Netbooks running Apple’s OS X have been done before, so this software install hack takes it one stage further by putting Leopard on a touchscreen Gigabyte M912X. Since Leopard has inking facilities built-in – including an on-screen keyboard and handwriting recognition courtesy of InkWell – it looks to be a very successful transplant.
Check out the video demo of the Gigabyte touchscreen MacBook after the cut
Ugobe’s Pleo robotic dinosaur may be a cute toy, but it’s also a useful starting point for messing about with robotics. A team at Otto-Friedrich-University in Bamberg, Germany, calling themselves GRIP (Group for Interdisciplinary Psychology) have posted two tutorials designed to wirelessly connect Pleo to a remote computer and give him the ability to recognise faces.
Given the ongoing Psystar legal tousle, you can bet Apple’s legal team are keenly watching EFiX’s nifty USB dongle that allows you to run OS X on good old generic PC hardware. However EFiX themselves seem to be having more fun demonstrating their setup than worrying about the potential legal ramifications; TeknoJunkie caught up with them this week and while EULA issues weren’t on the agenda, the apparently slick way it allows OS X to run without in any way modifying the install certainly was.
With Apple stoking the legal furnaces, Psystar facing the prospect of recalling each and every OS X clone machine they’ve sold, and Open Tech Inc. promising yet another EULA workaround, you could say we’re approaching a licencing milestone. Apple could be walking out of court with a watertight grip on OS X, or its EULA might be picked apart. But putting aside the terms & conditions, I’m left wondering exactly who would comprise the market for even a licenced OS X machine.
If you bought into the ASUS Eee early on, and now are looking enviously at the array of budget ultraportables available today, why not redirect your angst into crafting an upgrade for the compact notebook. Since there are numerous points on the Eee motherboard where both 3.3v and 5v power can be tapped into, plus some extra space in the casing, adding an internal Bluetooth adaptor, GPS or card reader (to mention just a few) can be relatively straightforward.
Most people would say the frustrating thing about the MSI Wind is its shipping delay, but Microsoft MVP Paul O’Brien has taken issue with another aspect: its OS. Working on an Advent 4211 rebadge, Paul has stripped the budget ultraportable of Windows and replaced it with Apple’s OS X Leopard. The result is a 10-inch mini-MacBook.
Video demo of the Wind running OS X Leopard after the cut
EFiX, who promise USB dongles that allow Apple’s OS X software to be installed on normal PC hardware, have finally been discussing availability and pricing. The device, which allows you to install OS X from a standard retail DVD, together with install any available patches and tweaks, will now be available in V1 or V2 versions. The first batch, which somewhat confusingly will be V2 models, will cost around €80 ($125); that price, according to EFiX, is artificially inflated courtesy of the chips being basically a handmade series of 200, and future, mass-produced versions will be far cheaper.
It’s already been confirmed that ASUS themselves are working on a touchscreen tablet version of the Eee budget notebook, but over at the OCAU forum they’re taking matters into their own hands and constructing an Eee-based slate for ebook reading and web browsing. Using a cheap 7-inch Eee, the end product – the Tabeee Mk1 – will lose the keyboard and gain a touchscreen (similar to the existing mods).
In what would seem at first glance a surprising move, Roku have opened up their Netflix Player box to tinkerers by releasing the GPL code for the Linux-based download device. It turns out that the DRM decoding is all handled by the NXP PNX8935 chip, probably satisfying any of Netflix’s concerns that opening the box up would potentially impinge on their copyright responsibilities.
By now I’m sure you’ve heard of the Netflix set-top box that allows you to stream movies directly to your TV. It’s a pretty cool device, but to be honest, I’ve got enough devices connected to my TV, I really don’t want another. So the thought of hacking my 360 to gain the same functionality is extremely tempting.
SlashGear JP
