Hasta La Gadget!

Mac OS X Leopard 10.6.2 will break your hackintosh. The forthcoming OS update will not run on the Intel Atom processor, a rather petty move from Apple which, if true, will break many netbooks which have been hacked to run as more than passable Macs.

This news comes from Stellarola, the hacker who helped us out extensively with the original (and still the best) Gadget Lab hackintosh. Here’s what he has to say:

In the current developer build of 10.6.2, Apple appears to have changed around a lot of CPU related information. One of the effects of this is Apple killing off Intel’s Atom chip.

The important word there is “current”. The latest seed could change before being released as an actual update. But Stella knows what he’s talking about (he’s one of the guys behind the OSx86 method for easily installing the Mac OS on non-Apple machines), and recommends keeping your frankenmacs loaded with 10.6.1 for now.

This wouldn’t surprise us, especially as Apple seems to have gotten a taste for locking out unauthorized hardware with the Palm Pre cat and mouse game.

10.6.2 kills Atom and other news [Stellarola via Apple Blocks Palm Pre iTunes Syncing Again

We’ll be straight with ya — we’re betting these “personal supercomputer” claims are just a bit out of line with reality, but even still, there’s no denying that Maingear has shoved an insane amount of horsepower beneath the (admittedly large) hood of its newest rig. The beastly SHIFT does away with copious LED lighting and blinging accents found on many modern gaming PCs and instead opts for a classier, more ominous tower. Within, you’ll find a vertical airflow system, a Core i7 processor, your choice of ATI or NVIDIA graphics, 8GB (and up) of DDR3-1600 RAM, up to 6 HDDs or 12 SSDs, DVD and Blu-ray options, an Asetek liquid-cooling solution, Razer peripherals, an optional Killer NIC Xeno Pro and Windows 7 running the show. The Intel P55 rig gets going at $2,199, while the X58 model starts $400 higher; for those in creative design fields, Maingear’s expected to unveil a SHIFT just for you in the near future. Head on past the break for the full release.

Continue reading Maingear unveils Core i7-packin’ SHIFT, your own ‘personal supercomputer’

Filed under: Desktops

Maingear unveils Core i7-packin’ SHIFT, your own ‘personal supercomputer’ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re just about a week away from the Orange iPhone launch, and if you folks across the pond were wondering what the deal was going to cost you, you now have your answer thanks to a dizzying but thoroughly helpful series of tables that lay out the costs of the phones, plans, and the various accoutrement to be included. Those willing to sign up for 24 months can get an 8GB iPhone 3G for free for a minimum of £29.36 ($48) per month, but step up to the £122.34 ($200) monthly plan with unlimited everything and you’ll get a 32GB 3GS gratis. Meanwhile, on a pay as you go plan that same 8GB 3G will cost you £343 ($561), while the 32GB 3GS is a rather more painful £539 ($881 — haven’t you figured out the conversion rate yet?). You know what that means: contract ahoy.

Filed under: Cellphones

Orange UK’s iPhone contract & pay as you go pricing plans detailed originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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WinMo folks, we wouldn’t blame you for getting a bit of Android envy after last week’s DROID onslaught, but if there’s one thing that could make people pine for your OS it’s HTC’s HD2, and T-Mobile has just confirmed it’s coming on November 9 — a mere weekend after Moto’s new hotness hits Verizon. Mind you, there is some confusion going on here, as the picture on T-Mo’s site is of the old Touch HD, not the HD2 we met and loved, and the mention of “loads of applications to download from Android Market” is particularly perplexing. But, we’ve been told to go ahead and blame a bumbling marketeer rather than to expect some sort of cross-platform app marketplace love fest — groovy as that may sound.

Update: We’ve also just learned that HTC is going to officially launch the HD2 on November 4 ahead of a November 11 release elsewhere. We’re not entirely sure what there is left to learn about the thing, but we’re always game for another press event.

Update 2: Just to clarify things, this is T-Mobile UK. Also, as many have pointed out in comments, we’re now thinking the “09” above means 2009, not November 9, which likely points to a November 11 release. Surely you can swallow that DROID envy for another two days, yeah?

[Via WMPoweruser.com]

Filed under: Cellphones

T-Mobile nabs HTC’s Touch HD2, schedules release for November originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ooh, what’s this? A new netbook from Lenovo, or some other flavor of tiny laptop? Little is known about the subject of this FCC filing from hardware assembler (and resurrector) Wistron, other than it will have a 10.1-inch screen, a 3-in-1 media reader, and plenty of wireless options including Bluetooth, WiFi, and HSDPA data. Dimensionally the device, referred to as the 0251, would fit into the IdeaPad category, but with no mention of processor or storage there’s still some room to hope for something equally small but with a bit more chutzpah. Yeah, we’re optimists.

[Via wireless goodness; Warning: PDF read link]

Filed under: Laptops

Slinky Lenovo laptop prototype outed by FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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