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Can Ubuntu run Mac OS X?

I currently run Windows 7 – can I download and run one of the OS X programs?

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No, Ubuntu cannot run Mac OS X, neither legally nor technically. An OS can not run an OS. Your Ubuntu PC technically could, but Apple's EULA states OS X can only be installed on Apple machines.

As for running Mac programs on Windows 7, again this is a no. You can run some of them on Linux. Linux is Unix-like, and OS X is UNIX-certified, so some things can work.

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    Well, running an OS inside another OS is technically possible using virtual machines, but for OS X, there's still the legal issue.
    – Dennis
    Commented Mar 19, 2013 at 11:55
  • Yes, but then its the VM software running the OS... I just went off of the original phrasing for simplicity.
    – Austin T French
    Commented Mar 19, 2013 at 11:59
  • I know it is convoluted, but you could run Ubuntu or Windows 7 on a Mac and run OS X inside a VM, that wouldn't break any Apple EULA... So shouldn't be the answer "yes"?
    – jaume
    Commented Mar 19, 2013 at 12:21
  • You might be able to run some command line tools, but no graphics based programs at all. The graphics stack of iOS and Windows or Ubuntu is completely different, and Apple keeps theirs very close to their chest (it is a large part of what makes an Apple machine Apple, after all).
    – vonbrand
    Commented Mar 19, 2013 at 12:47
  • @jaume Running Windows on a Mac, and then OS X in a VM on that would still be against the license: run up to two (2) additional copies or instances of the Apple Software within virtual operating system environments on each Mac Computer you own or control that is already running the Apple Software – see the part about "already running" OS X.
    – slhck
    Commented Mar 21, 2013 at 6:51

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