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Modern “Hackintoshes” show that Apple should probably just build a Mac tower

arstechnica.com

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Re: Modern “Hackintoshes” show that Apple should probably just build a Mac tower

#121

Post by vbezhenar »

abtinf wrote: post #67
vbezhenar wrote: post #37

May be it's just me, but I don't really care about design at all. I'm perfectly fine with huge tower or some reasonable fan noise. What I care is price, durability, extendability, repairability, and, of course, performance. I'm not really into macOS, I can use Linux or Windows just fine, but macOS is not that bad. I'm actually opposed to thin things or design aberrations like trash can mac. I'm paying for that after…

"(15 years or something like that)" I'm curious how you came up with that number? Are you currently still using anything PC related from 2002?

My old computers are working fine. I've gifted them to other people, but I care about devices working for a long time. But really nowadays computers are not progressing that much. Unless something very revolutionary happens, the difference between 2017 and 2032 computer will be much less than difference between 2002 and 2017. So it's perfectly reasonable to assume that people will use computers from 2017 (especially high-end computers) after 15 years.

Re: Modern “Hackintoshes” show that Apple should probably just build a Mac tower

#122

Post by iainmerrick »

abritinthebay wrote: post #65
iainmerrick wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're cherry-picking. That is definitely one of Apple's design philosophies, and it has definitely worked very well for the iPhone and iPad. But not all their computers have followed that style. The Mac II launched in 1987(!) and was very influential. And as the earlier commenter mentioned, before the "trash can" redesign, the Mac Pro was easy to open and had plenty of ports. Trying to apply that sealed appliance ap…

The recent MacPro was only a misstep in that they bet on CPU/GPU design zigging instead of zagging. It was a technically beautiful machine (still is, really) but their choices meant it became impossible to update. If the market had gone the other way we'd likely be talking about the 2016 MacPro instead.

But they didn't have to make a bet at all.

They wanted to make a tiny, silent Pro machine to make a statement, but nobody seems to have cared much about that. I haven't seen a single person saying "I hope the new Pro is still really really small, even if that means it's more expensive and less expandable!"

Re: Modern “Hackintoshes” show that Apple should probably just build a Mac tower

#123

Post by vbezhenar »

JimDabell wrote: post #79
vbezhenar wrote: post #37

May be it's just me, but I don't really care about design at all. I'm perfectly fine with huge tower or some reasonable fan noise. What I care is price, durability, extendability, repairability, and, of course, performance. I'm not really into macOS, I can use Linux or Windows just fine, but macOS is not that bad. I'm actually opposed to thin things or design aberrations like trash can mac. I'm paying for that after…

You don't care about design, size, or noise, you want something cheap, you want repairability, you don't like the designs Apple favours like thinness and the Pro design, you aren't into macOS… Why do you want a Hackintosh? It sounds like you want the exact opposite of a Mac.

macOS is popular among developers, so it's a good option, because almost every software piece will work there. iOS development is hardly possible outside of macOS and I have iOS work sometimes, so it's useful for this too.

Re: Modern “Hackintoshes” show that Apple should probably just build a Mac tower

#124

Post by dawnerd »

hellbanner wrote: post #72
Operyl wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those weird hacks exist because of the spambot problem they're trying to prevent. It's enough of a hassle for us that iMessage spambots are practically nonexistent as a result.

Can you explain further? SMS spam bots can still exist, right?

Yep and so does iMessage spam. SMS spam is just easier and works just as well.

Re: Modern “Hackintoshes” show that Apple should probably just build a Mac tower

#125

Post by raverbashing »

toddmorey wrote: post #46

Boy did they drop the football in this area. I always thought the advantage to making the switch to more common PC architectures was the ability to keep pace and support a wider array of components and technologies. Instead, they over-designed the enclosure and froze the high-end range of the platform. Creating a simple, but reliable tower design (optimized for speed rather than size) would have been extremely well r…

They should just adapt the cheese grater to a mini itx format and work with that.

Re: Modern “Hackintoshes” show that Apple should probably just build a Mac tower

#126

Post by Keyframe »

camhenlin wrote: post #58
captainmuon wrote: post #56

I've heard they are worried about brand dilution. If that's the problem, then why not create a subsidiary firm and call it, I don't know, Pear, Gala, McIntire, Darwin or something. Let this firm build hackintoshes from off-the-shelf components. The trick is then to remove any reference to Apple and every logo from the OS. People "in the know" would be able to buy a Pear and use it just like a Mac. This would be reall…

They tried this before with clones in the 90s. It didn't end well for anyone involved.

It went really well for clone manufacturers and Apple with quick infusion of cash they needed. It didn't end well because Jobs came in and put an end to it, fearing cannibalisation - at a point in time when their product was Mac, more or less. Now it's different. A lot different.

Re: Modern “Hackintoshes” show that Apple should probably just build a Mac tower

#127

Post by microtonal »

kirykl wrote: post #27

You dont need a hackintosh to run a great mac for cheap(er). I picked up a 2012 mac mini off CL with 2.5 i5 and dropped in a SSD and maxed RAM to 16GB. Runs silent in a small package. Also added a 28" 4K off craigslist (although it'll only drive up to 2k). All for under $900

The Late 2012 was a great model. Easily accessible memory as in previous all-aluminum generations and replacing the hard disk is just a few screws. I also have a Late 2012 with 16GB RAM and SSD (500GB) like you. I bought it new for IIRC 600 Euro. So, it's been a great investment --- had it almost five years now and it still flies.

I really hope that they'll make a new Mac Mini extensible like the 2012 again.

Re: Modern “Hackintoshes” show that Apple should probably just build a Mac tower

#128

Post by alexeiz »

Apple isn't making a Mac tower because there is no demand for overpriced machines with mediocre performance. All those people building hackintoshes want a cheap Mac desktop. They won't buy a new Mac tower should Apple produce one. They'll continue building hackintoshes.

Re: Modern “Hackintoshes” show that Apple should probably just build a Mac tower

#129

Post by basseq »

The problem isn't that the Mac Pro isn't upgradeable. That is a symptom and a potential solution, but not necessarily the best one.

The real problem here is that Apple itself hasn't been able to keep up with demands. If they were able to enhance and sell a "new model" of Mac pro every 6-12 months, the problem would go away. Nobody wants a hackintosh, barring the long tail of people who like building PC's anyway. (And that's an enthusiast market, not worth catering to.) A vast majority of pros would just buy a new machine every couple years. So the problem, then, is that there's no "new machine" for them to buy.

Positing that the solution is to offer an upgradeable tower implies that Apple can't keep up with demand. Which, let's be honest, they can't. But the better solution here is to build a Mac Pro that Apple can upgrade in the form of a new model. That enthusiasts can upgrade it as well is a moot point (or an additional benefit).

Hell, they could even have a Genius-led support model that swaps out the guts of your machine every 12-24 months. Apple-Hardware-As-A-Service?

Re: Modern “Hackintoshes” show that Apple should probably just build a Mac tower

#130

Post by jasonlotito »

melling wrote: post #6

Do we really need a full tower? Isn't most of the space in a traditional PC "trash can" form factor wasted? The graphics card size would need to change, but it would be great if we could shrink the case and still have all the power of a desktop.

Depends on if you use all your feature or not. Sure, can be mostly empty is you mostly don't use what you pay for. But if you use everything you pay for, it can get pretty tight in there.

That being said, if you want a smaller case, you can get that as well. It really depends. You have flexibility, and you get what you need. This is something Apple has been missing for some time now.

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