I'm currently reading "OSx86 : Creating a Hackintosh" by Peter Baldwin. As he puts it in that book:
So many people deserve credit for making this book possible. Without them putting hoursand hours of their time into smoothing the path for others, this book would be impossible.It’s not something any one person could do.
When I first tried out OSx86 as a hackintosh noob about 2 years ago (MSI Wind U100), I was practically walking on a pathway full of roses already. Not that the installation could beat a real Macintosh installation at any given time but, for lack of other comparison, I'd say the process was already as normal as could get a typical Windows XP installation.
That aside, there's hardware compatibility - webcam, internal mic, WiFi card may not work etc. But that hardly spoils the game, at least for those who are logical and know what they are getting into. By knowing what it is OSx86 gets you in, we're talking not about getting a real Mac experience nor do we aim to replace real Macs, but rather it's the journey of acquiring knowledge about OSx86 or simply Mac OS X on a PC.
Then after that, I noticed something that most OSx86 noobs with no prior Mac experience fall into this trap: lack of OS X know-how. Sometimes people would tell me that such and such don't work on their hackintoshes and then just resign with the thought that nothing can be done because "Hey, it's OSx86, what did I expect?".
A perfect example would be connecting external displays to your Mac Netbook. Someone would say: "VGA port on the HP Mini 311 under OS X Snow Leopard does not work at all!".
Or my own story when I first had Leopard on my MSI Wind. Just a while ago I had Yahoo! Messenger and then now it's gone!!
In the first example; it's just that you have to check System Preferences > Display and then click on Detect Displays to configure that humongous new LCD monitor of yours.
As for Yahoo! Messenger, I was running the app from the USB flashdrive and so of course, after unplugging the drive, the app was also gone - I should have copied app to my Applications folder or anywhere in my disk where I can always access it. I was simply ignorant of how applications behave and/or are installed differently in Windows than in Mac OS X which I was then completely unfamiliar with.
So I'm not all surprised, in fact I'm even in all agreement with Mr. Baldwin, in that 3 chapters of his book was about, well, educating the reader on how Mac OS X functions.
Sometimes we forget that our hackintoshes are Macs too, after all -- well that is, in a way. Oh there's a ton of realizations waiting to dawn upon us if we only get the time to know Mac OS X outside of all the OSx86 detailed technicalities of installation and as an OS for everyday use, first and foremost.
Thus I invite you to read:
