Alternative to Hackintosh

[oscillatewildly]

Hello,

A laptop/notebook to be used by me for a year to a year and a half, then handed down with a bit of browser life left. I'll be using it for the basics - Internet, email and streaming stock prices; simple photo/video editing can wait. The budget is small for this stop gap, circa 300GBP/500USD. Which secondhand portable Mac would you get? If none, which Hackintosh notebook would you go for?

How does Linux compare to OS X for the basics? How is it for security/viruses?

I'm waiting for both SSD prices and Snow Leopard to settle down. The eventual target, if they don't transport me to the Funny Farm for the thought, is a MacBook Air.

Thank you for your help,
OW

 

[oscillatewildly]

Ho hum, it looks like Linux here I come.

 

[svndmvn]

find one that still has some warranty,a white macbook,let's say,less than a year old..but even older powerbooks/ibooks should do
linux can be a problem with peripherals,more than Macs,i mean

 

[opeter]

Ho hum, it looks like Linux here I come.

You could look at laptops like ASUS X71A series. These got different configs and are somehow buyer-pocket friendly.

 

[8767092]

How does Linux compare to OS X for the basics? How is it for security/viruses?

Linux is great. I actually run Linux on my Macbook Pro alongside OS X for tasks that I find harder in OS X.

Try Ubuntu 8.10 for a good start and choose your favorite distribution.

 

[oscillatewildly]

Thank you for the help.

How do the last 12 inch iBook and Powerbook compare to the current crop of netbooks?

(Edit - I'll ask in the iBook section. Cheers.)