Trying out Mac OS X

gammal · 29th June 2007, 23:17

AA,

I'm seriously considering switching to Apple. I'm mostly interested in the OS though. However, it doesn't make any sense to me to switch before trying Mac OS X extensively for a week or two. I'm a software developer and I'm currently using Linux as my main & only OS, where almost everything I need is available free of charge. I want to make sure that this kind of freedom (or close to it) is possible for an Apple user, so I'm interested in getting one of those patched OSX86 images & trying it out on my laptop for a while before I make a decision. I have an HP dv2000 machine, and I tried one of the images but it was terribly unstable. Do you have any idea which image I could use?

Magnus · 30th June 2007, 04:58

I don't know which image you could use, and it's a little touchy since it's not approved by Apple. You know Mac OS X is fundamentally BSD, right? You can check at someplace like Fink, to see some of what's available.

dingdong · 30th June 2007, 13:38

I have done that thing.

It is illegal because you can not run Mac OS X on any hardware except Apple hardware.

But I still did it lol. It takes a lot of time and patience. To tell the truth its not worth it. It a big pain in the a**. There are driver problems, you have to see if your PC is compatible, theres quite a lot of hard work. In the end, in my opinion its just not worth it because the OS does not run flawlessly.

I would highly recommend going for a used Mac or a new iMac or Mac Mini and when you have finished you can sell it on some auction website. If you dont want to sell it, the Mac will come in handy for other stuff. You can also 'borrow' a Mac form someone. Or ask IMC to let you use one of their Macs for a few days at their place.

Using Mac OSX on a PC is just not worth it.,

istara · 1st July 2007, 03:34

You won't need to check things out in advance. If you switch to an Intel Mac, both Windows and Linux (and many other OSes) will run perfectly on your machine. If you decide you don't like OSX then you never have to use it. And your performance of Windows/Linux will be just as good - probably far better, going by my friends' experiences - than on the equivalent PC.

The problem I fear with installing OSX on a non Apple computer is that you may not get optimum performance, perhaps it will be glitchy or slower than it should be, and this would be a misleading introduction to Apple. Just as dingdong notes.

I am sure you will find a second-hand Mac at a really bargain price, if money is an option.

Depending what kind of apps you need, you should be able to find OSX equivalents of everything free of charge. For certain fields, such as video, there is far more, better freeware available on Mac than on Windows. Also a lot of Unix tools, which you probably use in Linux, can be used command line in OSX's Terminal, and many have nice GUIs too, all open source on places such as Sourceforge.

I was recently in Silicon Valley and was surprised (and pleased) to learn that Macs are currently the most popular computers for developers. Partly because they are able to run all systems, which makes cross platform testing easier, and partly because they are just so great

zainashi · 20th July 2008, 18:51

OSx86 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

medopal · 21st July 2008, 11:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by gammal

AA,
I'm a software developer and I'm currently using Linux as my main & only OS, where almost everything I need is available free of charge.

Hi gammal, welcome to Mac
This sounds like you are an open source geek

, im a software developer too, im used to Ubuntu and work on Mac OS X all the time, if you are a Java programmer or any other open source language, then Mac is heaven for you.

Im not sure if your HP can run any image, even though you will have many problems that wastes ur time.

anyways, take a look at this, those are the top 15 who changed the internet (and our lives for ever), count how many has a Mac

Building on what Magnus said, OS X is built on Unix so you will not notice a large difference in the core.

29th June 2007, 23:17	#1 (permalink)
gammal Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 2	Trying out Mac OS X AA, I'm seriously considering switching to Apple. I'm mostly interested in the OS though. However, it doesn't make any sense to me to switch before trying Mac OS X extensively for a week or two. I'm a software developer and I'm currently using Linux as my main & only OS, where almost everything I need is available free of charge. I want to make sure that this kind of freedom (or close to it) is possible for an Apple user, so I'm interested in getting one of those patched OSX86 images & trying it out on my laptop for a while before I make a decision. I have an HP dv2000 machine, and I tried one of the images but it was terribly unstable. Do you have any idea which image I could use?

30th June 2007, 13:38	#3 (permalink)
dingdong Junior Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 9	I have done it! I have done that thing. It is illegal because you can not run Mac OS X on any hardware except Apple hardware. But I still did it lol. It takes a lot of time and patience. To tell the truth its not worth it. It a big pain in the a**. There are driver problems, you have to see if your PC is compatible, theres quite a lot of hard work. In the end, in my opinion its just not worth it because the OS does not run flawlessly. I would highly recommend going for a used Mac or a new iMac or Mac Mini and when you have finished you can sell it on some auction website. If you dont want to sell it, the Mac will come in handy for other stuff. You can also 'borrow' a Mac form someone. Or ask IMC to let you use one of their Macs for a few days at their place. Using Mac OSX on a PC is just not worth it.,

20th July 2008, 18:51	#5 (permalink)
zainashi Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Prince of Diyafah Posts: 2	Check this out OSx86 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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30th June 2007, 04:58	#2 (permalink)
Magnus Administrator Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Dubai Posts: 8,103	I don't know which image you could use, and it's a little touchy since it's not approved by Apple. You know Mac OS X is fundamentally BSD, right? You can check at someplace like Fink, to see some of what's available.

1st July 2007, 03:34	#4 (permalink)
istara Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 156	You won't need to check things out in advance. If you switch to an Intel Mac, both Windows and Linux (and many other OSes) will run perfectly on your machine. If you decide you don't like OSX then you never have to use it. And your performance of Windows/Linux will be just as good - probably far better, going by my friends' experiences - than on the equivalent PC. The problem I fear with installing OSX on a non Apple computer is that you may not get optimum performance, perhaps it will be glitchy or slower than it should be, and this would be a misleading introduction to Apple. Just as dingdong notes. I am sure you will find a second-hand Mac at a really bargain price, if money is an option. Depending what kind of apps you need, you should be able to find OSX equivalents of everything free of charge. For certain fields, such as video, there is far more, better freeware available on Mac than on Windows. Also a lot of Unix tools, which you probably use in Linux, can be used command line in OSX's Terminal, and many have nice GUIs too, all open source on places such as Sourceforge. I was recently in Silicon Valley and was surprised (and pleased) to learn that Macs are currently the most popular computers for developers. Partly because they are able to run all systems, which makes cross platform testing easier, and partly because they are just so great