Mac OS X x86 Put To The Test

stivi writes "ZDNet has tested Mac OS X x86 on a Toshiba laptop. The article discusses installation process, performance and power consumption comparison and has a thorough photo gallery as well." From the article: "Mac OS X will not be available on any old x86 PC, though, as Apple wants to retain control over its hardware platform. From the company's point of view, this is an understandable position, as the margins on Apple-branded computers are much higher than is usual for standard x86 PCs. Were Apple to put the x86 version of its operating system on general release, Dell would begin to manufacture Apple clones. This would put enormous pressure on the price of Apple's own computers -- something the company is naturally keen to avoid."

Time zones

[ronanbear]

Aren't some people going to find it harder to pick out their state graphically than picking from a list. Not everyone knows what a world atlas looks like.

So sell it from the Apple store

[Anonymous Coward]

Sell OSX x86 only through the online Apple store. Put a big line of text in the EULA saying no resellers allowed. If someone named "M. Dell" attempts to put 50,000 copies in a shopping cart, deny the transaction. Is it really that difficult?

Re:Time zones

[olalla]

When the U.S. attacks California, people will know where it is.

Apple?

[loakers]

Apple?

who are they?

Re:Time zones

[meringuoid]

hmmm...how about the time zone is set automatically by finding the location of the machine from its IP?

$ timezone

Finding timezone for 127.0.0.1...

Re:Apple?

[Fluk3]

Loakers? Who is that?

Nobody.

Re:Apple being hinted to as evil?

[Anonymous Coward]

'I can guarantee you that the parts this user purchased claimed they were 100% compatible with Microsoft products.'

And I can guarantee you that that burrito I ate in Tijuana last week was supposed to be 100% compatible with my stomach. You can fairly easily tell a turd from gold by the packaging it comes in (this isn't a solid 100%-true-all-the-time-test, mind you, but if the package looks like it belongs in a dollar store, well, get a clue).

Screenshots

[smallguy78]

It's lucky they provided screenshots, I was wondering how different it would look on x86.

Re:Why Intel?

[BillKaos]

Basically a multi-core Athlon 64 could have been managed by OSX like a multi-processor using SMTP or similar software technology to distribute the processor load between the two separate cores in the CPU.

Sending mail to distribute processor load is an original idea.

Re:Apple being hinted to as evil?

[jargoone]

It was version 10.2*, so if anyone knows of a patch I can send this person, then please let me know.

Here you go: your patch [yellowdoglinux.com].

Cheep?

[toganet]

Maybe if the software weren't written by baby chickens, it wouldn't take so long to produce.

Re:Apple being hinted to as evil?

[thatguywhoiam]

I wonder if people who complain about the price of Macs apply this same logic to other aspects of their lives? When grocery shopping, do they try to find the greatest amount of calories/protein they can get for their dollar? Do they eat nothing but beans and horsemeat? Do they buy the longest CDs/DVDs, regardless of content?

Yeah, you know, i think some people do just that, as bizarre as it may seem. I know a guy who just this past weekend absolutely stuffed his gut with shrimp at a wedding reception - and he hates shrimp. When I pointed this out, his response: "Yeah.. but do you know how much this stuff costs?!"

Strange but true...