True, but for someone like me, I'd be hard pressed coming up with the $105 for the OS (guess I shouldn't have bought all those games for my iPod )
Hang in there and save up You could be making games of your own before you know it... The BEST bet to get a Mac cheap is to wait until you were going to replace your PC anyway. And when you do, choose a Mac--they have no low-end models, but their mid-ranges cost the same as other name brands. (Except you should add the cost of putting Windows on it unless you keep your old Windows license. Or go cold turkey!)
I just came across a recent hackintosh article. It's come a long way and is doable (on certain PC hardware--not just any hardware) if you're dedicated. This article is a success story. But a hackintosh is no picnic: http://www.suntimes.com/business/1473468,ihnatko-apple-mac-pc-hackintosh-031209.article
Installing OS X on your PC is quite easy if you have an Intel-based PC with an Intel-based motherboard. You may have to change a few info.plists to get certain components to be recognized by the Apple drivers, but we are talking about people who want to be software developers here--if they can't handle that, they aren't going to get very far writing a graphical software application from scratch. I have 10.5 installed at work on my Dell, and at home on my custom built PC. Both installed in ~20 minutes. PS: You'd be a fool to buy a copy of OS X for this experiment.. so this "Mac" is truly free.
Not pirating isn't being a "fool"--it's obeying the law and paying people for their work. And the article above makes it pretty clear that getting OS X running on a PC (even one of the few recommended configs) in under 20 minutes--whether or not you include all the prep time and research/studying--is highly unlikely. I do believe you had that good fortune, but that's not going to be typical. And it's not just about whether one CAN get it working, but about whether it's worth it or not. Which is a personal call--and that article gives BOTH the positives and negatives pretty clearly. I'm an example of someone who DOES do software development--and who COULD get a hackintosh working--but who does not find all the hassle of a hackintosh (together with the future uncertainty) to be worth it. If I actually did all the things in life that I COULD handle, I'd be doing all KINDS of unpleasant things and never have any free time left At the same time, I certainly understand why some would choose differently.
