Apple’s Mac Mini is killing my Hackintosh

One of my favorite geek toys is about to turn into a relic, and it’s Apple’s fault.

In 2016, I was frustrated that Apple hadn’t updated its Mac Mini, iMac, or Mac Pro computers in at least a year. Although the company launched new iPhones, iPads, AirPods and MacBooks at a regular pace, desktop Macs were not getting the same attention.

I wanted a low-cost multifunctional machine that I could trust to work and play for years to come. But if I threw down the $ 499 starting price that Apple wanted for its Mac Mini computers at the time, I would be paying full price for a machine whose guts were more than two years old. It is not alright.

So, I decided to do one of the most nerdy things that an Apple tech user can do: built a PC.

I bought all the parts I needed, including a storage unit, system memory and a graphics card. Next, I put them together in a very generic looking box. So I tricked Apple’s MacOS software to activate it.

The project consumed about $ 800, many nights examining computer codes and some frustrated keyboard strokes, but I ended up doing it.

I turned my DIY computer into a Hackintosh.

It is not something that Apple supports and could be a violation of the license terms for MacOS software. (Apple declined to comment for this article.) But the end result was that I had a Mac desktop computer on my terms. I took control of Apple.

Besides, I felt like a winner. During the day, I used my Hackintosh for work, with all the specialized Mac software I knew to track my to-do lists, manage my calendars and find smart GIFs to use for idle games.

At night, I switched to Microsoft Windows, which operates more than 73% of the world’s computers. It is also one of the only ways to play well regarded virtual reality games like Valve Half-Life: Alyx’s sci-fi shooter, whose CNET sister site GameSpot has just named the game of the year for 2020.

And if any component, like the video card, just isn’t doing enough, I can update the machine with little work. Geeky paradise.

Unfortunately, everything changed this summer when Apple CEO Tim Cook came on stage with his company’s virtual live broadcast and said Macs were changing forever. Their microprocessing brains, previously made by chip maker Intel, were being replaced by Apple’s custom M1 chips. Apple said it was doing so because the technology behind its iPhones and iPads is better suited for Mac computers than the Intel processors that Apple has used to power Macs since 2006.

“Advances of this magnitude only come with bold changes,” said Cook during a event announcing three new devices with the new M1 chips.

The first Macs with the M1 include a MacBook Air, a 13-inch MacBook Pro and a Mac Mini, all launched in November. CNET reviewer Dan Ackerman says they perform much better than their predecessors, outperforming even Intel-based Macs launched in early 2020.

Unfortunately for me and many other Hackintoshers, you can’t buy Apple’s M1 chips alone. Which means I can’t put them on my computer and trick Apple’s MacOS software to run it.

Apple said its transition from Intel will take about two years. A few years after that, the company is expected to stop updating software for Macs with Intel technology.

At that point, my Hackintosh dream will have officially ended.

Apple is famous for how much control it has over its devices. You cannot download applications to the iPhone or iPad unless you go through the Apple App Store, where each program is reviewed by the company before being posted for download.

It’s no surprise that Apple also has even tighter control over its computers. But I’m still sad to see Hackintoshes go.

So I decided to build one last hurray. The most brilliant fake apple I could muster.

A hobby and a workhorse

It became much easier to assemble a Hackintosh in recent years. This is mainly due to the best hacking tools and active communities full of people who love to help. Some of them even write step-by-step guides with lists of what parts you can buy, how to set them up and what to do when they are not working.

One of the people I trust in the posts is Mykola Grymalyuk, a 20-year-old university student who studies computer science (what else?) In Canada. He joined Hackintoshing through his stepfather, who had his own. At one point, Grymalyuk recovered from a medical episode, with a lot of time available.

“I was constantly in a hospital bed, I couldn’t walk a lot, I couldn’t do much and I felt kind of useless,” said Grymalyuk. “But the Hackintosh community has given me something to do.”

He realized that there were not many updated or comprehensive guides to help people build Hackintoshes, so he decided to write some on his own. At first, he created a list of video cards that worked best with Apple software. Then he wrote about adjusting parts of the computer to make everything work better. Most useful to me, he created detailed guides to help you understand the applications and processes you need to follow to initially set up a Hackintosh.

“It’s a spiral from there,” he said.

Earlier this year, he focused his work on a website he co-founded, called Dortania. It is named after a flower so obscure that he hoped it meant that the site could easily go to the main Google link (it was). The site has no ads and it does not ask for money. He encourages people to donate to Crohn’s and Colitis Canada.

As much as Grymalyuk likes to read his Hackintosh instruction guides, he knows that Apple’s M1 chips mean that it will all be over in five years or more. Until then, he hopes that all Macs and Mac applications have transitioned to Apple chips. At that point, Apple will likely begin to discontinue software updates for Intel-based computers, as it will no longer sell them anyway.

As a self-proclaimed fan of Apple products, Grymalyuk said he recently started helping people run old Mac software on new computers and helping others run new Apple software on older Mac computers.

His dream is to channel all this knowledge into writing documentation for other technology products. He wants to help people understand the details of what makes their computers work, whether made by Apple or not.

“I want to teach, not just reach the end result,” he said. “I want people to keep their machines. When you know what breaks, how to break and what to fix, you feel like, ‘Wow, I can keep this machine on my own. I don’t need outside help.'”

My last Hackintosh

I was inspired to build my latest Hackintosh because of the M1 Macs. I decided to create a machine with the most modern microprocessing brains and more than twice as much storage terabyte I use today. I also chose an AMD graphics card similar to the latest Mac Pro computers, to make sure it works more easily with MacOS. I wanted to make sure that this machine will meet my needs for at least the next few years.

If I get stuck, I am grateful to have the Hackintoshers community to help fix any bugs I find. Sites like Grymalyuk’s Dortania, Reddit’s Hackintosh community and tonymacx86 are still popular. The same is true of YouTube channels like Snazzy Labs, which discuss Hackintoshes from time to time. Some of these communities even saw spikes in interest when Apple launched its first M1 computers in November – partly because people are curious about how Hackintoshers are preparing for when MacOS no longer works with Intel chips.

“There is still a thriving worldwide community of active hackers,” said Tonymacx86. The person behind the username and website prefers to remain anonymous to avoid overzealous fans and detractors.

Tonymacx86 says that after Apple completely eliminates Hackintoshes, the sites and guides are likely to be redesigned in tribute to the more than a decade that people have spent building these machines in the Frankenstein style. They are also likely to become support communities for people who use their computers after they get software updates from Apple.

I probably will have done Hackintoshing at that point. I know that someday, I won’t be able to keep the machine I just built running MacOS without any problems. When the time comes, I will need to buy an Apple Mac if I want to continue using the company’s software.

Hopefully, Apple computers will not be as outdated as they were when I started.