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

[high heaven]

The new MP has plenty of TB expand ability.

They made it a big tower because that is a much better thermal solution. Once they did that, it was a no brainer to add slots.

Hell, don’t take my word for it - apple has said the reason they changed the design was because they “designed themselves into a thermal corner.”

Apple admits the Mac Pro was a mess

The company is ready to reconcile with pros

www.theverge.com

Why Apple's Mac Pro 'trash can' was a colossal failure

Apple's 2013 Mac Pro was a classic case of form over function. Pro users were unable to upgrade the "trash can" or customize it to their liking.

www.businessinsider.com

And the expandability is also another problem. Changing either CPU or GPU is part of upgrade and expandability.

We are talking about TB for expandability instead of using PCIe slots. Technically, there aren't many TB devices for expandability with PCIe slot.

"The main point of Thunderbolt 3 was to give direct access to PCIe in a wide range of computers."
This is what KPOM said which is wrong.

 

[Schismz]

Hum... interesting. I don't really understand why they bundled macOS pre-installed, and took the extremely shady route of just ripping off OpenCore's logo and identity... Those are 2 huge red flags against the "ethics" of whomever is doing this, and would logically make potential buyers ponder whether their BTC transaction will result in a Hackintosh, or just getting ripped off...

It also makes it kinda obvious that the goal is to try and rake in a few million before they get burnt down, or play an entertaining game if they physically exist within a country like China which doesn't respect IP law... It could take a minute to shut them down, giving their window to generate revenue longer... I mean, if you don't need a bank account and use BTC only, it all becomes super interesting to see what train-wreck happens NeXT!

Had they not been a------s and ripped off OpenCore, and not been dumb and actually pre-installed macOS, and just stated it would install with no special tricks needed. Their longevity would probably be a bit longer.

Is cash grab just cash grab, or outright scam...? Hard to say. Even shady companies need good marketing that doesn't make the potential buyer freak out before hitting purchase button. Everything about their presentation would make me hesitate and not pull the trigger if I was the potential target demographic. Why scare away your own potential customers? Marketing department makes no sense.

As far as hurting Apple, it's an annoying ant, as a shareholder it's not gonna keep me awake nights, more like an interesting weird anomalie which might make life harder for the Hackintosh community if Apple actually responds and ties future OS releases to the omnipresent T2 chip (assuming iMac finally joins the lineup @ WWDC). All of this amounts to a tiny drop in the ocean of APPL profits, who just became the first company in history to pass a $1.5 trillion market cap.

While I totally lack the time to play with Hackintosh and went with Cheesegrater, much respect to people enjoying their hobby, keeping 5,1s running, and building cool kit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/hackintosh/comments/gwptff

Would I run that in a production environment on a workstation I depend on? No way. Is it cool to look at and play with if you're a hobbist? Looks like it.

Cheers.

 

[ian87w]

which might make life harder for the Hackintosh community if Apple actually responds and ties future OS releases to the omnipresent T2 chip (assuming iMac finally joins the lineup @ WWDC).

I'm sure that is what Apple will do, and the move to ARM will probably ensure it.

People who do hackintosh should be worried about scammers like this. Apple used to turn a blind eye on Hackintoshes, but they need to take legal action to protect their IPs when there are people who blatantly break the EULA for profit. I'm always find it weird that people are supporting these outfits despite their actions actually pushed Apple into locking things further.

 

[michelb76]

in before ARM …

For the time being I don't think Apple has a chip that actually rivals Intel/AMD performance for pro users.
ARM will probably end hackintoshes over time. So you will have no choice but to buy the new overpriced Macs.

 

[AndiG]

Why does everyone pretend Apple didn’t already try this, and pretend it didn’t almost put Apple out of business?

Learn from history, dudes.

Situation is different today. Older Macs had ports, upgradable RAM and hard drives - even the batteries were replaceable. Today everything made at Apple is kept together by rivets glue and solder. No ports, no standard interfaces, no Wifi6 ...

 

[matram]

I am still using my Adobe Master Collection CS6 as far as I am aware they are 32bit

Adobe is extremely slow. There where still 32 bit applications just months before Catalina release.

I switched to Affiniti and have not looked back.

 

[grad]

It's 2020! What Apps are you running that are not 64-bit?

Too many to list.

 

[Brian Y]

Why on earth is this even on the news, its obviously just a scam. Using someone elses name/logo and taking payment in bitcoin. What a load of crap.

 

[grad]

I miss the days of Power Computing when a Power Computing Mac Clone was faster and more robust than what Apple offered. Hence why the clone program was dropped. Apple did do a good job in the Power Mac G4 and G5 days of making those computers beasts but since the turn to Intel they have steadily lost their edge again. I’m actually shocked that Apple hasn’t gone Ryzen in the Mac Pro and iMac lines. They need to do something in the price per spec territory or we could see another repeat of the mid-90’s history.

After the regression to x86, Apple lost any advantage they had hardware/performance -wise. They surely attracted many switchers and increased their market share (but not as greatly as people believe) but that also brought noise in the user base.

 

[Mr. Brian]

A pointless endeavor, I think. Supposedly, Apple is switching over to ARM, so that would throw a wrench in the all things Hackintosh. The lifespan of all x86 based Macs including Apple's own will be limited.

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

Update: The developers of the OpenCore Bootloader have released a statement regarding the unauthorized use of the OpenCore name.




Original version of article follows...

Following in the footsteps of Psystar, a new company called "OpenCore Computer" (No affiliation with the OpenCore Bootloader) this week launched a commercial Hackintosh computer called the "Velociraptor," which is a violation of Apple's end-user license agreement or EULA for macOS.

On its website, OpenCore Computer claims that it hopes to make Mac Pro-style workstations more accessible. The company's lineup of computers, which they call "zero-compromise Hackintoshes," are advertised as coming with macOS Catalina and Windows 10 Pro pre-installed. The first available model is the "Velociraptor," which is configurable with up to a 16-core CPU, 64GB of RAM, and a Vega VII GPU, and starts at $2,199. OpenCore Computer intends to launch more models at a later date, with options allowing for up to a 64-core CPU and 256GB of RAM.

Hackintoshes are computers that run macOS on hardware not authorized by Apple. OpenCore is a free open-source tool used to prepare a system for booting macOS. The company selling these Hackintoshes seems to have appropriated the name of the open-source bootloader, and has no affiliation to the developers of OpenCore. Hackintosh machines have to bypass copy-protection technologies that Apple uses to protect macOS from being cloned, affording them a dubious legal status when sold. OpenSource Computer reports that its computers "work just like a regular Apple Mac."

Commercial Hackintoshes have a notorious legal history. The now-defunct Psystar Corporation sold so-called "Open Computers" from 2008, with the option to have Mac OS X Leopard pre-installed. Apple's EULA forbids third-party installations of its software, and any commercial Mac clone is a violation of that agreement, as well as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Apple sued Psystar in 2009 and won a permanent injunction against the company, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case in 2012. Given this precedence, it is particularly surprising that OpenCore Computer has chosen to sell a Hackintosh.

OpenCore Computer seems to be trying to get around the EULA by accepting payments in Bitcoin cryptocurrency only. In an attempt to prove that the company is not a scam, it offers the use of escrow payment through "Bitrated," which intends to bring consumer protection and fraud prevention measures to cryptocurrency transactions. Much like the skepticism levelled at Psystar in 2008 when it announced its Mac clone, the legitimacy of OpenCore Computer is unclear. No address for the company is given and there is little further information about it online.

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

Seemingly no warranty or support on any part(s) makes these machines incredibly expensive. Even at 50% off their current low prices, it would still be a bad deal considering how most unstable most hackingtoshes run.

Great idea, maybe. But the prices have to be fraction of a similar legitimate Apple setup, since you might get a lemon and there'd be no guarantee of repairs or getting your money back.

This is probably too risky for most consumers.

 

[grad]

Apple has never had enough variety on its line, now with the increased market share the problem looks even worse. I am not talking about being Samsung, foolishly introducing 100s of smartphone models every year but, in Apple's computer world, there have been specific voids. The new Mac Pro is an overkill for many (overengineered but still lacking in performance when directly compared with other solutions).

Personally, I just wanted a compact but powerful workstation with user RAM/storage upgradeability (and optimally CPU/GPU too - at worst, offer in-house upgrades or more choices in BTOs) to cover my development/research/designing/computing needs. Neither iMac, MacMini, MacBook Pro can do that for me. It would have been perfectly fine if Apple kept BOTH the cheese grater and the cylindrical MacPros in 2013+, both being better updated, priced, and supported.

 

[orbital~debris]

From the statement: ‘nohow’ 😂

 

[Flows]

For me Windows only for gaming, its nothing.. not safe, too many viruses, malwares, too many bugs, windows update always problem

MacOs for working, designing, video editing, browsing, banking and hacking.. peace of mind about security..

 

[matram]

Personally, I just wanted a compact but powerful workstation with user RAM/storage upgradeability (and optimally CPU/GPU too - at worst, offer in-house upgrades or more choices in BTOs) to cover my development/research/designing/computing needs. Neither iMac, MacMini, MacBook Pro can do that for me.

Apple is not interested in creating a PC for the enhusiast. Professionals / companies want to buy everything from Apple with support, use it for three years and then buy new. Those are the key customers for Apple.

Enthusiasts which want buy a bare system from Apple, upgrade with 3rd party compionents and use the system for 7+ plus years are not of interest to Apple and they will not focus on that segment.

 

[grad]

Apple is not interested in creating a PC for the enhusiast. Professionals / companies want to buy everything from Apple with support, use it for three years and then buy new. Those are the key customers for Apple.

Enthusiasts which want buy a bare system from Apple, upgrade with 3rd party compionents and use the system for 7+ plus years are not of interest to Apple and they will not focus on that segment.

Enthusiasts are interested in modding and benchmarking. I am a professional, just not a videographer or youtuber.

 

[justperry]

Did a whois lookup, guess what, leads to nowhere, no names...email address, address, town, all redacted for privacy.

 

[Ishayu]

This company isn’t “buying” anything.

And unless Apple charges $400 per copy, they would lose money on the deal, having to support all sorts of hardware configurations that they don’t even make.

Apple tried this in the 1990’s, back in the days when people actually were willing to fork over a credit card to get an OS and to get updates. It nearly put them out of business.

Now NOBODY is willing to pay for updates, and only a very small number of people pay for OS’s (and usually what they are really paying for is support, cloud services, etc., and not the OS itself)
[automerge]1592079360[/automerge]

Thing is though, the software product that Apple was selling in the 1990's was a steaming pile of garbage.

It was! Fite me.

macOS 10 is a vastly better operating system than System 7, even for their respective moments in time. It's not even a contest.

macOS is very marketable now. macOS back then was ... well, it had fans and some legacy applications, but that was about it.

 

[SBlue1]

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

Why can’t Coca Cola sell their sodas for 20 Cents a can? Greedy beancounters. They got astronomical profit margins. Can even sponsor the Olympics and the Fifa World Cup! You know what I will steal the secret recipe and sell my own Coca Cola for far less and still make ne some money.

 

[Maxx Totten]

The Chinese had been making entire knock off apple stores with entire knock off crap like this for years and apple just caved to the government for the money. Oooo open source team is upset, ooo ****** company makes ****** computer that includes 2 os for those idiots who know they need a PC but still feel the need to pay 10 times for their stuff. Just irritating how this seems like an uproar when there's plenty more about all these tech companies. Planned obsolescence, price gouging, monopoly like behaviors being shared between companies, apple selling user info, nerfing the processors on phones... This just seems petty and Idk why opentosh or whatever even bothers with it... Just make your own os you dummies

 

[ArPe]

Did a whois lookup, guess what, leads to nowhere, no names...email address, address, town, all redacted for privacy.

Along with the piracy and anonymity of this operation, there is also a risk they will take money and exit scam. Because they are trying to get customers to use a digital wallet, there is also a risk they would install a keystroke logger in the hackintosh to steal a user’s digital wallet private key or passphrases. Stay away from these kind of people in all areas of life.

 

[matram]

Enthusiasts are interested in modding and benchmarking. I am a professional, just not a videographer or youtuber.

Sorry, I did not intend to come across as snotty. The word professional seems to have many meaning on this forum so let me first clarify that I mean a person that makes money from their Mac and where the decision what to buy is based on business consideration.

I do not know if you want to share what you do? Working as an international consultant for me the price of the system is not an issue. What I charge for a day will pay for a basic MBP.

I have owned a large number of Thinkpads before I switched to Mac in 2011, I am now on my fourth MBP. in my country, you could not get Thinkpads BTO. The first thing I had to do was to extract ram and hdd and install what I wanted plus re-install Windows. Add to that problems with upgrades and drivers and the MBP was quickly shown to be cheaper although the purchase price was +50%.

I believe businesses will reason in the same way and do not want to fiddle with upgrades.

 

[Brandhouse]

Wouldn't touch it with a 10' barge pole.

 

[yurc]

I suspect upcoming Mac OS releases will at some point require a future version of the T3 chip to operate. That will be the death of Hackintosh.

Nah, Any T1 T2 even unreleased T3 chips won’t stops hackintosh. Many people confused. T chips is just glorified version of SMC. The things really stops hackintosh is only ARM or another proprietary chips which doesn’t available on off shelf market counterpart.

 

[grad]

I am in higher education but also work as an independent developer. If at Apple believe that I am just an outlier fine; I still believe that there are many scenarios where an iMac or MacMini is inadequate and that keeping more desktop users happy could still be beneficial for Apple, short and long term.