Mac noob and I have questions....

[google123]

I would like to start trying out the Mac OS. Can I buy the OS from Apple or do I have to buy it installed on hardware? Can I use a virtual machine to run the OS on my Windows 7 laptop? What programs are available to do so and where is the best (cheapest, legal) place besides Apple to get the Mac OS???? TIA

 

[ToastPwnz]

Yes I believe you can buy the OS from Apple.
You should be able to use a VM, the only issue you might run into is finding drivers.
VirtualBox should be able to run OS X.
Not sure where else you can get it besides Apple.

 

[Pryomancer]

A virtual machine runs it inside the current OS. I believe you're thinking of dual booting. In that case you can buy a program called Bootcamp from Apple, lets you install Windows and you choose which one to run on startup.

 

[darb]

I would like to start trying out the Mac OS. Can I buy the OS from Apple or do I have to buy it installed on hardware?

The answer to both is "yes." You can buy the OS separately, but you would have to build what has been named "hackintosh." There are plenty of resources on the web on how to make one, and they aren't always easy. Apple does not sell OS X with the intention of it being installed on anything other than Apple hardware. If you are looking for a smooth introduction to OS X, the best way is to run it on Apple hardware, as it's intended.

Can I use a virtual machine to run the OS on my Windows 7 laptop? What programs are available to do so and where is the best (cheapest, legal) place besides Apple to get the Mac OS???? TIA

The two most well known programs that allow you to run Windows 7 in VM are Parallels Desktop and VMWare Fusion. You will need a separate legal copy of Windows to install in the virtual machine. Both Parallels and Fusion are around the same price, but you can find some deals by searching for various coupons, etc.

As stated before, you can also run Boot Camp, which allows you to essentially dual boot your Mac into Windows. Boot Camp comes pre-installed in Leopard & Snow Leopard; it is not a separate purchase. As with the VM, you would need a separate legal copy of Windows to install.

Hope this helps.

Source: Me, and my MacBook Pro.

 

[google123]

Well I have some Dell desktops that I could probably turn into Hackintoshes but I have been just thinking of running Mac OS in a VM on my Sony Windows 7 laptop for starters. I'm not really interested in dual booting and basically wanna spend as little as possible for a legal copy of Mac OS to play with in VM. So, basically, I would have to purchase the OS from Apple then right? Are there any 3rd party vendors that sell it as well?

 

[darb]

I have been just thinking of running Mac OS in a VM on my Sony Windows 7 laptop for starters.

See here: Vmware - OSx86

Still looks like a chore, but to each their own.

I'm not really interested in dual booting and basically wanna spend as little as possible for a legal copy of Mac OS to play with in VM. So, basically, I would have to purchase the OS from Apple then right? Are there any 3rd party vendors that sell it as well?

There are plenty of vendors that sell Apple software, but it doesn't mean they are much cheaper, if at all.

 

[smacky]

Take a look at this.

Hackintosh Instructions, Hackintosh How To Guides @ Hackintosh.com

 

[vbetts]

Building a box to run osx86 is pretty simple actually. Not hard to do at all, and depending on the hardware osx86 boxes normally out perform real Macs. There are different ways to do it, you can use the real snow leopard disk with a chamleon launcher, or you can get a premade distro. If you're new to the whole unix scene at all, I would say go for the premade distro route and to make it legal and justify downloading that distro, buy a Snow Leopard license anyways. It's easier on an Intel machine since 9/10 times you can run the vanilla kernel, but cheaper the AMD way.