[El Scorcho]

I've recently been tempted to buy a Dell Mini 10v since it seems to run Mac OS X so well. However, the battery life keeps me from pulling the trigger. I thought it'd be a nice step down for casual use around the house compared to my 17" MacBook Pro. Then I realized that without the bulky 6-cell battery, the battery life is about the same. I just can't quite see the benefit to one with that being the case.

[Sly Fox]

I take it you have seen these stories about turning the 10v into a Snow Leopard machine.

Now that it appears I am heading back out on the road for the time being consulting, I am tempted myself. If these 10vs had a built-in webcam for Skype it would be the perfect travel computer for me.

[PAmedic]

I think this is the machine MrsPA informed me Santa will be bringing for the boy that lives here. Someone tell me what Santa is gonna get for the 300 he's gotta spend.

[olldflame]

I take it you have seen these stories about turning the 10v into a Snow Leopard machine.

Now that it appears I am heading back out on the road for the time being consulting, I am tempted myself. If these 10vs had a built-in webcam for Skype it would be the perfect travel computer for me.

A 1.3 MP webcam is standard on the mini 10v Sly.

http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segt ... l=en&s=dhs

[Sly Fox]

Thanks for noticing. Now comes the part where I convince Mrs. Sly that her unemployed husband NEEDS one.

[olldflame]

I'm looking at netbooks myself for something smaller to take when I travel. I'm close to pulling the trigger on a Vostro (Dell small business line) 8.9", which I can get for $219. It has the same atom 1.6 processor as most of the netbooks, but only an 8 GB solid state HD. Since it comes with Linux Ubantu I think the 8GB will be enough though. I have a 500 GB mini HD I can use for storage. Anyone (calling scorcho) know if getting a Linux machine is something a relative novice should try?

[BJWilliams]

Ive been eyeballing getting a netbook for my freelance writing next semester (that way I can quickly and easily email my stories to the paper from on site instead of having to find a computer on campus to send them from as Im doing now). I may just get a regular laptop if the options arent that prevalent for what Im looking for

[RubberMallet]

our owner just purchased his 2nd lifebook from fujitsu. its the p8020 i think. it was 1700 bucks but its top of the line specs (duo core, 160 gig) so he can use it as his everyday computer when in the office as well.

we all tried the mini 10 and the asus eeepc and they both did basic functions but sucked if you tried to load software on them.

[olldflame]

Mallet, by software, do you mean simple productivity stuff like office (or free equivilent) or something more sophisticated?

[RubberMallet]

Mallet, by software, do you mean simple productivity stuff like office (or free equivilent) or something more sophisticated?

basically anything above browsing/skype/email/office and it sucks as el scorcho mentioned.

[El Scorcho]

I take it you have seen these stories about turning the 10v into a Snow Leopard machine.

I'd seen the stuff about the Mini 9's previously, but the recent articles about how easy it was with the 10v's and Snow Leopard really caught my eye, yes. However, it seems Apple has fixed this little Dell compatibility problem they were having by yanking support for Atom processors out of the 10.6.2 update.

Can't say that I blame them.

[Sly Fox]

I'm giving serious consideration to a 10v now. Despite Mrs. Sly's experience in Round Rock their netbook appears to the best option available. Man, HP is trying to practically give theirs away and their laptop division is close by my house.

[mrmacphisto]

Anyone know if getting a Linux machine is something a relative novice should try?

I've toyed around with various versions of Linux, and I'm a slightly above average user. Ubuntu has a really nice looking interface that is generally easy to use if it's been set up properly, but it's not nearly as intuitive as Mac OS or even Windows. Despite looking a lot like the more popular OSes, In my experience, it's still an operating system that takes a relative expert to use effectively.

I'm getting an HP netbook for Christmas, and I'm pretty excited. I need something I can use on the go or on the couch, and my iBook G4 is pretty much chained to my desk in my bedroom because of battery life and slowness. At least with the netbook, I'll have four times the hard drive space, a card reader, and hopefully enough computing power to watch YouTube videos.

[El Scorcho]

I take it you have seen these stories about turning the 10v into a Snow Leopard machine.

I'd seen the stuff about the Mini 9's previously, but the recent articles about how easy it was with the 10v's and Snow Leopard really caught my eye, yes. However, it seems Apple has fixed this little Dell compatibility problem they were having by yanking support for Atom processors out of the 10.6.2 update.

Can't say that I blame them.

Glad that this thread was bumped. What I said above appears to have just been a scare. The latest developer build of 10.6.2 has Atom support again, so the Dell Mini 10v is Mac OS X compatible again. And tempting me...if not for that darned giant battery.

[Sly Fox]

Its looking more & more like I'll be getting a 10v soon. having diddled around on Snow Leopard at work, I'm not sure its worth the trouble to me in order to hackify the netbook. I'd like to have Windows 7 on one.

[El Scorcho]

Its looking more & more like I'll be getting a 10v soon. having diddled around on Snow Leopard at work, I'm not sure its worth the trouble to me in order to hackify the netbook. I'd like to have Windows 7 on one.

It's really not much trouble anymore. There are a couple of extra steps but the folks in the Mini community have written a single-click installer that does all of the stuff that used to be painful. That's what has me so tempted now. Easy is what grabs me.

Having said that, if I was a Windows person I'd absolutely just take 7 on it.

[Sly Fox]

Then again, Apple playing nice with anyone else is counterintuitive ...

Confirmed: Snow Leopard Update Kills Atom Hackintoshes

* By Charlie Sorrel Email Author
* November 10, 2009 |

Just as we feared, the latest update to Snow Leopard, version 10.6.2, drops support for the Intel Atom processor. This means that anyone with a “hackintosh” who tries to update to the latest operating system version will see their computer die, going no further than the gray Apple logo on startup.

The reports are lighting up the various hackintosh forums, and OSx86 co-author Stellarolla sums it up thusly:

• Well, looks like I was right, again. The netbook forums are now blowing up with problems of 10.6.2 instant rebooting their Atom based netbooks. My sources tell me that every time a netbook user installs 10.6.2 an Apple employee gets their wings.

Click Here for Full Story

[mrmacphisto]

Ridiculous. I'm guessing a person could just install an older version of Snow Leopard and stick with it, no updates, right? At least until someone comes up with a patch.

[El Scorcho]

Ridiculous.

Why?

I'm guessing a person could just install an older version of Snow Leopard and stick with it, no updates, right? At least until someone comes up with a patch.

Yes. The folks over at MyDellMini.com have already got it covered, though. It's not one-click yet but give it another day or two. They'll work around it.

[mrmacphisto]

Ridiculous.

Why?

I guess I just don't like how over-protective corporations are over the use of their products.

I'm guessing a person could just install an older version of Snow Leopard and stick with it, no updates, right? At least until someone comes up with a patch.

Yes. The folks over at MyDellMini.com have already got it covered, though. It's not one-click yet but give it another day or two. They'll work around it.

The moral of the story? Don't download updates until you know how it will affect functionality.

[El Scorcho]

Ridiculous.

Why?

I guess I just don't like how over-protective corporations are over the use of their products.

No one even knows if Apple did it intentionally. It's much more likely that they changed something that all of the processors in Macs support that the Atom doesn't. (SSE instructions for example.) Support for the Atom is broken? Big deal. What does Apple care? They don't have any products that use the Atom.

Even if they did it completely intentionally, I can hardly blame them for protecting their revenue stream. Apple is a hardware company. That's where all of their revenue comes from and their posting record profits quarter after quarter. That's what business is about.

[flamesbball84]

No one even knows if Apple did it intentionally. It's much more likely that they changed something that all of the processors in Macs support that the Atom doesn't. (SSE instructions for example.) Support for the Atom is broken? Big deal. What does Apple care? They don't have any products that use the Atom.

Even if they did it completely intentionally, I can hardly blame them for protecting their revenue stream. Apple is a hardware company. That's where all of their revenue comes from and their posting record profits quarter after quarter. That's what business is about.

Kinda like how they "conveniently" unintentionally block palm pre syncing in iTunes everytime they release an iTunes update?

[El Scorcho]

No one even knows if Apple did it intentionally. It's much more likely that they changed something that all of the processors in Macs support that the Atom doesn't. (SSE instructions for example.) Support for the Atom is broken? Big deal. What does Apple care? They don't have any products that use the Atom.

Even if they did it completely intentionally, I can hardly blame them for protecting their revenue stream. Apple is a hardware company. That's where all of their revenue comes from and their posting record profits quarter after quarter. That's what business is about.

Kinda like how they "conveniently" unintentionally block palm pre syncing in iTunes everytime they release an iTunes update?

They've never said it was unintentional and I don't think anyone believes that it is. The problem with the Atom processors may or may not be intentional (though I do legitimately believe it could be either way), but my point stands. They're a hardware company that supports a very limited subset of hardware. All they care about is selling that hardware and making sure it works well. If the Palm Pre can't sync with iTunes and Dell netbooks with Atom processors can't run Mac OS X, what do they care? Record profits quarter after quarter.

[Liberty4Life]

My wife wants a netbook. but I'm telling her to hold off: when the Apple Tablet (or whatever it's called) is released, that'll probably re-shape the market for small, light, portable computers.

[mrmacphisto]

No one even knows if Apple did it intentionally. It's much more likely that they changed something that all of the processors in Macs support that the Atom doesn't. (SSE instructions for example.) Support for the Atom is broken? Big deal. What does Apple care? They don't have any products that use the Atom.

Even if they did it completely intentionally, I can hardly blame them for protecting their revenue stream. Apple is a hardware company. That's where all of their revenue comes from and their posting record profits quarter after quarter. That's what business is about.

Kinda like how they "conveniently" unintentionally block palm pre syncing in iTunes everytime they release an iTunes update?

They've never said it was unintentional and I don't think anyone believes that it is. The problem with the Atom processors may or may not be intentional (though I do legitimately believe it could be either way), but my point stands. They're a hardware company that supports a very limited subset of hardware. All they care about is selling that hardware and making sure it works well. If the Palm Pre can't sync with iTunes and Dell netbooks with Atom processors can't run Mac OS X, what do they care? Record profits quarter after quarter.

Seems kind of ruthless, and somewhat of a double standard, that they boast about Macs being able to run Windows but seem to be taking conscious measures (somewhat debatable, I know) to see that PCs are unable to run Mac OS. Business is business, but it doesn't mean I have to like it.

On another note, somewhat on-topic, has anyone here had success triple booting Mac OS, Windows and Linux?