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They can't release OS X for generic X86 hardware because it would kill their Macintosh sales. If they made Darwin for X86 systems it wouldn't be the same as OS

They can't release OS X for generic X86 hardware because it would kill their Macintosh sales. If they made Darwin for X86 systems it wouldn't be the same as OS X but it would be something that competes with GNU/Linux and Windows. Somethings they could sell apps for with an app store. But yeah in the 1990s they tried MKLinux and Mac Clones and it didn't work out too well because they didn't have the proper tech support for them. The Mac Clones cost less than the real Macs and cut into their sales.

stephenr 11y ago
> If they made Darwin for X86 systems it wouldn't be the same as OS X but it would be something that competes with GNU/Linux and Windows. Why would they ever do that? What is the benefit to Apple? They make less than $0 on OS X - it costs them money to develop, and is given away for free. It's subsidised by the sale of hardware. > Somethings they could sell apps for with an app store. The stuff that's included in Darwin wouldn't be nearly enough to support the App Store - all the high level frameworks that make OS X what it is, are not included in Darwin because they're not open source.