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OsX86 posts

Filed under: Hardware, Portables, Hacks, How-tos, Odds and ends, Leopard

The little Leopard laptop

by Steven Sande (RSS feed) on Oct 9th, 2008



I can always tell when I'm bored, because that's when I think up some challenge for myself. The initial spark for this challenge came when I wrote a post a few months ago about how Paul O'Brien at Modaco had successfully installed Leopard on a Windows-based "netbook". TUAW's Mike Schramm further fueled the fire with this post about an Eee PC running OS X.

Netbooks are tiny laptops with a mini price tag to match. Many netbooks sell for less than $500, with 1 GB of RAM, either a 16 - 20 GB solid state disk drive or 160 GB hard disk drive, Wi-Fi, and a built-in webcam. When you consider that these little machines also weigh about the same or less than a MacBook Air, they're a bargain. However, they usually run Windows XP or Ubuntu Netbook Remix, and frankly I'd rather have good old Leopard.

Asus has been making netbooks for a while under the Eee PC moniker, while MSI (Wind), Acer (Aspire One), and even HP have jumped into this growing market recently. It wasn't until I received a direct mail catalog from Dell featuring the new Inspiron Mini 9 that I started thinking seriously about trying to load Leopard on it.

Despite the fact that I'm sure that Apple will announce a low-cost netbook soon, I ended up buying a Dell Inspiron Mini 9 netbook to install Leopard onto. The rest of this post describes how I did it using instructions and files found at various Web sites.

Continue reading “The little Leopard laptop”

Tags: features, hack, leopard, netbook, os x 86, OsX86

Filed under: OS, Open Source, Apple

Apple modifies Public Source License to thwart hackers

by David Chartier (RSS feed) on Nov 11th, 2006

The InsanelyMac Forum has a post concerning an apparent modification Apple made to their Public Source License, the license that guards the open source portions of Mac OS X such as its Unix kernel, called Darwin. The changes the InsanelyMac Forum cite seem to have been made to set up another roadblock for those who are trying to hack Mac OS X to work on non-Apple hardware, though Apple's site for the license say the latest version is dated August of 2003. Semantics aside, the changes quoted in the forum reflect the application of another fine-toothed comb to what users are not allowed to do with the source they download from Apple's site. Too bad; with Vista receiving mixed reviews, I'm sure Michael Dell would still be interested in offering customers a better choice.

Tags: hack, hackers, hacking, insanelymac, mac, open source, OpenSource, os x, oss, OsX, osx86, public source license, PublicSourceLicense

Filed under: Desktops, Hardware, Bad Apple, Apple, Mac Pro

Apple Drops Trusted Computing

by Dan Lurie (RSS feed) on Nov 2nd, 2006

When Apple announced the move to Intel processors, there was a good deal of talk regarding whether the company would make use of the content protection offered through Intel's Trusted Platform Module (TPM) to ensure OSx86 could only be run on Apple's own hardware. Although Apple did eventually include the Trusted Computing chips in the machines, it seems that they never actually used them. For some however, the mere presence of the chip without a a statement from Apple as to what it was being used for was enough to make them switch away from Macs. Amit Singh brings news that with the introduction of the Mac Pro, the TPM is absent from the motherboards of Apple's new machines; something that should lay to rest any remaining conspiratorial fears. Singh had previously released a piece of software that allowed users of machines containing the TPM to use Trusted Computing to protect their own data.

[via BoingBoing]

Tags: amit singh, AmitSingh, osx86, tpm, trusted computing module, TrustedComputingModule

Filed under: OS, Internet

OSx86 Project announces forum reorganization and upcoming name change, hints at new features

by David Chartier (RSS feed) on Jul 11th, 2006

I just received an email from the OSx86 Project announcing a few recent and upcoming changes they have and will be making to the site. Last week they reorganized the forums to make the browsing and searching process easier, but in the upcoming weeks (by the end of the month, they promise), a host of new features will debut on the site, including blogging, a picture sharing gallery and a marketplace, along with a new name: Insanely Mac. It should be interesting to see (what I believe is) the first major upgrade to the already 39K+ member forum.

Tags: code, coding, exchange, forum, hack, mac, os x, OsX, osx86, project, upcoming, update, upgrade

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hacks, Cult of Mac, Blogging

Why no Windows on Macintel? $12,000

by Victor Agreda, Jr. (RSS feed) on Feb 22nd, 2006

macintel bounty hurts dual bootingIt's an interesting and logical theory. You know that contest to see who can get Windows to run on an Intel-based Macs? According to the OSx86 project, that very contest is the reason we aren't all dual-booting right now. One argument for open source is that collaboration breeds potentially better,  or at least faster results than working in isolation. So this contest has stopped the information sharing, and developers are guarding their tricks so they can win the money. Now obviously we're all looking forward to Q or Virtual PC just doing everything in emulation. I want something like Wine, so I can use Exposé to see Outlook and IE6 alongside all my Mac apps, not virtualized inside some other OS window... But that's just me. And I tend to agree that we aren't installing Windows on Macintels because, in part, people are working alone. I still don't see what's to stop someone with real money (like a software company) from ignoring the $12,000 and developing a tool to install Windows on a Mac. I guess this will all be a moot point once the first person has done it. As long as the method and/or tool is available online I'm all for it.

[Via digg, photo via Flickr]

Tags: osx86

OSX86 Forums Closed by DMCA Violation Notice

by Damien Barrett (RSS feed) on Feb 17th, 2006

For those people attempting to get Mac OS X 10.4.x for Intel installed on machines other than Macs, the best place to get that information was the forums at the OSX86 Project. The forums are now closed indefinitely because the project was served with a DMCA violation notice and the project manager(s) are working on culling the questionable content.

The front page of the forums has been replaced with this notice:

Welcome! We're sorry to report that despite our best efforts, the OSx86 Project has been served with a DMCA violation notice. The forum will be unavailable while we evaluate its contents to remove any violations present. We thank you for your patience in this matter.

Tags: DMCA, forums, OSX86

Apple Seeks (Poetic) Justice

by Damien Barrett (RSS feed) on Feb 15th, 2006

Seems Apple has hidden a secret message to OSX86 hackers to find in the 10.4.4 build of Mac OS X for Intel. And this time it's in verse!

Your karma check for today:
There once was a user that whined
his existing OS was so blind,
he'd do better to pirate
an OS that ran great
but found his hardware declined.
Please don't steal Mac OS!
Really, that's way uncool.
(C) Apple Computer, Inc.

Sure, it's not the greatest poem, but how funny is this! I've always loved easter eggs in software and this is the best kind. The people who run OSX86 Project site have offered up their own poetic reply to Apple. You can read it at their site.

I humbly offer up my own poetic reply in the style of William Carlos Williams after the jump...

Continue reading “Apple Seeks (Poetic) Justice”

Tags: easter egg, EasterEgg, osx86, poetry

Filed under: OS, iMac, Open Source, Macbook Pro

Red Hat Linux distro to boot on Intel Macs

by Fabienne Serriere (RSS feed) on Jan 25th, 2006

They haven't mentioned exactly HOW they will make Red Hat Linux boot on the new Intel-based Macs, but a Red Hat spokesperson has confirmed they are committed to creating a distro for the new hardware. This may take a while because they haven't yet purchased any Intel Macs. Secondly Red Hat Fedora hasn't even begun to discuss whether they will be taking a grub or lilo tactic as a bootloader.

As mentioned here before, even with EFI support in existing open source tools, getting the new MacIntels to boot something other than OS X has proven tricky.

Linux support will eventually happen for the new platform (and related hardware in the new machines), but I'm not sure Red Hat will be the first distro to achieve that. As always with Linux and BSD, flame wars descend over which flavor is better. The reality is that I use different distros for different uses/machines. Anyhow, a Linux distro on a new Intel Mac may end up being many Linux distros once the bootloader troubles are resolved.

[via Ars Technica]

Tags: intel, linux, osx, osx86, redhat

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends

Contest: Dual-booting WinXP and Mac OS X on Intel Mac

by Damien Barrett (RSS feed) on Jan 22nd, 2006

Here's a guy that so badly wants to run Windows XP natively on his new Intel-based Mac that he's started a contest to pay the first person who can offer a working way to dual-boot both Mac OS X and WinXP on an Intel Mac.

I'm all for the idea of having a computer than can run any OS on the market, but I don't think dual-booting an Intel Mac is the answer. I feel a better solution is for Apple to provide a Rosetta-like translation layer (think WINE for Mac OS X) in which Windows apps can run natively. Just being able to boot your Intel Mac into WinXP does nothing for the monumental security, virus, and spyware problems that plague the Windows world, almost all of which target the OS (or applications tightly integrated into the OS).

If Apple really wants to offer a competitive alternative to Microsoft Windows, just think how attractive a computer would be that could run natively every single piece of software on the shelf (without having to reboot into a different OS which is very consumer unfriendly), and also without Windows' security problems.

Just as Microsoft is gearing up for a Windows Vista launch this summer (or Fall as the date keeps moving), Apple could really make a splash by announcing at WWDC their next version of Mac OS X with this kind of translation layer built in.

Tags: contest, osx86, windows

Filed under: OS, Software

Intel Software Development Tools Beta for Mac OS

by Fabienne Serriere (RSS feed) on Jan 16th, 2006

Intel is offering a free trial of the following products for MacIntel developers:

  • Intel® C Compiler for Mac OS
  • Intel® Fortran Compiler for Mac OS
  • Intel® Math Kernel Library for Mac OS
  • Intel® Integrated Performance Primitives for Mac OS
I'm not sure much of this would be of interest without a machine running OSx86. Also, I'd be interested to see if these are really necessary in light of the offerings Apple gives to developers. Perhaps in the interest of science someone might enlighten me to the advantages of using an Intel C compiler versus using gcc on OS X? Would the advantages be arbitrary or based on coding style?

[via Slashdot]

Tags: Beta, intel, OSx86, SoftwareDevelopment

Filed under: OS, Software, Open Source

Official Firefox version for OSx86 available in March

by Fabienne Serriere (RSS feed) on Jan 16th, 2006

ZDNet reports that an official version of Firefox for Intel Macs will be available in late March. The official release is being targeted for the release of Firefox 1.5.0.2.

If you need to run Firefox before March on your OSx86 machine, there are a few possible choices:

1. Use Apple's Rosetta to run a PowerPC version of Firefox.
2. Run the preproduction OSx86 version of Firefox Josh Aas and other Mozilla developers have been working on since last year. Note that you will be required to disable the use of Flash and will be without the use of some Java Applets with this version.

Also available in a preproduction Intel Mac OS X version on the same Mozilla wiki is their mail client, Thunderbird for OSx86.

The ZDNet article also mentions that Apple has been very helpful to Mozilla developer Josh Aas with the process of creating native builds of Mozilla software for OSx86. Props to Apple and Macromedia for cooperating with open source development!

[via ZDNet Australia]

Tags: firefox, Intel, mozilla, OfficialRelease, OSx86

Filed under: OS, Rumors, Hacks

The Hidden Message to OSx86 Trawlers

by Fabienne Serriere (RSS feed) on Jan 16th, 2006

In the MacBook Pro's version of OSx86, in /System/Library/Extensions lies a little message in a kernel extension for would-be readers:

<key>_name</key>
<string>Dont Steal Mac OS X
[...]
<string>Copyright (c) 2006 Apple Computer, Inc.  All rights reserved.

<string>The purpose of this Apple software is to protect Apple copyrighted
materials from unauthorized copying and use. You may not copy, modify,
reverse engineer, publicly display, publicly perform, sublicense,
transfer or redistribute this file, in whole or in part.  If you have
obtained a copy of this Apple software and do not have a valid license
from Apple Computer to use it, please immediately destroy or delete it
from your computer.

Given this message, I have a hunch that perhaps Steve has encouraged his team to implement other forms of copy protection into the production copies of OSx86, perhaps in the form of watermarking. Also, I haven't seen any mention of this in the Intel iMac's version of OSx86. Feel free to pontificate in the comments. Is this a warning that perhaps there are stronger measures coming to find users running OSx86 on non-Apple hardware?

[via OSx86 Project]

Tags: DontStealMacOSX, hack, message, OSx86, osx86project

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, Software, Hacks, How-tos, Cult of Mac

My day in the Mactel underground installing OS x86

by Victor Agreda, Jr. (RSS feed) on Sep 1st, 2005

osx86Last week I was listening to This Week in Tech, with the golden voice of Leo Laporte. Apparently Leo had refused a copy of os x86 that had been offered to him by some punk kids. Me? I love punk kids. They pay my bills (because I'm paid to teach them). So it was with great glee that one such punk kid let me know about a little experiment... He and some friends were going to put OS x86 on his Dell. He offered transportation to an undisclosed site where the grand plan would unfold, and I told him I'd check it out.

Brace yourself for a walk through the seamy underbelly of Macdom. Let's face it, all this business has Apple a little ruffled. And Mac purists just roll their eyes, knowing whatever comes out of Cupertino next year will be loads better than the VAIO's, Dells, and e-Machines currently sporting the little OS that could. I'm going to explain what we had to go through to get all this working, and what we had by the end of the day. Read on— if you dare!

Continue reading “My day in the Mactel underground installing OS x86”

Tags: dell, install, intel+mac, IntelMac, mactel, os+x86, OsX86

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