So I got some good news this week, I’ll be taking film and animation at the school I wanted to. The thing is, it is required that I have a MAC. It’s a touch frustrating because I bought a new laptop 8 months ago and it could still be classified as top of the line. It’s a small price to pay for finding a career that I’ll love though.
Anyhow, I would like to become an expert at the MAC OSX operating system by this september and to do that, I would need access to that actual operating system. I won’t have the computer I need until september as I have to buy it directly from them (for tax purposes or something like that). So my question is this, is there any way for me to have OSX on a computer that isn’t a MAC?
The long answer:
Early versions of the Mac OS can be run on PCs via emulators like Basilisk II, but nothing that is Power PC-only runs on any of them. OS X is well above any of their capabilities, I’m afraid.
Although the “guts” of OS X is based on the “guts” of another operating system called Unix, variants of which do run on PCs, the user interface that you need to become accustomed to is derived from OpenStep, which originated on the NeXT workstation, back when there were such things. Apparently the look and feel is quite similar, but NeXTs are difficult to find these days.
The only suggestion I can make is to make friends with people who own and/or sell them and try to pick up what you can there. Books are unlikely to be of much use IMO (something that I rarely say).
Running Mac OS on PC boxes are even more difficult than running Windows on Mac. As far as I know, there is no decent software emulation that’s capable of running a Mac OS beyond version 8, especially one that would possess enough speed under emulation for graphics-intensive work. Further, OS X and the latest Mac software all typically require a G3 PowerPC processor or equivalent… I don’t think there is an emulator available yet for that.
There is something called Executor out now by Abacus Research that can do 680x0 processor emulation (equivalent of the 386s and 486s of the IBM-compatible world), but not close enough to run OS X or decent film editing programs. There is also SoftMac by Emulators, Inc. that can do OS 8, but again, nothing for OS X. This emulator also requires a ROM image of a Mac OS system, something that seems quasi-legal to me in terms of proprietary rights, etc.
Abacus’s SynPPC emulator is still under development and not available. Even if it was, I would imagine the performance hit you take with software emulation would make your film-editing a herculean task. As for hardware solutions…I suppose there probably exists PowerPC expansion cards. But at that point, you’d better off buying a true Mac system.
Sorry if this doesn’t seem to help. As far as I know, it can’t be done for now, or at least not to the extent that the processor-intensive tasks you want to do can be easily done. And since OS X is completely different from previous system versions, if you want to be familiar with the new system, you’d have better luck reading up manuals for OpenBSD (the core upon which OS X is based). However, the software you intend to use might have a Windows version (speaking as a Mac user, I don’t think there are much software out there that don’t have a Windows version). Perhaps it’d be better to practice on the Windows version. Mac OS X’s GUI shouldn’t be too different from Windows. And I don’t know if you really want to go into OS X’s command-line if all you need to do is graphics/video within those specific software packages.
Thank you both for your answers. I do have a friend who has a new MAC. I’ll have to spend some time at his house in the summer to get a feeling for it.
The links provided can at least get me an older version so that I can at least get a feel for the operating system. From what I understand, the basics of the MAC OS have stayed pretty much the same.
It might not come in time but there have been rumors brewing in the Mac world that some time in the near future there could be an x86 port for OSX. I have heard everything from it coming with 10.3 (Panther) in June to a release further down the line. This is most likely nothing more than speculation and rumor but it is something to keep an eye on.
Another thing, and what I did while making the transition from PC to Mac is the use of a few pieces of shareware and freeware to, in the very least, get close to the OSX “look and feel.” If you want to know more about it (and yes it is entirely legal) I’ll gladly give some pointers along the way. It will still be a far cry from actually working with the real thing but will help with some of the biggest differences from Windows, namely the Dock and having a static menu bar at the top of the screen.
Freeware and Shareware seems like a good idea. As long as I have a feel for it. Apparently I will be using it in most if not all of my classes and I, at the very least, would like to be able to perform the major opperations if I can’t be an expert. Any tips that helped you would be much appreciated.
You will pick it up very easily, Aqua is like that. It’s as powerful as you need it to be, if you want to do geeky hacky stuff, you can pry underneath the layers to get to the core with the terminal prompt.
If you’re like me, you never bother to peek below the shiny, user-friendly GUI, and you never need to.
My main Mac tip is buying the shareware/demoware (it’s only abou $10 so well worth it) “Apple System Menu” that gives OSX a couple of the features of OS9 back, it helps to know what apps you’ve got open, and hide apps, etc.
By any chance will you be using Final Cut Pro at this film school? It’s a much-respected video software that is only available for Mac.
In my opinion, OS X isn’t that much like OS 9 and below, so I don’t know how useful it would be for you to get an older Mac OS emulator. However, if you’d like to get a look at Final Cut Pro, you might get an older crappier Mac and see if you can scrounge up an older version of it.
I’ve heard rumors about OS X being ported over for the PC, but I am not so sure it’ll happen. (Of course, I haven’t been keeping up on the rumors.) I don’t think it would make sense for Apple to do that—it would sorely affect their hardware sales if OS X could run on a PC, since a big incentive for some people to go to Mac is to run OS X.
I do know that many computer geek types are chomping at the bit and dearly wishing to see OS X for PC, and maybe that’s partly why the rumors fly. But then again, I haven’t been keeping up with the rumors, so perhaps an OS X PC version is in the wings and I’m completely unaware!
istara - I’ve had to format too many hard drives and reload too many operating systems to screw a computer I’ll actually be using in classes. The shiny, userfriendly GUI, should be enough for me as well I’d wager. I’m kind of destructive when it comes to toys, I’m a - tinker with it until it breaks kind of guy.
yosemitebabe - I think that is on the list of programs, yeah. An older version of it would be a good idea. I know there are older versions of the operating system that I can get. I’m headed to the mall today anyway, maybe I’ll ask at a computer store if that program is available for an old mac os.
istara - I’ve had to format too many hard drives and reload too many operating systems to screw with a computer I’ll actually be using in classes. The shiny, userfriendly GUI, should be enough for me as well I’d wager. I’m kind of destructive when it comes to toys, I’m a - tinker with it until it breaks kind of guy.
yosemitebabe - I think that is on the list of programs, yeah. An older version of it would be a good idea. I know there are older versions of the operating system that I can get. I’m headed to the mall today anyway, maybe I’ll ask at a computer store if that program is available for an old mac os.
mayberrydan the shareware and freeware are pretty easy to get. Most of it is from Object Desktop and the themes are from Wincustomize.com You can get a pretty decent dock from ObjectDock.com
There is actually a small subculture building around the concept of making XP look like OSX. I guess there must be a number of Mac users forced to use Windows at their workplace. Aquaxp.org is a good place to get some additional tips.
Last but not least…here is a screenshot from when I attempted it myself. Best of luck
mayberrydan, as a Macevangelist I can only say: This change is good. Enjoy your ride and welcome to the fold. You might just want to consider buying one of those shiny new G4 towers or the new 17" iMac and practice up. Trust me (after 20+ Macs), you can get all your stuff done without M$ (I have). I’m not trying to re-route this thread to the pit for an OS war, I’m just sharing my empirical experience as a graphics/publishing pro.
stockton I have to ditto everything you just said. I was brought up on Macs. Our first computer in my house was a Mac Classic and we always had on in the house until about 5 years ago when my Dad decided we needed to switch to PC so my sister’s could be better prepared for the world. I found that particular change to be very difficult given how different things were. I had the choice between gettinng a new computer or getting a raise at work this year around the time the 17’ AlBook was announced and promptly put in for one of those beautiful pieces of machinery. I found that switch to be completely painless even though before I turned this machine on I had never before used OSX.
As a “reswitcher” and a MacEvangelist myself I would recommend if you are going to buy a Mac you might want to look into the 17’ PB. With the features it has a G4 tower would run you about the same and having a laptop with that amount of power is a Godsend.
I hit the submit button then remembered what it was I wanted to say but forgot (it’s late after all)
Check with your school’s purchasing department to see if they have a deal with Apple. They give a 10% discount to students if you go to their education site and provide your school’s code.
