Boing Boing Gadgets Mac OS X Netbook Compatibility Chart

Mac OS X Netbook Compatibility Chart

Posted by Rob Beschizza, December 17, 2008 5:22 PM | permalink

Who needs Psystar?

Apple says it's had "pretty interesting ideas" for a Mac netbook, but it's everyday users who've already taken action. Due to their similar technical underpinnings, most of the popular netbooks can run OS X, but there are plenty of caveats: non-functioning components which lack drivers and need to be replaced—or which simply can't be gotten to at all.

Unfortunately, the Googles are choked with info, and much of it's out of date. I'd like to maintain a one-look chart to help people figure out out if their netbook (or one they've got their eye on) will run it well enough to their needs.

The short answer: get an MSI Wind or Dell Mini 9. Thanks to new WiFi drivers (direct download), the Wind runs the whole show out the can.

Now, I'm 100 percent sure this first version has errors and omissions: post updates and corrections to the comments (or to me at rob at boing boing).

If you're thinking about making yourself a Hackintosh, know that it's still not a no-brainer. For starters, standard OS X disks won't work: you'll need to grab a hacked version of it from the tubes. This contravenes Apple's EULA, even if you own a legal copy. The following guides also generally require an external DVD drive and familiarity with the terminal.

How To Guides:
Running Mac OS X on a Netbook: Guide, Tips, Tutorial, Walkthrough [Ditii]
Run Mac OS X on an Eee PC [Wired]
OS X For the Eee PC 901 and 1000H [Mac Eee]
Install OS X on the MSI Wind [Make]
Guide to Installing OS X on a Lenovo Ideapad s10 [Netbook Tech]
OSX on a Samsung NC10 [Wired]

Again, corrections and updates are most welcome!