[Tfug] Hackintosh vs. Linux

[Zack Williams]

> Makes sense.  However, I think I'm still valid on the idea that we
> can't do anything "professional" via Hackintoshes for the reasons
> stated.

The long term support aspects are the killer here.  Any time you run a
commercially supported OS on unsupported hardware or without a service
contract, there will be problems - heck, Sun is becoming pretty bad
about this as well, as you can't download patches (except for security
ones) without a $300/year license as of last month (this doesn't apply
to OpenSolaris thankfully...).

> I'd rather invest my time learning something that has at least the
> possibility of pro-grade use down the road...and yeah, I could go
> "real Apple hardware" except for the near-obscene costs...

Apple's hardware isn't overpriced if you compare it to a like model.

The problem is that they don't have a midrange, single-socket machine
sans-monitor, only models that use laptop parts (their portables, the
Mini and iMacs), and workstation parts (Mac Pro).

The Mac Pro is quite competitive against a similarly configured Dell
or HP workstation (ie, something with dual Xeon 54xx processors).
For the features/build quality, their laptops are competitive against
most other high end brands.

If you want a cheap machine, go ahead and build one.  If you want it
to work well and be supported, be willing to pay for it.  Non-geeks
will make the obvious choice here.

- Zack