Bumped:
Only two people contributed to this Q/A, so maybe we could get some more opinions.
Background
Recently there seem to be a lot of questions on the topic of installing OS X as a virtualized instance using VirtualBox or other virtualization software. Like thisthis (was a question about OS X server, so that's fine), or thisthis, which came up just today.
Now, the OS X EULA says,
[...] you are granted a limited non-exclusive license to install, use and run one (1) copy of the Apple Software on a single Apple-branded computer at a time. You agree not to install, use or run the Apple Software on any non-Apple-branded computer, or to enable others to do so.
We have agreed that the following questions are definitely off-topic on SU:
- How to install OS X on a PC (i.e. non-Apple hardware) – basically, Hackintosh
- How to install OS X as a virtual machine running on a PC
We can also agree that the following is on-topic (because it's allowed):
- How to install OS X Server as a virtual machine
A case that is not so clear
But there is one case where the people posting the question think they are in the right to do so:
- How to install OS X as a virtual machine running on a Mac
They think that it is legal, as they are still running on Apple hardware. They quote an Oracle blog entry that basically says it is legal. Apple however has only specifically addressed virtualization in the OS X Server EULA.
What should we do?
Now, I am very open to discussion about this. I am no expert in legal issues, but I was under the impression this is still not allowed, as you are basically installing on virtualized hardware that is not made by Apple. OS X checks for Apple hardware during installation and therefore I believe some hacking is needed to get that running.
So, it all boils down to:
- Should we allow questions about this?
- Or should we close them?
What do you think? My understanding was that in the case of a legal grey area we should not encourage such questions.
