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Anyone modded their PPC's?

Intelligent

Intelligent

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 7, 2013
922
2
Hey guys has anyone here made a hackintosh out of there powerpc computers? is it illegal? i want to do it with a power mac g5, g4 and cube. But I'm not really into illegal things, but if you have made it please post pictures/link your videos, because i love old ppc computers with modern specs :D
 
Link:

Hi, I've considered doing the same thing before :)

For the question if it's legal or not, I found this site that helped me out-
http://www.lockergnome.com/osx/2012/02/24/are-hackintosh-computers-legal/
Is it legal? I'd say it's kind of like pirating- there are so many people who do it, that it's very unlikely Apple would come running to your door and would press charges against you for simply making a Hackintosh.

Good luck with your project!
 
Hmm... THis one bears notability, as the actual Apple EULA states this:

2. Permitted License Uses and Restrictions.
A. Single Use. This License allows you to install, use and run one (1) copy of the Apple Software on a single Apple-labeled computer at a time. You agree not to install, use or run the Apple Software on any non-Apple-labeled computer, or to enable others to do so. This License does not allow the Apple Software to exist on more than one computer at a time, and you may not make the Apple Software available over a network where it could be used by multiple computers at the same time.

B. Family Pack. If you have purchased a Mac OS X Family Pack, this License allows you to install and use one (1) copy of the Apple Software on up to a maximum of five (5) Apple-labeled computers at a time as long as those computers are located in the same household and used by persons who occupy that same household. By “household” we mean a person or persons who share the same housing unit such as a home, apartment, mobile home or condominium, but shall also extend to student members who are primary residents of that household but residing at a separate on-campus location. The Family Pack License does not extend to business or commercial users.

C. You may make one copy of the Apple Software (excluding the Boot ROM code and other Apple firmware that is embedded or otherwise contained in Apple-labeled hardware) in machine-readable form for backup purposes only; provided that the backup copy must include all copyright or other proprietary notices contained on the original. Apple Boot ROM code and firmware is provided only for use on Apple-labeled hardware and you may not copy, modify or redistribute the Apple Boot ROM code or firmware, or any portions thereof.

Replacing, or upgrading the logic board, in an Apple-labeled computer, such as a Powermac G5 is technically within the terms of the EULA, even if you do not use an original Apple mainboard. The EULA does not specify what specific hardware must be used to run OSX.

The license itself clearly makes the distinction between an 'Apple-labeled computer' and 'Apple-labeled hardware'. You could technically further break this restriction by labelling any system with an Apple logo, made by Apple. (Apple used to supply those labels freely.)

The definition of 'Apple-labeled' is not clarified in the EULA.

Only the boot-rom information, or other 'embedded firmware' is restricted to non-Apple hardware, and as a 'Hackintosh' made from an Apple system, uses a custom bootloader for the firmware on your mainboard, and not the Apple firmware, this clause would not restrict you from using a mainboard inside an Apple system, other than one made by Apple, to run OSX.

From 10.5 onward (possibly late versions of 10.4), the EULA does not exclude virtualisation. You could run Linux on a Mac, and OSX 10.5 on Linux (in a VM); or OSX (any version) on a Mac, and another licensed copy of OSX (10.5 or later, and possibly 10.4) in a VM, entirely legally.

On a side-note, some countries will entirely reject the enforceability of this kind of EULA.
 
Intelligent said:
Hey guys has anyone here made a hackintosh out of there powerpc computers? is it illegal? i want to do it with a power mac g5, g4 and cube. But I'm not really into illegal things, but if you have made it please post pictures/link your videos, because i love old ppc computers with modern specs :D
Click to expand...


The OP cares: I don't.

I do slap old 1980s/1990s Apple stickers on Hackintosh systems, but i do it for aesthetics. For example, I have a Dell Inspiron 910, with a white case, and I covered the dell logo with a large Apple stocker, and the Windows logo with a small Apple sticker.

People that have viasited ask me where they can buy 'that model of Macintosh'. :D

I was merely trying to clear up the legal requirements, per the OP's request. he is fully within his legal rights to swap the logic board from a Mac with any other logic board, and run OSX on it.

I personally have no qualms on running OSX on anything, but I own, and have owned more Apple systems than i care to remember, so I feel at least somewhat entitled. it numbers in the hundreds, and until a year ago, before I had a large theft, I still owned all of them. I miss them dearly. :(

It is technically legal to replace the mainboard on an Apple II, with an mini-ATX mainboard, and run OSX on it.
 
roadbloc said:
Who cares what the EULA says? Just do it if you want to. Its your computer.
Click to expand...

This. Technically they could take you to court but there are little to no damages to be sought/awarded, so it wouldn't be worth their time what so ever. I had a "hackintosh" several years ago made from an Asus eeePC, not once was I worried about Apple seeking legal action.

This is more of a throwback to the clone days, when Apple allowed other hardware manufacturers to make and install the Mac OS on their own hardware for resale. When Apple dropped this idea I'm pretty sure the EULA started to change, reflecting what it is today.

Basically the wording is there to prevent companies, such as Psystar, from making hardware with the intention of selling it as OS X capable or with OS X already installed.

That IS a good catch in the EULA though, since you're considering running the software on updated internals inside an Apple housing. Then again, they could always refer back to the small Apple stamp/sticker on most of their logic boards/components.
 
AmestrisXServe said:
The OP cares: I don't.

I do slap old 1980s/1990s Apple stickers on Hackintosh systems, but i do it for aesthetics. For example, I have a Dell Inspiron 910, with a white case, and I covered the dell logo with a large Apple stocker, and the Windows logo with a small Apple sticker.

People that have viasited ask me where they can buy 'that model of Macintosh'. :D

I was merely trying to clear up the legal requirements, per the OP's request. he is fully within his legal rights to swap the logic board from a Mac with any other logic board, and run OSX on it.

I personally have no qualms on running OSX on anything, but I own, and have owned more Apple systems than i care to remember, so I feel at least somewhat entitled. it numbers in the hundreds, and until a year ago, before I had a large theft, I still owned all of them. I miss them dearly. :(

It is technically legal to replace the mainboard on an Apple II, with an mini-ATX mainboard, and run OSX on it.
Click to expand...

I never said i cared, i just asked, I'm thinking of doing it and I'm 99,99% sure apple won't find out, and really they wouldn't have time with just one person, it would be a difference if like a whole university had like 450 hackintoshes or something.
 
Back years ago before I owned an actual Mac, I did have some Hackintosh systems. When I had PC laptops they would get an Apple sticker and I'd tag them with names like the Hack Pro, HackBook Pro, etc.

But on the OP, I haven't butchered a Mac case to fit a PC motherboard as I used pre-built computers. After owning true macs, and if I could build a nMP or buy a legitimate one, I'd buy the true nMP.
 
Intelligent said:
I never said i cared, i just asked, I'm thinking of doing it and I'm 99,99% sure apple won't find out, and really they wouldn't have time with just one person, it would be a difference if like a whole university had like 450 hackintoshes or something.
Click to expand...
As has been mentioned, it's technically illegal per violation of the EULA. But there is no court in the land that is going to lock you up in jail. The worst that could happen would be a heavy fine and if they go after you then they'd also have to go after everyone else who's ever installed or used Sheepshaver, PearPC or built or bought a Hackintosh.

Unless you are so over the top and Apple is seriously losing money because of you, there's nothing that's going to happen.
 
Notice Apple's EULA says, "...Any non-Apple labeled computer."
If you want to have a legal Hackintosh, slap an Apple sticker on it. ;)
It says nothing about hardware, just as long as the computer is "Apple labeled".
 
eyoungren said:
As has been mentioned, it's technically illegal per violation of the EULA. But there is no court in the land that is going to lock you up in jail. The worst that could happen would be a heavy fine and if they go after you then they'd also have to go after everyone else who's ever installed or used Sheepshaver, PearPC or built or bought a Hackintosh.

Unless you are so over the top and Apple is seriously losing money because of you, there's nothing that's going to happen.
Click to expand...

No, 'tisn't.

It is against the EULA to run OSX on non-Apple-labelled computers, but the EULA itself makes a disambiguation between Apple-labelled computers, and Apple-labelled hardware. The former applies to OSX, and the latter applies to the Apple firmware.

Running OSX on a G5 with any other hardware inside is not an explicit violation of the EULA. In fact, the EULA does not say 'Systems Labeled by Apple', it states 'Apple-labeled Computers', which is so ambiguous as to also apply to any system labelled by anyone as 'Apple', or displaying an Apple label.

Mr Rabbit said:
This. Technically they could take you to court but there are little to no damages to be sought/awarded, so it wouldn't be worth their time what so ever. I had a "hackintosh" several years ago made from an Asus eeePC, not once was I worried about Apple seeking legal action.

This is more of a throwback to the clone days, when Apple allowed other hardware manufacturers to make and install the Mac OS on their own hardware for resale. When Apple dropped this idea I'm pretty sure the EULA started to change, reflecting what it is today.

Basically the wording is there to prevent companies, such as Psystar, from making hardware with the intention of selling it as OS X capable or with OS X already installed.

That IS a good catch in the EULA though, since you're considering running the software on updated internals inside an Apple housing. Then again, they could always refer back to the small Apple stamp/sticker on most of their logic boards/components.
Click to expand...

It isn't a throwback, as the licenses with AMAX systems didn't use the term 'Apple-lableled'. (They had some other wording, such as 'Apple authorised'.) I believe this is in place, to allow a caveat for Apple to use mainboards in their systems, that they did not directly design, or manufacture.

That does not preclude using it to your own advantage, and it would be interesting to see Apple try to defend this in most courts, as they have specifically declared Apple-labelled hardware elsewhere, demonstrating that the computer, and the hardware labels are separate terms in their contract.

If you remember, all Apple hardware used to be manufactured, by Apple, in Cupertino. That is no longer true. it is now 'designed by Apple in Cupertino', and manufactured by a third-party in China, and then branded by Apple. If the agreement said 'hardware manufactured by Apple', then it would not permit you to use OSX on systems made after around 2002. How is that for irony?

I would support, and many courts would uphold, that as you are upgrading an Apple system, that you are still entitled to run OSX on it, as Apple computers do not come with an EULA of their own, that forbids hardware modifications.
 
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