Mac Nerds...

[HAULN-SS]

So, I was hoping to tinker around with the iPhone SDK, and realized that you have OS X 10.5 installed to be able to use it. Whats the best way for me to get this done? Try to dual boot my PC? Buy a cheap mac? If option 2, I can buy any mac out there that's running OS X and has an intel chipset, and be good to go, right?

I guess preferrably I would want to dual boot, because my PC is already paid for, and I'd just have to buy leopard...has anyone done this succesffully without effing up their PC royally? Would I have any compatability issues with my app if it worked perfect on the iPhone sim that ciomes with the SDK, it should work fine on the phone itself, right?

[CaptainHenreh]

VMware? That's what I would do.

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[Mike]

VMware? That's what I would do.

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He needs 10.5. That site doesn't say 10.5 is supported. If you do purchase a Mac (I'd highly recommend it, they're kinda awesome), you need at minimum a G4. Cheapest G4 you'll find will likely go for 150 or so. A mini is likely your best bet due to the tiny form factor and the decent specs (running 10.5 on a slow machine is hell), but then you're looking at a minimum of more like 200-250.

[Evan]

OSX86 supports 10.5

[HAULN-SS]

So - the G* are not intel chipset right?

[Mike]

So - the G* are not intel chipset right?

G4 are not. G5 are both PPC and Intel depending on model.

[Mike]

OSX86 supports 10.5

right, but vmware doesn't and dual booting sounds hackish to me (i wouldn't want to deal with potential side effects).

[.RJ]

VMWare isnt a 'hack'

[Mike]

AND IT DOESN'T SUPPORT IT.

[JackoliciousLegs]

Once you get it going... you might like this:
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[Evan]

dual booting is a lot less hacky than a ground up ESX install or any kind of hardware emulator IMO.

[Mike]

dual booting is a lot less hacky than a ground up ESX install or any kind of hardware emulator IMO.

if it wasn't osx86, i'd agree with you.

[Evan]

true.

here is a howto for 10.5 and vmware
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[CaptainHenreh]

Damn mikey, did VMWare rape your mom?

VMWare is $free, it's at least worth a goddamn shot. Damn.

[Jake]

You can run Leopard on a G4/G5/Intel. I have no idea about running it on a modified PC, though I would like to try it eventually.

As far as a legit Mac goes... for the least cost and best performance, I'd look into a G4 tower, one of the very last ones. They're nicknamed the Mirrored-Drive-Door (MDD) models because the optical drive cover is a huge mirror. That, with enough RAM, should run 10.5.5 just fine and last you probably two years ish.

The G5s and Mac Pros are in the same case. Huge, metal box that looks like a large cheese grater. If you can find a zillion-processor G5, it'll be pretty fast. There's one in the SMAD building that I use a lot - 4x 2.5 GHz G5 processors and I think 4.5 GB of RAM.

Actually, here's a picture of the G4 and G5, next to each other:


I'd suggest a Mac Mini, but the used ones go for almost as much as a new one on CL or eBay. People buy 'em and turn them into media center machines because of their size.

Let me know if you have more questions...

[Mike]

Damn mikey, did VMWare rape your mom?

VMWare is $free, it's at least worth a goddamn shot. Damn.

i love vmware. i use it every day. i'm good friends with the qa manager of their mac product.

i read that link that evan posted, and saw nothing saying 10.5 was supported and did see someone say they couldn't get it to work.

that's all.

[CaptainHenreh]

Yeah, but it's worth a shot, and it costs no money.

Plus, if McDeersty can make it work, hey cool!

[Mike]

Yeah, but it's worth a shot, and it costs no money.

Plus, if McDeersty can make it work, hey cool!

the time and potential headache are not worth a couple hundred to have a proper solution (IMO). that's right, i'm ballin.

[BLINGMW]

all I can add is that if you go for buying an actual mac, and a G4, try to get one that's over 800mhz. 10.5 won't install without a hack on one. On some there are a few easy workarounds, but a few, like the 800mhz iBook we happen to have, are a pain.

[SethM]

If you do decide to look for a used Mac I would suggest checking the Ars Technica classifieds forum:

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I have been using it since 2000 to purchase all kinds of PC parts, very trustworthy people and generally very good deals to be had.