Comments on: Hackintosh Dell Mini 9 OS X: Is it Worth it?

By: Jonha @ Happiness

Jonha @ Happiness — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 09:14:17 +0000

I couldn't help but be amazed despite the negative comments about the product.

By: John Donahue

John Donahue — Wed, 12 May 2010 22:24:07 +0000

I have used a Mini 9 & 10v now for over a year. I set up my 10v initially with a dual boot configuration, but that didn't last for long. Both the 9 & 10v perform far better running OS X than the Windows installation could even approach. This performance boost only accelerated after I increased the RAM to 2GB. It is almost as if the hardware were made to make OS X look good.

As to the question of is it worth it, well, if you used mine for fifteen minutes, you would say yes too.

By: No-Ordinary-Joe

No-Ordinary-Joe — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 04:04:24 +0000

I'm writing this on an Acer Aspire One with stock 1GB ram and 8gb SSD + 8GB SD running Ubuntu 9.10, and running it off a 4GB Imation USB stick to boot. No extraordinary install required: WiFi, Video and sound simply work, but space is tight. The native XP is painfully slow by comparison, and it's WiFi is not as reliable. OSX continues to be a fight, WiFi not supported but wired did, and boot options need to be investigated.

Netbooks share a common characteristic with all laptops ever sold: checkout the screen and keyboard before you buy - these are very personal aspects of a PC that you will live with for the life of the PC.

By: OSX 10.6.3

OSX 10.6.3 — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 05:29:13 +0000

I can appreciate the comments but don't really agree, I'm typing this right now on my mini 9 running OSX 10.6.2 - currently updating to 10.6.3.

The keyboard is cramped - yes it is and it does take time to get used to it, I have a runcore 64gig SSD and 2 gig have had no issues with speed on the mini 9. Seems very responsive all functions work from the internal microphone to the dell 5530 3G wireless card.

For me this is the ultimate portable OSX powered mini. Yes the CPU is only an Atom and any core 2 duo will wipe the floor with it. The unit is not a replacement for say a normal apple mac - that is not what it is designed to be - it's supposed to replace the mac for those trips where we only want carryon or - a drive over to the other side of town. No other package can match it for size vs capability and compatibility with OSX.

By: robert c

robert c — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 09:21:09 +0000

I also tried OS X on the Vostro and I didn’t like it. Felt underpowered.

But it did manage to get Ubuntu 9.10 on there, a custom, sort of built-up-from scratch version of it, and it absolutely screams. Stock everything (16GB SSD, 1GB RAM) — usually idles around 250megs of ram, 3 gigs of HD space. Boots up in approx 25 secs, Open Office opens up in about 4.

These things (the 9′s) seem to definitely be built with Linux in mind. Just like there is a smooth thing going on between Apple hardware and software, there is a also a smooth thing going on between this Mini 9 (Vostro A90) and Ubuntu 9.10. They’re really built for each other (mine doesn’t even have a Windows logo).

I don’t recommend OS X on these — they’re passively cooled, too, so the amount of time it takes to get OS X up and running on them requires you to put it up on some kind of books and angle fans at it and so on.

It is kind of a novelty, but with Ubuntu + Entrance + Fluxbox + Gnome Do, it really is kind of a fun thing to play around with. Can always get a portable USB keyboard if you need.

I wouldn’t recommend installing OS X on it though. With a minimal Linux installation this thing is wicked fast out of the box.

By: Tom Haggerty

Tom Haggerty — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 01:28:10 +0000

Hi All – first post here. I’ve been a user of Mac OS X for several revisions now. I just picked up a Dell Mini 10v from ebay. Doing the hackintosh thing was a breeze. I put this together for my wife as she had been using my 13 inch macbook so often, I needed to find some solution that would let us both get on the net, etc. She’s getting it tomorrow morning for Christmas. The only downside I have noticed so far is the video playback. I just popped a few bucks for the 2GB memory upgrade so I’ll see if that does the trick. Yeah, I could have spent a LOT more getting even a used mac for her online, but this is really the ticket for the sorts of things that she uses my macbook for. I think it’s a GREAT solution.

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 19:09:29 +0000

dude, use the alt key on the dell mini 9 as the command key. Then you can copy and paste. (so it’s alt c, alt v… etc)

By: Alan

Alan — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:06:04 +0000

I have bought an Acer Aspire One about 18m ago in preference to the Dell Mini 9 principally because of the keyboard.

I have long thin fingers so the size is absolutely not a problem but the key layout is terrible. The top row of keys (QWERTY) isn’t offset properly and I had a play with one and I just couldn’t type on it. Perhaps if you are a hunt and peck typist it might be OK but for touch typing it was unusable (for me at least).

One big plus point in the Mini 9′s favour is that it has full Ubuntu support unlike the AAO. Ubuntu does now support all the AAO’s hardware with a bit of tweaking (not for Linux n00b’s I wouldn’t say) but it has taken 18m since I bought it for this to be true.

It’s a shame because otherwise it’s a nice little machine. It’s pretty silly comparing this to a MacBook Air that costs 5 times as much. You have to understand what you are buying it for.

By: alex

alex — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:12:43 +0000

Matt… 6 months from now there will be even better laptops on the horizon in just another 6 months. That’s the game, if you want/need/can afford a computer now just go for it. Otherwise you’ll be waiting on the fence while everyone else is enjoying their hackintosh. I can’t wait to get started on this project, sounds like fun!

By: os x on netbook - DesignersTalk

os x on netbook - DesignersTalk — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 08:37:16 +0000

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By: Veggie

Veggie — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 03:28:48 +0000

I can guarantee any apple netbook/tablet will not be under $500

By: Matt

Matt — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 18:00:55 +0000

I am considering a mini 9 purchase, with the hope of turning it into a hackintosh. But I’m wondering if now is a good time to wait. All of the Apple rumors seem to indicate the company may be coming out with a tablet or some sort of netbook-like device (perhaps a souped-up ipod touch?) in a year or so. And even if that doesn’t happen, I am guessing that netbook prices are likely to really drop this year, or put another way, $300 or so for a netbook will probably buy a much nicer machine in about six months than it will right now. Any thoughts?

By: Ed

Ed — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 22:10:21 +0000

If all you’re after is file syncing, you should check out dropbox, http://www.getdropbox.com

By: Leanne

Leanne — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:16:24 +0000

I’m running 10.5.6 on my dell mini 9 hackintosh and am thinking of updating to snow leopard 10.6 — any stories of success with 10.6 on the mini yet?

By: Wind

Wind — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 08:18:37 +0000

Chris, send me an email at windu100h at gmail.com and we might be able to sort something out. I have had the same problem and I got it solved. It’s simple if you know what to do, or it was for me. :)

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 08:08:59 +0000

Thanks Michael. But unfortunately I am either too much of a novice at this or my problem is more complex.
When I start the computer after update using the software updater to OSX 10.5.8 from the 10.5.6 that was running fine the screen no longer works. I can re boot the computer using the boot disc I used to start the conversion and get to the boot prompt but typing -x has no effect.
If you have any other ideas I would like to hear them especially if I am mis-understanding your instructions. If not I could start again and re load the system from my master OSX disc 10.5.1 and update package by package as I did before but will 10.5.7 work if I download the package to my desktop? I really want to have this net book as my travel machine linked in with mobile me to the rest of the system so it would be good to know how to do updates correctly. When I get it right I will run time machine to back up. the system. Thanks for any help you can give.