULA…”, however Pystar continues operate under legal pressure, even winning a round of the lawsuit. This lawsuit has been well publicized, and thus increased the popularity of the hackintosh concept further. A popular hardware based device, known as “EFi-X”, is a USB dongle, which circumvents a computer’s standard boot sequence, and allows OS X to be run on conventional hardware. Because this device is not marketed as an OS X specific device, it has not come under fire by Apple. Recently, individuals have begun buying low cost laptop computers, installing OS X and then re-selling them through online sites such as eBay and Cragslist. Although this is usually not a high volume venture, the OS X equipped laptops tend to sell for considerably more than their Windows running counterparts. The fact that OS X is pre-installed is very attractive to people who may have wanted to try OS X but been unable to make their own hackintosh.
Locally, a small community of people have begun building their own hackintosh computers. There are no Australian specific hackintosh user groups, so most people share their work on a forum called Mactalk Australia. The forum does not condone this practise, although discussion topics often arise, usually about a person’s success in building a hackintosh or questions on how to build one. Due to the huge wealth of information available through the internet, Australians have begun taking notice of the hackintosh movement, and they have become relatively popular, although it is still a mostly underground scene.
On the 9th of June 2008, Apple announced a new operating system called Snow Leopard (10.6), which will bring refinements to the current OS X version (10.5). This new version includes a technology called “Grand Central” which will optimise tasks on multi-core CPUs and vastly improve performance. Although it has not been release yet, it will most likely be the next candidate for hacking when it is made available sometime during late 2009. Because nearly all new CPUs use more than one core, Snow Leopard will most likely be very popular among the people of the hackintosh community and further increase their popularity.
