Developing on Mac vs. using virtual machine on windows based PC?

Question

I am trying to set up a project to develop an iPad application for the company I develop for. I am relatively new to iOS development and just recently got a not too old, not too new either iMac. My problem is that it is not intel-based and therefore I can't install the latest SDK on it. Not to mention that the new Xcode requires intel-based processors too. I have been doing some digging and found the possibility of running OSX and its applications through a virtual machine. Everywhere I have been searching for alternate options, this is the only other I can find. My question is: is it better or more recommended to develop iOS applications using a Mac vs using a virtual machine? If so, what makes it better to develop on one as opposed to the other option? Personally I am about to just tell my boss to get a couple of intel-based macs, but I need to back my suggestion up.

Solution 1

It will be a lot easier to just go ahead and get some Macs. You might be able to get some sorta Hackintosh thing sorta working on a VM, but the hours you and your colleagues spend getting all that stuff to work and supporting it will probably cost more than just buying a couple of Mac Minis or MacBooks.

Also, installing Mac OS X on a VM on non-Apple hardware is forbidden by Apple's licensing terms. Does your boss want you to violate copyright laws? If so, would your boss's bosses concur?

Solution 2

The developer tools run fairly close to the hardware so I don't think you would have good success running under VM. I don't know of anyone who has done so. Running MacOS on VM is more of a hacker's stunt than practical solution for the vast majority of cases. I would say that is doubly true for development.

More importantly, its not very cost effective. You can get a second hand Mac mini for $300 and plug it in to your existing monitor and keyboard. Given that even a small company pays out $50-$100+ an hour total cost for a programmer, half a day wasted futzing with a VM would eat any savings you might get.

It's better to just get the right gear and get work. I've been doing this a long time and hacked solutions always end up costing more time and money than they save. If you just don't have the money up front, you may not have the choice but if you have the money, it's well spent up front to avoid random stoppages and bugs down the road.

Solution 3

In some cases, http://virtualmacosx.com/ might be a solution. They offer a xcode virtual mac in the cloud. You access it by vnc, so it won't be very fast, unless you have a very low network latency to their servers.

Solution 4

You can get a Mac Mini on eBay for under $500. Snow Leopard is $29. There are almost no circumstances where it wouldn’t be worth spending the money to get a legitimate, legal Mac to develop on.

Solution 5

I'm pretty sure that you can't legally run a Mac OS on a non Mac machine.

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Comments

[David]

Exactly. If you want to back it up for your boss, all you need is math. Your hourly wage plus anybody else's involved on the project multiplied by the number of hours it would take to get a sort-of development environment kind-of almost working on a VM.

[Siddarth Hailstorm]

hi i even need to install the mac os at my home (windows) based PC, I got really a poor background so that i cant afford for costly mac's so please provide me some idea. so that it will be helpful for me. also please provide me the requirement or specifications required so that i can install MAC os in my pc upto what i have heard from friends is i need to install 'Virtual machine' then i can install mac os in it, later i can install xcode in it . I need to know step by step processing or please divert me to any technology blogs to do this . Thanks in advance.