Holiday Gift Guide: Hackintoshable Dell Mini 10v
Update: This deal seems to be dead for now, possibly until Friday. (Apparently the TUAWlanche we set off hit the "LIMITED QUANTITIES AT THIS PRICE" limit.) We will update the post when and if it goes live again.Later Update: It's baaaaaaaaaack. Link & code seem to be working again. Guess we didn't completely TUAWcide the deal.
For shoppers in the US, Black Friday is right around the corner. With it, of course, are lots of deals, including many that don't make you wait for Friday.
Dell is currently offering the highly Hackintoshable Mini 10v unit for just $229 shipped (it's $20 more for Bluetooth, which you have to opt out of; there are many other options configurable as you set up your unit). Here's a typical order, with the lowest end processor and free shipping.
1 Inspiron Mini 10v 1 Intel Atom Processor N270 (1.6GHz/533Mhz FSB/512K cache) 1 1GB DDR2 SDRAM 1 10.1" Widescreen Display (1024x600) 1 Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 950 1 160GB, 2.5inch, 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive 1 Obsidian Black 1 Wireless 802.11g (1397) Mini Card 1 Integrated 1.3M Pixel Webcam 1 24WHr Lithium-Ion Battery (3-cell) 1 1Yr Ltd Warranty and Mail-In Service 1 1Yr LoJack for Laptops Theft Protection Save $139 off this Dell Mini 10 ! - $139.00 Order Subtotal: $229.00 Shipping and Handling Total: $8.00 Shipping Discount: -$8.00 Tax Total: $17.68 Total Amount: $246.68Add in a Leopard license (plus an optional Snow Leopard license on top of that) and you still have a very reasonably priced system. If you have a monitor, keyboard and mouse on hand, and the Mini 10v makes an excellent and highly affordable kids' computer to replace an older Mac system.
Note that Apple's EULA, as recently affirmed by the California courts, does prohibit you from installing the copy of Leopard you purchase on anything other than Apple hardware, meaning that you Hackintosh your system at your own risk (legal and technical).
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Freak Mojo said 8:38AM on 11-25-2009
This is the only netbook I've got my eye on for Black Friday and for exactly this reason. I figured this was the safer bet out of all the netbooks options out there, plus not having to brave the madness.
One question: Bluetooth or no bluetooth? I find it convenient, but not necessarily a must have. But I don't know if it would be a benefit in this type of machine.
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Aron Trimble said 9:27AM on 11-25-2009
Bluetooth is neat, but it would be just another driver to pray for when installing any updates.
For me? I'm going to drop the bluetooth and upgrade the processor. At a net increase of $5 I think it'll be worth it.
Freak Mojo said 9:33AM on 11-25-2009
Good point Aron. I didn't think about the driver thing. I'd much rather have a relatively upgraded processor, even if it's just a slight spec bump.
Where would I get RAM upgrades? How far can I really get on 1GB. I really just want to run OSX and maybe iWork.
Michael Jones said 10:21AM on 11-25-2009
FWIW, I've found that many Bluetooth chipsets share a fairly common core. I've used a couple of USB dongles, as well as a Dell 350 Bluetooth add-on, and all worked natively and flawlessly with OS X.
I have seen cases where you might need to disconnect and reconnect the adapter if OS X stops seeing it, but other than that no issues here.
Michael Jones said 10:31AM on 11-25-2009
Hmm.... looks like the 10v's Bluetooth chipset is known to work, but it may take a little tinkering:
http://forum.kismac-ng.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1255&p=9178
One post there suggests that you have to load Ubuntu and enable BT using a Dell app, while one of the others mentioned needing a driver, so it looks like one of those YMMV things.
My suggestion? Skip the Bluetooth module, then swing by your local Walmart. They have a micro-USB bluetooth dongle (seriously, the thing is tiny, and hardly noticeable when plugged in) that worked out of the box for me. They run about $20, so it comes out the same, but then you have something that works and can easily be removed when you don't need it.
It's an IoGear GBU421:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10299060
Aron Trimble said 11:01AM on 11-25-2009
Mike, that settles it! I'm definitely going to nix the bluetooth and upgrade to the N280.
If I need bluetooth, I'll grab that IoGear dongle.
John.B said 11:25AM on 11-25-2009
It would be worth tinkering with a bluetooth driver or two to get easy access to a full-sized, unwired keyboard and mouse. IMO.
Dave said 3:06PM on 11-25-2009
Bluetooth generally works fine with the Dell Mini's when hackintoshing. I had the internal Bluetooth option with my Mini 9 and it worked flawlessly with OS X 10.5. With my Mini 10v, I didn't have the option for internal Bluetooth so I opted for an external Belkin USB Bluetooth adapter. It also works flawlessly (in OS 10.6).
There is an option in the BIOS to disable Bluetooth on the Mini's. It's better to get it and have the option than not get it and regret it. I mean, it's only a $20 difference.
Mike Hill said 9:22PM on 12-06-2009
The RAM in the Mini 10 is not upgradeable, it is soldered in place. I would opt for the Bluetooth.
I have several Dell Mini 9 systems performance is not bad, keep in mind these are low cost, lower power systems. I've also upgraded the RAM in mine to 4GB.
http://www.ubuntumini.com/
This site has a lot of information regarding the Dell Mini.
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Jelly said 9:11AM on 11-25-2009
I bought one to use at Uni. Ordered it about a week ago, came yesterday midday. Had it hackintoshed by 6PM, and then sorted how i like my macs (istat, office etc), and was using it in lectures at 9AM today :)
Absolutely brilliant bit of kit, well worth the money. The UK one doesn't have an option for bluetooth annoyingly, but you can buy them aftermarket. I'd only use it for tethering my iphone, so i'll probably buy the module next time i go away and there's no internet.
Things that i learnt in the process that you lot might find useful -
NBI (netbook installer) is a wonderful piece of software, but is slightly buggy for people installing on A04 BIOS machines, you have to apply the latest stable release (0.8.2 if i remember correctly), then the latest RC (0.8.3 i think...) without restarting inbetween to have bios options stick (and you need to turn off legacy usb support to have sleep work).
Check out the guide on gizmodo for a very nicely written how-to.
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Freak Mojo said 9:22AM on 11-25-2009
Thanks Jelly - Sounds like a nice endorsement for it. All the other Black Friday netbook deals don't seem to be as hackintosh-friendly.
One question though. If it all goes wrong, can I just reinstall the stuff that it came with?
THJ said 4:55PM on 11-25-2009
You just convinced me. Total was $309 shipped (pre-tax), with proc bump, BT, 6 cell battery. Tethered to an iPhone this should be a sweet little machine.
vandil said 9:11AM on 11-25-2009
I love how you ensure you satisfied the Snow Leopard EULA regarding pricing (must buy Leopard and then an upgrade for Snow Leopard), but then cited case law regarding the fact that you cannot legally install any Mac OS on non-Apple hardware.
Sorry, you can't have your cake and eat it, too.
I think anyone reading about Hackintoshing knows the dark path they're treading down. No need for theatrics.
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Jeffbbs said 9:27AM on 11-25-2009
I think the point is that stealing leopard, while awesome, is clearly stealing and illegal, but buying leopard and installing it on a non-mac is illegal but pretty dumb that its illegal.
Jose said 11:37AM on 11-25-2009
Jeffbbs, just a clarification. Installing Leopard (or Snow Leopard) on non-Macs is not illegal; it's agains the EULA, which is breach of contract. In other words, you cannot go to jail or pay a fine ot the state, but you may have to pay damages to Apple.
It's important to keep the distinction between illegal acts and contract breach acts.
Kelmon said 9:21AM on 11-25-2009
Why would you bother buying a copy of Leopard if you are going to install Snow Leopard? It isn't necessary except in the license agreement, which you are breaking anyway. This seems like an odd statement, plus you can't actually buy 10.5 anymore from Apple.
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Freak Mojo said 9:23AM on 11-25-2009
I was wondering if you had to start with Leopard before moving to Snow Leopard since SL was technically an update.
Kelmon said 9:26AM on 11-25-2009
No. I can confirm that you do not need Leopard in order to install Snow Leopard as I performed a clean install using only the Snow Leopard disk on a new hard drive that I had bought for my MBP at the same time. You do not need to have installed Leopard first and there are no checks performed during the installation process for your Leopard disk.
Freak Mojo said 9:31AM on 11-25-2009
Perfect! Thanks for the info. I'll be following the Gizmodo guide when I go forth :)
Charli said 10:03AM on 11-25-2009
you are correct on that. you are breaking the license and Apple's court affirmed rights to restrict just by installing anything so why bother with the 'correctness' of a leopard license. just buy Snow Leopard for $29 and be done with it.
although what was NOT mentioned is that Atom support is no longer present in Snow Leopard and had to be hacked for the latest online update and will likely have to be for every other update. worth noting if you are going to be thorough.