This week an announcement came across our desk, which some will like and will make others annoyed, to say the least. For the first time since Psystar back in 2009, OpenCore Computer has announced that they are to produce a commercially available Hackintosh Computer. We investigate…

On its website, OpenCore Computer stated that it will be producing a range of “ zero-compromise Hackintoshes”. The first to be released Was planned to be called Velociraptor. However the site already appears to have been taken down.

This is what OpenCore Computer said…

“The Velociraptor comes with up to 16 CPU Cores, 64GB RAM and a Vega VII GPU all in a portable package – the 150L case even has a handle for easy transportation.

“If you need even more power…coming soon to the OpenCore Computer (OCC) lineup is the T-Rex & Megalodon series, which provide AMD Thread Ripper options allowing up to 64 CPU cores, and a whopping 256GB RAM.

Each model in the OCC line-up leverages the unparalleled performance and value offered by the new Ryzen line of CPU’s to provide you with a zero compromise workstation capable of handling any task you throw at it; be it on Windows or macOS.

No surprise, we’ve chosen the OpenCore bootloader to provide a rock-solid native macOS experience. Alternatively, choose Windows 10 pro at start-up and have the discrete SSD boot you into the Windows desktop within seconds.”

Velociraptor Features Summary

• Starts from just $2,199

• Configurable with Ryzen 8, 12, or 16 core CPUs

• Up to Radeon VII GPU with 16GB HBM2 Memory

• Configurable up to 64GB RAM

• Up to 2TB NVME SSD (macOS)

• Up to 2TB SATA SSD (Win10)

• Up to 4TB HDD (shared natively between macOS & Win10)

• Portable Mini-ITX size with case handle

• FREE Tracked Global Shipping (UPS or FedEx)

• Runs all Adobe apps out of the box with the exception of Lightroom CC, however Lightroom Classic works without issue.

• Available NOW!

What Is The Issue With A Hackintosh?

The first problem is that the developers of the OpenCore Bootloader are not very happy about the unauthorized use of the OpenCore name and have released this statement…

“We at Acidanthera are a small group of enthusiasts who are passionate about Apple ecosystem and spend time developing software to improve macOS compatibility with different kinds of hardware including older Apple-made computers and virtual machines. For us, who do this on entirely volunteer and uncommercial basis, for fun, it is shocking and disgusting that some dishonest people we do not even know dare to use the name and logo of our bootloader, OpenCore, as a matter of promotion in some illicit criminal scam. Be warned, that we are nohow affiliated with these people and strongly ask everyone by all means to never approach them. Be safe.”

The second problem is the Apple End User Licence Agreement or EULA for short. This is a really important document that most of us just skip to the end of and click "Agree". The first red flag is in the first paragraph...

“The software (including Boot ROM code), documentation and any fonts accompanying this License whether on disk, in read only memory, on any other media or in any other form (collectively the “Apple Software”) are licensed, not sold, to you by Apple Computer, Inc. (“Apple”) for use only under the terms of this License, and Apple reserves all rights not expressly granted to you.”

This means that you don't actually OWN your operating system. In comparison, Windows is generally licensed separately to the machine and is not dependent on the equipment manufacturer. You can read more about this in our article Thinking Of Building A Hackintosh? - Read This First - Updated

This is how MacRumors describe this issue…

“Hackintoshes are computers that run macOS on hardware not authorized by Apple. OpenCore is a free open-source tool used to prepare a system for booting macOS. The company selling these Hackintoshes seems to have appropriated the name of the open-source bootloader, and has no affiliation to the developers of OpenCore. Hackintosh machines have to bypass copy-protection technologies that Apple uses to protect macOS from being cloned, affording them a dubious legal status when sold. OpenSource Computer reports that its computers ‘work just like a regular Apple Mac.’“

It would appear that OpenCore Computer’s plan to circumvent the Apple EULA is by accepting payments only in Bitcoin cryptocurrency. To try and make that route more accessible, it offers the use of escrow payment through "Bitrated," which apparently is designed to bring consumer protection and fraud prevention measures to cryptocurrency transactions.

Will It Work?

It is way too early to say whether this workaround will be successful. Any attempt so far to produce a commercial Hackintosh has ended in failure. The last attempt was the Psystar Corporation that back in 2008 tried to sell ‘Open Computers’. As we explained in our article Thinking Of Building A Hackintosh? - Read This First - Updated Apple's EULA blocks third-party installations of its software, and any commercial Mac clone is a violation of that agreement, as well as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). In 2009, Apple successfully sued Psystar in 2009 and won a permanent injunction against the company that ordered that Psystar was prevented from the following…

1. Copying, selling, offering to sell, distributing, or creating derivative works of plaintiff's copyrighted Mac OS X software without authorization from the copyright holder;

2. Intentionally inducing, aiding, assisting, abetting, or encouraging any other person or entity to infringe plaintiff's copyrighted Mac OS X software;

3. Circumventing any technological measure that effectively controls access to plaintiff's copyrighted Mac OS X software, including, but not limited to, the technological measure used by Apple to prevent unauthorized copying of Mac OS X on non-Apple computers;

4. Manufacturing, importing, offering to the public, providing, or otherwise trafficking in any technology, product, service, device, component, or part thereof that is primarily designed or produced for the purpose of circumventing a technological measure that effectively controls access to plaintiff's copyrighted Mac OS X software, including, but not limited to, the technological measure used by Apple to prevent unauthorized copying of Mac OS X on non-Apple computers;

5. Manufacturing, importing, offering to the public, providing, or otherwise trafficking in any technology, product, service, device, component, or part thereof that is primarily designed or produced for the purpose of circumventing a technological measure that effectively protects the rights held by plaintiff under the Copyright Act with respect to its copyrighted Mac OS X software.

Other than the Bitcoin payment route it is not clear what will prevent Apple from suing OpenCore Computer if Acidanthera doesn’t do it first for the unauthorized use of the OpenCore name.

Interested In The Velociraptor?

There you have it. Will you be looking at buying a Velociraptor anytime soon? In November 2019 Alan Sallabank wrote this article Hackintosh Computers For Pro Tools - Are They Reliable Enough For Audio Professionals?

In summary, when you run your own Hackintosh, it is the epitome of “self-support”. True, there are many forums out there to help, but the experience is incredibly inconsistent. There’s a good reason for this - Hackintoshes suffer from the very same Achilles heel as Windows systems - the almost infinite variety of hardware possible. True there are certain restrictions - any Hackintosh build has to use hardware compatible or at least equivalent to, the hardware used by Apple themselves.

But it isn’t just the lack of any formal support from Apple or the online community that is the sole issue. Software and third-party hardware developers are unlikely to be able to support a Hackintosh. At least one leading audio interface absolutely would not work on a Hackintosh, AJA video interface don’t work correctly and a leading piece of software wouldn’t work to its full potential. As soon as any developer hears that you are running a Hackintosh, they are likely to withdraw support.

With a Hackintosh, you are also likely to dread seeing a nagging message from Apple, the one that asks you to keep the system up to date and secure, Because each time you do, the chances are everything will break and suddenly your system wouldn’t boot properly, or if it did, the screen was a complete mess.

This is because “Hackintoshing” involves digging down deep into MacOS, and fiddling with the core code - the “kexts”. This is all deeply techy and despite me being a massive nerd, filled me with dread every time an update came along.

All in all our advice is if you are earning your living from working in pro-audio with a computer, don’t use a Hackintosh. Yes, it’s possible and we are sure we will get comments saying ‘it’s working OK for me’ but the lack of support and reliability don’t sit well with running a business where your clients can rely on you being able to deliver on time.