Hackintosh Netbook

[BabyDavey]

So, apparently I don't have enough things to do in my spare time. I decided to take my PC Netbook and install Mac OSX on it.

I just got it up and running with Snow Leopard (OSX 10.6.6). It was about a 2 week process in getting it working on my spare time. I tinkered and toiled with a variant a co-worker had - I got it basically working, but wasn't happy with it. Finally on Friday I went and bought the Retail DVD at the local dealer and through various google searches bootloader downloads and multiple re-installs, I now have a mostly functional system. By mostly functional, I mean it boots and doesn't crash. Video works, but not the proper resolution. Audio does not - it did under 10.5.8 though, so I'm sure I can fix that. A hopefully compatible wifi card is literally in the mail.

I don't know what I'll do once I get it fully functional. I'm more or less doing this as challenge, just to say I did it. I've must have installed 100 different flavours of Windows, Unix, Linux and BSD over the years just to try them.

Does anybody else do this stuff?

[~Skitty~]

i just recently reinstalled ubuntu onto my gaming pc (dual boot) and was surprised all it took was a simple .exe, i remember back in the day when you had to edit the MBR yourself xD. kids now adays have it tooo easy.

[BabyDavey]

i just recently reinstalled ubuntu onto my gaming pc (dual boot) and was surprised all it took was a simple .exe, i remember back in the day when you had to edit the MBR yourself xD. kids now adays have it tooo easy.

The tools are there now though to make it easy for the masses to try out stuff like Linux though. Most people wouldn't know their way around a terminal or command prompt, so installing has to be intuitive.

Ubuntu has helped me out a number of times. I have it installed on an 8gb SD card. It's slow (on an sd card), but its solid and It has the tools I need to if I need sometimes.

[hidden]

I decided to take my PC Netbook and install Mac OSX on it.

Why would you ruin a perfectly good netbook?

Back when my math classes actually let me USE the $100 calculator needed for highschool math classes, I used to write programs. My last one was for anything involving calculating pH but got discouraged when programming the menus. I hadn't even written all the menus and it was already twice the size of any of the other programs I had written. By the time I would have had it completed, that subject would aready be history.

Note that it was a TI-83+. which does not have any kind of proper keyboard. Keying in the code too awhile!

[Pudding]

I...own a proper Mac. That suits me fine ♥

[~Skitty~]

on one hand, im pretty against all things apple as they stand against most things i believe in morally.

but on the other, if somebody bought me one, i would probably like to have a mac chill in my room and just look pretty.

you have to admit, unix based operating systems and OLED screens go pretty sexy together ;D

[Guest munchkitten]

I tri-boot my desktop. Win 7, Server 08, and Ubuntu.

[BabyDavey]

Why would you ruin a perfectly good netbook?

Not ruined, just a learning tool. I've got no other use for the thing, I got it from a coworker for next to nothing. It had XP on it when I got it, so I think OSX is a step up. I've also got Windows 7 and Ubuntu to install if I want another upgrade.

Back when my math classes actually let me USE the $100 calculator needed for highschool math classes, I used to write programs. My last one was for anything involving calculating pH but got discouraged when programming the menus. I hadn't even written all the menus and it was already twice the size of any of the other programs I had written. By the time I would have had it completed, that subject would aready be history.

Note that it was a TI-83+. which does not have any kind of proper keyboard. Keying in the code too awhile!

Nice. I used to program, but it's been a long time - I never got into programming something like that, though.

I...own a proper Mac. That suits me fine ♥

I own a couple locked-down Macs - an iPod Touch and a 1st Gen AppleTV. I've bought more than my fair share of content on iTunes, but I don't own a Mac. I like to try things before I buy them, so this is my way of doing that. I can't really justify buying something that may or may not meet my needs. The people I know who have a Mac love them - I want to see what the fuss is about without paying the Apple tax (though with the money I've spent on hardware and iTunes, I've probably paid the tax a few times over.....).

on one hand, im pretty against all things apple as they stand against most things i believe in morally.

but on the other, if somebody bought me one, i would probably like to have a mac chill in my room and just look pretty.

you have to admit, unix based operating systems and OLED screens go pretty sexy together ;D

My recent observations of how Apple operate is reminiscent of all the things that apple was against in their early years. (see 1984 commercial). I get the moral issues. At the same time, they seem to do things right. Closed hardware allows them to control what hardware they support, thus allowing for more stable operation. And their stuff looks nice.

I tri-boot my desktop. Win 7, Server 08, and Ubuntu.

IT or web developer? They're the only people I know that would do that. The server 08 to test server-side extension on IIS?

[D_Rainger]

Gives me a headache! I'm trying to get familiar with Windows 7. That's enough for the moment.

-DR

[Pudding]

..without paying the Apple tax.

What "Apple Tax"?~ My Macbook was comparable in price and specs to any other OEM when I brought it. My MBA I'm buying this week is not only well built an well specced, but also very affordable. The mistake people make is saying "omg netbooks are cheaper". But by mere virtue of not being horrendously crippled by the Intel Atom CPU, the Macbook Air is most certainly not a netbook. So finding an ultra portable in the same price range with comparable specs that's as well built, has an SSD and has such a generous battery life... well.. pretty tricky!~

[bbgirlmichelle]

I was mainly an Ubuntu user, I really hate Windows.

I was going to try hackintosh because I needed OSX for writing iPhone apps, I just never got around to it. I ended up getting a black macbook for nearly free so that worked for a while. I ended up starting my own business and needed a new laptop so I bought a new 15" Core i7 Macbook Pro to replace the Dell laptops I was using. I popped an SSD in it and windows 7 on a second partition and it ended up being a much faster gaming computer than my desktop.

As of now I'm a huge fan of Apple hardware and software, we shall see how that goes, for the most part it's an easy transition for a linux user, most bash tools you expect to use are already there, ssh is pre-installed, terminal works pretty much the same as linux. The 2 things that tripped me up at first is it doesn't have "Focus Follows Mouse" which I used to always turn on after installing a fresh copy of windows and linux and OSX uses the apple key for keyboard shortcuts like copy/paste where windows and linux use CTRL. Now when I go back to windows or linux I'm always hitting Windows-C to copy and messing things up.

*hugs*

Michelle

[BabyDavey]

What "Apple Tax"?~ My Macbook was comparable in price and specs to any other OEM when I brought it. My MBA I'm buying this week is not only well built an well specced, but also very affordable. The mistake people make is saying "omg netbooks are cheaper". But by mere virtue of not being horrendously crippled by the Intel Atom CPU, the Macbook Air is most certainly not a netbook. So finding an ultra portable in the same price range with comparable specs that's as well built, has an SSD and has such a generous battery life... well.. pretty tricky!~

I don't really want an MBA, though. I like a machine I can throw in the pocket behind my seat when I travel, that I can use and abuse and not feel bad about it. I'd feel some bad about denting the aluminum on that piece of art, but I wouldn't feel bad if I scratched my AAO Netbook or any other variety of $300 class netbooks. Apple does not offer what I want in an ultra portable. They're more focused on style - which is fine for some people. Trust me when I say I understand the differences between a netbook and a MBA, but I honestly don't care. If I were to buy a new ultra portable to meet my needs, I wouldn't be buying the MBA. This machine would be for the basics - Web surfing, remote desktop, email. For these things a 'horrendously crippled' Atom CPU will work just fine for me. If I need more I will use my notebook. There would be no need for me to spend an additional $700 to get a machine with the same sized screen and a smaller (but SSD) HDD. Yes the boost in battery life would be good, but not on my list of needs.

I did look at MBP when I was purchasing a laptop. But for what I wanted (15"+ screen), the MBP was entirely out of my price range (Can$2000 vs $600) with mostly comparable specs. Yes, the MacBook Pro has a better service reputation and no doubt Apple will stand behind their product better than HP (my current notebook), but I've had great luck with my machine, in all reality with all of the notebooks I have owned.

When I used to sell both Apple and PC's, I used to say my next system would be a Mac. This was back in the PPC days. When they switched to Intel, I didn't really see the advantage over traditional OEMs like HP and IBM. I think (looking at current prices) there is less of an Apple Tax today then in the past, but it's still there.

I was mainly an Ubuntu user, I really hate Windows.

I was going to try hackintosh because I needed OSX for writing iPhone apps, I just never got around to it. I ended up getting a black macbook for nearly free so that worked for a while. I ended up starting my own business and needed a new laptop so I bought a new 15" Core i7 Macbook Pro to replace the Dell laptops I was using. I popped an SSD in it and windows 7 on a second partition and it ended up being a much faster gaming computer than my desktop.

As of now I'm a huge fan of Apple hardware and software, we shall see how that goes, for the most part it's an easy transition for a linux user, most bash tools you expect to use are already there, ssh is pre-installed, terminal works pretty much the same as linux. The 2 things that tripped me up at first is it doesn't have "Focus Follows Mouse" which I used to always turn on after installing a fresh copy of windows and linux and OSX uses the apple key for keyboard shortcuts like copy/paste where windows and linux use CTRL. Now when I go back to windows or linux I'm always hitting Windows-C to copy and messing things up.

*hugs*

Michelle

Yes, I've noticed the change in shortcuts, but the transition is relatively simple for me at least.