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Pretty sure I can freely download Windows 11 too, and if my father passed me down his old laptop I could reinstall Windows on it. I get what you're saying, but

Pretty sure I can freely download Windows 11 too, and if my father passed me down his old laptop I could reinstall Windows on it. I get what you're saying, but MacOS isn't cost free. It's only sold bundled with Apple hardware, and you must buy both.

smoldesu 4y ago
Hence the "technical" clause in my original comment. Nothing stops me if I want to go (hypothetically) Hackintosh my Thinkpad. Apple lets you download the recovery image right from their CDN and (hypothetically) it's a cakewalk to mount OpenCore on it with an EFI off Github. Apple sure didn't make it, but they also don't have an "Activate MacOS" popup after you partition your drive (at least, in my expe- erm, hypothetically). So, agree to disagree. The preeminent point is that Microsoft is the only one charging directly for the licensing of their software, which is ironic if it spies on you incessantly. Agreed?
- gjsman-1000 4y ago
  Malarkey. MacOS comes with a Kext called "Don't Steal MacOS", also known as "DSMOS." If it detects you are running on unapproved hardware, it stops your boot and also echos this message to your logs: "Your karma check for today: There once was a user that whined, his existing OS was so blind, he'd do better to pirate an OS that ran great, but found his hardware declined. Please don't steal Mac OS! Really, that's way uncool. (C) Apple Computer, Inc." It's not just a simple detection either, but actually uses encryption to decrypt certain MacOS components after the verification check (namely, Finder, Dock, SystemUIServer, some others). Removing or bypassing DSMOS is required for all Hackintoshing tools, and it's actually a DMCA violation do that (see Apple vs. Psystar). Legally, removing it is the equivalent of removing or disabling Windows Activation, or using a Windows Activation crack tool. The bypass is most often accomplished with the simulated, fake SMC. However, (again) legally, that qualifies as a DMCA circumvention tool by including the specific key that MacOS is looking for.
  - smoldesu 4y ago
    It's illegal, but all of the components required to make it are free. I don't know what to tell you, it's like saying that PS2 emulation is actually $200 because everyone needs to buy their own PS2 to dump the firmware from. Hypothetically, you're right! Technically though...

smoldesu 4y ago

Hence the "technical" clause in my original comment. Nothing stops me if I want to go (hypothetically) Hackintosh my Thinkpad. Apple lets you download the recovery image right from their CDN and (hypothetically) it's a cakewalk to mount OpenCore on it with an EFI off Github. Apple sure didn't make it, but they also don't have an "Activate MacOS" popup after you partition your drive (at least, in my expe- erm, hypothetically). So, agree to disagree. The preeminent point is that Microsoft is the only one charging directly for the licensing of their software, which is ironic if it spies on you incessantly. Agreed?

gjsman-1000 4y ago
Malarkey. MacOS comes with a Kext called "Don't Steal MacOS", also known as "DSMOS." If it detects you are running on unapproved hardware, it stops your boot and also echos this message to your logs: "Your karma check for today: There once was a user that whined, his existing OS was so blind, he'd do better to pirate an OS that ran great, but found his hardware declined. Please don't steal Mac OS! Really, that's way uncool. (C) Apple Computer, Inc." It's not just a simple detection either, but actually uses encryption to decrypt certain MacOS components after the verification check (namely, Finder, Dock, SystemUIServer, some others). Removing or bypassing DSMOS is required for all Hackintoshing tools, and it's actually a DMCA violation do that (see Apple vs. Psystar). Legally, removing it is the equivalent of removing or disabling Windows Activation, or using a Windows Activation crack tool. The bypass is most often accomplished with the simulated, fake SMC. However, (again) legally, that qualifies as a DMCA circumvention tool by including the specific key that MacOS is looking for.
- smoldesu 4y ago
  It's illegal, but all of the components required to make it are free. I don't know what to tell you, it's like saying that PS2 emulation is actually $200 because everyone needs to buy their own PS2 to dump the firmware from. Hypothetically, you're right! Technically though...