The days of the Hackintosh project are numbered. 📦

32    03 Jan 2021 19:05 by u/Imperator

With Apple deciding to move all their computers to ARM it is only a matter of time until they stop selling the Intel versions. Now people can build hackintosh PCs right now because Intel, AMD are willing to sell their processors to anybody. However Apple will not let you buy the ARM processor separately(Even if they did they would charge you through the nose). Finally when Apple stops releasing software updates for OSX and their other programs based on x86 architecture, is the day Hackintosh community is effectively killed off. The new operating system will not work on the Intel and AMD chips no matter what you do. So hackintosh folk have 3 options now. Either learn how to use Windows and become Microsoft's bitch. Or shell out thousands of pounds/dollars/euros for hardly repairable authentic Mac and become Apple's bitch. Or learn Linux and live with the pain of not having enterprise-grade software available on your platform. Before any smart-asses try to tell me Apple will support the Intel based variant of their ecosystem for the next 7 or 10 years, look at the date when Apple switched from PowerPC to Intel and the date they released the last OSX that supported PowerPC architecture. You can defend your favourite company all you want. The reality is that after 3 years they will take massive dump on your head and will be unapologetic about it.

32 comments

16 u/None 03 Jan 2021 19:45
You are, of course, right. But can I ask as a serious, not-dismissive question, as I have never understood this: What's the point in building a Hackintosh? > Or learn Linux Welcome home! :)
7 u/Imperator [OP] 03 Jan 2021 20:08
The point is to use Apple OS and programs while having a computer that is more repairable and cheaper I guess.
6 u/None 03 Jan 2021 20:14
For me, the only point in using Apple's OS would be because it works flawlessly with Apple hardware, so thanks for that perspective. (I'll add that the only time I have used anything Apple is when someone else was paying for it and I was not given a choice.)
10 u/Shatterbrain 03 Jan 2021 21:08
Agree, Hackintosh people should have been throwing in to GNU/Linux projects instead of diverting their efforts into proprietary software.
3 u/NitroglycerinLtd 03 Jan 2021 21:50
Short answer: Apples' MacOS applications tend to be very good, very well-maintained, and cheap compared to equivalent competition. For example, Final Cut Pro X is a perpetually licensed, stable, useful video editor from 2011 that is still improved and updated now, for not a penny extra. The OS is also generally nicer to use than Windows.
9 u/MyThoughtsAndOpinions 03 Jan 2021 19:37
Even if they did sell their ARM chips separately, not only would they charge you a shit ton, but there also wouldn't be hardware (motherboards, etc) that would support it
4 u/Imperator [OP] 03 Jan 2021 23:00
That's a good point. I should have used that instead.
3 u/PuttItBack 04 Jan 2021 02:48
That might be a chicken-and-egg problem. No one's going to build motherboards for a CPU that isn't accessible. If Apple put the chip up for sale, I bet someone would make a motherboard for it. FWIW, these would probably target niche/high-end configurations rather than trying to compete with Apple's volume on the low end of the lineup.
2 u/MyThoughtsAndOpinions 04 Jan 2021 14:24
If anyone did make motherboards for it, there wouldn't be many of them lol, hackintoshing is quite a niche market and they would probably be very expensive
7 u/kek 03 Jan 2021 19:14
:pensive:
5 u/_Ruq_ 03 Jan 2021 20:19
>Linux doesn′t have Enterptise-Grade Software I think I know what you′re trying to say, but the statement above isn′t true. Now to say that Linux lacks Professional Creative Software is somewhat true, if you mean Adobe software. However Linux is catching up in that field, with other professional companies releasing native Linux editions. This is at least in the Video Editing and DAW fields. Also I have had a very much good experience using GIMP and Inkscape. GIMP should be approaching it′s version 3 release at some point in the nearish future; which should bring in a lot of interface polish.
3 u/Imperator [OP] 03 Jan 2021 21:56
First you say it's not true and then you slowly admit it is true. No point in lying to yourself. GIMP and Inkscape will not catch-up to their proprietary counterparts because they don't make any money. Firefox can compete with Chrome because Mozilla makes somewhere between $400 to $500 million dollars per year. For that amount of money you can hire many good developers. Adobe Inc. made $11.17 billion in 2019 and has over 22 600 employees. Now I don't know how much money the GIMP project gets in donations but I can guarantee you it's not even a fraction of what Adobe makes. People need to eat and pay bills. Most of people don't want to work for free. All these programs that are developed by volunteers can never compete with something that has paid full time developers behind it.
3 u/_Ruq_ 03 Jan 2021 22:03
You're right in that open source projects of love don't make near the revenue their proprietary counterparts make. You are correct that for true professionals nothing but adobe products will do. But there are many casual uses where GIMP/Inkscape will go far and even surpass the big name software; foremost because they cost $0. But you seem to have entirely ignored my Video Editing/DAW Arguments. Davinci Resolve has a native linux edition and is a direct proprietary competitor to Adobe's equivalent offerings. Waveform for one example in the DAW field has a linux edition.
2 u/Imperator [OP] 03 Jan 2021 22:56
I never used Davinci Resolve so I cannot compare it to anything else but I heard the linux port has problems. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpXUQgCbtQw
3 u/None 03 Jan 2021 21:12
I wanted to build one for a while but was holding off due to watching Apples business practices. Now I just want to figure out a way to find consumer level chip bashing and pcb creation and watch the standard practices melt down.
2 u/None 03 Jan 2021 19:56
At least nothing of value will be lost.
2 u/JaceLightning 03 Jan 2021 20:18
Lots of Macs exist today with intel processors, so Apple will be doing both Apple Silicon and Intel support for a long time. Like a decade. Windows can be run on ARM, so ARM processors for desktops might become more popular in the next 10 years. Apple is about to be broken up due to legal issues. Apple's ARM processors have built in x86 emulation hardware that are a neat trick of computing. (I'm trying to find the article I was reading but here's another one: https://debugger.medium.com/why-is-apples-m1-chip-so-fast-3262b158cba2).
2 u/Imperator [OP] 03 Jan 2021 22:23
>Apple will be doing both Apple Silicon and Intel support for a long time. Like a decade. And who told you that? I don't remember Apple supporting PowerPC architecture for 10 years after they switched to Intel. >Windows can be run on ARM, so ARM processors for desktops might become more popular in the next 10 years. That doesn't change anything in regards to my original topic. It may be better for competition since x86 licence is held by only 2 companies but OSX will only run on Apple's ARM chip. Don't worry they will figure it out.
2 u/insert_username_here 03 Jan 2021 20:35
>learn linux and live with the pain of not having enterprise-grade software on your platform You're kidding, right?
2 u/Imperator [OP] 03 Jan 2021 21:27
No I am serious. Are you in denial?
4 u/insert_username_here 04 Jan 2021 05:59
Denial? Dude, almost all of the world's servers that aren't using Windows Server (not many use Windows Server, but it is worthy of mentioning. Its market share is in a nosedive) are running some variety of a GNU/Linux operating system. You can run basically anything on GNU/Linux one way or another too, from Photoshop (not natively, but that's barely noticeable) to video games. It's only getting better. Windows's days of relevance are numbered since Microsoft has started going heavy on the Linux stuff (subsystem for Linux, .NET Linux compatibility, etc). Apple is slowly phasing its server out of existence, not to mention that everything you can do on Mac you can do on Linux except iOS development, since Darwin is in no small part a bunch of stuff ripped from BSD and friends. The only people left without much native stuff on Linux-based OSes are hardcore gamers and creative types, but that gap isn't really one worth filling right now since so few of those people use (let alone know about the existence of, with few exceptions) Linux-based operating systems. You could definitely run an enterprise on Linux alone. Microsoft and Apple not required (unless you want an iOS app).
2 u/Imperator [OP] 04 Jan 2021 20:07
I used to work in tech support for 3 years. I'm sure the big businesses use Linux to run their infrastructure but the small-medium sized businesses run Windows server 95% of the time. They need Active Directory to control domain accounts. They need a Windows VM for Sage which is a popular accounting program. They need a VM for Veeam Backup & Replication to backup all the files and virtual servers. Many of them still have Exchange servers which run on windows. Although this has mostly moved to Office365 so it's becoming less and less relevant. Software for many 3D printers works only on Windows and Mac. There are probably thousand more examples that I am not aware of. Linux VMs are usually used for web servers that run Apache and NgineX. Video games are only for consuming. You can't use them as a means of creating new content.
2 u/m68k_ 03 Jan 2021 21:21
> learn how to use Windows and become Microsoft's bitch. There's nothing to learn, you just consume.
2 u/Imperator [OP] 03 Jan 2021 22:50
Have you ever worked in tech support? People don't know how to put icons on their desktop.
2 u/m68k_ 04 Jan 2021 00:50
> Have you ever worked in tech support? Fuck no, and will always avoid working in tech support. > People don't know how to put icons on their desktop. Trying to get people to use the correct mouse button to click on something, is always the first step. :P Don't get me started on double clicking.
1 u/jBoi76 04 Jan 2021 09:50
>Or learn Linux and live with the pain of not having enterprise-grade software available on your platform. If you mean Adobe products then, kinda? But there are plenty of also professional alternatives such as davinci resolve, gimp, ect. With a few simple changes to ones workflow it's really quite easy to be as efficient or even more efficient than on M$ or macos without sacrificing much. Also, most of the alternatives are free :P
1 u/Imperator [OP] 04 Jan 2021 18:53
GIMP is not professional alternative because it doesn't make any money. The same goes for FreeCAD and AutoCAD. People who want to just experiment and create something for fun use GIMP and FreeCAD. Professionals who are paid by companies use Phtoshop and AutoCAD. >Also, most of the alternatives are free Yes, that's why will always be inferior in feature set.
1 u/jBoi76 04 Jan 2021 20:08
Blender is free and it's pretty much the industry standard for 3D modeling and animation software. Free software != Unprofessional software In many companies X software is chosen because "everyone else is using it too" to avoid compatibility errors. An example of this would be Windows 10 itself. It could be argued that a noob friendly distro like mint would be better for basic office work along with libre office because it's cheaper (free), way more lightweight so less money can be spent on office PCs, and updates aren't such a pain in the ass. Stable, efficient, and cheaper. Sadly pretty much no one uses Linux in corporations, so nobody chooses it, because muh standard
1 u/Imperator [OP] 04 Jan 2021 20:43
Ahhh.... yes Blender. You forgot to say that Blender has development fund that is backed by some of the biggest companies in the world. Like Amazon, Intel, Facebook. I don't know how the fund works but I believe the big corps give them large chunks of money and Blender devs implement desired features for them. https://fund.blender.org/ Right now the fund gets 1.6 million Euros per year. That's not a trivial amount.