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.

Apple already has that beat

My iPod Touch is running a cut-down version of OS X, and it's even smaller.

NOT running OSX

More like strolling or sauntering, but definitely not running.

The OS maketh the Mac?

Given that the OS is what most people interact with all day, is it really so wrong to call it a Mac? Most the purported Mac advantages are to do with usability after all. You're certainly getting more of the Mac experience than a PC one.

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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.

Time for Apple to cede some control?

Clones like this and the Psystar [macobserver.com] machine must have Jobs and the other control freaks at Apple screaming bloody murder right now. For years, their bread-and-butter has been tying their OS to their (IMHO overpriced) hardware. Now it seems that a lot of people are getting sick of it (if the preorders at Psystar are any indication, a *LOT* of people). Not only that, but the more heavy-handed Apple gets, the more they risk that cool-chique image as they appear more and more like just another greedy corporation (i.e., more like MS).

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).

Re:Time for Apple to cede some control?

This isn't a clone, it's hack like installing netBSD on a toaster, with a remote bread loader.

Second neither this or Pystar systems can receive updates via Apple system updater.

Thirdly Pystar has pissed off the guy who makes the OS X boot on generic hardware software. I am waiting for him to sue Pystar, Apple won't even have to get their hands dirty.

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Uhm, so how many have preordered psystars systems? Compared to the amount of machines Apple sell? Compared to total PC sales?

I already have a hack-compatible mac system, and a real macbook pro, and I would never buy psystars system, and can't understand wh

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And btw Apple would probably not "win-win", atleast they don't seem to think so. And it's Apples property so they don't give a shit about what you belive.

Re:Time for Apple to cede some control?

Maybe they'll start to worry more about market share once they're done counting the piles and piles of money they're currently making. Seriously, how hard is it to grasp that market share != financial success, and financial success != market share?

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What makes you say that "a lot of" people are "sick of it"? It seems pretty clear that a majority of people buy Macs because they don't want to deal with the hassle attached to using Windows and Linux computers. Hacking OSX to run on non-Apple hardware is

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Clones like this and the Psystar machine must have Jobs and the other control freaks at Apple screaming bloody murder right now.

I doubt it. The psystar is a *noisy* pc, the first thing most people notice about the iMac is it's QUIET!

People will pay a

Re:Time for Apple to cede some control? Nope.

They won't do it because of two and a half fundamental reasons:

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

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Please point me towards a Dell laptop with motion sensors.

Re:Superior Hardware?

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 [google.com]).

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".

Re:Superior Hardware?

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.

iPhone?

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.

just how big is it?

The artical doesn't give dimensions or shoe something in the picture for size comparisons, so it may be the smallest but is it the size of a football pitch or the size of an apple?

why Wikipedia links all the time?

Why oh why does everyone insist on using Wikipeda links instead of direct company links?

hm

Is the new /. meme going to be "does it run OS X?"

--Ted

The new black?

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.

Re:The new black?

Is cramming MacOS onto a wholly unsuitable machine the new version of doing the same thing with Linux?

I'm reminded of this [mactalk.com.au] - Mac OS X running on a Centris 650. 68MB RAM, 25MHz 68040.

No, not even a PowerPC processor. Fully software emulation.

Running? Well, booting. Sort of. Excruciatingly, glacially slowly!

Oblig. blurry YouTube

The article links to a fuzzy YouTube video [youtube.com] of the device going through what looks like a boot loader, then booting Leopard, then flipping through a variety of Mac applications.One can also hear what I think are the OQO's fans working overtime to keep up.

"It might run Mac OS X..."

"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."

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Him write fine. Your a grammar-Nazi!

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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.