From Mac Hater to Hackintosh Lover: My Journey to a Better OS

For years, I was a die-hard Windows user, convinced that nothing could sway me towards using a Mac. But as a programmer and developer, I soon found myself hitting limitations and roadblocks with the Windows Operating System. That’s when I discovered the world of Hackintosh – a Mac OS functioning on compatible hardware. And let me tell you, it was a game-changer. In just a few simple steps, I was able to set up my own Hackintosh and unleash the full potential of my hardware. Keep reading to learn about my journey from Mac hater to Hackintosh lover.

As a programmer and developer, I have always been on the lookout for new challenges and ways to improve my skills. However, I soon realized that the Windows operating system had certain limitations when it came to creating mobile apps for Apple, as well as working with the command line interface of many frameworks. That’s when I started exploring the idea of creating a “Hackintosh.”

For those who don’t know, a Hackintosh is essentially a Mac operating system running on compatible hardware. After doing some research, I found that I could set up a Hackintosh to run as its own operating system, which was ideal as I didn’t want to buy any new hardware like a Mac Pro.

Setting up a Hackintosh wasn’t easy, and I did run into a few drive/kext issues. However, after some googling and forum reading, I managed to get it up and running smoothly. At first, I was a bit skeptical about using a Mac operating system, as I had been a “Mac hater” for a long time. But I realized that this was more out of necessity than choice, and I started exploring the interface.

My first impressions were mixed. I couldn’t find anything, and I didn’t know how to do anything. But after a bit of experimentation and learning, I found my way around the interface and started installing my base programs, such as Adobe Suite, PHPStorm, Xcode, Android SDK, Node.js, and Chrome.

Once I had everything set up, I went straight to trying to work on those projects where the CLIs were giving me hell. The ionic framework was set up, and I was building out Android apps, and I even managed to build an Apple app, something I had never done before!

Now, I’m not a total convert. There are still some things I’ll load back into Windows to do, like playing games on Steam. However, I really enjoy working on OSX, and the extra desktop feature is so helpful as I am not alt-tabbing trying to find that explorer window so I can drag the new files to the FTP Client.

Overall, the experience has been a positive one, and I’m considering moving OSX onto a 256gb SSD rather than running it on an old laptop hard drive. If you’re a developer or programmer who’s looking for a new challenge, I highly recommend giving a Hackintosh a try. It’s not without its challenges, but the rewards are well worth it.

Intel i7-3770k
32bg RAM
eVGA GTX 670 FTW
Sabertooth Z77 Motherboard
and about 7TB of Storage with an OS SSD.