Confirmed: Apple Puts Wrench Into Hackintoshes

Netbooks with OS X now stranded in time.

It's been somewhat of a micro-saga going on in the PC netbook hobbyist camp who like to run Mac OS X, but now Apple has officially fired the first shot.

Developer builds of the latest Mac OS X build 10.6.2 were unable to run on netbooks built on the Intel Atom processor. This was significant as many of those who have hacked Apple's operating system to run on a PC were doing so on netbooks.

While the hackintosh community has been mostly ignored by Apple thus far (unless you're a commercial business selling hackintoshes), this marks a proactive step for the company in stomping out unauthorized usage of its software.

Those who have taken the plunge to 10.6.2 have discovered that their systems are now unable to boot, as it just puts itself in an infinite loop of restarts.

Oddly enough, those with hackintosh computers built using other Intel processors that aren't the Atom are not affected. This means that Psystar computers will accept the update without such an issue.

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Top Comments

22

anonymous@guest , November 11, 2009 2:26 AM

Just run Linux or Darwin... Who needs Apple anyhow?
21

the_krasno , November 11, 2009 2:15 AM

APPLE SAPPING MAH NETBOOK!

Seriously, Apple. These guys are paying you to run your software and you deny it to them because they didn't want the overpriced hardware? I thought you guys liked money.
15

roofus , November 11, 2009 2:17 AM

This plays right into their smarmy image if you ask me. If they cant get 1k out of you then they want nothing from you.

Other Comments

11

neodude007 , November 11, 2009 2:09 AM

I guess Apple needs a "win" somewhere since they keep getting ROFL-stomped in the iPhone jailbreaking scene and that other mobile device that keeps getting patched to play songs or use iTunes... forget wth that was...
21

the_krasno , November 11, 2009 2:15 AM

APPLE SAPPING MAH NETBOOK!

Seriously, Apple. These guys are paying you to run your software and you deny it to them because they didn't want the overpriced hardware? I thought you guys liked money.
15

roofus , November 11, 2009 2:17 AM

This plays right into their smarmy image if you ask me. If they cant get 1k out of you then they want nothing from you.
12

the_krasno , November 11, 2009 2:21 AM

People commend Apple for charging $40 for their OS, but they forget that its because they charge you a lot more for the hardware that the OS is so cheap comparatively with Windows.
22

anonymous@guest , November 11, 2009 2:26 AM

Just run Linux or Darwin... Who needs Apple anyhow?
4

anonymous@guest , November 11, 2009 2:29 AM

HAHAHA Apple is just jealous hobbyists can build much better systems at much lower cost using the Apple OS. Bunch of wankers... after all, they wouldn't want the ignorant masses to know how much Apple keeps screwing them.
0

hellwig , November 11, 2009 2:31 AM

I remember commenting (incorrectly) that an Atom probably couldn't even run OSx. Well, now, apparently Apple agreed with my assessment and is now preventing their customers from receiving a "less than ideal" experience. Good for Apple, listening to customer feedback, er.., if only I had ever bought an Apple product in my life.

Really, for as limited as netbooks are, why would you need all that "it just works" functionality of OSx to being with? All that iBS software just takes up space on a limited harddrive.
6

the_krasno , November 11, 2009 2:33 AM

I'd rather pay for a nice and custom version of Linux, the GNU folk are always happy to share their progress.
3

Scotteq , November 11, 2009 2:35 AM

< Waiting Patiently for Apple to RickRoll everyone's Hackintosh >

...after all, if it's good enough for an iPhone!
2

shuffman37 , November 11, 2009 2:44 AM

Ubuntu =D
4

rooket , November 11, 2009 2:47 AM

How many news articles do we need about the atom not working on snow leopard builds?

Also why doesn't Apple use the atom cpu, it sucks as much as a mac book. Should be fitting for an Apple product, just mark it up 10x and slap an apple logo on it and sell.
0

Honis , November 11, 2009 2:49 AM

If the 'fix' is more than masking the Atoms CPU ID, then its a hardware issue where the Atom doesn't have a function the OS is looking to use (throws an exception and resets instead of showing you there is a hardware exception).

Stop writing play-by-play articles on Apple and hacking its OS. "Hey guys I just got Linux to run in my PC! hax!" oh wait...

See how ridiculous it is when you replace OSX with something functional?
-1

michaelahess , November 11, 2009 2:53 AM

OS X 10.5 runs better than Windows 7 on my Mini 9, though both are very usable. I don't care about this anyway and 10.6 has no important updates for me.
3

itadakimasu , November 11, 2009 2:59 AM

When you get into talking about misusing software because you have to buy their hardware, you're talking about 10x the negative impact of any kind of microsoft bundling software w\ their os damages.

didn't microsoft have to pay out millions, billions for bundling internet explorer w\ windows? or something.... help me out people.

They shouldn't be allowed to stipulate in their EULA that you must run their software on their hardware. If others took on the same approach, we would be living in the 80s.
1

deathblooms2k1 , November 11, 2009 3:04 AM

And people think Windows Genuine Advantage is a pain in the ass. At least Microsoft doesn't give the pirates/thieves/hackers (whatever you want to call them) the finger and put your system into an infinite reboot.
-8

tayb , November 11, 2009 3:06 AM

the_krasnoAPPLE SAPPING MAH NETBOOK!Seriously, Apple. These guys are paying you to run your software and you deny it to them because they didn't want the overpriced hardware? I thought you guys liked money.

Paying? Please. The vast majority of people running Hackintosh Netbooks are running pirated copies they downloaded online. Don't fool yourself into thinking Apple actually makes any money from Hackintosh Netbooks.
3

the_krasno , November 11, 2009 3:20 AM

taybPaying? Please. The vast majority of people running Hackintosh Netbooks are running pirated copies they downloaded online. Don't fool yourself into thinking Apple actually makes any money from Hackintosh Netbooks.

I'd like to see the proof backing up your comment
2

jeraldjunkmail , November 11, 2009 3:21 AM

Begun, the clone wars have...
0

the_krasno , November 11, 2009 3:25 AM

jeraldjunkmailBegun, the clone wars have...

Who is the evil Emperor, Ballmer or Jobs?
1

ssalim , November 11, 2009 3:25 AM

I patent the notion of being a greedy and/or a jackass.
After that, I will use Apple among many others *mad scientist laugh*

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