MC - Medical Certificate

I didn't get good sleep last night; my allergies were killing me. Before it takes on a full-blown asthma attack, I'm taking this issue to Dr. Lie at the neighborhood clinic. He's very accommodating - so much so that I get to diagnose my own self after the consultation. One time, I'd been running high fever coupled with colds for two nights and one day and when I went to see Dr. Lie, he just let me ramble on about my symptoms and we ended up like so:

Me: Do you think that I already have infection?
Dr. Lie: Yes.

And then he scribbled the usual doctor's scrawl on his prescription pad, paused, looked at me and confirmed that "You want a MC, right? I'll give you three days."

Well, today, I'll be seeing him again. I guess I should read up on asthma and aligue or seafood. I'd better be prepared or where would we be if I didn't take this initiative?

But that particular episode is for later. Being the good geekette that I am or aspire to be, instead of using this opportunity to study for my masters (yes, finally, I have my equivalent of undergrad diploma from Sorbonne - Paris 3 and am officially eligible for graduate studies, I'm on M1 now), of course I'm spending the first half of my day, well, geeking out.

First up, Geekbench


I've had my svelte little mid-2011 MacBook Air 11" for about 3 days now. My productivity apps are all installed (thank you to my previous company who gave me a free copy of Office 2011 for Mac), dropbox synching away happily in the background, in short everything seems like I've always had this particular MacBook Air all my life. Err...with the exception of my iTunes library and settings which I couldn't quite figure how to transfer over from my HP Mini 311 running Snow Leopard - I didn't use and have never liked Migration Assistant as I prefer starting fresh always.

My two housemates also sync their iPhones on the HP Mini 311 and we have successfully set up sync over Wi-Fi. I really want to just transfer those user settings over to the MBA, without using Migration Assistant, so we won't have to erase and re-sync all 3 of our iPhones.

Anyway, using Office 2011 for Mac was sluggish on the HP Mini 311 and so I've developed serious negative opinion about that Microsoft productivity suite. But that soon changed, in fact just 2 days ago. I was pleasantly surprised that Office 2011 for Mac was very very zippy on the MBA.

Curious, I thought I had to have a numerical representation of that difference in user-experience. Geekbench downloaded from Primatelabs, I ran the application on both computers. Here's the result:

1st Run:

I wasn't expecting the hackintoshed HP Mini 311 to beat the MacBook Air; it's a given that the outdated low-profile Atom N280 (though seemingly clocked higher at 1.67 GHz) is no match for the Core i5 (1.60 GHz) but I didn't think it would score lower than it ever did.

If you look at the HP Mini 311's Geekbench scores from a year or so ago, you'd see that disguising itself as a MacBook Pro 5,5 averaged at least 1,040 and now, it can't even get past the 1,000 mark. I can't help wonder what caused the change.

Is it my current hackintosh setup? I mean, it's no denying that there's been quite an overhaul from when MowgliBook was heading the development and when THeKiNG stepped in, that plus several other factors such as Mac OS X Snow Leopard itself; we're now running 10.6.8. And maybe even Geekbench's new version has something to do about the results - a lot of things could've contributed to the change in scores.

NVidia Ion 1st Gen or GeForce 9400m

It is no big news that the HP Mini 311's NVidia Ion graphics chip is basically the GeForce 9400m. While that is true and tested while I was on the Windows side - 720p .mkv files would play fine, as I remember it - it doesn't seem to be that way on the Mac OS X side.

Earlier this year, my worst experience with playing those HD video files (I was watching "Iris", yes, it's a Korean action drama), was that there would split-second freezes here and there but no green artefacts littering VLC's video window like I see now.

Perhaps it's CUDA driver related? Maybe. I should get some time to test whether that's the root of evil. It's either that or the 512MB rated for the Total VRAM is only eye-candy.

Update: Nope, it is not eye candy. Use Plex player for Mac OS X and you'll see that the Mini 311 can handle 720p .mkv quite smoothly.

10.6.7

With my current setup, I had no problems whatsoever with updating to 10.6.7.

Just like a real Mac user - or I think, because I've never had a real Mac let alon be able to update one - all I did was run Software Update from the Apple menu and restarted.

For those who are starting from scratch (following the current setup guide) or are skipping point updates, grabe the ComboUpdater from Apple's Site.

Anyways, 10.6.7 doesn't seem to be deliver any major system changes like USB management, power etc. - details listed at the site are only:

• Improve the reliability of Back to My Mac.
• Resolve an issue when transferring files to certain SMB servers.
• Address various minor Mac App Store issues. 

So there.

Another Update

It's that time again for updates!

There's a new Retail Pack :D Guess what, it's now Tetonne who's maintaining packs released originally by MowgliBook.
(I'm not sure whether there's been another explosion in the forums...but let's move one, shall we?)

This one's gonna be as short as I can make it.

What You Need:
1. Latest Retail Pack for the HP Mini 311
2. Lizard  and Kext Utility - you know where to get that (see the guides section)
3. Bootable Mac OS X installation on a USB stick.*
*Yes, right - I'm talking NOT about a Mac OS X USB Installer but a fully functional installation of Mac OS X 10.6 on a USB stick or external USB hard drive. Here's why:
- If you've been following this blog and I assume you've got the same system config as I've got, that is; kexts are in /System/Library/Extensions and the Extra folder is in the root directory "/", if anything goes awry in that setup and for some reason it won't boot up on it's, chances are - based on my own experience - you won't be able to boot the system up with an emergency, i.e. in the form of just the Mac OS X USB Installer. That's because the kexts are in /S/L/E and they will almost always be included in boot up once that volume they're installed on is chosen to be booted up.
Plus, I've observed that Chameleon will always pick up the Extra folder once it sees its presence in the chosen volume's root directory "/". So let's say you've got a bootable USB with a working combination of kexts and stuff, all neatly set up in an Extra folder on its own, here's the bad news: although it's that USB's Chameleon you fired up, once you tell Cham to boot the afflicted volume who's got its own Extra folder, Cham will simply pick up that Extra folder and all those kexts in /S/L/E of that volume instead of the "known good config" in the USB booter. Got that? Or if you didn't...well, it's a long story that I'll have to tell some other time.

So anyway, here's What You Do (and I assume you know what you're getting into right? *wink*)
1. Unzip the Retail Pack
2. Delete all the colored kexts in /System/Library/Extensions and then dig inside the "kext" folder in the Retail Pack you've just downloaded and unzipped, copy them all to /System/Library/Extensions.
3. Run Kext Utility.
4. Also from inside the Retail Pack, copy the entire Extra folder to your root directory "/" and replace any existing Extra folder in there.
5. Go to your root directory by clicking on your main volume, ex. Macintosh HD, and delete the Boot file.
6. Fire up Lizard. On the "Install and Update" tab, click once on your main volume to highlight it. Now in the section "Select Chameleon (bin) folder", click on the "Select folder" button and navigate upto the "Bootloader" folder inside the new Retail Pack. A new section will be added below and click on the "Install Chameleon" button.

If you want to install the Trackpad.prefPane, there are instructions inside the Retail Pack. You can actually go without it, if you don't wanna make the effort. But you know, you've come this far, why not go all the 9 yards?

Next Up - Between OSx86 and Study and Work too

It's been about a week or so since my emancipation from a most harrowing experience: writing four papers in French about teaching French...great.

And then the 2nd semester has now officially started. How so? Two of my four subjects this semester have uploaded the course material and that only means one thing: we, students, should start getting back to work!

I was meaning to get right back to hackintoshing after January 25th, as in devote myself and time to this activity. However, such does not prove to be feasible at all - when I got accepted for the 3-year program from the Université de Paris 3 - Sorbonne Nouvelle, I actually committed myself to 3 years of all that FLE grind, in hopes of the French embassy here in the Philippines deciding to fly me to France in my 3rd year (M2, if I survive). So, there's no such thing as completely detaching myself from the clutches of the academe world and to fully go back to OSx86 world.

No, siree.

So, before those other two subjects become available and I get swamped up with tons to read again and, heaven forbid, papers to write (although of course, judging from my experience from last semester I can confidently declare that I'll have papers to write and submit on or before April 24th), I'll do my best to update the installation guides here in My MacBook Mini.

I'll give you guys a hint:
Don't expect automated .pkg installers anymore from me, or I meant, I'm no longer in the capacity to promise delivery of those :)

Musings on HP Mini 311 - After A Hiatus

This won't be a long one.

Just that in the current state of things, all kexts are now installed directly in /System/Library/Extensions/ and  we no longer have EFI.

And since that is the case, I'm actually thinking if I'd want to use automated package installers when I configure my system from scratch because, by nature, I'm someone who'd very much prefer to be hands on and know exactly what happens and when that happens in my Mac OS X file system.

That said, I prefer using Lizard and Kext Utility to do the job for me very brilliantly.

Kappy is continuing the development of automated installers - yep, he has much more perseverance and talent and intelligence in figuring out Package Maker than I can ever hope to do - and has been posting packages for people to test.

Kappy's Mediafire

As of now, direct installation in /S/L/E using automated package installers remains dodgy and one still has to run Kext Utility after running the installer to get things up to snuff.

I'm Back!

cdt podbean.com

And indeed, from the "let-me-suck-your-wits-outta-ya" swirling vortex of teaching French as a foreign language, I am back!

So what's up with the HP Mini 311 Darwin Project, you ask?

Well, it's no secret that the project thread at InsanelyMac exploded while I was turning myself into stew with my studies. After that, contributors - and might I add, very very valuable contributors - migrated to ProjectOSX forum and continued development there.

I'd gather that with the InsanelyMac thread closed and my lack of activity on this blog of mine, many of you are clueless as to the current situation of HP Mini 311 as a hackintosh. And I share the same fate as yours; after being gone from the scene for nearly 3 months (without active participation), I'm currently in the process of picking the bits and pieces as I try to catch on.

The good news is that there's progress and quite a lot too.

I'm currently mulling on whether to re-open/re-create the InsanelyMac project thread or not. I thought that if the valuable contributors are already carrying out the discussion at the new forum, then that would only mean 2 project pages, which is pointless.

Perhaps we should just keep the Support Thread from now own and then as usual, I'll document what I can here in My MacBook Mini in hopes of making the hardcore "dev" stuff a wee bit friendlier for my fellow noobs.

And now, I'm looking forward to an OSx86 weekend.

Growing Pains

Hi all,

Right now, the HP Mini 311 Darwin Project is going under a major overhaul, in terms of "project releases" at least - all those HFx installers you get to download and test every once in a while.

Here are the changes:
1. Beta (Retail Pack 1.1x) - Chameleon RC5; LegacyAGPM for graphics chip power management carried over from Retail Pack 1.0. There still are issues of course; i.g. sleep/resume, restart and other stuff.
2. Real trackpad - Alps Trackpad can be recognized as a real trackpad now with a kext and a hacked prefPane but this solution is still NOT perfect; i.e. it's without real sidescrolling. And some people actually prefer PS2 mouse with sidescrolling.
3. Root boot method - it has been decided that EFI be removed as main boot method. As of now, a semi-manual configuration can be done via Lizard, Kext Utility. But a .pkg auto installer is brewing which we're hesitant to release since it still needs lots of polishing - after all, we don't want to mess up your precious little Mini MacBook Pro.

Aside from that, if you've been following the HPM311DP thread at InsanelyMac, you've heard that TheKing is onboard and he's been doing some investigations on the current state of things and poking around the DSDT, discovering things. Also, there's this new AppleUSBCardReader.kext by iLeopod that makes the card reader slot recognized as,well, a card reader and not as just some generic drive.

Anyway, you can just visit the HP Mini 311 Darwin Project Thread and read up on the progress personally.

What this means is that yes, it's true that things are blurry and a bit chaotic at the present but that's because a lot of things, good ones, are also coming our way. Possibly - I hope those brilliant people do get the results they're expecting of their hackintosh experiments.

Moving Forward

apple.com

Lately, with all those HF7 iterations that have been made available for your testing, Steve and I - nope, it's not the Steve Jobs but another Steve who's become a good cyber friend of mine these past few months - have been exploring the possibilities for the HP Mini 311 Darwin Project.

So, we've been dissecting package installers here and there, thinking of ways on how to deliver those Retail Pack versions ready for use by the masses. And after hours and hours of hitting that "Build and Install" option and even a number of wipe-out-reinstalls all in the name of testing, this is the main point we've agreed upon:

• The HP Mini 311 Darwin Project will no longer use EFI boot method as official/default configuration

Glad I Got a Wireless N Card After All

Before I got my Atheros 9280 card a.k.a Atheros AR5BHB92, I was struggling between it and a cheaper (then) b/g broadcom card. I thought it was just caprice - my constant appetite for everything top of the line - wireless N was fastest and so I just gotta have it even though I didn't have the equivalent wireless N router at home.

But I got it still and from the time I clicked on "check out" and fed my PayPal account to an ebay seller based in Hong Kong up until now, I thought I'd never have real use of that N part of the "b/g/n" indication on card's label.

I thought wrong. Because I thought coffeeshops here in the Philippines cannot afford a wireless N router.

I thought wrong. Of course they can afford that. It's me who can't. Harharhar.

And so that was why those MacBook Air 11" unboxing videos on youtube were loading so fast!

Oh and here's an interesting observation:

Before HF7/HF7c or AGPM (in layman's term "power management for that Ion chip under OS X"), once the Mini 311's fan kicks in - and it's bound to kick in because I'm practically burdening its Atom N280 chip (non-overclocked) to play me the part of a main computer - there's no stopping it but to shut the 311 down, let it cool down a bit before starting it again.

But a while ago, I was just streaming youtube vids (yep, MBA 11" unboxing vids) and the fan was whirring away like mad. It was normal occurrence for me - not that my netbook's going bonkers but we all know the fan is anything but discreet. And so I let it whir away as my eyes remained glued on that battery icon, gauging that battery life. And then I got bored of youtube and just closed the window. Poof went the video and so did the fan! No, not a "poof" as in something combusts ending with a poofing sound complete with smoke like when you eliminate an icon from your Dock.

No. What I meant was that the fan suddenly became quiet. It wasn't whirring like a paranoid. It hushed down.

Could it be that since the GPU, i.e. the Ion chip no longer was being stressed out with streaming that 720p vid and the system got wind of it and thus calmed down the fan?? Or is that just wishful thinking?

MacBook Air Spoof - Part 2

Here's the next part of that features page:

MacBook Air Spoof - Part 1

Or because I haven't got better things to do.

Disclaimer: I still adore the HP Mini 311 as a Mini MacBook Pro, just merely stating the facts :D No offense to the "Mini MacBook 311" fanboys and fangirls out there. This is meant just for us to have some fun.

*Sorry, my dear MSI Wind U100.

I'll try to spoof the rest of the MacBook Air features page :D

HF7 for the HP Mini 311

As I've discussed before, there've been some progress with the HP Mini 311 Darwin Project. Since my hellish week has long been over and hopefully it'll never come back to haunt me again - I should check CRS online for my MA classes final grades and the DALF results won't be here till January 2011. So I'm back to living in bliss (bliss of ignorance).

And because I've got time, I've created an installer for you guys to try out:

HPM311DP_HF7 (link fixed)

Features (based on Retail Pack 1.0 by MowgliBook)

• DSDT - closer to MacBookPro5,1; added GPU states (for graphics power management below)
• Trackpad - Alps trackpad is no longer seen as a PS2 mouse; Disadvantage: side-scrolling is no longer readily available - see "poor man's sidescroll" in a previous post for a workaround to sidescroll.
• Audio - VoodooHDA 2.7.1
• SMC - new FakeSMC.kext with temperature monitoring feature.
• Graphics power management - LegacyAGPM kext included
• Other cosmetic changes

If you have 3GB RAM and are experiencing sleep issues (i.e. blank screen on wake) AFTER installing HF7, please run this PC EFI 10.6 installer:

PC EFI 10.6

So far, it's been stable on my HP Mini 311. It's up for you to try this beta release.

uTorrent says 90.1% for iLife '11.

Rainbow After the Rain

Last week was just so busy: I took my DALF C1 and C2 exams last Thursday and Friday respectively. And yesterday, I had to print our class project for my MA class (Français 240 - Traduction des oeuvres littéraires) which was actually due last Friday, same day as my DALF C2 exam, but since we couldn't find last week a decent printing service that could churn out our Journal Littéraire into something remotely resembling a real newspaper, the printing could happen only yesterday. And in case you're wondering - the translation is from French to Filipino (or Tagalog which is my native tongue) of Guillaume Apollinaire's Bestiaire or Cortège d'Orphée.

I sure did miss the HP Mini 311 Darwin Project Team but although I was practically tormented while going through the Compréhension écrite et orale + Production écrite et orale of the DALF exams (I was nervous and my heart palpitating inside my ribcage the director at Alliance Française Manille, a French, took pity and even told me, with sincerity felt through his expression and timber of his voice, before starting the exam: "bon courage" to which I replied "Merci, monsieur; j'en ai tellement besoin), I'd say the time away from the hackintosh world was worth it. Come Friday night, I was greeted with a delightful surprise.

Yes, new progress!

Well, we all know that the 311's battery life just sucks, to say the least, under OS X. And now we know why - Ion is always running at full throttle thereby causing precious battery juice to evaporate without much legitimate warrant. However, that's just one reason projected which appears valid and there are possibly a ton more out there that we haven't discovered yet.

Enter: Legacy AGPM

Retail Pack 1.0d is no longer available for download. I'll have to defer the how-to after getting further updates from the great guys aboard the HPM311DP ship or until I can get to my own copy of 1.0d which is in my HP Mini 311 which is at home where I cannot reach it.

For the meantime, I encourage you check out the latest from the project thread at InsanelyMac.

Updates on the HP Mini 311 Darwin Project

And the big guys are back!
MowgliBook:

Hi everybody,

I've been extremely busy lately, but still I come with some good news... (not too good though)

The new FakeSMC with plugin support (on projectOSX) is getting really good, I'll edit the DSDT when I have time so that it'll report the TZ0 (Thermal Zone) and the Fan if I can.

For now we have the GPU, which is a good start.

There is a new VoodooHDA, nothing tremendous, still no HDMI (because of this bloody IDT codec) but it keeps the settings of the volume when you reboot etc. Mute button doesn't work but I guess it could be fixed quite quickly.

Maybe a more stable ApplePS2 set from prasys still some random KP though.

I'll come to this later, if I manage to get in touch with him, when I have my internet connection back at home.

aikidoka25:

welcome back mowgli, 

sometime ago i tried the fakeSMC plugin only got GPU temp, apparently the chipset was not supported.

as for the DSDT, is it possible for you to document the changes (something like d00d's X58 guide, i saw you were active there too)

today, i compiled the new VoodooHDA but it doesn't work, according to Slice most probably the code in svn is not up to date.

i am still thinking VoodooHDA coudl work with HDMI in our unit, but need to play with the pin config. However I must admit this is beyond my current knowledge.

I tried to read the guide but still don't understand how those config are created.

cheers

AppleJack

Of course we love everything that is Apple! Drumroll for AppleJack, please. :D

Download AppleJack

What is AppleJack? 
According to its Source Forge page, it is "a user friendly troubleshooting assistant for Mac OS X. With AppleJack you can troubleshoot a computer even if you can't load the GUI, or don't have a startup CD handy. AppleJack runs in Single User Mode and is menu-based for ease of use."


Now let's draw from that the most attractive parts for us OSx86 users:

1. With AppleJack you can troubleshoot a computer even if you can't load the GUI
2. AppleJack runs in Single User Mode and is menu-based for ease of use.

The 1st situation is what we all run into occasionally. Err, "But I can't even boot my HP Mini 311 up because it Kernel Panics!" you say. Remember the Golden Rule in troubleshooting? Ok, maybe I'm at fault for not stating that Golden Rule, but when you can't boot up your OSx86 machine, the first thing you do is:

• Boot in Single User mode

Yep, that's right. Moving on...

The logic behind booting in Single User mode is to access CLI (Command Line Interface) at least and from there, you can manually launch commands to hopefully sort out the issue. Most of the time, the root cause for Kernel Panics (at least for a stable hackintosh like the HP Mini 311) is permissions error. Try powering off your machine abruptly a few times in a row, sabotaging its natural shutdown mechanics and you're most likely to get a KP soon after.

But how does one launch Permissions Repair from CLI? Sure you can memorize or keep an index card with the command but why bother when there's a better way? 

That's exactly what AppleJack is all about. I don't think any "fsck blah blah blah" could ever beat simply typing "applejack" and then press Enter key.

Actually it does more than permissions repair.

Here's the menu you see when you launch:

And a better screenshot courtesy of AppleJack's page:

You can:

1. Repair disks
2. Repair permissions
3. cleanup cache files (clears system caches)
4. validate preference files (for errant applications)
5. remove swap files (which is now "cleanup virtual memory")

En somme, AppleJack is a utility that no Mini MacBooker should be without. :D

P.S. This isn't a paid advert. By now I assume you're used to reading non paid ad-like stuff on My MacBook Mini cause I just seem to love writing them! ;-)

HP Mini MacBook 311 Accessories : Wireless Mouse

"Souped Up"

image from clickz.com

Did I use that expression right? It's what I normally see in tech-centric Filipino forums to describe a machine that's been improved, upgraded. I thought I'd hop in the band-wagon and sing the campfire song as well.

When I came home this Friday, fresh from Google's exposing me to the world's "derision for disappointed hopes" as it disabled my AdSense account, and with all the Jane Austen melodrama ringing in my head, upon putting down my backpack on the dining table and seeing the oh so familiar yellow bubble pack envelope, I ended up still not quite involved "in the misery of the acutest kind".

At long last! The Atheros AR9280 b/g/n half-height WiFi card I ordered from e-bay last July 16th finally came through the post.

Not only did I have a new 2GB stick of fresh DDR3 1066 MHz PC-8500 (don't I just relish that long geeky appellation? Wihihihi) but I also have a new AirPort Extreme card! I mean the Atheros should be recognized by Mac OS X Snow Leo as a true blue Apple AirPort Extreme wireless module....it just should....

But I prevailed and arrested myself from having tantrums and managed to, here goes that expression I sometimes disdain, "soup up" my darling-little-brat-of-an-almost-baby-boyfriend (dear me, is that a sign of unhealthy romantic preferences? Haha).

Half-height PCI slot cause I didn't wanna have to re-route the U.fl antenna

Kinda dig the Kingston logo actually ^_^

And Snowy indeed thought the Atheros an AirPort Extreme card :D

3GB DDR3 - yummy :D

And I knew better than to destroy my new Atheros card and refrained from attacking that infamous PIN20. 

Oh and by the way, I can no longer use the wireless switch to turn bluetooth on/off. It did work before with when the Broadcom 4312hmg. A bummer; it's the same PCI slot - half-height...

Why the HP Mini 311 is a MacBook Pro and Not a MacBook Air

Launch System Profiler (you can click on Apple menu > About This Mac > More Info) and if you've installed using the HP Mini 311 Darwin Project release (current release) and if you haven't been customizing your own smbios.plist, you'll notice that it says your HP Mini 311 is a MacBookPro. A MacBookPro5,1 to be exact. It also comes complete with the MacBook Pro icon.

Mine looks like this but only because I've been mucking around with my fakesmc REV key and smbios.plist:

I'm currently testing different MacBook models.

What for?

For speedstep compatibility.

You see, since we have migrated to using vanilla AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement.kext instead of using a combination of kexts namely VoodooPowerMini.kext, SleepEnabler.kext, and Disabler.kext (NullCPUPowerManagement.kext), there have been noticeable changes. One that's particularly unsettling at first is that the Atom processor of the HP Mini 311 no longer seems to speedstep when checked in CPU-X.

What is SpeedStep anyway? It's a technology introduced by Intel for processors which "allows the system to dynamically adjust processor voltage and core frequency, which can result in decreased average power consumption and decreased average heat production." The Intel Atom N270 and N280 that our HP/Compaq Mini 311's are equipped with support this feature.

It's actually a tricky job, for a hackintosh system, to be able to ensure this feature is working. The Intel Atom CPU is not supported natively by Mac OS X; no real Mac has ever been made with an Atom chip after all. And to define the "steps" at which the CPU should set itself to at a given circumstance, we have to answer the following questions:

1. What defined "speed points" are to be used?
2. How much power does the CPU need to draw?

These pieces of information are integrated into the DSDT.aml which acts as the bridge to transfer this information from raw hardware in non OS X intelligible ACPI parlance into something understandable by Mac OS X's CPU Power Management set of instructions. These pieces of information needed for proper SpeedStep enabling are comprised of P-States.

I will not attempt to explain P-States or I risk being a stupid, trying hard, know it all. Plus I don't really understand it thoroughly myself so why bother a fated failed attempt at boring you? And it's not the main thrust of this post anyway so let's move on to why you have a MacBookPro5,1 instead of a MacBookAir2,1.

MacBookAir1,1 is thoroughly out of the question, not because it's an outdated Mac model (admit it that you also crave that bragging right for having the newest and the meanest rig out there in Geek-landia), but because it doesn't allow for vanilla power management to work on the HP Mini 311 and, I believe, in most other (or even all other) netbook and notebook hackintoshes alike. You get a Kernel Panic.

Now, MacBookAir2,1 does work. No KP as a matter of fact. And as a bonus, you also get Remote Disc automatically working and DVDPlayer that doesn't look for DVD drives. But, yes, there's a "but" - make it a big BUT (bootylicious? nah) your HP Mini 311 won't be able to SpeedStep. Given the 311's notoriously short battery life while running OS X, I'm sure you'd want to get all the help in conserving power that you can get your hands on.

MacBookPro5,1 on the other hand works really well. No KP at boot and SpeedStep is working as expected. But it's not detected in CPU-X you say. That is exactly correct. The thing is, from now on, as we use AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement, it's MSR Tools that we use for checking the reality of SpeedStep on our machines:

The MacBook6,1 also works fine. 

The MacBookPro7,1 is compatible as well.

How is this configured on the HP Mini 311 running Snow Leopard? 

Enter "smbios.plist". Here's my MSI Wind U100 disguising as a MacBook6,1 for an example, it's the same principle for the HP Mini 311 anyway:

The important plist keys to consider are

1. SMfamily
2. SMproductname

Back in the day, I used to be able to get MacTracker recognize my HP Mini 1001TU as a MacBook Air. But now, even though I put in genuine information (directly "borrowed" from the local Apple retail store's MacBook Pro's), MacTracker won't recognize the HP Mini 311 as anything but, well, nothing.

But hey, my Mini MacBook Pro is working nicely anyhow so what the heck, right? :D

Oh and I almost forgot (I've forgotten that it was Louis Guilloux who wrote "Le Sang noir", and forgotten a ton of other specifics so I flunked my MA quiz today - again), you might want to edit fakesmc.kext REV key in its info.plist to reflect the "SMC System (version)" appropriate for the MacBookPro5,1 onwards or MacBook6,1 you have ;-)

HP Mini 311's Alps Trackpad vs Apple's New Magic Trackpad

I wonder what I had this morning for breakfast that I put such a post title as this. It's horrendously stupid to suggest that the HP Mini 311 Alps trackpad be pitted against Apple's new Magic Trackpad; it's like David and Goliath.

No, the Alps trackpad is in NO way David.

The HP Mini 311's Alps trackpad is like an awkward giant, very much like Goliath - as brute as giants could get. And, yes, to preserve my credibility on the subject of giants' awkwardness, I should say I've had the pleasure to make the acquaintance of two or three giants in my life.

Not! :)

Anyhow, imagine that this external trackpad made for desktop use, even has its PrefPane working dandy fine in System Preferences. It shows up as trackpad and not a horrible PS2 mouse like the Alps!

And for I am the geek that I am, I want one for my birthday. :D

Good thing I didn't rush out to buy the Magic Mouse (as if I could've afford it, hah!).