Packet Rancher

I’ve been wanting a Netbook for a while now but really couldn’t justify getting one.  That is until I read you can install Apple’s OS X on them.  There was no real way I could talk myself out of getting one after I found out that little fact.  Once deciding I was going to get a Netbook, I used a handy OS X compatibility matrix provided by BoingBoing about which available Netbooks worked the best with Apple’s OS.  At the time of my efforts (and this writing) the Dell Mini9 appears to be the best choice with all of the hardware you could imagine not working correctly being compatible.  The BoingBoing page recommends using a Gizmodo how-to for how to take on the task of installation.  I followed the directions to a tee but had some weird problems during the process.  If you choose to do this yourself remember, just because you can’t boot off of a disk on a single attempt doesn’t mean it won’t work the next time.  So basically, keep trying if a disk doesn’t mount and boot.  You may have a 1 in 5 success rate like I did at times.  Not knowing about this key nugget of info made the process take about 3 or 4 hours longer than it should have but after 5 hours of mild toil, I had a fully functional little 9″ OS X Netbook.  I was amazed at how well it worked after installation.  Everything works right down to software updates from Apple.  I should note that sleep does sometimes present some issues with a lack of restoration after sleep and occasionally a stuck key press without a key depressed.  These issues come up infrequently and I would consider these problems very minor to exchange for the luxury of having this extremely portable little computer.

So what do I really need this Netbook for?  I’ll be honest, I didn’t really consider that fact a whole lot before I bought it.  It was a pretty impulsive purchase.   But after having it a little while, I have found it to be a quite useful little device.   For example, I use a Macbook Pro at home and the office.  It’s plugged into a bunch of crap including a USB hub for my keyboard and mouse, a Firewire 800 disk, an external 20″ LCD monitor, speakers, etc.  When I need to take notes for a meeting or grab my laptop to console into a box real quick, it’s a pain in the ass to unmount and unplug everything especially if I have to do this a few times a day (Apple, bring back the dock connector!)  There is also something to be said for having a machine with a load of network utilities to do some bookend throughput tests (see iPerf) or even something you can just leave sniffing the wire while you are troubleshooting on the CLI with your other machine.  The battery life is no slouch either as I get 3 to 4 hours out of the thing.

All in all, I’m glad I bought the little guy.  It’s a useful little augmentation to the tools I use everyday as a network admin.  It’s also nice to give to my kids to keep them off of my computer if they ask :-)  I recommend anyone inclined and interested give it a shot.  Worst case if Apple catches on and breaks it with an update, you can go to Ubuntu.  My plan is to be a little slower with updates letting other people be the canary in the coal mine, so to speak.

To get an idea of scale, I’ve included a picture below of the Mini9 on my MBP.  It’s pretty slight compared.  Yes, that is a Diego band-aid on my thumb.  At least it’s not Dora.  You parents out there get what I’m talking about.

jason Network News, Tools netbook, Tools