'OpenCore Computer' Launches Commercial Hackintosh in Violation of Apple's macOS Licensing Agreement [Updated]

[cmaier]

You do realize that piracy has been proven to boost software sales, right?

False.

Software Piracy: Estimation of Lost Sales and the Impact on Software Diffusion on JSTOR

Moshe Givon, Vijay Mahajan, Eitan Muller, Software Piracy: Estimation of Lost Sales and the Impact on Software Diffusion, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 59, No. 1 (Jan., 1995), pp. 29-37

www.jstor.org

 

[yurc]

The Opencore Computer website already looks to be down.

For the good, I think.

They clearly scammer, using someone else boot loader name was wrong from beginning. They offered configuration is also sketchy at best from hackintosh standpoint. Bitcoin payments is also raising eyebrow as well.

 

[cmaier]

For the good, I think.

They clearly scammer, using someone else boot loader name was wrong from beginning. They offered configuration is also sketchy at best from hackintosh standpoint. Bitcoin payments is also raising eyebrow as well.

I think it's funny that people are getting worked up about their using someone's boot loader, when they are also stealing copies of the entire operating system

 

[chucker23n1]

You do realize that piracy has been proven to boost software sales, right?

sure sure

"Please do it for free, I'll give you eXpOsUrE!"

 

[pankajdoharey]

They are so going down besides there won't be updates so, what's the point of this machine a quick buck now would all be lost paying the lawyer fee and then some as fines. Not a very sound business practice if you ask me.

 

[ziggenpuss]

How anybody in their right mind would think this would work..
When you update the Hack's OS say for example to 10.15.5 - you WILL have to tweak and get the settings correct in opencore else you'll have problems. Imagine a complete Hack newbie customer rooting around in the EFI.

 

[Dustman]

I would guess most people who build a Hackintosh would balk at paying for Mac OS when they can get it for free, even if Apple sold copies. M<y guess the whinging would be:
"$XX for something Apple gives away to mac Users. What a ripoff..."
"What do you mean they won't support the Magna Untra 20000 Graphics card? I paid fop rMacOS and they should support me."
"The EU should investigate Apple for anti-competitive behavior becasue they force me to buy Mac OS but give it away to Mac users..."

Sorry no. People spending a bunch of money on hardware wouldn't baulk at paying for MacOS. They're not pirates. They're hobbyists that already own a Mac, want to build a project, and require a bit of extra power combined with upgradability because that's what they want for their work machine. Apple doesn't build this so its not a lost sale, so I see no reason for an argument in favour of licensing MacOS (which we all know would spell the end of MacOS). These users are akin to the Napster users before the launch of the iTunes Store. Some continued to pirate, most didn't because it was never about theft, it was about convenience. And a large portion of those who continued to pirate were people that couldn't afford, or weren't going to purchase your product anyway. Apple knows this, and that's why we don't have serial numbers and activators on Mac Apps.
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False.

Software Piracy: Estimation of Lost Sales and the Impact on Software Diffusion on JSTOR

Moshe Givon, Vijay Mahajan, Eitan Muller, Software Piracy: Estimation of Lost Sales and the Impact on Software Diffusion, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 59, No. 1 (Jan., 1995), pp. 29-37

www.jstor.org

Bull.

People pirating $1000 worth of programs doesn't mean you would have made $1000 if they didn't. Look at photoshop. The average home user deleting their acne weren't going to ever pay $300 for a professional photo editor. If adobe piracy disappeared, they'd use a free, less polished photo editor. That said, if I spent years using pirated adobe products then got a higher paying job that allowed me to afford to purchase high end software, I'd likely purchase photoshop because now I'm a professional, and I have the knowledge required to use the software before I purchase it.

For a lot of people, piracy is essentially a trial run without the 14-30 day time limit. And for some its the appeal of not having to pay. Regardless, these aren't lost sales.

The film and video industry on the other hand is a different story...

EDIT: You're supporting your argument with a book written in 1995. We know a lot more about why people pirate 25 years later.

 

[chucker23n1]

Sorry no. People spending a bunch of money on hardware wouldn't baulk at paying for MacOS. They're not pirates.

And yet, they've literally been pirating. Strange.

Bull.

People pirating $1000 worth of programs doesn't mean you would have made $1000 if they didn't.

Here's the original claim: "You do realize that piracy has been proven to boost software sales, right?"

That's incredibly self-serving horse manure. "Oh, but me pirating your software actually helps you!"

if I spent years using pirated adobe products then got a higher paying job that allowed me to afford to purchase high end software, I'd likely purchase photoshop because now I'm a professional, and I have the knowledge required to use the software before I purchase it.

"If I spent years driving a stolen Mercedes and then got a higher paying job that included a company car as part of my perks, I'd likely choose a Mercedes." Wow, so generous!

For a lot of people, piracy is essentially a trial run without the 14-30 day time limit.

"Listen, waiter, don't give me that attitude. I'm going to choose a meal I'll pay for some other day. Today, I'm only here for a trial run!"

If you're gonna pirate, pirate. Just be honest to yourself about it.

 

[cmaier]

And yet, they've literally been pirating. Strange.



Here's the original claim: "You do realize that piracy has been proven to boost software sales, right?"

That's incredibly self-serving horse manure. "Oh, but me pirating your software actually helps you!"



"If I spent years driving a stolen Mercedes and then got a higher paying job that included a company car as part of my perks, I'd likely choose a Mercedes." Wow, so generous!



"Listen, waiter, don't give me that attitude. I'm going to choose a meal I'll pay for some other day. Today, I'm only here for a trial run!"

If you're gonna pirate, pirate. Just be honest to yourself about it.

Another way to look at it:

- Android - rampant piracy, and developers make no money from android apps
- App Store - piracy much less, and 95% of profits in app industry made on iOS despite iOS having much smaller market share.

 

[Schismz]

If you're gonna pirate, pirate. Just be honest to yourself about it.

This.

Rationalization is just silly. Be real. "I rate high on the antisocial spectrum and simply can't be bothered to care, because... I don't!" There ya go. <Shining my halo>

ibid: Being the victim of antisocial personality disorder in no way precludes you from flourishing and becoming a useful member of society. There are myriad outlets to really let your innate skillset & psychological profile shine! Law, politics, the entertainment industry, and the financial services industry, to name just four!

 

[Jsassu27]

There should be no one supporting this. One of the factors in Apple's pricing is the included software. For them to be dumping it in their "hackintosh" and selling it is basically like Netflix streaming Warner Bros movies without licensing.

Its not illegal nor is it copyright infringement so long as you obtain the software from the mac app store via a real mac machine. If you obtain the software legally then installing it on unsupported hardware is not a crime its a violation of apples end user agreement which means they aren't obligated to provide you with any of the normal support that would normally be afforded on legitimate systems. That's why the hackintosh community hasn't been shut down. Its a legal grey area.
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Sorry what? It's ok for you a 'normal user' to break the law but not a company to do it. That's what you're saying right.

violating a eula is not the same as breaking the law. Its a forfeiture of liability
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How anybody in their right mind would think this would work..
When you update the Hack's OS say for example to 10.15.5 - you WILL have to tweak and get the settings correct in opencore else you'll have problems. Imagine a complete Hack newbie customer rooting around in the EFI.
[/QUOT

no you don't. If you build it correctly it will function as a normal mac would. I've built 20+ systems and never had an issue I couldn't iron out

 

[cmaier]

Its not illegal nor is it copyright infringement so long as you obtain the software from the mac app store via a real mac machine. If you obtain the software legally then installing it on unsupported hardware is not a crime its a violation of apples end user agreement which means they aren't obligated to provide you with any of the normal support that would normally be afforded on legitimate systems. That's why the hackintosh community hasn't been shut down. Its a legal grey area.
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violating a eula is not the same as breaking the law. Its a forfeiture of liability
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A violation of the EULA means that the copy you make to install it on the hackintosh is an unauthorized copy, and thus is copyright infringement.

 

[iBluetooth]

lol, ok, just experimenting, I built a computer specifically to run macOS, only to see if it worked, not going to actually use it.

Well you skipped the part that I am not selling it for profit. That part really makes a difference.

 

[LeeW]

Well you skipped the part that I am not selling it for profit. That part really makes a difference.

No, I didn't miss that part, it does not make a difference, it just means it makes it too difficult for Apple to go after individual users so there is perceived safety in building a Hackintosh. It does not make it right or any less 'legal'.

 

[iBluetooth]

No, I didn't miss that part, it does not make a difference, it just means it makes it too difficult for Apple to go after individual users so there is perceived safety in building a Hackintosh. It does not make it right or any less 'legal'.

So, you're saying that if I buy a CD and take a copy of it for personal enjoyment, it is just as big a crime as my company taking a copy of that CD and selling it for profit?

 

[chucker23n1]

So, you're saying that if I buy a CD and take a copy of it for personal enjoyment, it is just as big a crime as my company taking a copy of that CD and selling it for profit?

No, but if you buy a CD and make a copy to give to a friend as a gift, that's copyright infringement even though you don't profit off of it.

 

[iBluetooth]

No, but if you buy a CD and make a copy to give to a friend as a gift, that's copyright infringement even though you don't profit off of it.

The point was not whether you're breaking the law, but that the punishment is much greater when people/companies profit from their crime.

 

[aaronhead14]

LOL their website is already down. Looks like they got shut down FAST.

 

[cmaier]

The point was not whether you're breaking the law, but that the punishment is much greater when people/companies profit from their crime.

Maybe. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/504

Statutory damages can add up to much more than profit-based damages, depending on how many copies you make.

 

[Maximara]

It would be awesome to have Mac clones allowed by Apple. Competition is good.

Apple tried this and nearly went out of business. Instead of expanding the Mac market it Balkenized it. It has often been said repeating the same thing and expecting different results is the definition of insanity. Apple may be many things but insane is clearly not one of them.

 

[Maximara]

it's a good thing you can't buy the KFC spices online... oh wait you can https://marionkay.com/product/chicken-seasoning-99-x/

edit: and if you don't believe me, you can read a firsthand confirmation in Harland Sanders biography which states that Marion Kay's blend is the *original* recipe https://www.amazon.com/Colonel-Sanders-American-Discovering-America/dp/147731475X

Never mind that Joe Ledington appears to have found if not the recipe one so close you can't tell the difference and it is on the wikipedia page...and the rest the internet.

 

[PatmacLondon]

Why can't Apple make a normal desktop around $3000? It shouldn't be a problem. If you disagree, then you have a problem.

I was thinking the same thing if Apple would fill the desktop gap they have and fight the hacintosh on their own turf there wouldn't be a problem instead you have an underpowered Mac Mini and an insanely expensive MacPro....

 

[Maximara]

I was thinking the same thing if Apple would fill the desktop gap they have and fight the hacintosh on their own turf there wouldn't be a problem instead you have an underpowered Mac Mini and an insanely expensive MacPro....

As I said before Apple tried this before with the clone program and the result was a full fledged disaster. And that was when Apple had a PowerPC rather then a Intel CPU - it did NOT grow the mac's marketshare but rather fragmented the existing marketshare. According to Steve Jobs he wanted the clone makers to pay a fair price for making mac clones and asked them five times and was told to effectively pound sand each time. Then he killed the Mac clone program.

So because the Mac clone makers didn't want to pay a fair price back then the mac clone died and given the razor thin margins even the top PC makers are on there is no way that would be any different today.

 

[0388631]

Why would anyone buy a Hackintosh with Catalina preinstalled? Not only is it a dumpster fire of a MacOS release, you can only run 64-bit MacOS apps.

Is Catalina still that bad? I thought it would have its kinks worked out by now. Rather disappointing.