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MacOS is not a firmware or bios. And the 10.9 update is free of charge as well. Firmware updates have always been free. Also we are talking about servers here

by schmidp 13y ago

MacOS is not a firmware or bios. And the 10.9 update is free of charge as well. Firmware updates have always been free. Also we are talking about servers here and not a desktop OS. So what's different? Everything, we are not even talking about the same thing.

teddyh 13y ago
In both cases it is software which is specific to hardware sold by the same entity which made the software. There is no way anyone else except the company’s customers could benefit from the software, and the software is necessary for the hardware to operate correctly, but the company sees fit to charge extra for the software anyway. Of course, no analogy is perfect, but those are the commonalities I see.
- edvinbesic 13y ago
  Well to make another imperfect analogy then, would you feel the same way if your car manufacturer wanted $2k for a firmware update to fix the bug where your breaks stop working?
- vonmoltke 13y ago
  As GP said, and OS and board firmware are not the same thing, and equivalences are silly. > In both cases it is software which is specific to hardware sold by the same entity which made the software. The only thing that makes OSX Apple hardware-specific is that Apple put a check to try to prevent it from being installed on hardware they didn't produce. I can install OSX on non-Apple hardware just fine via hacks. I can also install OSX 10.9 on any Intel Mac that has the horsepower to support it. Firmware is specific to a set of revisions of a specific board. I can't use N40L mainboard firmware on an N54L and vice versa. I may not even be able to use the same firmware on every board inside those lines. > the software is necessary for the hardware to operate correctly OSX is absolutely not required for Apple hardware to function correctly. I can install Linux and Windows on any Intel Mac, and Linux on any PPC Mac. > Of course, no analogy is perfect, but those are the commonalities I see. The analogy is shit. I can find commonalities in blue whales and elephants, but they are very different creatures. Firmware is a set of instructions for a special-purpose controller in a specific circuit. Software is a set of instructions for a general-purpose computer of a certain architecture.

by schmidp 13y ago

teddyh 13y ago

In both cases it is software which is specific to hardware sold by the same entity which made the software. There is no way anyone else except the company’s customers could benefit from the software, and the software is necessary for the hardware to operate correctly, but the company sees fit to charge extra for the software anyway. Of course, no analogy is perfect, but those are the commonalities I see.

edvinbesic 13y ago
Well to make another imperfect analogy then, would you feel the same way if your car manufacturer wanted $2k for a firmware update to fix the bug where your breaks stop working?
vonmoltke 13y ago
As GP said, and OS and board firmware are not the same thing, and equivalences are silly. > In both cases it is software which is specific to hardware sold by the same entity which made the software. The only thing that makes OSX Apple hardware-specific is that Apple put a check to try to prevent it from being installed on hardware they didn't produce. I can install OSX on non-Apple hardware just fine via hacks. I can also install OSX 10.9 on any Intel Mac that has the horsepower to support it. Firmware is specific to a set of revisions of a specific board. I can't use N40L mainboard firmware on an N54L and vice versa. I may not even be able to use the same firmware on every board inside those lines. > the software is necessary for the hardware to operate correctly OSX is absolutely not required for Apple hardware to function correctly. I can install Linux and Windows on any Intel Mac, and Linux on any PPC Mac. > Of course, no analogy is perfect, but those are the commonalities I see. The analogy is shit. I can find commonalities in blue whales and elephants, but they are very different creatures. Firmware is a set of instructions for a special-purpose controller in a specific circuit. Software is a set of instructions for a general-purpose computer of a certain architecture.