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Which netbook to buy if I want OSX installed?

E

enochpeng

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 22, 2008
136
0
I'm planning to buy a netbook now, and I want to have OSX install so i don't have to bother with using XP or Linux.

Which one would be the best one to go for?
Which one is the easiest to get leopard installed? Now im choosing between
the MSI Wind, Acer Aspire One and Dell Mini 9. They all seem to be nice and work with OSX. but don't know which one is the easiest to have OSX installed?


Thanks for any input
 
Tallest Skil said:
The MSI Wind's OS X installation was so easy that Wired did a video segment on it... that got taken down by Apple.

So if that isn't the definition of easy, I don't know what is.
Click to expand...

it is easy to get the MSI Wind up and running on OS X easily enough with a slipstreamed install. but that comes with problems inherently such as updating not be easy to do or impossible (locking up the system after updating).

i have a dell mini 9. the MSI Wind slipstream works with it as well. but again causes issues when updating for some. there are other methods out there that are better and thats what i have done. takes a bit longer and is slightly more complicated but for a more stable system, its worth it. plenty of FAQs out there for each model i'm sure to get an idea as to which is best for you.

i went with the dell because of its sturdiness personally. the aspire one was too flimsy to me. couldn't find a Wind in public to play around with though so the dell was it.
 
PlaceofDis said:
it is easy to get the MSI Wind up and running on OS X easily enough with a slipstreamed install. but that comes with problems inherently such as updating not be easy to do or impossible (locking up the system after updating).

i have a dell mini 9. the MSI Wind slipstream works with it as well. but again causes issues when updating for some. there are other methods out there that are better and thats what i have done. takes a bit longer and is slightly more complicated but for a more stable system, its worth it. plenty of FAQs out there for each model i'm sure to get an idea as to which is best for you.

i went with the dell because of its sturdiness personally. the aspire one was too flimsy to me. couldn't find a Wind in public to play around with though so the dell was it.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice,

Same here, I can't find a real MSI to take a look in person, so i think I'm down to the Acer or the Dell....

Can you show me some guide or video of installing a stable OSX on the Mini 9?

Much appreciated
 
kastenbrust said:
Do you even know what iAtkos and Kalyway are? if not i'd suggest just buying a Mac.
Click to expand...

unfortunately, I don't know what they are?

Is it that hard to install it on them? and I really hope there is a Mac Netbook...
 
Kalyway and Iatkos are the versions of Mac OS X that you would have to install, basically the original OS X install DVD's wont work, obviously, so you have to use modified versions with all the correct PC drivers included. The install is different for every computer so no walkthrough or video is going to show you how to do it completely. You would have to download Iatkos or Kalyway using Torrents, and then burn the ISO to a DVD-R, and then use that DVD-R as your Mac install DVD. Its actually illegal by the way and Apple condone this kind of behaviour, but i guess its your choice.
 
kastenbrust said:
Kalyway and Iatkos are the versions of Mac OS X that you would have to install, basically the original OS X install DVD's wont work, obviously, so you have to use modified versions with all the correct PC drivers included. The install is different for every computer so no walkthrough or video is going to show you how to do it completely. You would have to download Iatkos or Kalyway using Torrents, and then burn the ISO to a DVD-R, and then use that DVD-R as your Mac install DVD. Its actually illegal by the way and Apple condone this kind of behaviour, but i guess its your choice.
Click to expand...

you might be able to bypass this distro crap by using boot-132, an efi emulator-thingy, so you can buy a Leopard disc and install from that
 
There are instructinos at mydellmini.com for installing on the dell. It's super easy and supports all features including software update, external displays, sleep and the card reader. Runs like a champ on my mini with 64gb ssd.
 
cherry su said:
you might be able to bypass this distro crap by using boot-132, an efi emulator-thingy, so you can buy a Leopard disc and install from that
Click to expand...

This only works on SSE2 Processors which most netbooks dont have.

Plus if he doesnt even know what Kalyway is then have good fun finding your way around the boot-132 package.
 
I recently got a Dell Mini 9 and have been able to get Leopard running on it perfectly, everything working. It's pretty easy to do, and I installed it from a retail Leopard disk. Software Update works as well. There's a great community around Leopard on the Dell Mini, there's loads of information here:

http://mydellmini.com/forum/mac-os-x-f23.html
 
It seems to me that Dell Mini 9 to be the easiest one to have OSX running on it. And thanks for all the tips you guys provided. Also Mydellmini.com is indeed very useful..

now there are two things holding me back from buying the Mini,

1. It appears to me that it's more expensive than the Taiwanese ones.

2. Wind or Aspire One look better IMO

What do you guys suggest? Is it worth the extra cash?

Is there other sites that have similar content to Mydellmini.com? Preferably on the MSI or Acer?

Thank a lot
 
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