News for Wednesday, 10 August 2005

The Apple Developer kit version of MacOSX x86 has indeed been fully cracked!
An anonymous source has sent us a video showing MacOSX x86 booting natively on a Pc notebook Mitac 8050D (Pentium-M 735/1.6GHz).
Boot Mac OS X 86 (Mpeg4 - 1,5 Mo) - [torrent] LINKS DELETED UPON APPLE LEGAL'S REQUEST
As you can see the boot phase is rather fast, and the error message at the end is simply due to an authorization error on the kext allowing PS/2 support.
[Upd]
Here is a second video showing the boot on the same hardware, the permission error was repaired. We can see the "About this Mac" panel, Apple System Profiler and CHUD prefpane showing information on the processor (frequency, cache etc...).
Boot Mac OS X 86 v2 (.mov - 11,5 Mo) - [torrent] LINKS DELETED UPON APPLE LEGAL'S REQUEST
[Update] - We've added torrent files for the 2 videos to relieve the stress on our server. If you use them, please keep seeding as long as possible, thank you.

the OpenGL community is "boiling" since the release of the beta version of Windows Vista (ex-longhorn), and Microsoft statement regarding OpenGL support in MS future OS. It is known that Vista is rely on DirectX9 for all graphics, animations, etc...
With Windows XP, it is possible to run OpenGL-based application at full speed thanks to OpenGL drivers that have direct access to the hardware.
But it seems that Microsoft has decided to change this direct hardware access for OpenGL in Windows Vista.

Microsoft's current plan for OpenGL on Windows Vista is to layer OpenGL over Direct3D in order to use OpenGL with a composited desktop to obtain the Aeroglass experience. If an OpenGL ICD is run - the desktop compositor will switch off - significantly degrading the user experience.

Not only the OpenGL performance will be significantly reduced, but it will also become impossible tu run 2 applications simultaneously in the same display in frame-mode, one being DirectX-based , the other one being OpenGL-based.
So for the OpenGL community, it is quite clear that Microsoft has decided to force developers to use DirectX for all software if they wish to get full hardware power.
The bad thing for Mac users is of course that less OpenGL applications in PC world means less OpenGL applications ported to Mac.
Let's hope that the OpenGL community will be able to force Microsoft to change its mind...
Microsoft is back with another monopoly game...

Hereafter is the current status of the OSX x86 on any PC project run by PC/Mac "bidouilleurs"

Initial problems
Several system prevent running OSX x86 on any PC:
1. TPM chips from Intel
2. SSE3-enable processor
3. GMA900-based graphic card to natively support Quartz.
First solution: VMWare
simply install VMare on ANYPC, and this application will emulate what needs to be (GMA900, SSE3 ...)
Of course this is only a short-term solution, since it is rather instable, and particularly slow.
since this morning one can find on P2P network an already configures VMWare image OSX x86.
Patches
Several solution have been found. The TPM is cracked, and no one needs it anymore. The SSE3 requirement, can be bypassed via quite complex modifications, and this case several kernels will not work since they REALLY need SSE3. A patch for those kernels is being prepared allowing SSE3 instructions to be translated into their corresponding SSE2 ones.
GMA900 can be avoided by modifying CoreGrapics, patches are also available.
The best solution: the right hardware
The best and the most secure solution is a motherboard from Intel: D915 GA, GL or GU :
http://www.intel.com/design/motherbd/ux/
Excellent results have been obtained with Gigabytes GA-8I915P motherboard card:
http://www.giga-byte.com/Motherboard/Products/Products_GA-8I915P%20Duo-A.htm
Users with such a motherboard and a Pentium 4 will be able to install MacOSX x86 with the patch for Rosetta (without the patch if you choose a SSE3-enable Pentium4).
Be careful not to use any HD in RAID settings, otherwise it will crash your system.
Use a USB keyboard, PS2 port is not really well supported.
First tests
First tests have shown that MacOSX x86 on PC is very reactive, no crash, iTunes is running perfectly, with Rosetta.
Digital camera work perfectly with iPhoto, as well as digital camcorder with iMovie.
Another solution
The last solution is based on installation of Darwin 8.1 on an HD from a PC.
Then, install the HD in a Mac, then installed all packs from the installation CD of MacOSX x86 via a software such as pacifist.
Then apply all patched, and place back the HD in the PC and reboot.
This method seems to work well on most Dell Dimensions.

Hereafter is a screenshot of a Intel-based PC perfectly running OSX.

As you can see it, even Rosetta is working perfectly (iTunes being not encoded in FAT binary yet. In the Activity monitor window (on the left) all application in blue correspond to non-FAT binary encoded applications.
Be aware that releasing such information might only be available online for a short time, so do not be surprise if it disappears without any notice.

MSN Messenger is now available in version 5 and is named is also changed.

Messenger for Mac offers two types of communication services- a personal account and a corporate account. A personal account works with the MSN® Messenger service on the Microsoft Passport Network. Contacts that you add to your personal account will include friends and family members. A corporate account uses the Microsoft Office Live Communications Server service and can include contacts who use other instant messaging services, such as AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), Yahoo Messenger, and iChat users who are signed in with AOL accounts.

This new version is supposed to exhibit an improved compatibility with firewall and proxy.
However, audio and video are still not supported for the Mac, so alternative instant messengers still have a bright future.
You can download Microsoft Messenger for Mac 5.0 from Microsoft website.

Steve was probably aware that the first thing PC users will try when they have learned that Apple was moving to Intel CPU is to crack the protection and make OSX x86 running on any PC.
According to several sources, it seems that it is now possible to install OSX x86 on any PC, even a SSE3-unable PC. It seems to work with VMWare (a VirtualPc-like for PC), but also when booting from a HDs on which OSX x86 has been previously installed. It seems that it is not anymore required to have the famous TPM chips theoretically necessary to ensure that OSX x86 is running on a Apple computer.
We will keep you updated as soon as we get details and additional info, especially what is required configuration.