I am new to this but from what I have read I can not really make an app with Buzztouch on a Windows machine because xcode requires a Mac. Is this true?

Hi @DavdMudra, Welcome to Buzztouch! Indeed, you need a Mac (or, some people will say, a Hackintosh) to be able to run Xcode and do iOS app development. There's literally no way around it. Some people buy cheaper Mac mini's, which work very well, but make sure you get one that at least supports Mountain Lion (many of the older ones only go to Snow Leopard). Other options are things like MacInCloud.com, which I hear works fairly well. For Android, you can use just about any OS (Linux, Windows, Mac) you want, so at least that's one good thing! Mark

Ed runs a 'Hackintosh' that he seems to like. His is the first 'positive' remark I've heard on the subject. That said, the hardware he is using to emulate the mac probably costs more than a Mac… I tend to lean with GoNorthWest… The experiences I've heard about (except for Ed) have been generally negative and a waste of the users time trying to get it to work. Cheers! -- Smug

I've also heard of some people using services like http://www.macincloud.com to get around the hardware requirement. Of course, at $20+/month, it won't be long before you could've purchased a cheap, used mac mini off of craigslist instead.

Smug is right, i have successfully built a mountain lion hackintosh. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/oz8lc0hfig7ahh4/LpcSa9cimH But that's not to bypass the developers eula but to be more efficient in app development since pc hardware is cheaper and easily up-gradable hardware wise (try cracking open a macmini or an imac), plus i can run all the mobile development sdks like android, phonegap, titanium, etc. i do own both mac mini and 23" imac, where i can package my xcode legally. the problems with first generation hackintosh was motherboards, 64-bit and other 3rd party hardware driver incompatibilities, especially graphics cards, which isn't the case nowadays. Cost wise it's less expensive of a setup since pc desktop prices running high processors and ram are cheap now. just do a search. maybe purchase a used machine, setup what you need, then for your final build sign up for a macincloud account, they do have a one day free trial, maybe build what you can, then when you are ready sign up and submit your package. the other alternative but trickier is to run a version of mountain lion on a virtual machine such as vmware, I use vmware on my monster alienware gaming/editing bay. I have successfully setup redhat linux (free), mountain lion mac (which I own a copy of) and 64bit windows 7 pro which came with my dell. running all at the same time, I can drag and drop files from my 3 screens. I am able to test multiple sdks for every os environment. But you would have to know what you are doing to achieve this type of setup, just for mac os isn't easy, even on a basic pc, your enemy is the cost of ram and the programs that you may use that requires alot of it. Just like any apple product the cost of ram eventually when the base build isn't enough will cost. there's always a way. i build my own pcs so its cost effective for me to have multiple development options or just to experiment. but proceed at your own risk. most xcode developers I run into at meetup groups say they do everything from their macbook/pro. My brother bought his son a cheap hp duo-core hp laptop and turned that into a hackintosh snow leopard last year. so yes it could be done.

Love seeing the Hackintosh talk! Are you gonna upgrade yours to Mavericks anytime soon? My ML build is running so nicely right now I wish I could leave it be, but know I'll be wanting to upgrade xcode sooner than later. Do you use SSD drives? That gave me the biggest performance bump on my build, it made this old Dual Core board runs almost like my Airbook!

@atrain53 I'm debating to either create a new build of mavericks on a separate drive or get a mac pro. I don't have enough clients with 4k footage for me to edit to justify spending 4000+ on, if just for the performance factor. My Alienware build is just a monster. My dell hackintosh runs so smoothly as well. no issues, except it won't upgrade to Mavericks, I would need a different boot loader for that. But everything else updates normally. Been doing IT for over 25+ years, it's always refreshing to get side tracked and do some hardware hacking or the days of building mods in custom cases. oh the days. Yes, I replaced all my working machines hard drives to ssd, I have 2 editing bays in my mancave plus the mac mini and hackintosh, since I don't use my soundbooth/voiceover closet that much (editing bay 1-the footage ingester), I turned that into my NAS and hot swapable hard drive array with a lamp server in there. With the amount of noise my SATA drives put out and the heat, I put a cooling system in there as well. I'm about up to 100TB, which contains a lot of client work, just ingesting tons of HD footage takes up so much space. God only knows how I find things in that array. lol good thing the sound padding and the ssd drives keeps my man cave quiet.

I also heard that I could run Xcode within a software program called Virtual Box. Can anyone confirm this. I am surprised that Buzz Touch doesn't mention that we can not make Apps with a Windows machine before I signed up and paid $79.00

@DaveMundra : it should probably be a bit more explicitly stated, but all the details can be found in this How-To : https://www.buzztouch.com/files/howtos/Things_You_Need_Before_You_Start_Developing_Apps_v1.1.pdf Mark

@Dave I've explored Oracles Virtualbox before and MacOS can be the host machine but not as a guest OS, there may be a hack to load up MacOs but straight out of the box nope. Presently, VirtualBox runs on Windows, Linux, Macintosh, and Solaris hosts and supports a large number of guest operating systems including but not limited to Windows (NT 4.0, 2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8), DOS/Windows 3.x, Linux (2.4, 2.6 and 3.x), Solaris and OpenSolaris, OS/2, and OpenBSD. as mark stated it should be more explicitly stated. It is an app stumbling block for PC users, if not knowing that iOS apps can only be built on the iOS platform. if the goal is to learn a new skill set like App development, I'd take a look at a lot of free xcode tutorials and see if you can first wrap your head around all that it takes to work within xcode and understanding iOS7. I saw BT as a gateway to get my feet wet with the basics via playing with the plugins. But in order to get an app the way I need it to be I need to train myself in understanding the code and workflow it takes to truly customize my app. if the goal is to build something for a client right away, there's a lot of talent here for hire. then learn from what they built for you. Ed

Dave -- with you being in West Covina, and I am in the lower LA County ... we should meet up! -- Niraj

Niraj. Thanks for the offer. For what purpose?

Macs are really expensive here in the UK, even second hand ones. The idea of setting up a Hackintosh seems like a lot of hassle for my small brain. I tried Macincloud and it worked well, although you do need a little patience as there is a slight delay in doing things. You get used to it, though. I use a different but similar service now and it's cheaper: http://virtualmacosx.com/index.php/xcode-plans I tried it for a week first and then went on to a monthly plan. The cost of secondhand Macs here is so great that it probably the cheapest option long term, too, especially considering that they will have a limited lifespan before developers are required to upgrade their xcode. Hope that helps :) John

How much is too much for a used Mac? $15/mo seems pricey to me ... $180/yr for development work over the cloud. I'd rather pay $500-600 for a used one if I could.

More like double that price in the UK, chris1. I agree with you, though. I'll probably make the investment if I can start to see a return on making apps for the appstore. $15 a month for a couple of months reduces the risk from $1000 or so to find out if I can make money on the appstore.

Hackintosh is def not for the meek. It takes patience - But if you can get your hands on a genuine Intel board that is at least a Dual Core, you can build it for peanuts. Nice tip on that VMOSX, looks interesting, would be a nice cheap option for folks without Mac. I wonder how the provisioning profiles work on that if it is a 'shared' workstation as they list.... I see on their blog they offer a FREE TRIAL if you follow them. I'm gonna try that out and see what the performance is like. I love Virtual technology like this. Thanks for sharing it!

$1000 - dang. Check ebay maybe? You can buy a brand new MacBook from the Apple Store for like $1100 here.

Good luck with it, atrain53. It is a way for me to move forward with iOS with less risk. It all seems to work well. A bit slower than normal but it does the job. Yes, chris1, ebay is an option, but you're still looking around $1000 for a used machine with no warranty or support. It's a lot of cash and quite a risk in several ways. I won't tell you the price of new Macs over here, you'd need to have a beer or two to get over the shock.

What about for a Mac mini - I think they go for like $600 new here

Just had a quick look on ebay for Mac Mini. There's one at $753 but I'm not sure if it's any good. The next one after that is $1245. I think that's just for the processor unit, no screen or anything.

It's like those days when my graphic design students, couldn't afford the cost of programs like photoshop and illustrator, back in the day. I would tell them plan as much as you can, collect all the assets you need to build your portfolio, sign up for the 30 day trial, spend 2 weeks to complete your portfolio. Then the remaining 2 weeks to find and book clients. Get the 50% deposit, spend that on the cost of the software, even with a student edition, it was still expensive, they may not make a profit or living from the first few clients, but at least they have the tools to start selling their services. Now Adobe I believe for new or existing users they get you started with their creative cloud format for around $19.99 to $49.99, by doing this it allows more money strapped creative people to focus more on booking clients and making money, then making it hard to obtain the applications needed to even get the work. Same with your situation @Higgey if you can start with the minimum investment, to hopefully land some revenue stream early that can justify the cost of investing in the hardware, new or used, that's what I recommend to the peeps I train. So for my pc students that want to get their feet wet in xcode, I have my macs setup with the citrix team viewer for them to follow xcode tutorials they sign up for on lynda.com. Same thing if you are at the point where a virtual mac is more affordable for your development workflow, continue on. My hackintosh has not had any problems, and I've got every mobile sdks running smoothly. Good luck on your progression.

That's crazy. I just looked at apple.com and the Mac minis start at $599 new. If there's that much of a difference, I'd be looking at getting one abroad and shipped to you.

Yes, Chris they start at around $750 on ebay BUT there's import duty to pay which is quite a bit plus they'll need sorting out to work over here. We've got different electric. Again, no support with that route. We get quite frustrated with things costing so much more over here...... Thanks for the input, Ed. Interesting thoughts.

ah yes - forgot about the difference in electrical outlets. though you could probably get a EU power cord on amazon. $750 still seems pretty high. I just did a real quick ebay search and saw some a lot cheaper than that. A used one is about to be sold for $250.

Also, looks like you can get a Mac mini for £499.00 from the Apple Store, which works out to a little more than $800 USD. Still pricey, but that's for brand new. No way I'd pay $750 on ebay for one. http://store.apple.com/uk/buy-mac/mac-mini

Thanks, Chris. That's most helpful to know. I don't know much about Macs so it might be an option, so I appreciate it. I'm just working on my first BT iOS app which I hope to submit next week if all goes well. I haven't worked out how to make money from it as yet, I plan to try different approaches and see what works. I need to see if I can create an income from the appstore and then maybe I can make a purchase. Might be a good option if I can create an income, though. Thanks.

yep - totally. Paying a monthly fee probably is the way to go for now, until you can see that you can do this. Follow Ed's advice - go the monthly cloud route, create a portfolio showing what you can do, then go to a small business and say "I'll make you an app that looks like this for $1,000". All of a sudden you have a mac. :)

I like your style, Chris! Will let you know if I achieve that aim.