Filed under: OS, Open Source, Apple
Apple to users: Don't hack your Intel Mac
Ah, the halcyon days of OS X, they seem to be coming to a close. What the hell am I talking about? Why, Apple's decision to close the kernel of OS X on their new Intel machines. This means that no longer can you recompile, slim down, or otherwise monkey around the kernel of OS X (if you are on Intel hardware).Why would Apple suddenly turn very proprietary when they were yelling Open Source from the rooftops not so long ago (and you can still hack your kernel on pre-Intel hardware)? One word: piracy. Apple doesn't want some enterprising young hooligan to get OS X running on other Intel hardware.
Let's hope that Apple has a change of heart, since they themselves say that Darwin (the open source project that covers OS X's kernel) is in 'flux.'
Thanks, Eliot!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
tush said 11:06AM on 5-17-2006
Looks like someone is a little angry with their computer manufacturer today. :)
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Steve said 11:53AM on 5-17-2006
I think disappointed would be the word here. Double talk about open source then closing the kernal is just that. If Apple wants to be different, pick one or the other. I still think that if they would get a good authentication model for serializing the OS, they would have a lot more people buying "white boxes" and putting OS X on it. But the magic 8-ball says "outlook not so good".
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Adrian said 12:16PM on 5-17-2006
This is apparently old and misleading news. Refer to this comment on slashdot:
http://apple.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=185992&cid=15351035
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Joe said 1:17PM on 5-17-2006
You're forgetting that Apple has *always* kept parts of Mac OS X proprietary, which is of course why Darwin is not the same as Mac OS X. All they have done is make a small modification to which parts are proprietary, to prevent Darwin being used to recreate a "free" Mac OS X, which has always been the strategy.
So in effect, nothing has changed.
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mungler said 1:29PM on 5-17-2006
this is indeed misleading and old, but most of the major apple news sites have picked up on it.
HOWEVER, am i the only one who thinks this might have something to do with replacing Mach, rather than because of piracy?
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mayo said 3:59PM on 5-17-2006
Uh, this is stupid and very misleading. Apple never released x86 kernel and drivers so stating that it is restricting it is incorrect. Darwin was and is still open, and is always missed bunch of proprietary stuff that is in the OSX. There is no double talk by Apple. Darwin is still open as it has always been and nothing has been removed from it. and Darwin is the only thing that was ever open about OSX.
I also think the same as mungler (#5), it's being closed because Mach is being replaced.
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