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>but only when Easy answer. When they allow OS X to run on regular x86 hardware. Unfortunately they seem to think they're tied to the hardware business when th
by omouse 19y ago
>but only when
Easy answer. When they allow OS X to run on regular x86 hardware. Unfortunately they seem to think they're tied to the hardware business when their software is really impressive.
- Goladus 19y agoApple seems to enjoy a reputation of making stuff that "just works." They are probably not prepared to guarantee that OS X will "just work" on anything but Apple hardware, and don't want to risk damaging that reputation.
- omouse 19y agoIf it's based on FreeBSD then I'm am very sure that there are drivers for most, if not all, of the hardware that a typical PC user runs. If not, the Linux drivers shouldn't be a complete pain in the ass to port?
- Goladus 19y agoI suspect you're right, but the issue is not how much of a pain they would be to port, it's how much of a pain they would be to support and what would happen to the typical end-user experience. For example, I've never not been able to install Linux or Windows on an x86 machine, assuming the hardware actually works, but it's rare when two installations on different sets of hardware turn out exactly the same. An obvious example would be on windows, go to Control Panel:Display:Settings:Advanced and you get a whole bunch of options that are specific to your actual video card and monitor. A less obvious example would be an intermittently crashing program, because there is a bug related to memory addressing in the firmware of the motherboard. The result is less consistency in the use of a Windows or Linux machine. By sticking with their own hardware, Apple can better establish a reputation for consistently satisfying their target audience.