Apple's hidden & poetic message to hackers

bbloke

bbloke

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I found this quite "cute." OSx86 Project reports that Apple has hidden a message to hackers who try to pirate the operating system. The message/poem is as follows:

Your karma check for today:
There once was a user that whined
his existing OS was so blind,
he'd do better to pirate
an OS that ran great
but found his hardware declined.
Please don't steal Mac OS!
Really, that's way uncool.
(C) Apple Computer, Inc.
Click to expand...
:)
 
yea, it's true. The OS X for intel is so tightly secured it's not funny though from what i've heard, and most hackers that see this line just give up after words. 'cept for Maxxus
 
That's cool.

I sense some Steve Jobsian intervention and humor in this... the last line just sounds like something he'd say offishly at a keynote.
 
What else is Apple going to do? This is a PR thing, more than anything. Think of all the press it got Apple. They could have left it out and gotten the same result in terms of someone hacking the OS - they'd still hack it. This way, they get people talking about them. What I think this means, frankly, is that Apple is half turning the other way when it comes to someone getting their OS to run on standard PCs. This little poem has drawn a lot of attention to the OSX86 project, and I doubt that no one at Apple thought it would do exactly that when they included the poem.

Who knows, maybe they are testing the waters, letting others take OS X for a spin on other PC hardware to see how interested people are. If there is a huge response, perhaps Apple will license the OS to a few manufacturers. It's not like they have to give it to everyone. They could still work something out where only certain manufacturers (Dell comes to mind) will have access to it and be able to package it with their hardware. I, for one, would still keep an Apple-built machine, but I'd love the option of going to Dell for a desktop, and keeping my portables coming from Apple.
 
sinclair_tm said:
well i can't help it if you posted in the wrong section :p . i never go there, oh well, so sue me. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
:rolleyes:

Anyway, moderators: how about merging this thread with the original one?
 
dmetzcher said:
What else is Apple going to do? This is a PR thing, more than anything. Think of all the press it got Apple. They could have left it out and gotten the same result in terms of someone hacking the OS - they'd still hack it. This way, they get people talking about them. What I think this means, frankly, is that Apple is half turning the other way when it comes to someone getting their OS to run on standard PCs. This little poem has drawn a lot of attention to the OSX86 project, and I doubt that no one at Apple thought it would do exactly that when they included the poem.

Who knows, maybe they are testing the waters, letting others take OS X for a spin on other PC hardware to see how interested people are. If there is a huge response, perhaps Apple will license the OS to a few manufacturers. It's not like they have to give it to everyone. They could still work something out where only certain manufacturers (Dell comes to mind) will have access to it and be able to package it with their hardware. I, for one, would still keep an Apple-built machine, but I'd love the option of going to Dell for a desktop, and keeping my portables coming from Apple.
Click to expand...

Considering Apple just served the OSx86 project with a cease and desist citing the DCMA, I just don't think so.

I know that everyone wants and hopes that Apple will be slightly blind to those who wish to hack OS X to run on generic Intel/AMD hardware, but I just don't think that the whole "exposure" argument holds water. Apple really doesn't want OS X running on generic hardware, in my opinion.

http://forum.osx86project.org/index.php?
 
I'm just hypothesizing here, but this seems to make sense. It's brilliant strategy, of exactly the sort that makes me dislike many proprietary software vendors, and appreciate the freedom of OSS...

Apple knew that OS X would end up running on generic x86 hardware - there's just no stopping it. They're not dumb, they know perfectly well DRM is a fundamentally broken proposition. It can't, and won't, work in the face of human ingenuity.

Which is where the DMCA comes in - rather than prosecuting people for doing something illegal like violating copyright, it allows companies to set up software that limits their users' freedom beyond the restrictions provided by copyright law. Then when users try to regain the full rights granted them by copyright, those efforts themselves become illegal.

Essentially, the DMCA lets arbitrary companies write their own copyright law. The government deliberately handed over their power, and their duty to protect citizens, to the companies they're supposed to be regulating - setting the fox to guard the henhouse.

So, by placing this message, which they knew would get publicity, Apple tried to set the terms of the debate that would arise when people (inevitably) got OS X running on beige box hardware, and Apple (inevitably) pulled out the DMCA.

They hope to turn the debate into one about theft, not about freeedom, to steer the terms of discussion toward "stealing OS X", and away from "using a product you purchased, the way you want to and not necessarily the way the manufacturer wishes you would".

Because (I argue) the real risk to Apple isn't the theft of OS X. People who pirate the OS weren't going to buy a Mac anyway, so it's no loss to them. The risk is that people would buy OS X for $129 and run it on hardware of their own choice, which would cost Apple the much bigger hardware sale. Nothing wrong about it, but Apple's business model relies on it not happening. Thanks to the DMCA, they get to make it illegal...
 
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