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My dual 1 GHz Quicksilver is being used as my HTPC right now - fairly heavily upgraded, and on certain tasks (eg games), it can blow a Mac Mini out of the water (not to say it's fast, but it gets the job done better than a Mac Mini would).

I'd like to get something current, but a Mac Mini wouldn't cut it for three reasons:
- 2.5" HD is too slow and they max out at 500 GB right now
- Intel graphics are beyond a joke
- Two RAM slots severely limits longevity

So tell me, if I want to spend under $2k, don't need a display (my 46" TV works well enough, thank you), want to be able to play a new game every so often, and want to feel like I can store unlimited media on the machine, what, from Apple, could I buy?

I'll be looking out for an EFi-X review in the next few weeks.



the answer is simple. don't by a mac. stick to pc. run windows. done. you don't NEED to run OSX.
 
I just don't understand people's obsession with running OS X on PCs, especially if it's not saving money. ...Bragging rights I suppose.

It is NOT bragging rights...I LOVE my iMac and MacBook but need a Mac Pro that offers more than the current line-up and IT WILL save money! Especially if you already have a PC. I just priced out a C2D Extreme loaded with 8GB of RAM, 1TB eSATA II HD, eSATA DVD-burner and the best supported video card and it comes in at less than HALF the cost of a comparible Mac Pro even WITH a legitimate copy of OSX which I will buy when the parts come in.

Apple has an approach that you take what we offer and like it or take what we offer and don't like it - but either way you will buy it because that is what we offer and if you want to stay with Apple (and I do - period) that is your choice.

This MIGHT make Apple reconsider - if not for lost sales (as they will not loose many sales due to this hardware option) but from a PR standpoint and to make the loyal Apple users a bit happier with more choice. Choice and competition is a GOOD thing for without it we might all still be using punch cards and dumb terminals.

D
 
unless they have a dongle that works with most notebooks i'm not interested and i don't see any impact. it's going to be a few gamers and students who use their existing PC with os x. certainly not a threat to apple and i guess apple could stop that thing from working fairly easily or at least make it a pain to use it.
 
No you couldn't.

Yes you CAN! Why do people continue this fallacy? Go price the comparable components and get back to me. I just priced out a system that is equal to the best Mac Pro and I come in at HALF the cost with a legitimate copy of OSX! Why do people say this? Do your homework FIRST, then type a response. This type of posting makes me sick - DEFEND APPLE TO THE END - and that type of attitude SUCKS for the consumer! If this were something to do with Windows most people here would stand-up and rejoice that the big evil draconian company is somehow being equalized. Give me a break, people!

D
 
Which would apply if you are a business customer.

EULAs are pretty much unenforceable for standard consumers, and often have unfair clauses that *if* it ended up in court, would be struck out. The only things that would apply would be things like the number of machines you could install it on, etc. Apple wouldn't want their EULA tested, so if you're a standard consumer you can install the software on other machines without an issue. This USB EFI dongle isn't turning the hardware into a Mac, it's just creating hardware that happens to be compatible with Mac OS X. I don't think Apple can do much about it.

What Apple can do however is not provide support for non-Apple hardware configurations, and refuse to take back the product if opened because it didn't install on the non-Apple hardware.

Just because Apple probably doesn't sue an idividual consumer, doesn't make it any less illegal.
 
the answer is simple. don't by a mac. stick to pc. run windows. done. you don't NEED to run OSX.

relatively few people "need" to run osX, just as relatively few people "need" to run windows. they choose to for a variety of personal, work related, etc. reasons. this new product offers a choice for people to install osX if they "want" it on a computer apple doesn't sell.

now if apple decides it's against their copywright, eula, whatever, i'm sure they'll put a stop to it. but until then, this just offers the consumer a choice.
 
Riiiiggghht! But it's interesting how these same people have an iPhone, an iPod, an Xbox 360 or a Wii and upgrade their custom built PC with the latest $300+ GPU every year....but they can't afford a Mac.:rolleyes:

Generalization, anyone? How are you so sure that is the case? That would be like me saying every time I go to a bar I see a drunk Irishmen (I am Irish, so save the hate-mail) so all Irishmen drink! Outrageous and flat wrong and shows how MYOPIC your mindset is! If you were to replace your premise with someone of another race and insert you argument - you would be in jail for HATE CRIMES!

Over the top, yes - but just as silly as the OP premise! I am not offended as I refuse to let others have control over me to be offended or not - so say what you want. The post was WRONG, short-sided and just plain ignorant.

Thanks for playing - we have a lovely parting gift for you back stage - a new Mac Mini that is pre-loaded with Windows Vista!
 
it is illegal to install osx on any non apple branded hardware. no matter how you manage to get it to work. my prediction is this company will be sued by the end of the week.

They will not be sued by the end of the week. Suing takes time; Apple will want to prepare some water tight arguments before they are suing. Psystar took months.

But also it depends on whether Apple wants to sue. With Psystar's behaviour it was inevitable that Apple was going to sue. On the other hand, Apple is suing nobody in the hacker scene who works on making MacOS X run on PCs, mostly because these guys do nothing to insult Apple. They are not claiming that they have the right to install MacOS X on a PC, and they don't claim Apple is criminal for trying to prevent it (unlike Psystar), so Apple leaves them alone. So the company's behaviour will play a very big role.
 
look for all you gamers here that didnt understand what i said the first time

build me a MAc Pro.
with: 1600mhz FSB
server grade ram
builtin audiocard with 96khz/24bit resolution, and presumably converters with the same SNR
with builtin Optical Audio
with builtin firewire interface that does not crash (semi)professional sound cards (T.I. only pretty much)
also, that will detect all 512MB ram of nvidia 8800gt (Which one on gismodo does not)
and that will run AS QUIETLY as MP does.

go ahead, be my guest. i think youll find that "apple" sticker on the side only brings about 200bucks to the setup.

and im not a fanboy, im a user for 6months. and i delete everything "i" on my osx.

cheers
 
illegal

Doesn't anyone here actually know what "illegal" means? For the love of christ, that's violating a EULA. Punishable only by being forced to pay damages in a civil court, you cannot go to jail.
There is no law saying, "thou shalt not use this software on unlicensed hardware." Therefore, it is not ILLEGAL! Stop throwing around words you obviously don't understand.
Saying that violating a EULA is against the law means you are allowing Apple to write the law, seriously? Do you people even think these things through?

just because you dont go to jail does not mean it is legal. speeding is illegal but you usually do not go to jail. It is under copyright laws that makes it illegal. if you are a big enough offender you can go to jail by breaking copyright laws.
 
Yes you CAN! Why do people continue this fallacy? Go price the comparable components and get back to me. I just priced out a system that is equal to the best Mac Pro and I come in at HALF the cost with a legitimate copy of OSX! Why do people say this? Do your homework FIRST, then type a response. This type of posting makes me sick - DEFEND APPLE TO THE END - and that type of attitude SUCKS for the consumer! If this were something to do with Windows most people here would stand-up and rejoice that the big evil draconian company is somehow being equalized. Give me a break, people!

D

If you read earlier in the thread, someone did try to price comparable components in an attempt to come in at 50% of the price of a stock Mac Pro. And they failed. By a wide margin. If you are sure you can do it, then post the prices and specs. I'm sure you could do it for 25-30% less that a stock Mac Pro, but I think it is reasonable for Apple to charge for design and labor and still make a profit.

Also, where would you get this copy of OS X that could legitimately be installed on the machine that you put together? I have a feeling that Apple would charge more than $129 when they are not subsidizing it with a hardware sale.
 
I just don't understand people's obsession with running OS X on PCs, especially if it's not saving money. ...Bragging rights I suppose.

How could it not save money? You have no idea do you?

I could build a $3000 mac pro for $1200 tops.
No, you couldn't. The Mac Pro is of course marked up a bit like normal Apple hardware but it's not that bad of a deal for what you get. The problem is it's overkill for consumer use. It's great for graphic designers, professionals - it is a workstation/server class machine.

I don't need a Xeon processor. I don't need ECC RAM... I don't want ECC RAM! I want a reasonable system that is configurable/expandable (read: not an iMac). My fiancee got the top of the line iMac when it was refreshed in the spring, it's a great system. I'm actually impressed with the performance but I still could not do it. I tinker too much, I like upgrading things. So despite the fact that it packs a decent punch if you buy a nice model and it's look great, I could not own an iMac as my primary system.

I'm also unwilling to pay ~$2000 to have a second machine that runs OS X. I own a Mac Mini and use it for sync'ing my iPhone, managing my iTunes library, photos and running a web server. I use my PC for everything else because my old Mac Mini is terribly slow, original G4 model. I was just happy I could get a cheap Mac to try OS X. I'd much rather dual-boot OS X on my primary PC.

I'm not looking for bragging rights. I don't want to hack it, because I know Apple will try to shut down any and all of these efforts both legally and through their software updates. I'll be curious to see how this one holds up. They do not seem to be interfering directly with OS X. However, Apple may be able to make the case that their hardware product circumvents DRM, which would break the DMCA, I think - I'm far from a legal expert but from my very rudimentary knowledge I think there is something in there regarding that. It will all come out of the technical details of implementation though.

I just want a reasonable desktop that is configurable and expandable that I can dual-boot OS X on. I'd be more than willing to buy one from Apple, even though it'd be priced a little higher and would limit my expandability options. The problem is Apple doesn't make such a system. The Mac Pro is not a consumer desktop. I'm not complaining that the Mac Pro is overpriced, it's simply more computer than I need or want. If Apple would simply offer a computer for users like myself, I would gladly purchase one - but they don't. So, if this new product holds up to the legal challenges that will be on their way from Apple I will be very happy. The next time I build a PC, I'll make sure the specs are correct for using this product and I'll finally be able to have the product I want.
 
The question for all you zealot nutbags saying Apple will sue is, do you really think the EFI-X market is big enough for Apple to give a crap? Out of all the PCs sold, and all the Macs sold, how many people build their PCs? And out of those, how many would want to run OSX?

I think it's a smaller fish to fry than Psystar, considering that not only are they not selling OSX on a prebuilt computer, they're not even selling a computer. It's a dongle.

Also, EFI is not an Apple-only thing. It's Intel. Unless there's something special going on with the EFI on Macs that's proprietary to Apple, there's nothing to be sued over.

Otherwise, Apple would have already sued MSI.
 
People always seem to compare PC desktops with Mac Pros & ignore the iMac. I dont own an iMac but have to admit that its the most beautiful & functional computer.

Apple will soon update the iMac to have quad core2 configs. Everything u want in a neat 20inch or 24 inch package.

I dont think Psystar & EFI can take that away from Apple. One of the main reasons to move to Apple is to get single point hardware & software support. no driver compatibility issues. no blue screens of death.

If PC makers are afraid of Apple, they are not gonna compete by running osx...they will compete by trying to make windows experience as close as possible to apple experience.
 
Actually, you can successfully sue a company for distributing a product that has little or no use other than facilitating copyright infringement. Think about the music sharing case.
And the courts have gone both ways on this issue. Think about the Betamax case.



Paying for a copy of Leopard does not entitle you to install it in violation of the license agreement.
Granted.

Additionally, though, using a legitimately obtained copy of a piece of copyrighted work in ways that are not codified as part of the exclusive rights of the copyright holder, does not constitute copyright violation and therefore can be done without needing to enter into an agreement with the copyright holder.

According to the letter of USA copyright law, the exclusive rights of a copyright holder are codified as follows:
§ 106. Exclusive rights in copyrighted works
Subject to sections 107 through 122, the owner of copyright under this title has the exclusive rights to do and to authorize any of the following:
(1) to reproduce the copyrighted work in copies or phonorecords;

(2) to prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted work;

(3) to distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending;

(4) in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works, to perform the copyrighted work publicly;

(5) in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, to display the copyrighted work publicly; and

(6) in the case of sound recordings, to perform the copyrighted work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission.
Which of these rights is being violated by running a piece of software on a personal computer? In answering that, keep in mind that in the case of computer software, the act of producing copies of the computer software as part of the act of running the software is specifically exempted:
§ 117. Limitations on exclusive rights: Computer programs
(a) Making of Additional Copy or Adaptation by Owner of Copy. — Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, it is not an infringement for the owner of a copy of a computer program to make or authorize the making of another copy or adaptation of that computer program provided:

(1) that such a new copy or adaptation is created as an essential step in the utilization of the computer program in conjunction with a machine and that it is used in no other manner, or

(2) that such new copy or adaptation is for archival purposes only and that all archival copies are destroyed in the event that continued possession of the computer program should cease to be rightful.
 
Go, go, Apple legal.

Lots of parasites coming out of the woodwork and trying to attach themselves to Apple.

In the long run, this is no good for us, the consumers. Apple makes its money by selling hardware. In the long run if people can run OSX on PCs, Apple will lose its revenue stream, go belly up, and then NOBODY gets to run OSX any more.

Comments like these make me just want to throw up! When it comes down to it Apple doesn't give one hoot about us. All they care about is their bottom line. So why should we worship them? Disgusting!
 
Yes, but efi-x isn't selling or installing osx. afaik they are selling a hardware dongle which makes osx think the pc is a mac.

Now if Apple's efi instruction set contains proprietary code and efix stole it, then there is cause for legal action. This would probably be the basis of any Apple suit.

While installing osx on a non-apple product might technically be a violation, its irrelevant in this case. You don't really sue a company for illegal actions that its customers might do.

Actually, if you check Apple's complaint against Psystar (you can find it linked from Groklaw, for example), you will find that one of Apple's complaints is that Psystar is inducing their customers to breach Apple's EULA. If you sell a product that is only of any possible use to your customers if they breach Apple's EULA, that would be interfering with Apple's business and Apple can stop you.
 
I love Macs, but with my financial situation I can't afford one. And no matter how much i'd LOVE one, I can't afford it.
...
Don't get me wrong... i'm all for the whole Mac experience. But with EFIX, i'll be able to use a LEGAL copy of OSX and run it on my pc, therefore contributing to Apple in some extent, rather than downloading a patched copy of OSX (stealing) and have to deal with patches etc...

Plus there's the factor of upgrading the machine. With Macs, I don't want to spend £2000 on an iMac and not be able to upgrade its video card/CPU etc..

So, you can afford a Mac, but you can't afford the model you want. Too bad. I can't afford a Mac Pro either. The fact is you could sell your PC and buy a low end iMac and it would be perfectly suitable for you to learn graphics arts. It's just not the be all and end all you think you deserve.



With EFIX, I can afford to run OSX on my main pc, contribute to Apple by buying their OS, and upgrade my pc when I need to.
Why do you think you are contributing to Apple? It's common knowledge that Apple subsidizes their OS development with hardware profits. You are cheating Apple out of these profits. If this practice continues, Apple will start charging for the OS what it really costs to develop it and be forced to put in "features" like product activation and DRM.

I know you guys with Macs feel cheated? or angry at the fact people can run OSX on something other than a Mac, after buying one yourself. But some of us just cant afford to spend alot of Money on a computer that isn't future proof :(

By cheating Apple out of profits, they will be forced to add activation and raise the price of MacOS X by hundreds of dollars (look at the price of Vista Ultimate and then consider the size of the Mac market vs. the PC market). Then we'll all be cheated.
 
I wonder why they only support internal USB. They all go through the asme controller, so it shouldn't make a difference if it was an external USB stick.

I wouldn't be surprised if we saw an image for standard USB sticks soon. I'd do it that way - I was thinking about getting a netbook, and installing OSX without the hassle would be fantastic.

How possible would it be to buy one of these EFiX devices and "image" it onto a generic USB Flash drive? Is not the EFiX basically just a usb flash drive anyway? Or is it more complex than that?
 
I have a Macbook Pro, but I've just built a new gaming computer that are on the EFI-X hardware compatibility list with Windows. I'll be picking up one of these dongles and install OS X on it just for fun.

It was around $1K to build the computer and it'll run games way better than any iMacs currently.
 
Use VMWare Player on Windows to run OS X?

So, I've successfully used the same VM with Fusion and VMWare Player in Windows.

Fusion 2 supports OS X Server. However, there are two methods I'm aware of to run regular OS X.

Has anybody run OS X Server with VMWare Player in Windows? I suppose I may be missing a big gap here if VMWare Player/Desktop don't support OS X flavors, but it seems an interesting and worthwhile experiment to give it a try.

Create the OS X VM in Fusion 2, then make that VM available to VMWare Player or Desktop on Windows and see what happens.

It would be really nice if Apple allowed for virtualization with regular OS X. Though, I suppose it could hurt sales of their Macs, but it could improve them, too. Folks might use OS X virtually and then want the full package. If not, well, Apple probably wouldn't have gotten any money from them anyway, but at least they got $129 for OS X.

Virtualization rocks.
 
yes, they're toast because they sold computers with modified versions of mac OS installed - and that's illegal. efix don't sell any kind of modified software

Non sequitur. I responded to a poster who claimed that Psystar could use this hardware to get legal, and I replied that this wouldn't help because of past copyright violations. I didn't reply at all to the question whether efix is legal. If you read Apple's claims against Psystar, you will find that some of Apple's claims would apply against efix as well, although others obviously wouldn't.
 
I'm amazed by Gizmodo's review. It sounds too good* to be true.


*How "good" it is depends on your perspective...

You know what really confuses me? The fact that when posts about Psystar were rampant on this forum there were FAR more positive comments about them than negative. Now another product comes out and people seem to be divided but leaning toward the negative side. What gives? It seems pretty random to me.
 
and upon boot does slow down the Leopard boot process (up to 2 minutes), but once up and running the experience is described as seamless.

This may be a double boot issue in OS X. I have a new Mac Pro that came pre-installed with 10.5. I boot camped XP onto a second drive for my wife. Start up disk is set to default to XP, and I option key at start up to go into OS X (makes life easier for her).
Thing is, the boot up time once I select the Mac HD is easily two minutes if not more. There is a long light blue screen (looks like one of the Desktop background colors) between the boot up gray and when my normal Desktop background image appears. Once the Desktop background image appears, there's another 1.5-3 minutes before the OS is ready to accept user input.
Considering this is on a Mac Pro, the issue noted in this article may not be related to this efix product.
 
the answer is simple. don't by a mac. stick to pc. run windows. done. you don't NEED to run OSX.

Stick to Windows? My first computer was a Performa, and since then, I've owned a dozen Macs. I haven't spent a single dollar of my own money on a non-Apple computer. I've recently been given an HP Compaq for work, and I hate it. In fact, this machine, a 1-yr old Core Duo machine, stays in my bag when I get home and I'd much rather pull out my five and a half year old 12" PowerBook. That's how much more comfortable I am with Mac OSX than I am with WinXP.

Frankly, I don't know why so many of you sound offended when some people need a product more than Apple's low end and less than Apple's high end. As it stands, I'm sticking with buying cheap, used Power Macs until Apple starts selling what I want/need again.

I'd significantly prefer Apple to create their own $1,200-$2,000 desktop that I can plug into my HDTV, but if they're unwilling to create one before my Quicksilver dies, I would have to look at this product very carefully.
 
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