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Microsoft Surface Pro Hacked to Run OS X...Maybe
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Can it do Snow Leopard? Then we'd really be talking 
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Cool that with the scarce supply the hacker types have managed to get Pros; gonna be quite a wait here I'd say. I'd be all about waiting for Haswell except one can't be sure Surface will get a rev b.
.Cool that with the scarce supply the hacker types have managed to get Pros; gonna be quite a wait here I'd say. I'd be all about waiting for Haswell except one can't be sure Surface will get a rev b
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Touchscreen for an OS that is not designed for a touchscreen! Seriously i don't know what is it with people!!
Yeah. Wacom Drivers. OSX supports stylus and touch inputs through it same as Windows.
I don't think it depends on the os, but the hardware and resulting drivers.
Here's another take that has been around for a while
http://gizmodo.com/363137/axiotron-modbook-review-verdict-a-touchscreen-macbook-done-right
As was mentioned before (though challenged with out actual refutation) the surface has a locked down firmware to prevent just such abominations.
"The Microsoft Surface is a fairly attractive bit of tablet hardware, and as a result people have shown interest in running Linux on it. The immediate problem is that (like many ARM devices) it has a locked-down firmware that will only run signed binaries - unlike many other ARM devices, this is implemented using an existing standard (UEFI Secure Boot). Microsoft provide a signing service for UEFI binaries, so it's tempting to think that getting around this restriction would be as simple as taking an existing Linux bootloader, signing it and then booting. Unfortunately Microsoft's signing service signs binaries using a different key (the "Microsoft Windows UEFI Driver Publisher" key) to the one used to sign Windows, and the Surface doesn't carry that key. Booting Linux on these devices would involve finding a flaw in the firmware and using that to run arbitrary code."
Hence I renew my cry of "BS".
source: http://mjg59.dreamwidth.org/21189.html
"The Microsoft Surface is a fairly attractive bit of tablet hardware, and as a result people have shown interest in running Linux on it. The immediate problem is that (like many ARM devices) it has a locked-down firmware that will only run signed binaries - unlike many other ARM devices, this is implemented using an existing standard (UEFI Secure Boot). Microsoft provide a signing service for UEFI binaries, so it's tempting to think that getting around this restriction would be as simple as taking an existing Linux bootloader, signing it and then booting. Unfortunately Microsoft's signing service signs binaries using a different key (the "Microsoft Windows UEFI Driver Publisher" key) to the one used to sign Windows, and the Surface doesn't carry that key. Booting Linux on these devices would involve finding a flaw in the firmware and using that to run arbitrary code."
Hence I renew my cry of "BS".
source: http://mjg59.dreamwidth.org/21189.html
The article's talking about the RT. The Pro doesn't have a locked bootloader.
So this means that, yes, it could be easily hackintoshed.
Who says he's not using a touch driver? Lilliput, eGalax and touchkit all have working touch input drivers for Mac OS X.
That quote is talking about the ARM based surface. We are talking about the intel based surface pro here, which isn't too different from a MacBook Air (CPU/chipset wise).
So this should all be possible and you can buy mac based tablets at the moment (look up modbook). But of course that doesn't mean this is real.
It's basically the same way the Axiotron gets stylus/touch support into OSX. Both of them use a Wacom digitizer, so all you have to do is install some drivers, and you're good to go.
I stand corrected. But I sill want to see it from a cold boot before I believe it and with an explanation of how they are enabling touch. Otherwise, it is more likely a VM or remote desktop.
Also take note that the owner posted a update in the comments.
"Donald Annis 3 days ago
No wifi driver, you'll notice the usb ethernet dongle network, pen input and sound working"
Why would he be connected to a ethernet dongle if he is running a remote connection to fake this?
"Donald Annis 3 days ago
No wifi driver, you'll notice the usb ethernet dongle network, pen input and sound working"
Why would he be connected to a ethernet dongle if he is running a remote connection to fake this?
True, but from what I understand, the modbook, replaces the screen with a touch screen that they have OSX drivers for. I find it hard to believe that existing drivers for a Surface screen are compatible with OSX. Or that one can simply substitute a third party driver and it works both with the Surface and OSX. I could be wrong, maybe MS used wacom drivers, but it all seems a little suspect. If I had done this, I would make a video showing it boot from nothing and explaining how I got it to work.
Getting touch to work is easy. Head on over to mp3car.com Many mac users including me are using a Mac with a lilliput LCD touch screen for a carputer.
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The reason I don't think it's faked is because it wouldn't (or shouldn't) be all that hard to do. Despite it's size and form factor, the Surface Pro is a fairly standard ultrabook.
From the Macbook Air all the way down to the cheapest Acer, they're all using about the same hardware. There's some mixing and matching with certain components, but the CPU, GPU, and a good portion of the motherboards are all standard. Considering every ultrabook out right now has been hackintoshed, it wouldn't be too big of a leap to assume they could do the same with the Pro in short order.
Enabling touch isnt a hard thing to do. It's hardware based, thus a tap on the screen is considered by the OS to just be a mouse/pointing device. People have been running OS X on cheapo Netbooks with $15 touchscreen mods for a good few years now.
1, much higher screen resolution
2, definitely higher-quality screen tech (IPS vs standard LCD - some comparative pics between the iPad4's IPS screen and that of the Pro are at http://www.phonearena.com/reviews/Microsoft-Surface-Pro-vs-Apple-iPad-4_id3249 - as one can see, the Pro's screen quality is excellent.)
3, full, no-compromise Windows, as opposed to Apple's dumbing down Boot Camp by, among other things, not allowing NOT to use gfx acceleration to allow for better battery life / cooler operation. (This isn't that big a problem with Airs, which lack a dual-standard setup. Much bigger a problem on MBP's.)
4, touch screen AND Wacom pen support - much more to be used for (e.g., making notes in a PDF file with an, as opposed to capacitive pens, decent pen).
If those were things that had actual benefit that outweighed the limitations of the device, you'd be right. And speaking of weight, once you add that keyboard/cover, it even weighs more than the Air.
Nightarchaon, take note. This tablet is a joke and the reviews are there to prove it.
To be honest, this is probably totally legit. The Surface Pro is just a X86 machine with the same Intel chipset as the MacBook Air, So why wouldn't it work? It doesn't even take a "hacked" version of OS X, all you'd need is a USB drive with Chameleon on it and another with OS X, and you could simply boot into the installer. How he got the touch screen working is another question, but by no means is it impossible.