Random Hackintosh Thoughts

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:

• OSXDaily
• CultOfmac's 100 Tips (for Snow Leopard)

Proof Of Concept

VoodooHDA.kext is a great kext - it's the reason why I don't have to live with a mute Mini MacBook forever. It solved that one detail that caused my conversion to a believer in the HP Mini 1000 as a hackintosh. It even broke the love spell I was under with the MSI Wind U100. It's the reason why My MacBook Mini came to be.

But wondrous as it may be, there's still one tiny detail it can't quite do for my HP Mini 1001TU: the internal mic is still useless.

Good thing it's Christmas already and so as geeky as I am, electronics wormed its way into my gift shopping list. Thus I ended up swiping my new credit card at the nearby Apple reseller store and got myself in pretext for an early Yuletide present for myself (or one of a number of presents I plan to gift myself with - I could be Ebenezer Scrooge's kin for all I know and for my utter "me, myself and I" lovin'), an Apple iPhone 3G set of earbuds!

I've been reading for a long while in forums that it should work with the HP Mini under Mac OS X but I didn't know for sure but now I know. And I'm a believer. ;-)

Its mic works well with the HP Mini 1001TU; I only have to plug it into the port and voilà, I've got mic and am ready to Skype! :D

You'd need to go to System Preferences > Sound > Input tab to set the mic's volume and then you're good to go.

Sound quality is very decent, just as is expected of Apple hardware. As for performance, the current VoodooHDA.kext is sufficient. I don't crank up the mic's volume to max levels, highest I'd recommend would be one notch before the last notch on the slider bar. Anything beyond that creates static which causes buzzes and echoes in your ear as the mic catches sound. Audio file  resulting from recording via QuickTime X doesn't seem to register the aforementioned buzzes and echoes when played later on tho.

Also, upon resuming from sleep, the mic won't work - not really "not work" but you have to go back to Sys Pref > Sound > Input tab > and move the volume slider a bit to get back on track.

The volume (+,-) controller doesn't allow you set volume up or down, of course (it would've been too perfect - even older iPods can't take advantage of this set of controls; only the newer iPods and iPhone can)

Oh and by the way, this is the VoodooHDA.kext that I use - it allows me to adjust volume via volume control on the menubar or the fn+Function toggle keys. Or you may use the official VoodooLabs release of VoodooHDA.kext so you get a prefPane and experiment with more settings to suit your tastes.

Flash Player 10.1 Beta Release

I've always complained about how youtube videos never play quite as nicely in Mac OS X as they do in Windows. In a brief summary, it's always been like watching my fave asian drama uploads in a slow motion of sorts. Unsmooth - if there was ever such a word. Such has been the Mac Snow Leopard experience with Flash Player in Safari 4.

But that's changed. I read an article in Tuaw about the improvements on video playback quality on meager netbook IntelGMA950 (or 945) chips, And what's even more delightful is it brings HD quality video playback on web browsers accessible to the netbook masses. Now I didn't care for HD then since I was already having trouble with the normal video - it'd only mean a more exasperating experience so why bother, anyhow?
Then came this Flash Player 10.1 promise which urged me to try.
First off: