This past week, the Macintosh computer turned 30 years old. And over the course of that time, Mackintosh has gone from playing a dinky, hand-me-down 2nd fiddle, to a symphony orchestra. So in honor of that achievement, I have decided to post about something that is near and dear to my technical heart:
HACKINTOSHES
Now I know what you're thinking... and yes, I can spell. I did say "Hackintoshes".
Before I begin [*DISCLAIMER*]: Building a Hackintosh is a hobby, but it is a long winded process, full of research, preparation, headaches, frustration, sleepless nights and can drain your bank account quite a bit. In addition, it is technically a violation of the OsX user agreement. You know, the long thing nobody reads with the "agree"/"disagree" buttons at the end? Yea, that thing. I also need to say that this post is for educational purposes only and not for any profit -- monetary or otherwise.
Now, I have been a Mac AND Windows user for most of my life. My family got our first PC back when Gateway made computers and Windows 95 was brand new. That thing ROCKED. In terms of what computers today can offer, it was a piece of **** but I loved it nonetheless. I also had this boxy gray computer with a picture of a half-eaten apple on it that occasionally played "games". And by "games" I mean these applications that told you a story (via text) and you had to type your actions in and 90% of the time you either died or got locked in a room with no foreseeable way out.
Anyway, In 2008 my high school received a technology grant from the state and decided to buy a bunch of Macbook laptops. And like that big book with the people in the garden and the snake, I was tempted by the forbidden fruit and decided to switch to Apple.
Why did I switch? Yea it had cool applications. Yea, at the time Garageband was "pretty sweet". But one thing stuck out in my mind: the user interface. Using the Mac operating system was simple, intuitive and fun compared to Windows 95/97/XP. So I was happy. Keyword: "was".
In 2009 my Macbook caught fire. No... that is not an exaggeration. The heat-sinks malfunctioned and smoke literally began spewing out of it. I replaced it (thank god for warranties) but it soon began to fail again. In late 2011, I upgraded to a shiny new Macbook pro (this was around the time they stopped making regular Macbooks) and a little over two years later its still chuggin' along.
The question I began asking myself is: Was it worth it to switch to Mac? In six years I have owned three Mac laptops, spent dozens of hours at the Apple store with the "geniuses" and countless more doing face-palms due to the limitations of the hardware included in that sleek and sexy-looking aluminum box. So with all of the headaches and struggle and trying desperately not to throw it out the window, I asked myself, "why am I still using Mac"? The answer is simple: Mac OS is just too good to give up on.
Thats when I found out about Tonymacx86.com and this new concept called "Hackintoshes". I read a bunch of articles and watched a couple of hours worth of youtube videos and was hooked.
(Reenactment of an inner-dialogue)
"You mean I can have the Mac operating system but not have to deal with Apple's limited hardware selection?"
"Yes"
"And I can pick and choose what goes into my own computer? I don't have to sacrifice quality for price?"
"Yea"
"And I can upgrade parts when the technology become obsolete?"
"Absolutely"
"And I can build a Mac Pro equivalent for a fraction of the price?"
"Yyyyyyuuuuupppp!"
So I was sold. I took about two months doing research through articles and forums on TonyMacx86.com, watched youtube videos on how to assemble computer parts, and scraped together as much cash as I could find. I bought all of the components and spent about four hours putting it all together. So finally I was finished. I can breath a sigh of relief right?
Wrong.
I then spent close to two months finagling software modifications, motherboard Bios settings and hours of guess-and-check work. Finally, one day it started working. And it hasn't stopped or had the slightest inkling of a hiccup since. So again, I asked myself: "was it worth it?"
This time my answer is "absolutely". It was a struggle, and on multiple occasions I thought that maybe this was going to be a complete failure, but through persistence and with the help of the folks at TonyMacx86.com, I finally succeeded. And to be honest, I haven't looked back.
I highly recommend trying this out if you have the time, patience and willpower to do it. You will need some computer "know-how" but most of the things you will need to know, you can learn from TonyMacx86.com. Without them, I would not have known about this, nor would I have succeeded in completing this project. To be honest, if you have the money to buy a Mac Pro, by all means buy it. The new R2D2/trashcan tower looks pretty cool and the specifications imply that it will perform really well. Hackintoshes are for hobbyists, people who like to tinker with electronics and those of us who can't afford the (in my opinion) overpriced brand-name merch.
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