upgrading to a new "mac"

[Wayne]

Hey guys,

I'm now thinking of getting a newer mac to give my iMac to my dad. I just ran across the idea of a "hackintosh" when I discovered http://psystar.com who builds and sells pre-packaged hackintosh clones, replete with a legit copy of the OS.

A Core2Quad in a decent case with plenty of RAM, HD/etc is about $1300, compared with Apple's Pro model which starts at $2800. Lots of people swearing by them, lots of articles about how they're "a fraud" and about lawsuits from Apple/etc.

Maybe I can get Redrum to roll by and check them out since they're local to him, but I wondered what everyone thought about the concept?

I can build a hackintosh. Easy enough. There are plenty of specs and a decent community out there, but I'm more of the "buy it already pre-packaged" mindset.

What is your opinion of the idea? Got others?

Wayne

 

[Robert]

Hey guys,

I'm now thinking of getting a newer mac to give my iMac to my dad. I just ran across the idea of a "hackintosh" when I discovered http://psystar.com who builds and sells pre-packaged hackintosh clones, replete with a legit copy of the OS.

A Core2Quad in a decent case with plenty of RAM, HD/etc is about $1300, compared with Apple's Pro model which starts at $2800. Lots of people swearing by them, lots of articles about how they're "a fraud" and about lawsuits from Apple/etc.

Maybe I can get Redrum to roll by and check them out since they're local to him, but I wondered what everyone thought about the concept?

I can build a hackintosh. Easy enough. There are plenty of specs and a decent community out there, but I'm more of the "buy it already pre-packaged" mindset.

What is your opinion of the idea? Got others?

Wayne

I have a Dell inspiron that I 'hackintoshed' with limited success. I can boot into it either in OSX or WinXP. Unfortunately I never managed to get the sound working and the graphics card is incompatible with Logic (my main reason for using Macs). The upshot is that I haven't turned it on for months.

I'm typing this on my old iBook which I leave at my girlfriends house as I replaced it a year ago with a MacBook.

Personally I would stick with the genuine article but then I don't imagine running Logic properly is your main priority so you're probably OK with the Hack'.

 

[minator]

I have a Dell inspiron that I 'hackintoshed' with limited success. I can boot into it either in OSX or WinXP. Unfortunately I never managed to get the sound working and the graphics card is incompatible with Logic (my main reason for using Macs). The upshot is that I haven't turned it on for months.

That's the problem, unless it's the same hardware you'll probably never get the right drivers so it'll never be quite the same.


Oddly enough I just got a new MacBook, yes it cost more than a PC but it works great and I'm very happy with it. Quite a difference from my old PowerBook, it's a lot faster (though for the most part you don't notice) and it hardly generates any heat at all, the only thing that warms it up is Lightroom. The screen's a lot better and best of all... I don't have to use that horrid French keyboard anymore!

 

[Wayne]

I'd rather have a true mac. I don't "NEED" an upgrade. What kicked the idea off is a machine (PC) to play games on, and I figured while I was at it, I could dual boot the hackintosh and give the iMac to my dad.

Problem is, if the hackintosh side goes out of business or is no longer supported, I end up with a PC at home and that ain't happening

Wayne

 

[Robert]

What kicked the idea off is a machine (PC) to play games on, and I figured while I was at it, I could dual boot the hackintosh and give the iMac to my dad.

You know you can dual boot Windows on any new Mac?

I have XP on my Macbook although it rarely gets booted.

 

[Wayne]

You know you can dual boot Windows on any new Mac?

I have XP on my Macbook although it rarely gets booted.

Yes, you can, but emulation is hardly ever the same as real.

 

[faethor]

You know you can dual boot Windows on any new Mac?

I have XP on my Macbook although it rarely gets booted.

Yes, you can, but emulation is hardly ever the same as real.

But Apple's solution to lack of games is run Windows...

I have an old G3 blue & white tower that needs a new loving home. I'm not going to upgrade it. The SCSI harddrive works but is chattering so I expect it to go soon. Also, it was a throw away from my old business so I have no legal media to supply with it so someone will need a copy of OSX.

I also have a Blueberry iMac that takes forever for the screen to come up. Once it comes up it works fine. It too needs a new home w/ someone willing to wipe the drive and install their system.

I do have a hackintosh. It works good for most stuff. The videocard isn't quite right so that doesn't run super fast. But, for just playing around it works great.

 

[Robert]

You know you can dual boot Windows on any new Mac?

I have XP on my Macbook although it rarely gets booted.

Yes, you can, but emulation is hardly ever the same as real.

My experience is that Windows on my Macbook only feels emulated if I run it on top of OSX via Parallels. If I boot straight into it, it pretty much *is* Windows. (Not even sure if it would qualify as 'emulation')

Running OSX on my PC, however, does feel like emulation.

 

[redrumloa]

@Wayne

Proceed with extreme caution.

Psystar’s headquarters put on the market, ‘priced for quick sale’
http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblo ... nts/17919/

Apple files lawsuit against ‘Mac cloner’ Psystar
http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblo ... nts/17872/

Apple demands recall of all Psystar ‘Mac clones’ sold to date
http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblo ... nts/17882/

Judge dismisses Psystar's antitrust claims against Apple
http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/40276/118/

 

[redrumloa]

Shame Psystar's lawyers weren't smart enough to look at history to the precedent set by Apple's failed lawsuit against AMax-II makers.

 

[ScapeGoat]

Ubuntu FTW

screeny <--- Ubuntu running photoshop through wine whilst running Word 2007 in XP in VirtualBox.

You can even make it look Mac-ish...

 

[Wayne]

@Scapegoat

"look like" and "work like" are two VERY different things.

Wayne

 

[cecilia]

wow! what a beautiful screen!

 

[faethor]

Black Friday sales indicate that the last year's WhiteMacBook which is being phased out will be selling for $900 at various retailers. Also, that Apple Stores match specials.

This might be an option check out Apple and Black Friday in Google and you are bound to find something.

 

[redrumloa]

@Scapegoat

"look like" and "work like" are two VERY different things.

Wayne

Wayne, download the latest Ubuntu ISO and burn it. Reset your computer and boot off the CD, you can boot the "Live" version to try it out without installing anything. If nothing else, I think Ubuntu good enough to warrant dual booting. I'd say it is 90-95% there as a primary OS.