It can't be denied; NetBoot is cool. Even though Apple's network startup technology is mostly aimed at big educational and corporate deployments, it can be helpful in a small gaggle of Macs as a tool for diagnostic boot or machine imaging. There's a price to be paid, though: by default, you need Mac OS X Server (starting at $499 retail for a 10-client license) to provide the various bits of plumbing needed for a successful NetBoot deployment.

Enter Jeff McCune of Ohio State, with help from Christopher Suleski at Rutgers. Sensing the inherent injustice in this situation, Jeff has written up a thorough guide to getting NetBoot working with a Linux server, using the CentOS distribution and a slew of open source tools. While previous guides have tackled NetBooting OS 9 clients from a Linux server, this is the first I've seen that addresses OS X for both PPC and Intel machines. Grab an old PC with two Ethernet cards and you're on your way to NetBoot nirvana.

Keep in mind that this is not a project for the faint of heart or wary of the CLI. As McCune indicates on his wiki, even experienced UNIX admins would probably spend a few hours getting everything just right. Compare your time cost vs. the old G4 tower you could probably draft into service and the price of a 10.4 Server 10-user license... you do the math.

[via Macenterprise.org mailing list]

Update 3:30 pm Sat: "Read" link corrected below via tinyurl (it's HTTPS, so it has to be redirected).

Of all the people who could create a Universal OS X boot disk (*cough* Apple *cough*), is anyone surprised that MacOSXHints (as far as I know) got there first? Top it off with the fact that they also created a NetBoot image and, well... now they're just making everyone else look bad (*cough!*).

This article at MacOSXHints describes the first half of the process - creating a Universal, bootable image of OS X - and it sounds pretty darn easy. The second step - enabling the Universal image with NetBoot superpowers - is right here. I haven't used either of these (since I don't have a shiny Intel Mac anyway), but they both sound like pretty simple little tricks. Enjoy.

For today's TUAW Tip, I thought I'd cover some of the basic essentials for starting up your Mac, especially for recent switchers who feel naked and lost without their BIOS. I compiled the list I have here from Magical Macintosh Key Sequences (which Dave mentioned last September), Apple's own keyboard shortcut documentation and personal experience:

• X during startup - Force Mac OS X startup
• option - (eventually) brings up a screen with startup volume choices
  
• Option-Command-Shift-Delete - Bypass primary startup volume and seek a different startup volume (such as a CD or external disk)
• C - Start up from a CD that has a system folder
• N  - Attempt to start up from a compatible network server (NetBoot)
• T - Start up in FireWire Target Disk mode (very handy for plugging your Mac into another as an external hard drive)
  
• Shift - start up in Safe Boot mode and temporarily disable login items and non-essential kernel extension files (Mac OS X 10.2 and later)
• Command-V - Start up in Verbose mode.
• Command-S - Start up in Single-User mode
• cmd-opt-p-r - Zap PRAM. Hold down until second chime.
• cmd-opt-n-v - Clear NV RAM. Similar to reset-all in Open Firmware.
• cmd-opt-o-f - Boot into open firmware
• hold mouse click - force eject a CD/DVD

While this by no means is a definitive list (and I'm not sure if every one transfers over to the new Intel Macs), it should get you started with what your Mac is capable of on startup. Feel free to add your own in the comments. One word of caution, however: some of these shortcuts aren't meant to be used on a daily basis. For example, Apple doesn't recommend (and neither do I) that you use the Zap PRAM or Clear NV RAM shortcuts any old time your Mac starts acting funny; those are mainly for situation-specific troubleshooting circumstances.