I'm interested in the new "netbook" laptops as more rugged in-vehicle computers. Steve Jobs recently said he didn't think Apple could make any money selling netbooks. But as the computer market stagnates due to poor economic conditions, I don't think Apple can ignore the only market segment that is growing fast. So I expect we'll see a "Macbook Nano" in 6 to 9 months.
Apple's alternative is to build a larger version of the iPhone, with touch screen and multi-gesture mouse interface. I don't see this happening for a year or so.
While I'm waiting for Apple to develop a netbook, I was interested to read about a project that loads the Mac OS X onto Dell hardware. Mac and PC hardware are very similar these days, making a "hackintosh" easier to put together.
One successful project loads Mac OS 10.5 (Leopard) onto the Dell Mini 9 netbook. The Dell hardware running Linux and using a solid state hard drive is the least expensive Mini 9, and it seems to be a little easier to get it to run Leopard. Read about the project starting here
http://forum.insanelymac.com/index.php?showtopic=124363&st=340&p=922213&#entry922213
The project has made lots of progress, with just a few items left to fix. I'd give them another month to get things straight.
Buying the Dell hardware ($410) an a legitimate retail copy of Mac OS X ($130) puts the cost of this project around $540. It might be worth that much just to impress your geeky friends.
Chip Haven
Apple's alternative is to build a larger version of the iPhone, with touch screen and multi-gesture mouse interface. I don't see this happening for a year or so.
While I'm waiting for Apple to develop a netbook, I was interested to read about a project that loads the Mac OS X onto Dell hardware. Mac and PC hardware are very similar these days, making a "hackintosh" easier to put together.
One successful project loads Mac OS 10.5 (Leopard) onto the Dell Mini 9 netbook. The Dell hardware running Linux and using a solid state hard drive is the least expensive Mini 9, and it seems to be a little easier to get it to run Leopard. Read about the project starting here
http://forum.insanelymac.com/index.php?showtopic=124363&st=340&p=922213&#entry922213
The project has made lots of progress, with just a few items left to fix. I'd give them another month to get things straight.
Buying the Dell hardware ($410) an a legitimate retail copy of Mac OS X ($130) puts the cost of this project around $540. It might be worth that much just to impress your geeky friends.
Chip Haven