If you’re as disappointed with Apple’s IPad as I am, then you’re probably looking for a Mac-friendly alternative to the iPad, PC tablets and PC netbooks. Look no further than the Lenovo S10.
It only takes a few dollars (and a few minutes) to turn a $250 Lenovo S10 (S10 model 4333 with 1 GB RAM) into the ultimate Hacintosh Netbook. The Lenovo S10 Ideapad makes it easy for anyone (even YOU) to create a Mac-compatible netbook. All you need is an 8-gigabyte thumb drive and a $25 copy of Snow Leopard.
OSX Snow Leopard features that don’t work with other netbooks all work with the Lenovo S10. It is the only netbook with hassle-free OSX installation and ‘turnkey support’ of OS X version 10.6.2. Apple tried to disable Atom processor support (and hackintosh netbooks) with the 10.6.2 update — but the Lenovo S10 remains compatible.
The S10 is a better solution for me, and many other people than Apple’s IPad for these reasons:
It works great for video chat. The webcam on the S10 isn’t flawless, but with a bit of help from CamTwist, it does a good job supporting Skype and other video applications. (I conducted a 45-minute interview using the S10 this week.)
It’s got a USB port. One of the main reasons to have a tablet or netbook is to manage your digital photos. To do this, you’ve got to have a USB port or smart card slot. The S10 has both. Using the USB port, I can also connect a DVD drive and other peripherals.
It’s flash friendly. When I heard that the iPad didn’t support Flash, it was a deal breaker. You can’t browse the web today in any meaningful way without supporting Flash.
I can work on it, on the go. When it comes to portable computing A reasonably-sized keyboard and reasonable battery life (and removable battery) goes a long way. The S10 netbook has these. It’s compact and moderately durable.
Snow Leopard installation guide for Lenova S10
With Lenova S10, thumb drive and Snow Leopard DVD in hand, follow these steps:
- Prep your Lenovo S10 by installing the latest Firmware update: 14CN94WW update.
- Create a USB installation drive for Snow Leopard using your installation DVD and the thumb drive. The steps for doing this are described here.
- Install OS X S10 Snow Leopard Enabler 1.1.9 on your installation thumb drive.
- Boot from your thumb drive. place in the USB and boot your Lenovo S10. At the boot prompt, press ‘Fn+F11′ to bring up the boot menu; Select “USB HD” as the boot device and hit enter.
- Run the OSX installer. It should take about a half hour.
- Run ‘Software Update’ to get the latest versions of everything when your S10 reboots (in OSX) after installation.
- Install CamTwist to ensure webcam support on the S10 for Skype and other video applications. (iChat works by default, other applications require CamTwist.)
The S10 is a peppy Mac-powered netbook, despite its modest hardware specs. To keep it that way, I installed FireFox 3.6 and Chrome for web browsing. I also use OpenOffice instead of Microsoft Office.
Lenovo S10 (w/one Gig Ram) running OSX Snow Leopard and Open Office.
Credits: Noise to Signal cartoon is courtesy of Rob Cottingham.
IPad? IDon’t think so.
Barry Callen, author of ‘Perfect Phrases for Sales & Marketing Copy‘ (and a good friend), reminds us how important having a good name for a product can be. It can turn a failing product into a best-selling product. In the case of Apple’s iPad, it can do the reverse.
About Troy Janisch