So here's the problem. I've NEVER messed with Mac to begin with so bear with me. One of my customers has a Mac and I'm assuming he's running OS X. He is wanting me to test some software on it, but I don't want to do it on his system in fear of destroying something. So I was wondering if there is a place where you can download a trial of OS X like Microsoft offers all Windows products so I can load it on my virtual machine and test. Is this possible, and if so where do I go to get the download?

There is no trial version of it, and it will only run on approved Mac hardware -- it won't run in a Virtual Machine.

That's what I was afraid of. Oh well, I can at least say I tried. Thanks crahak.

Sorry to mingle in, but...

It DOES run on a Virtual Machine, at least Intel-based Mac OS X. It DOES NOT run on Microsoft Virtual PC environment since it does not emulate APIC & other features that OS X needs.

I have it in VMware Player as a Virtual Machine. OS X 10.4 to be exact.

I also have OS X 10.5 installed in PearPC emulator (google it). I made the ISO of the OS X CD in a true MAC computer (that I own) beforehand.

From a MAC based forum:

I include that comment so that you know the implications of the issue @ hand. It most probably won't make Apple change their point of view regarding the installation/use of Mac OS X in a virtual environment. But proof exists that it CAN run on non-Apple hardware.

It definitely can, but again, it's not legal.

Apple is a hardware company, so they don't want you to install their OS on their competitor's hardware... That's not going to change anytime soon.

Wikipedia has something to say about it.

GL

referenced on wikipedia != legal.

apples decision to force users onto their proprietary hardware is what they do. they arent gonna let you run OSX on a 'beige box' even if its the exact thing chip for chip as their overpriced hardware.

Not implying it is legal either. That's why I included the license violation quote.
Just saying "it won't run in a virtual machine" is negating a reality. Illegal, but a reality nevertheless.
I just have those to experiment with coding on a virtual OS X. For running OS X I have a Mac laptop, where it is completely legal and safe.

Apple has succeded in what other hardware manufacturers wanted to do @ one time and failed.
¿Remember Tandy?
¿Anyone has an Iomega drive lying around?

At least Apple does not let their systems "die" and stays up-to-date with current research and developments.

yeah tell that to the users with a powerpc cpu that wanna install snow leopard

Touché. Forgot that one.
Sad but true. Stuck with MacOS 9.x forever. Let me correct by saying: They seem to have learned from those mistakes.

That's why this forum is so great. Every bit of knowledge of its members make up for an incredible galore of tips and know-how you will rarely see in a single individual.

Sorry for the bump but...



Actually, I happen to own a mac, an older g4 600mhz imac, and it is perfectly capable of running up through os 10.4.X (i'm running the latest version of tiger, and this old machine is faster than most newer PCs i've seen O_O)
It's 10.5 which was designed for intel, which is not meant to be installed on such a machine. However, it is very possible to install snow leopard onto a ppc cpu, however, it is not wise to do so on anything under 800mhz overclocked.
And, this 12 year old mac, is running the second latest apple OS out there, which is still supported, along with the other OS's they've released.

Microsoft, 'was' going to completely remove all support for xp and below in 2008, when vista came out, however due to many issues in its original release, I've heard they are pushing that back to 2010 i think...

I personally, as a mac user / yet IT administrator, must have knowledge of both OS's, I personally, strongly recommend mac. Hardware lasts a long time and the OS is lean/fast and clean, and simple to use. 'It just works'

However, macs are not for everyone, there are users out there that I know, that if I went and bought them a mac, and took their PC away, and said, here, try this, it's faster and the most cutting edge out there. They would cry. literally. Some people (especially people 35+ who haven't followed computer use) its just not what they need. As an IT guy, it's my job sure, to provide the users the best possible experience, however, I need to give them that experience, within their comfort zone. Maybe slightly introducing them slowly to mac, as 'something to play with' here and there, but not a complete change all of a sudden. Sure it's easy to use for some people, others, who may not be so up to date with technology, may find it hard to get used to at first. So it's my responsibility, even though I personally prefer mac / os 10, to care for the users under me, and to make sure I provide what they need, and are comfortable with, not what I want for them.

Windows vista, may look nice, but personally, I would not recommend running it on minimum/base/stock hardware laptops that you buy at best buy(and the like) From my experiences, it runs best on desktop models, designed for it, and that have the correct hardware needed to run the system. Most laptops today, with a few exceptions (IBM / Alienware / etc) may 'say' they are designed for it, but simply do not run it as well as they could/should.

As far as the original topic goes, no you cannot download a trial version of the apple OS. there are of course illegal methods of obtaining it.

As far as running it on PC hardware, there's a thing called the OSx86 project, which is basically a native install onto a PC. however, if you buy the license, it may/may not be legal, but it definitely is not supported by apple in any way.

There are ways of getting it to run under emulators as well, such as vmware / pear and such, however. it will not provide you with the best experience.

If you are thinking about purchasing a mac as an option, I'd suggest going to the apple store, ignore all the cool toys you'll see, go straight up to a rep, and ask him to show you the basics of using a mac, on one of the display models. That would really be the only legal way of 'trying out' the apple os.

Good luck!

[/bump]

I would love to see your Geekbench scores. I'm fairly certain the most value-built "newer PC" (assuming all the 'newer PCs' you've seen are all Walmart specials) would be faster than a G4 600. I had a silver door G4 1.25Ghz tower in 2002 and the P4 2.4 I had at the time totally destroyed it in every possible way, even with Apple's goofy ads trying to tell the opposite.


There will likely never be a 10.4.12, and while the G4 is "still supported", it's only in a grandfathered way. The G4 was made for quite a while, since there were no G5's in notebooks. They went from the G4 right to the Core Duo.


For the record, on a brand new install of Windows 2000, TODAY, there are plenty of available updates, right up to the August 2008 malicious software scanner. Windows 2000 still gets updates, it's understood XP won't be going anywhere anytime soon.


Ironically my Macbook Pro is a little more glitchy than my Vista laptop. There's a "missing keystroke" problem which is widely known and discussed at length on Apple's discussion forums. When I first got it, I also had problems with stuttery and popping sound, which seemed to get fixed in 10.5.3 tho there's nothing mentioned about it. The trackpad, while very nice with two-finger scroll, has a very nasty habit of registering ANY touch as a click, even with "ignore accidental input" checked. I have to watch where I leave the pointer, lest I accidentally click something I shouldn't.

My Macbook Pro is very slick, but there's no doubt that they willingly sacrificed some things in order to get the final product. With Apple there's always this feeling that "people will buy it anyway, we'll fix the little things next time around and then they'll buy that one too."

this is exactly the type of fact checking Ive come to expect from mac zealots. Microsoft never has intended to cut support for XP and force users to Vista but that wont stop the mac cult (and the XP lovers) from trying to say that they are. MS publishes support lifecycles for windows XP here if youd like to check facts.

I'm referring more to the likes of standard stock laptops that you'd buy from best buy, fries, and so on. And, again it's personal preference.


There may or may not be, but i'm perfectly content with the way my machine runs at this point. And there's really no need for antivirus in OS10.4, the only time someone get's a so called 'virus' is when the user does something stupid and ignorant. And, that is nice to know that microsoft is continuing to support 2000, cause for awhile, they're support was going downhill...



Try turning the sensitivity down. And yes, there's still some bugs in leopard from what I hear. As with all OS's, bugs come with it. However vista "at least on standard machines" just doesnt run properly at all. Heck, even my brother hates his new laptop, 'compaq w/ vista' and everytime he even opens internet explorer, and tries to close a window, he gets a 'internet explorer is not responding' dialog. which take a good 3 minutes to deal with. :/



Hmm... all my previous research proved wrong O_o Thanks for correcting me geek, i didn't know. (google isnt always right, hehe)
I may be a mac zealot, but I also enjoy XP, (some people I admit treat apple more as a 'religion' rather than a company, and that is pretty ridiculous) But again, it's just personal preference. They are both excellent companies, and each user get's what he/she needs out of one or the other, or in my case, both.

I don't intend to start a 'mac is better' war, I just intended to give some info to the author of this topic.
I apologize for giving incorrect information about the updates.

Btw, @ S.SubZero, if you don't like your macbook pro, i'll gladly take it off your hands, hehe.