Transform PC into a Mac at DVinfo.net

John Woo · September 25th, 2008, 11:00 PM

Saw this article and like to share in this forum. In the FAQ section, it says dongle for Notebook will be available soon. Hmmmm, if that is true (hopefully), I can run FCP on my Vista/XP notebook soon

Review: EFiX Dongle Perfectly Transforms PC to Mac

Mathieu Ghekiere · September 26th, 2008, 04:08 AM

The question is if you want to do professional work on a notebook or computer where there is messed with, without any technical support for it?

If it breaks down for any reason, is it that worth for you, loosing a professional project?

Don't forget that Apple prices it's great OS low, because they want to sell more Mac's.
So not really fair towards Apple.

Noa Put · September 26th, 2008, 08:28 AM

Is this thing legal to use? If it is don't see any reason why not to use it and if it proves to be stable you can get a mac pro substitute for 1/3 of the price.
Fair towards Apple? Apple never been fair to Windows if you see how they trash windows in their commercials.

Mathieu Ghekiere · September 26th, 2008, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Noa Put

Is this thing legal to use? If it is don't see any reason why not to use it and if it proves to be stable you can get a mac pro substitute for 1/3 of the price.
Fair towards Apple? Apple never been fair to Windows if you see how they trash windows in their commercials.

Lets hold the discussion Mac OS X versus Windows for another time and place. This forum doesn't allow platform wars.

Now, there is a major difference between how Apple and Microsoft act towards each other, and an end-user violeting the EULA from Apple.
It's like saying that it's okay to copy a song of Moby, because Moby hasn't been fair to Eminem either. Huh?

And legal... In the End User License Agreement (I don't know if this is the right term), you agree to use Mac OS X on an Apple-branded user. If it's illegal to break that, I don't know, I'm not a laywer.

And another thing: you are not getting a Mac Pro at 1/3rd a price. Saying that shows you don't know from which components a Mac Pro exist.
Xeon processors cost A LOT of money. I think the ones that are in a Mac Pro cost around 600 dollar each, so that's already 1200 dollar in a standard Mac Pro. So if this person is saying he's getting a Mac Pro at 800 dollars, he isn't comparing right.
Just to be correct. There is a reason Apple uses this processors in their workstations.
An 8-core Mac Pro has a pretty competitive price actually, looking at other vendors.

Noa Put · September 26th, 2008, 04:14 PM

Is it fair that Apple gives the possibility to install windows on it? If it's legal why would Apple care if they can sell extra copies of their OS? That might even lead into people buying a "real" Mac eventually. Why would I care if it's fair to Apple or not, if I can see benefits from it, like having a Mac OS on a much cheaper pc, why not? It might not be a xeon processor but at the price difference I think many users wouldn't mind taking the performance hit and i'm sure it will perform more then OK on a quad core. I don't even have to buy another pc if mine would have the supported hardware which it has, so I could get a Mac look-a-like for the price a of a OS and a dongle. Buying a "real Mac" in this case would set me back a lot more then 1/3 of the price.

If it's illegal to use, that's another story and then we should not even have this discussion here and the thread should be removed but otherwise?

Jamey Gigliagi · September 27th, 2008, 10:05 AM

Drivers for the mac os are hard to find. The reason that the mac system is so "easy" is that they can code their OS and other software to work on a very small number of computer hardware configurations. You will need to make sure that all of your parts will work with OSX. Personally, my PC would not work as none of my major pieces of hardware are compatible. If you then build your own computer, and can successfully install OSX, you could save several thousand dollars as opposed to buying apple's overpriced hardware.

Now, on the legality of such a thing, I have no idea, but morally, I would have no trouble with it assuming you purchase the OS.

Mathieu Ghekiere · September 28th, 2008, 07:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Noa Put

Is it fair that Apple gives the possibility to install windows on it? If it's legal why would Apple care if they can sell extra copies of their OS?Buying a "real Mac" in this case would set me back a lot more then 1/3 of the price.

Yes, it's legal that Apple gives the possiblity to run Windows on it.
Microsoft is a software company that licenses it's SOFTWARE, and doesn't care if you run it on a Mac or on a PC. Their concerns start when you run Linux or Mac OS X INSTEAD of their Windows.

And Apple cares, because they have a completely different business strategy than Microsoft. Microsoft just wants to sell their software. They don't care if you run it on a Dell or an HP or a Macbook.
Apple's business strategy is to sell you a complete package of software and hardware, and this is their strength. They make Leopard (and price it) with the intention that you run it on an Apple-branded computer.
If Apple only cared about selling more copies of their OS, they would have licensed it a LONG TIME ago.

And the problem about 'a real Mac' or not is that, in the case of this example (the Mac Pro), you aren't comparing fairly. You are comparing different processors, different motherbords, different...
If you buy the SAME components from an A-grade factory, then we can make a fair comparison. And maybe the Mac will still be more expensive, but the comparison will be more fair.

Steve Oakley · October 4th, 2008, 08:41 PM

in case you folks forget, at one time apple DID licences their OS. there were several mac clones based on CHIRP. what happened was that apple customers bought cheaper clones. reduce mac hardware sales. it was a loss for apple so they killed their license deals with clone builders, but that was then.

there are numerous court cases about 3rd parties being able to write software for closed hardware starting with the atari 2600 console.

there is currently a lawsuit going on between a 3rd party apple clone builder that tweaked their PC hardware to run OS X out of the box without a mod. should apple lose the case, and I suspect in the end they will, this will clear clone builders to open the flood gates.

a company can put whatever it wants in a EULA, but that doesn't mean its legally binding. this is especially true if said terms violate the law, or court rulings in gray areas. that doesn't stop companies from putting these clauses in because they have nothing to loose. its stops people who don't know the case law, or who don't have the pockets to make the legal challange outright. contracts aren't about legality, they are about an agreement between two parties, and said terms of the contract should hopefully abide by law.

have you ever read the EULA for windows ? try it some time. I bet you would never accept its terms if you really read and understood it. FWIW, EULA's have low enforcement rates in court when it hits the bricks.

September 25th, 2008, 11:00 PM	#1
John Woo Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Singapore Posts: 160	Transform PC into a Mac Saw this article and like to share in this forum. In the FAQ section, it says dongle for Notebook will be available soon. Hmmmm, if that is true (hopefully), I can run FCP on my Vista/XP notebook soon Review: EFiX Dongle Perfectly Transforms PC to Mac

September 26th, 2008, 04:08 AM	#2
Mathieu Ghekiere Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Belgium Posts: 2,195	The question is if you want to do professional work on a notebook or computer where there is messed with, without any technical support for it? If it breaks down for any reason, is it that worth for you, loosing a professional project? Don't forget that Apple prices it's great OS low, because they want to sell more Mac's. So not really fair towards Apple. __________________ http://productionsofthe3rdkind.com http://pr3k.com

September 26th, 2008, 04:14 PM	#5
Noa Put Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 9,510	Is it fair that Apple gives the possibility to install windows on it? If it's legal why would Apple care if they can sell extra copies of their OS? That might even lead into people buying a "real" Mac eventually. Why would I care if it's fair to Apple or not, if I can see benefits from it, like having a Mac OS on a much cheaper pc, why not? It might not be a xeon processor but at the price difference I think many users wouldn't mind taking the performance hit and i'm sure it will perform more then OK on a quad core. I don't even have to buy another pc if mine would have the supported hardware which it has, so I could get a Mac look-a-like for the price a of a OS and a dongle. Buying a "real Mac" in this case would set me back a lot more then 1/3 of the price. If it's illegal to use, that's another story and then we should not even have this discussion here and the thread should be removed but otherwise? Last edited by Noa Put; September 27th, 2008 at 01:13 AM.

September 26th, 2008, 08:28 AM	#3
Noa Put Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 9,510	Is this thing legal to use? If it is don't see any reason why not to use it and if it proves to be stable you can get a mac pro substitute for 1/3 of the price. Fair towards Apple? Apple never been fair to Windows if you see how they trash windows in their commercials.

September 27th, 2008, 10:05 AM	#6
Jamey Gigliagi Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Harrisburg, PA Posts: 25	Drivers for the mac os are hard to find. The reason that the mac system is so "easy" is that they can code their OS and other software to work on a very small number of computer hardware configurations. You will need to make sure that all of your parts will work with OSX. Personally, my PC would not work as none of my major pieces of hardware are compatible. If you then build your own computer, and can successfully install OSX, you could save several thousand dollars as opposed to buying apple's overpriced hardware. Now, on the legality of such a thing, I have no idea, but morally, I would have no trouble with it assuming you purchase the OS.

October 4th, 2008, 08:41 PM	#8
Steve Oakley Trustee Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: United States Posts: 1,158	in case you folks forget, at one time apple DID licences their OS. there were several mac clones based on CHIRP. what happened was that apple customers bought cheaper clones. reduce mac hardware sales. it was a loss for apple so they killed their license deals with clone builders, but that was then. there are numerous court cases about 3rd parties being able to write software for closed hardware starting with the atari 2600 console. there is currently a lawsuit going on between a 3rd party apple clone builder that tweaked their PC hardware to run OS X out of the box without a mod. should apple lose the case, and I suspect in the end they will, this will clear clone builders to open the flood gates. a company can put whatever it wants in a EULA, but that doesn't mean its legally binding. this is especially true if said terms violate the law, or court rulings in gray areas. that doesn't stop companies from putting these clauses in because they have nothing to loose. its stops people who don't know the case law, or who don't have the pockets to make the legal challange outright. contracts aren't about legality, they are about an agreement between two parties, and said terms of the contract should hopefully abide by law. have you ever read the EULA for windows ? try it some time. I bet you would never accept its terms if you really read and understood it. FWIW, EULA's have low enforcement rates in court when it hits the bricks.