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OQO Hacker Claims World's Smallest OS X Machine
TechRadar writes "A hacker has turned his OQO ultraportable into the world's smallest Mac running Leopard. 'I will warn you this project is not for the plug and play crowd but definitely do-able,' the hacker, 'TRF' says. Interesting, given the OQO was designed by ex-Apple employees." It might run Mac OS X, but one thing this OQO is not is a Mac.
My iPod Touch is running a cut-down version of OS X, and it's even smaller.
It might well be time for them to consider doing what they could have done years ago, realeasing a general version of Leopard that will run on non-Apple PC's. They might even consider doing an "Apple Certified" program for Dell and other companies wanting to offer OS X as an option for their customers. If their hardware is truly superior, then it won't cost them much hardware business and will cut deeply into Windows' market dominance. In the end, everyone would win--most noteably the consumer (and those who like building their own machines).
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
I'm pretty sure the iPhone is the smallest machine running OS X.
Yes, it's kind of kiosk-style, but it is OS X.
Why oh why does everyone insist on using Wikipeda links instead of direct company links?
Is the new /. meme going to be "does it run OS X?"
--Ted
Limina.Log
Is cramming MacOS onto a wholly unsuitable machine the new version of doing the same thing with Linux?
I want a dock on my watch and my microwave to make that *DNNGGG!* noise when I open the door.
My cheap Toshiba tablet PC has accelerometers for emergency HDD-shutdown.
It's three years old.
Indeed. It's almost laughable the veiled attempt at pseudo-elitism.
It might run Mac OS X, but one thing this OQO is not is a Mac.
No shit. To be a Mac it needs to be made by Apple. And perhaps have a faulty wireless card (yes, I have a MacBook, and that shitty Airport is a recurring problem, "just works" doesn't really extend to wireless).
There is nothing that separates a "Mac" from a PC: the Mac is, for all purposes, an Intel, IBM-compatible PC. Generally the Mac fans say that "OSX makes the Mac", but when they see OSX running on non-Apple PCs then confusion settles and vague sentences appear, like the above, that seem to be based on some mystical characteristic of a "Mac".
Him write fine. Your a grammar-Nazi!
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
"but one thing this OQO is not is a Mac."
Forget the weird grammatical structure, what exactly is this supposed to mean? That it runs OS X poorly? That it is not Apple hardware? That it's not authorized? Thanks for the enlightening comment Timothy!
"I just put my dick in your moms mouth, but one thing your mom is not is a condom."
I'm a long time Mac user who recently made the switch - to a Hackintosh. The OS really is central to the Apple proposition. But.. the hardware is also a big part of it - in terms of the reliability that only comes with total control of hardware and software.
Hardware is also important in terms of the user's perception of quality. I'm using the Apple Cinema Display I previously used on my Powermac and it is still far superior to the Samsung panel I bought recently for my kid.
But all that said, I like the fact that my Hackintosh cost me a lot less than the new top of the range iMac (granted, I already owned the Cinema Display), and it still outperforms the real deal.
However, 10.5.3 may be the end of the road for Hackintosh as I'm sure all the recent noise around this and Psystar will have Apple bringing down the hammer and breaking OS X for non-Apple hardware very soon.
G4 Hackintosh
You're certainly getting more of the Mac experience than a PC one.
Having installed OS X on an EeePC, I'd say all you're getting is an Aqua interface for a PC experience. When it's completely painless and everything "just works" I might agree with you.
Blank until
1. MSOffice
2. Profit Margins
3. History as Computer Maker
If Apple put MacOS onto other machines, MS would pull support for MSOffice on MacOS in a New York Nanosecond. That would seriously batter Apple computer sales, because many of us (myself included) are forced by our employers to use MSOffice. Yes, OpenOffice is a lovely thing, but our IT dept and management doesn't give a flying fuck about OpenOffice, and never will. It's an MS shop and that's that. They don't care what COMPUTER you use - so I have a MacBookPro - but the software for our daily interactions Must Be MS. (sigh - I know, I know)...
So, That's Reason #1 (with a gun to the head) why Apple won't open up.
2. Apple makes Serious Bank on their high end machines (desktop or laptop) and opening up would blow those margins to the wind because if you're so up on a high end machine, you could probably build something to rival today's fire breathing dragon at a substantially lower cost than what HP and certainly Apple would charge you.
Also, Apple depends on that margin, as it allows them to use that money to seed other projects, some few of which might pan out (iPod, iTMS) and some more that won't do so well (AirTunes, AppleTV) some that seriously Tank (20th Anniversay Mac) and some that leave expensive craters in the ground (Pippin, Newton, The Cube). Without the margins Apple pulls from their high-end gear, none of those ventures would have happened, and while Pippin was a fucking disaster, the iPod is anything but.
So, they're not going to cannibalise their bovine cash dispenser.
3. History as a computer company. They are known first as a computer company, that happens to make totally hip consumer items. This will change over time, as computers slowly fade into the woodwork, but until then, their flagship product is MacOS - it's the one thing that ties all their products together, and it is intimately tied to their vision as a computer company.
So, for all those reason (and I am sure, many more) Apple will not open up their OS. It would be suicide.
RS
Shoes for Industry. Shoes for the Dead.
Lol, I love the way you say Slashdot-worthy, like slashdot is some great and highbrow institution. Hello, Lego cases are slashdot worthy. Saying 'Slashdot-worthy' is like saying Karaoke-worthy, or gutter-worthy, or rubbish bin-worthy.
What if Tetris was invented by Nazis?
More like strolling or sauntering, but definitely not running.