Tech Ethics: The Hackintosh
 

My first computer was a hand-me-down Powerbook 150 from my father. It had a blazing fast Motorola 33MHz processor, 4MB of RAM, and a 500MB hard drive. The display was a gorgeous 640x480 passive matrix. I could write my homework in WriteNow in my room, walk over to the printer, plug it in, and print out my homework. I'm not ashamed to admit I was the envy of my classmates.

Since then, I've had a stream of Apple computers, the Macintosh Color Classic, the first generation iMac, the eMac, and now the Mac mini. The loyalty to the brand came with simply knowing the system backwards and forwards ever since I can remember. Sure, I've used Windows machines before, for work, but at home was always a Mac, from Apple. I don't have a framed picture of Steve Jobs on my wall, but as I got older, I grew to be a bit of a fanboy. I've watched every WWDC and Macworld that's been available to stream online, eagerly awaiting news of new Apple products.

And yes, I even would defend Apple when criticisms came its way. I would argue that the G4 processor couldn't be compared to an Intel chip with the same processor speed, it was apples and oranges I'd say, thinking I was in the least bit clever. The only argument I could never really make was that Apples weren't overpriced. I tried, don't get me wrong, but I never felt honest defending Apple. Anyone with even a passing knowledge of the PC market knows that Apple is seriously overpriced. You get a better OS and clearly superior styling for that Apple tax, but it really doesn't excuse the insane price difference. The Mac mini I'm on right now retailed at $499 brand new in 2008 and came with a "combo drive", 80GB hard drive, 1GB RAM, 1.83GHz core 2 Duo, airport, and... well... it's quite small. For comparison, if I were willing to get something a bit bigger, I could have gotten a Gateway or HP at the same time with at least a 2.5GHz processor, 2GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, and a decent video card for maybe $350. I knew that going in to purchasing the computer, but I was able to excuse it with the "well, I know Mac OS".

The situation really is different now, though. Building a Hackintosh from the ground up has become easy as pie, and not even OS updates phase it. I can build a desktop PC in maybe 4 or 5 hours, load Snow Leopard (the latest Apple operating system) on to a usb flash drive, and have the PC running Mac OS in no time. I could probably buy the stuff right now and have the thing up and running before I go to bed tonight. In other words, the incentive to buy Apple computers, the fact that you can get a clean and stable OS that doesn't ever require a bit of tweaking or virus sweeps, is now gone. The only thing that remains in my way is the TOS (Terms of Service, for Mac OS).

Ah, the TOS, Apple's brilliant way to keep people buying their computers despite their sizable price tags. Only with an iron-clad TOS can you excuse overpricing a Mac Pro by a good $2000. Or a MacBook Pro by a good $1000. Or even a Mac Mini by a good $200.

Apple is clearly ripping me off. Legal issues aside, would it be ethical for me to install Mac OS on a non-Apple computer? LifeHacker posted a great article about how to build an embarrassingly fast Hackintosh for about $900, a Hackintosh that's faster than the $2,500 Mac Pro. I'll admit that, despite my life-long brand loyalty, this is a very tempting offer. Imagine that someone could build you a Porsche for $30,000, would you turn that down?

I'm having a crisis of fanboyism.

I've never had much concern for ethics when it comes to companies I feel rip people off.
There's many ways you could look at it. If you were to try and add up what you've given (in money) to Apple over all those years of loyalty, you could feel like you deserve the right to put Mac OS on any damn machine you want.
Or you could say you've already bought Mac OS X, for a different machine, maybe you feel like you should be able to run it on your own custom rig.

I don't know what to tell you. The problem is theirs, and shouldn't be yours. They do everything in the world so that every penny you spend on tech, you pay it to them(non removable batteries, proprietary hardware for everything, can't buy OS without their machines, iTunes flaws, etc etc etc).
They have many aspects down in terms of what tech-lovers like, except for freedom, which is key.

I just bought a MacBook Pro 13", after running Linux exclusively for the last three years at home. In general I think you are overstating the cost of a new Mac. The base MacBook Pro is only $1199 right now (even less expensive if you have educational discount).

I spent quite a bit of time looking at Lenovo Thinkpads (T400, X200) and they were in the same price range as the new MacBook Pro. In the end I decided to get a new Mac because it makes the most sense for me for a portable computer. I like being able to put the laptop to sleep and have it start up reliably.

From a purely techie and experimental point of view I don't have a problem with the Hackintosh. In fact it sounds like a fun experiment! I would be willing to bet that your trade-off will be some hours of tweaking the Hackintosh to keep everything running smoothly though. How much is that time worth to you?

You're right about the basic MBP, but if you get anything mid-rage or above, you're looking at paying a serious premium for some snazzy design and a solid OS.

I believe it's a EULA, not a TOS agreement.

/legal pedantry

Ah, right, the EULA, or End User Licensing Agreement.

Is there any discussion of this within the mac crowd? I'm asking you, will, because you seem to be better informed than me and might know more about the community.
What's the general opinion?
Me and my friend were talking about it, and he likes Apple products. We both agreed that it'd be much harder for Apple to make money were they to allow their OS to be put on any machine. Also, it goes against their branding, and their attention to quality.
Either way, they shouldn't be too concerned about it, I do believe their sales are still going great.

It's generally frowned upon—or rather flamed—when brought up in a heavily Mac-friendly crowd. The Apple Insider forum folks would rip me apart if I said I was thinking about getting a Hackintosh.

I have a top of the line MBP. I'm considering going ahead with a massive MacPro for other needs that I would utilize at home as well. Why? Because the pricing doesn't bother me because while I get an occasional rainbow, I enjoy being able to start up the machine and not having to worry about the latest virus craze or if I'm going to get some random BSOD. While I've never had problems (huge problems anyway) on the PC side of things, it's always there in the back of my mind.

So you can get your hackintosh and load SL on it and be ok, but if you do for some reason need some service, you're fucked. That's the other thing that I enjoy about the Macs, I get a tad pricer service, but it's good service. Try taking your hackintosh to the apple store and getting service. not gonna happen.

I think that if you pay for OS X, you should be allowed to install it on what ever you want to.

The other thing to note about Mac computers is the resale value. PCs, running Mac OS or Windows, do not have a resale value anywhere near what you can resell a Mac.

That said, I have no issue with the Hackintosh.

Well the only service I would need would be hardware related, which means I can just replace something myself. I use Time Machine, which I've already used to restore my information on to a new hard drive, so if something goes wrong, I can just restore after fixing whatever hardware issue there is. I've never had any trouble with software other than having a browser close every now and again (and actually, that seems less likely to happen now that Safari won't crash due to flash).

As for viruses and bsods, it's Snow Leopard. Apple hardware doesn't defend you from those things, not really, it's the software.

Practical issues aside, though, what do you think about the ethical question?

What I'm saying is that if for some reason you had a major issue in SL, and needed a "genius" to look at it, they'd see the whole hackintosh thing. But you seem to have a work around for that.

The ethics is up to you really. Other than what char has mentioned as a bonus for going the legit route, are you loyal enough to the company to not violate the EULA or are you cool with making the computer of our desires? I know several people who have hackintoshes and they enjoy them, but they weren't loyal or fanbois to begin with.

are you going to be able to look your fellow fanbois in the eye?

I think you should build the computer of your dreams, with the case you want, the amount of RAM you want, etc..
If you can do it, and you want to...You should. You'll love it. Let's see a leet hackintosh Will!

Here's my take on it. Go for it!*

*If the computer is for your person use, I think you should be able to do whatever you want with it. I would only have ethical issues if you tried to sell the computer afterwards or if you did any professional work on it.

It's like building a '34 Ford and putting a Chevy engine in it. Is it blasphemy? Hell yes, but it's yours for your own enjoyment. Go with what you know.

I've been thinking about this off and on since you posted the OP.

Will, you know this: you have to decide whether you want to be a "Mac Fanatic" or a "Do-It-Yourselfer."

Mac Fanatics champion not just the machine; they champion the brand. When you buy a Mac, you are buying into a culture, you are buying service, you are buying a design, and you are buying an expected level of quality. You are buying a reputation. This is something you've stood behind in the past.

A Do-It-Yourselfer is a strange creature. They are contrarians. They go against the flow and do what they feel is right—for them. This makes you a bit of a loner, but it at least lets you go for what you want on your terms. Some would even say that DIYers are the only ones who do anything right. But, alas, you are really on your own.

Make your choice. Whatever it is, stand by it and don't let anyone tell you it was the wrong way to go.

and if you go the hackintosh route, I'm going to post your name on every macfanboi website and have them make fun of you.


just sayin'












j/k :p

iTreason

nice. too bad you won't be able to trademark that.

I really can't believe you'd feel any qualms about breaking apple's little rules. This is a company that ruthlessly exploits its customers for huge profits. But I guess the fans don't see it that way. You bought the software, you do what you want with it. (License blah blah blah I'm not listening)

I have a Hackintosh.... I love it, it is screaming fast, and stable..... except not everything works..... and I have spent countless hours messing with it. If you desire to have a screaming fast computer that will require some upkeep, reading, and occasional waiting for new patches, then go for it, but if you want rock solid stable with warrenty, then by name brand. I also bought an EFIX bootloader.. google them. they rock.

I have no feelings of guilt or ethical concerns as I have bought every bit of software on the system.

cheers.

Same. I hack everything I own, software and hardware included. If I felt guilty about volt modding to overclock a system or some other silly hack, boy I would be in the confessional every weekend.

Buy cheap, then make it faster than the highest CPU offered on the market. You gotta sneak into an intel lab to see that kind of speed legitimately. Even then, you still sneaked into the lab :p

Every company does this. That's a perfect description of the capitalist system. You charge as much as your consumers are willing to pay in order to maximize profits. If you have a product people like, they'll be willing to pay a premium for it.

...what are you, some kinda socialist?! :eek:

bill96ab, you you elaborate on your experiences with things not working?