[rasmits]

This has to be the most magical thing I've ever seen:

http://uneasysilence.com/archive/2007/11/12654/

Apparently it's a relatively simple process - and all the hardware is supported, including WiFi.

Yes it's not technically legal, blah blah blah. But this would be excellent to have (in my opinion).

[Windowsrookie]

Mac OS X has been running on PCs for quite a while now (10.4.1). The Celeron in the eee PC only has SSE2, so you'll need an SSE2 patch. And it won't run well, you can buy a higher specced laptop and run OS X, but it's still completely illegal.

[rasmits]

Yes, I know OS X on beige boxes is nothing new, but this is... magical.

I was a little hesitant to buy an EeePC before but now that I know it runs OS X? Sold.

[Windowsrookie]

Originally Posted by rasmits I was a little hesitant to buy an EeePC before but now that I know it runs OS X? Sold.

Don't expect OS X on the eee PC to be usable. The 900MHZ Celeron will be extremely slow. Not to mention the CPU is underclocked to 630MHz, and bus speed is underclocked to 70MHZ. Plus the Flash drive is only 4GB.

[rasmits]

Hmm... perhaps. He's working on a video to show the interface in action, so I'll be interested to see how it goes.

[beardedmacuser]

I very nearly bought a black Eee PC this week, but sensibly I thought I'd wait until the eight gig version is released as it looks as if the solid-state drive is not upgradable. I'm thinking perhaps it could be a long overdue replacement for my eMate? A simple uncomplicated pure writing device! I doubt the keyboard is as good as the lovely eMate keyboard however.

Much as I'd love a portable Mac of similar ethos, I can't help but think the 800×480 would be much too tight for OS X. I find 1024x768 (such as I'm using right now on my pink G3 iMac!) tight enough, so 800x480 would surely be super-cramped. There'd have to be some issues such as System Preferences not fitting fully on the screen.

In fact, I've just dropped my resolution here to 800x600 and it's still just about usable, but only just.

I don't really buy the "900MHz Intel Celeron M will be too slow" arguments. This 400 MHz G3 is just about fast enough for my general web surfing, email and writing needs. I can't imagine the Celeron would be slower?

But anyway, all these arguments regarding OS X and the Eee PC are rather academic as Apple really seems to show no interest in such a cheap low-spec Mac (sadly), and certainly doesn't seem likely to sell the OS to install yourself on such a computer! Still, there's no harm wasting our lives away endlessly speculating and wishing!

[beardedmacuser]

Of course as soon as you add more and more features the price increases and cheapness is one of the main strengths of the Eee. But an eight gig Eee with a ten inch screen in a model the same size as the current Eee would be mighty tempting...

MacNN | ASUS to build 8G Eee with 10-inch screen

...so long as it didn't start to get into the price range of "proper" laptops.

[Reid]

I actually wonder whether or not Apple has a team working quietly on gaining driver compatibility for a much wider range of PC hardware. It seems from the groundswell of blog posts like this that it's been exceptionally easy for people to hack Leopard onto a PC compared to Tiger, and that more hardware-related features "just work" than they did with previous hacks.

I was almost expecting them, last month at the Leopard launch, to announce that the upgrade was not, indeed, just for Apple computers, but that you could install it on any Vista-compatible PC as well. That would have been a coup for the ages, especially given Apple's current marketing of Leopard.

I know Apple is making boatloads of cash off of its hardware, but I can't help wondering if the time isn't finally right to launch an all-out offensive against Windows by opening up the hardware requirements on Mac OS to non-Apple PCs. They certainly have the media on their side this time around.

[Dave]

There may come a time when releasing the Mac OS for non-apple hardware is the right decision, but this is not that time. When going up head to head with a juggernaut, it's best to have a plan to ensure victory, because if you don't win completely, you'll lose completely.

[chucker]

Via reddit, some good thoughts on why not to buy an EeePC (at this point).

Even if you're okay with the way they treat the GPL and BSDL, this one should stick out:

Yes, you read that right: a computer manufacturer has decided that it voids your warranty to replace a DIMM.

Come on.

[beardedmacuser]

Yeah, the whole "upgrade your RAM and you'll void the warranty" is a bit crap. Asus would probably reply by claiming the Eee is designed for folk who aren't interested or don't know how to upgrade RAM or install alternative Linux distributions (and if you want more RAM you'll soon be able to buy their more expensive model which comes with a gig of RAM!). But I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of purchasers so far have indeed been the likes of us guys here; competent professionals or hobbyists who will replace RAM and install their OS of choice!

The cheaper Eee variants have the RAM soldered onto the board, maybe Asus would like to do that with all models?