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Is It An Xbox or Mac?

Cory Bohon — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:38:15 -0600

A new hackintosh might make some Mac users--and Xbox users--jealous.

Engadget reports on a hackintosh system built by Will Urbina that has an interesting case design. It is the power of a $4,500 Mac Pro in an Xbox case.

This hackintosh features a 2.93GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550s, NVIDIA GeForce 9800GT card, 8GB of RAM, an 16GB SSD, and four traditional hard drives and was built for only $1,500 plus the many hours required for achieving this awesome mod.

Check out Will's website where you can find more information about this mod. You can also see a video below of the building magic happening.

Podcast #115: 10.6.2 Fixes Bugs and Kills Hackintoshes and Caricatures Rejected by Apple

Mac|Life Staff — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:12:06 -0600

The latest OS X update has dropped and it fixes the dreaded guest account bug. It also kills hackintosh netbooks with it's lack of Intel Atom processor support.

The super-speedy quad-core 27-inch iMacs begin shipping this week and the staff find at least two uses for it not advertised by Apple.

Got a question, but you're afraid to leave a voice message because of Witness Relocation Dept. rules? Drop us a question via Twitter twitter.com/maclife.

This week's Battlestar Applactica picks:

B.iCycle - $9.99

Catan: The First Island - $4.99

Touch Pets Dogs - $1.99

Don't forget, the Mac|Life staff would love to hear your thoughts, comments and ideas for the new podcast. Just leave a message on the Mac|Live question/comment line: (877) 404-1337, extension 622. Please limit the length of your messages to 1 minute max. We'll review these calls each week and feature our favorites, along with responses, on that week's podcast.

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The Day The Hackintosh Netbook Died: 11-09-09

Cory Bohon — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:52:02 -0600

You can almost hear the words echoed by Hackintosh netbook owners around the world: "We are here today to celebrate the life that was the Hackintosh netbook."

It's official: Apple has indeed killed support for the Intel Atom processor, as leaked before the ill-fated 10.6.2 Snow Leopard update was released yesterday.

OS X Daily reports that many Hackintosh netbook owners found that after installing the update their tiny computers wouldn't even boot past the Apple logo without hanging up.

It goes without saying, but if you have a Hackintosh netbook, you will not want to install the latest update if you wish to keep your machine in working order.

For Macintosh owners, however, the 10.6.2 update does provide some important bug fixes. You can read more about the Snow Leopard update here.

Apple To Kill The Hackintosh Netbook Dream?

Cory Bohon — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:01:05 -0600

According to developer rumblings, the Hackintosh netbook could be a thing of the past if Apple has anything to do with it.

The Hackintosh netbook has flourished as OS X users fill the netbook gap left by Apple. Sure, they might have violated the DMCA, and ended up with cramped keyboards, but they brought a dream to life.

According to OS X Daily, Apple could be killing support for the Intel Atom processor (the small processor that makes many netbooks tick) with the next Mac OS X 10.6 update (10.6.2).

If you have a Intel Atom Hackintosh netbook, we'd advise that you not update to the next iteration of Snow Leopard until this information can be verified. Or you could just wait until the Hackintosh community comes up with a new way to boot your netbook with Snow Leopard.

OS X Daily via Engadget

Psytar Launches Another Mac Clone, Despite Ongoing Lawsuit

Florence Ion — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:05:08 -0500

Psystar has launched another Mac Clone system. Dubbed the Open(3), the system packs a 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM, a 500GB harddrive, a DVD burner, and a GeForce 8400 GS, all contained in a slimline case. It can also be upgraded to a 2.53GHz Core 2 Quad processor as well as 4GB of memory, 2TB of storage and a GeForce 9500 GT graphics processor.

The stock model of the Open(3) costs just $600 and comes with options for 802.11n Wi-Fi as well as three FireWire 800 ports or a USB Bluetooth adapter.

Both systems ship today despite the ongoing lawsuit between the Florida-based Mac cloners and Apple, Inc.

Hackintosh Netbook Chart

John Pitko — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 11:00:51 -0600

Hackintosh netbooks are all the rage these days. But which one should you get? The fine folks at Boing Boing Gadget put together a nice chart of the most popular netbooks and their hackintosh compatibility.

No surprise, the MSI Wind is still your the best bet for netbook nirvana. Remember, you're still violating Apple's End User License Agreement, and all actions are still considered at your own risk.

You'll need a hacked version of OS X and some sort of external DVD or USB drive to put forth your master plan. It's a start, and with the user base updating the procedures in various forums, the transition becomes smoother each day.

If you have a netbook and have an itch to cause some havok, check out Boing Boing's full article and list of how-to links.

Podcast #69: iPhone and Netbook Hacks and App Store Rejects Return

Roberto Baldwin — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 22:57:30 -0600

The iPhone has been unlocked just in time for OS X 10.5.6 to break DFU mode making the unlocking tool worthless. Third party vendor releases driver for hackingtosh netbooks, and finally Pull My Finger returns to the App Store. Huzzah!

That's right, another holiday song is chosen for our weekly, "Keep or Delete." Each week we download and review the free iTunes song of the week and decide whether we're going to keep or delete the file. This week's artist:

Sarah Brightman - Silent Night

To subscribe to the Mac|Live podcast series through an RSS feed, click here; if you want to subscribe through the iTunes Store, click here.

MSI Wind Driver Enables Netbook Hackers

John Pitko — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 02:27:34 -0600

With economy not doing so hot, and people running low on funds, what is the next best thing for a Mac fan? Make your own Hackintosh netbook.

The MSI's U100 Wind and other netbooks have been turning heads since enterprising folks decided to install Leopard on them. Each passing month, new drivers and updates surface to make the transition from netbook to hackintoshbook seem easier.

A big win was the latest OSX driver from Realtek for the internal RTL8187SE wireless card in the MSI U100 Wind. Up until now, people suggested buying and installing a Dell 1490 wireless mini pci-e card that was compatible with OSX. This new "not quite authorized" driver makes use of the card already inside and makes the MSI Wind the netbook of choice for hacking.

The RTL8187SE doesn’t show up as an Airport card, but does provide full Wi-Fi functionality for OS X Wind users. It's still not an official driver, a curious user emailed the Realtek developers for help, and in return, got a driver for the card to work. Along with the driver came a WLAN Client Utility that makes the connection easier.

Hacking the MSI Wind probably voids something and installing OS X on anything other than Apple-branded hardware is still a big no-no, but this might be the push Apple needs to create their own netbook for Mac users.