Hackintoshing

[emmline]

Has anyone ever done this?
The concept intrigues me. I rarely purchase a piece of technology unless it was something I wanted before they invented it. Then, when someone invents it, which they almost always do, I think about it for a year or so, watch how it performs, then I buy.

I have been wanting an easily portable word processing device. Even my MacBook Pro is a bit clunky to tuck easily into the kind of bags I'm inclined to tote (small ones,) and I have been covetous of netbooks ever since I first saw one in a Starbucks on the corner of Rolling Road and Route 40 in Catonsville. That was a couple years ago. I don't want a netbook though, because I'm accustomed to and prefer Macs, and if I used something else for on-the-road, I'd want it to be easily compatible with my MacBook.

I'm interested in iPads, but until I get to see and play with one in person, I will not be convinced that a tablet-style device is going to be as pleasing a thing to write with as a bi-fold, screen-up, real keyboard netbook. (and I don't want the first generation anyway.)

This hackintoshed Dell Mini 10v, running Snow Leopard looks almost too good to be believed.
Opinions?

[s1m0n]

I'd do it, if I was a Mac person.

[fearfaoin]

I'm about to try to put full-blown OS X
on my AppleTV (I'm fed up with Boxee's
slow flash player on that device). So,
that's pretty similar. It should be fun.
If I had a spare netbook lying around,
I'd probably be contributing to the
project. It's a cool idea.

There's a lot of Googleable info. Here's
a netbook-specific page (the Hardware
tips are good).
http://osx.mechdrew.com/guides/

I have been wanting an easily portable word processing device. Even my MacBook Pro is a bit clunky to tuck easily into the kind of bags I'm inclined to tote (small ones,) and I have been covetous of netbooks ever since I first saw one in a Starbucks on the corner of Rolling Road and Route 40 in Catonsville. That was a couple years ago. I don't want a netbook though, because I'm accustomed to and prefer Macs, and if I used something else for on-the-road, I'd want it to be easily compatible with my MacBook.

Have you thought about the Air?
http://www.apple.com/macbookair/

[emmline]

The Air is lightweight, but the length and width dimensions are still more awkward than a netbook.
There is also this: Macbook Airs start at $1500!!
A Dell Mini 10v is somewhere under $300, and the fresh copy of Snow Leopard you need to install is $50 or so.

I just got this notion a couple days ago, while admiring the netbooks a couple of the kids in my Japanese class
were toting. The guy told me to Google this conversion idea. It was the first I'd heard of it.

[gonzo914]

I just got this notion a couple days ago, while admiring the netbooks a couple of the kids in my Japanese class were toting.

If those are college kids, then just pay attention because sooner or later, one of them will walk off and leave their backpack unattended long enough for you to replace that netbook with an old World Book (volume Q should be about the right size), then leg it out of the room with it under your coat.

But if they really are kids, that would just be wrong.

[fearfaoin]

The Air is lightweight, but the length and width dimensions are still more awkward than a netbook.
There is also this: Macbook Airs start at $1500!!
A Dell Mini 10v is somewhere under $300, and the fresh copy of Snow Leopard you need to install is $50 or so.

True. It depends on what value you place on your
time and sanity. The process is not nearly as easy
as just slapping OS X on a netbook, and updates
will be slow to catch up, or might turn Hackintoshes
into bricks (this being an avenue that Apple wants
to keep from flourishing). You won't get any support,
though getting up a running Hackintosh may mean
you have already acquired the skills to support
yourself with the help of web searches/forums.

It can be a frustrating hobby, but rewarding. I did
a lot of it with Linux in my college days. You just
need to know what you're getting into and have
backup machines for when you need to do something
but don't have time to fix your Hackintosh which just
lost it's lunch.

Another option is to hack up OS X to run in VMWare
on a Windows 7 machine. VMWare is an emulator that
allows you to run another operating system in a window
(like Parallels for the Mac). Though, I'm not sure any
current netbooks are powerful enough for that to be
a palatable computing experience.
http://www.redmondpie.com/how-to-instal ... 7-9140301/

[emmline]

True. It depends on what value you place on your
time and sanity.

Point.

I wonder though...if the thing turned into a headache-inducing fiasco, could not one reinstall the original OS that came
with the Dell, and have a usable PC?

[fearfaoin]

I wonder though...if the thing turned into a headache-inducing fiasco, could not one reinstall the original OS that came
with the Dell, and have a usable PC?

It depends. Manufacturers of Windows
machines have gotten into the unfortunate
habit of creating a "rescue partition" that
can be used to return a machine to its
original state instead of providing an install
CD for windows (I guess it's an anti-pirating
measure). So as long as you don't accidentally
blow away the rescue partition you can revert
to the original OS easily.

If the machine comes with an install disc, or if
the manufacturer will give you one by request,
that's the ideal.

Of course, you could also get a Linux distro that
fits on a USB thumbdrive that you could use as
a backup OS anytime you need it...

[mutepointe]

My MIL always says she'll wait to get new technology when they give the item out free when a person opens a new checking account. This summer, the local car dealers were giving out free DVD players with a test drive. How much did you pay for your first DVD player and how long ago was that?

[emmline]

How much did you pay for your first DVD player and how long ago was that?

I don't remember, but usually I'm pretty cheap.

When it comes down to it, even if the Gizmodo instructions seem completely simple and step by step, I don't
have the chops (not a single chop, in fact) to handle one deviation from what's "supposed to happen." So, this is
probably a bad idea for me, no matter how nifty it sounds in theory.

[BillChin]

Why not just get a cheap Windows or Linux based netbook and give it a go? Some are less than $200 new now, and that is all that is needed for word processing. That seems like a lot less money and headache than what is proposed. The operating system is not a big hurdle despite the Apple ads.

I am under the impression that a person can save the files as Txt or Rtf on a USB drive and any computer will be able to read them, no? Wouldn't Linux, Windows, Mac, all be able to see those kind of files?

In the worst case if there are file problems, a person can cut and paste pure text into email drafts if need be, and then read and paste into the master document on the main machine. Synching the two machines is always going to be an issue anyway, no matter the operating system. For pure prose, novel or novella length, how hard could it be?

Again, the operating system doesn't seem like much of an issue for writers. Just turn on the machine, fire up the wordprocessor and start typing. The operating system isn't going to make that experience all that different. The keyboard and screen will be much more important than the OS. I think the files will be compatible, but the worst case is to email the new text at the end of the day and paste that into the main document. That's five minutes tops.

To me, the simple and cheap solution beats dealing with a hacked system with no support and lots of work to set it up, or contributing another $1500 to the Steve Jobs billionaire fund.

[emmline]

Your point is absolutely valid, Bill. It just looked cool, but I sure don't need the headache.
As for cross-compatibility, all it takes is Microsoft Word for Mac, and I've got that.

[fearfaoin]

I was pretty discouraging above, largely
because I wanted you to know that it's
possible for it not to go smoothly. But I
was looking over the steps, and it's
surprisingly uncomplicated. The hardest
part (that is, the part with the most error
potential) is if you have to change the
BIOS to an earlier version, and changing
the driver for the touchpad... But those
seem easy enough compared to the stuff
I used to do to get Linux on an old machine.

If you suddenly wake up and decide to do
this, I'd be glad to help as much as possible
from afar (it'd be easy if I were local to you
but alas...)

[izzarina]

It does look uncomplicated for the most part. My daughter got a netbook to take with her to France (much easier to carry in a carry-on bag), and we *almost* did the Hackintosh thing with it. But then, Mr Izz decided against it because if something were to go wrong, she wouldn't be close by so he could fix it for her. The thing that seemed cool about it was that all the "bugs" were chronicled somewhere, so if there had been a problem, there was someone who had already btdt, and was telling you how to fix it. I think Mr Izz is still considering trying it out when she's back home for good in June. I'll report back, if he does