As Mac OS X has gone through subsequent versions, Apple changed the Darwin development process. Eventually, some Darwin drivers were released without the source code and Apple shifted its focus away from Darwin development to Mac OS X development. Now that Mac OS X is up, running, and widely available on Intel Macs, Apple has stopped releasing the source code for the x86 kernel and drivers.

Apple’s reasoning is that providing the source for the Mac OS X kernel on x86 will make it easier for people to run Tiger on non-Apple hardware. Getting OS X up and running on a “generic” AMD or Intel PC can be done now, and instructions are available, albeit difficult to find due to the diligence of Apple Legal. Unfortunately, closing off the source further calls into question Apple’s credentials as a good player in the open source scene.

Apple is apparently using the Trusted Platform Module as one means of tying the Intel version of Mac OS X to Apple hardware. Many people are alarmed over the use of TPM because of its potential to be used to lock down other content, although Apple has yet to move in that direction. Apple has also moved against the OSx86 Project, forcing them to shut down their forums for a few days while instructions and links related to getting Mac OS X up and running on commodity x86 hardware were removed.

When all is said and done Apple will not be able to stop the hard core hackers from breaking whatever DRM them put in place.