OSx86 (a portmanteau of OS X and x86) is a collaborative
"hacking" project to run the Mac OS X computer operating system
on non-Apple personal computers with x86 architecture and x86-64
compatible processors. The effort started soon after the June
2005 Worldwide Developers Conference announcement that Apple
would be transitioning their personal computers from PowerPC to
Intel microprocessors. A computer built to run this type of Mac
OS X is also known as a Hackintosh or Hackint0sh, a portmanteau
of the word "hack" and the name of Apple's main brand of
computers, Macintosh. The Apple software license does not allow
Mac OS X to be used on hardware that is not "Apple-labeled" The
legality of this form of tying is disputed by companies such as
Psystar and PearC, who have attempted to release products using
Mac OS on non Apple-machines. However Apple claims the methods
it uses to prevent MacOS X from being installed on non-Apple
hardware are protected by the DMCA, and in November 2009 won a
summary judgement again