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Build it yourself G5s?

digital1

digital1

macrumors 6502
Original poster
This would be awesome if IBM did this, as I cannot afford a G5, but it seems that IBM has been approaching Mobo manufacturers about making mobos based on PPC. Read here:

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=14834

Hopefully that would mean PPC 970 😉 That would be neat-o 🙂 What you guys think?
 
If you want a real Mac it only comes from Apple. Without X you don't have anything of quality.
 
In theory it could make sense. Given the kind of design they go with. Personally, I think it would be a driver issue to get it to work with OSX. Nonentheless,it would be interesting to see how it pans out.
 
digital1 said:
In theory it could make sense. Given the kind of design they go with. Personally, I think it would be a driver issue to get it to work with OSX. Nonentheless,it would be interesting to see how it pans out.
Click to expand...
ASFAIK the issue is that apple still puts proprietary boot roms on all their machines. You can buy generic PPC motherboiards right now with no problem, but none of them can run mac OS for that reason. its a hardware, rather than a software limitation.
 
strider42 said:
ASFAIK the issue is that apple still puts proprietary boot roms on all their machines. You can buy generic PPC motherboiards right now with no problem, but none of them can run mac OS for that reason. its a hardware, rather than a software limitation.
Click to expand...

Good point... 😉 thanks for the clearification. Kills that idea! LOL LOL LOL I forgot about Apple's proprietary boot ROMs. Although, I do still think it is possible to do some programming to work around it...
 
I guess that if you don't want iMovie (and iTunes, and Final Cut, and Quicktime, and....) you could install Darwin (and add stuff like X Window System) or Linux.
 
Well assuming I am able to get past the Proprietary ROM, Installing that other stuff is a matter of purchasing the respective software packages. iLife 04, FCP,etc.etc. 😉
 
strider42 said:
ASFAIK the issue is that apple still puts proprietary boot roms on all their machines. You can buy generic PPC motherboiards right now with no problem, but none of them can run mac OS for that reason. its a hardware, rather than a software limitation.
Click to expand...

Just install Linux, then Mac-on-Linux, and voila, Mac OS X running on a generic PowerPC 🙂
 
The ROM is only used for booting in the Mac OS X world. If you can write Darwin kernel drivers for your peripherals, you can run Mac OS X.

Because of the nonproprietary open-source nature of Darwin, it appears to me that the 'licensing'/'cloning' issue of earlier versions of the Mac OS no longer applies. If IBM wishes to make motherboards and run Mac OS X on them, there would appear to be nothing to prevent them; and furthermore, these machines would be indistinguishable from an Apple machine.

Apple's job - which, IMHO, they are doing very well - is to make the best Unix systems available.

As for the shrink-wrap licenses, terms disclosed after the sale of the product, those are of doubtful legality. IANAL, but my opinion is that once money and product have changed hands, you can do with the product whatever you wish. Any subsequently disclosed 'license agreements' are nonbinding.
 
cubist said:
The ROM is only used for booting in the Mac OS X world. If you can write Darwin kernel drivers for your peripherals, you can run Mac OS X.

Because of the nonproprietary open-source nature of Darwin, it appears to me that the 'licensing'/'cloning' issue of earlier versions of the Mac OS no longer applies. If IBM wishes to make motherboards and run Mac OS X on them, there would appear to be nothing to prevent them; and furthermore, these machines would be indistinguishable from an Apple machine.
Click to expand...


Has anyone actually done this??
 
post-purchase pre-use license agreements are in fact binding, if wrongfully so (i agree with you in theory). and AFAIK, without looking, the license agreements to actually *install* os x, insists it be an "apple labeled computer".

and yeah, you'd have to burn a ROM chip at least, not an easy task (but not impossible). but the motherboards may provide special access to the ROM chips that the generic boards do not... i don't know. it could be more complicated than just the ROM, since it's an inherently proprietary hardware set.

paul
 
I don't think it's going to be possible to make your own Mac OS X-compatible G5. But this move of IBM is going to strengthen the PPC platform -- which is a good thing, and will benefit Apple in the long run.
 
Well too I am thinking along the lines of doing it myself. I suppose the only licensing issue I as a consumer would have is the actual OS license. But, I think in IBMs case, if they provide the board, and I can get Mac-On-Linux (awesome idea Nermal btw, totally forgot about that one.) I think you could have a pretty generic running build-it-yourself G5. I don't know that someone would try selling these things though. But I do think its an awesome idea to get the G5 architecture out there in general. Essentially mobo manufacturers are tied down to the x-86 architecture in some form or another. At a minimum with some of the new chipsets and ISA's they are tied down to at least extentions, and/or code to x86 that could be absorbing performance because of some of the backwards translation(talking about the new 64-bit chips that are out now ). Going with a G5 architecture could give people more choice, and a very powerful architecture to use and harness. Oh sorry about the link guys 😉 Good discussion though. 😉 🙂 😀
 
cubist said:
... IANAL, but my opinion is that once money and product have changed hands, you can do with the product whatever you wish. ...
Click to expand...

Just to clarify, of course copyright law would still apply. Copyright law is all the protection software publishers need or should be entitled to.

That being said, I'd like to see IBM license hardware designs from Apple so the machines could be fully compatible. I don't think IBM and Apple would sell into the same markets. Unfortunately for the DIYers, I doubt IBM would sell retail motherboards either.

Also, there is going to be a big push for desktop Linux in the near future, and into 2005, and I expect it to start out slow but become hugely successful.
 
I really only want a G5 if i can run Mac Os X...


If burning/flashing the ROM will do it.... then do it really...


If *someone* gets it to work... then please post about it.
 
MrMacman said:
If *someone* gets it to work... then please post about it.
Click to expand...


Yes, if someone can do it, please let us know!

I can't find anywhere to buy PowerPC 970 motherboards or processors!
 
Thats because IBM hasn't done it yet. This story was just about IBM is in talks with manufacturers about. They aren't making them yet 😉
 
Thats funny. If you look at the chip layout the thing uses an AMD southbridge chip.. That's classic.. LOL LOL 😀
 
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