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di1in

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 27, 2011
244
21
Hi, Could you guys give me some info on possible options to develop for iOS on a PC. I'm looking for alternatives to develop other than creating a Hackintosh or using Virtual Machine.
 

balamw

Moderator emeritus
Aug 16, 2005
19,366
979
New England
Since you have ruled out running a Hackintosh either native on the hardware or in a VM, your options are very limited.

What exactly is it that you want to do? Is you goal ultimately to get something to the App Store? Cydia? Your own/company use? Fun? Learning?

Do you need to run code on devices or is the emulator enough?

B
 

ChristianVirtual

macrumors 601
May 10, 2010
4,122
282
日本
Maybe HTML5 and JavaScript ....

Everything else require XCode under Mac OSX. I think I read somewhere about cross compiler but for sure you would not have any legal access to any header file or library.
And for sure cant go via AppStore.

Get a little Mac Mini, dual boot and start Windws on the Mac HW when you want.
 

di1in

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 27, 2011
244
21
Since you have ruled out running a Hackintosh either native on the hardware or in a VM, your options are very limited.

What exactly is it that you want to do? Is you goal ultimately to get something to the App Store? Cydia? Your own/company use? Fun? Learning?

Do you need to run code on devices or is the emulator enough?

B

This is the situation:
There are four of us who are interested in developing for iOS - but only one of us have a mac. We're absolutely new to it though 2 of us are pretty good at html/javascript. So we'd like another option so that the others can continue working on it even when the mac is not there. Obviously we would also be learning objective C on it.

The goal is ultimately to get an app to the app store. That would be a fun learning experience :)

I searched around a lot after this post and the only good option option I found was the Hackintosh. How is myhack?


Get a little Mac Mini, dual boot and start Windws on the Mac HW when you want.

No monies. I know the Mini is cheap but still.. maybe if we could make some money from the app store first =)
 

1458279

Suspended
May 1, 2010
1,601
1,521
California
Just wondering, why did you rule out VM and Hackintosh? They are effective ways to get the job done, I'm running Hackintosh myself on a dual boot.
 

Majora

macrumors newbie
Jul 4, 2011
17
0
I had tried to find a way for a long time, eventually I just ended up purchasing a MacBook Pro. Best decision ever.
 

di1in

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 27, 2011
244
21
Just wondering, why did you rule out VM and Hackintosh? They are effective ways to get the job done, I'm running Hackintosh myself on a dual boot.

I'm going to try hackintosh with myhack today.

how do i get xcode onto the hackintosh, is it possible through the app store on it or will apple have my ass?
 

jnoxx

macrumors 65816
Dec 29, 2010
1,343
0
Aartselaar // Antwerp // Belgium
You wan't to make apps, but you don't want to buy a 300$ mac mini. How are you gonna cough up 100$ for the Apple LIcense yet. Because you need it to test on device. and to actually put it on the app store?
And for OSX Lion, Xcode 4.1 is free afaik.
 

di1in

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 27, 2011
244
21
You wan't to make apps, but you don't want to buy a 300$ mac mini. How are you gonna cough up 100$ for the Apple LIcense yet. Because you need it to test on device. and to actually put it on the app store?
And for OSX Lion, Xcode 4.1 is free afaik.

Yea I'm setting up xcode on lion right now.
100$<300$ so I can manage.

Tried various hackintosh tactics today but ended up short of a 8gb pen drive. Will try again on Tuesday. has anyone had success with myhack?
 

1458279

Suspended
May 1, 2010
1,601
1,521
California
Here's what I did:
1 I needed a new computer, so I bought all the new parts based on X86 specs (google hackintosh x86 they have forums there)

2. bought and installed OSX (installed thru multiboot)

3. bought and installed Win7 64 on a seperate drive

Process:
Select which drive to boot to, Boot OSX... you are then running a mac as far as anyone knows. Install all OSX updates, Xcode, iTunes, etc...

The upside of this process is that my computer is REALLY FAST. I think it's in the range of a $2500 MacPro, it cost me about $800, and runs Win7 when I want. Kinda 2 machines in one.

You can do this with almost any hardware, just gotta find the files specific to the bios, chipset, sound cards, etc...

You'll find a list of compatable parts at the forums and X86 Wiki site.

here's just one forum spot:
http://www.tonymacx86.com/index.php
 

di1in

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 27, 2011
244
21
Would an i3 processor of the first generation and 4gb ram allow me to run lion on vmware?
 

1458279

Suspended
May 1, 2010
1,601
1,521
California
Most likely it'll work but anything older will be slower. Having a slower computer is not a big problem as it would be if you were gaming.

I'd look at the website for VMware and see what their specs call for.
 

di1in

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 27, 2011
244
21
I tried with VirtualBox and it didn't work either.
This is what I did:
Ripped iso from snowleopard disk and got a 7.33GB iso.
Installed virtualbox.
Created a new VM with OSX Server config.

When i started, it said FATAL ERROR: Bootable media not detected.

Is there anyone here who've successfully done this?

System used an i3 processor and SATA hdd - the how-to had pata.
 

sundialsoft

macrumors regular
Sep 2, 2010
169
63
Scotland
PC development - you need OSX !

I tried the virtualbox approach early on but it would not work on my hardware.

Hackintosh will work quite well for snow leopard but only if the hardware is a good match. It's better to get the hardware to fit with OSX really. I have an MSI Wind clone net-book and everything is working but it's just my backup system.

You really need to plan on getting a Mac. Xcode will run fine on a fairly new Macbook. You don't need a Pro but you can't get far if it's an old device so I recommend a fairly new 2nd hand Macbook if you can't stretch to a new one.
I bought a 2nd hand macbook & added ram & a big disk, both very easy to do.
 

firewood

macrumors G3
Jul 29, 2003
8,106
1,343
Silicon Valley
There are no good options for developing native iOS apps other than running Mac OS X (Snow Leopard or Lion), which legally requires a Mac (a cheap used Mini will do). The complete toolchain pretty much requires most of the stuff inside a full Mac OS X install, so you won't get by without it.

Other options include developing HTML5 web apps on a PC, and later encapsulating those inside a iOS app. There are mixed reports on whether this works with Flash Builder as well.
 
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