What ingredients will you need:

1st, install Quicktime 7 from the Snow Leopard DVD and then license it.

2nd, follow the [...]]]> I made s short screencast of how to convert those MKV files to MP4 files so they can play on XBOX 360, PS3 and Apple TV.

What ingredients will you need:

1. An HD MKV file (obviously)
2. Perian QuickTime codec
3. Subler
4. A QuickTime Pro License for Quicktime 7

1st, install Quicktime 7 from the Snow Leopard DVD and then license it.

2nd, follow the screencast below:

I will try to find a way to extract and convert the audio without requiring Quicktime 7 Pro.  It really annoy the heck out of me to use QT 7 for this.  There must be an cheaper way to do this.

Many users on the MyDellMini forum have installed using Mechdrew’s NetbookCD and related guides. At the moment, NetbookCD [...]]]> In a recent post Meklort stated that he will focus on simplifying the installation experience even more for the 0.8.4 release. his main goal is to make NetbookBootMaker supported on multiple platforms (or a version of it for each).

Many users on the MyDellMini forum have installed using Mechdrew’s NetbookCD and related guides. At the moment, NetbookCD can patch an OS X install DVD at runtime by using a special kext and a console version of NetbookBootMaker. This will be incorporated into both NetbookInstaller as well as NetbookBootMaker.

The following changes are planned (some already completed or in progress):

• NetbookBootMaker is in the process of being rewritten. It will no longer patch the installation dvd, instead NetbookBootMaker will install a postboot ramdisk (as with NetbookCD) that will patch the dvd (or usb drive) at runtime. This means that tiger will be a supported host OS.
• NetbookBootMaker will be ported to Windows (using Cocotron). NetbookBootMaker will be able to at least create both usb devices used for the two usb install method, although I'm also planning on getting it working with just one usb drive.
• Look into creating an app for Linux, however creating the usb drives can easily be done already.
• NetbookInstaller will automatically be run after a system update. A modified chameleon will run NetbookInstaller (via a ramdisk) if it detects the /System/Library/Extensions.mkext is newer than /Extra/Extensions.mkext. This should only happen if the user installs an OS update, or installs a kext to /S/L/E.
• NetbookInstaller and NetbookBootMaker will support 64bit targets. The main reason for the 64bit support is for the new Atom cpus from Intel, as well as netbooks with the Atom 330 cpu.

In other words 0.8.4 will focus on unifying the various installation methods so that a common code base can be used, as well as to simplify the amount of work a user needs to do to install OS X.

Since 10.5 is no longer in development, NetbookInstaller will no longer support Leopard. You can use an older version, such as 0.8.3. This is being done to simplify application as well as to reduce the download size.

via NetbookInstaller Plans (Specifically 0.8.4) « Meklort’s Blog.

What is left to do before releasing [...]]]> Meklort and I worked on the project again last night and things are shaping up quite well.  The NetbookBootMaker is now reverting back to the DellEFI method of caching kext for the installation.  We ran into too many issues with the new method… like Kernel Panic and missing Quartz Extreme.

What is left to do before releasing an alpha version of the solution is to iron out some bugs from the GUI and to integrate it in the DVD menu items for easy recovery of broken Netbook OSX install.

This should make this so much easier for people.  But you will need access to a Mac and an 8GB+ USB key… small price to pay to get piece of mind installation.

It is about time Microsoft (and I hope Apple) realise that the world is evolving and that DVD are getting useless!  Why don’t [...]]]>

Realizing that the world of Netbook and ultraportable has gone missing a DVD reader Microsoft is thinkering with the idea of selling Windows 7 installation on USB Thumb Drive media.

It is about time Microsoft (and I hope Apple) realise that the world is evolving and that DVD are getting useless!  Why don’t they simply allow you to buy the right to download and install a new copy of the OS Installation on your own USB key!

This is what Meklort and I have been doing for OSX Installation on Netbook for close to a year.  Forget the DVD, think USB key!

This would save the planet from all those DVD media that we keep scratching, loosing.  You loose the USB key… fine, simply go online and use you purchased right to download a new copy and install that on your new 64GB USB key!

We don’t need dedicated key per OS.  Simply download the OS Installer you need to “a” USB key, install with it and then format that key for something else.

Maybe BestBuy and other retailers could offer their clients to install various OS version on USB Key for a minimal charge (or even for free).  This would prevent folks from downloading them via the internet and storing them on their HD. Simply walk to BestBuy, go at the OS imaging station and put the OS on your Thumb Drive.

Simple, practical, every one win.

Netbook owners using Apple MAc hardware will be able to “Netbookify” a restored copy of OSX DVD on a USB stick. What this mean is that you will simply restore the legal OSX [...]]]> Just to give you folks interested to OSX on Netbook update as to where Meklort and I are at with the next gen installer.

Netbook owners using Apple MAc hardware will be able to “Netbookify” a restored copy of OSX DVD on a USB stick. What this mean is that you will simply restore the legal OSX DVD installation to an 8GB+ USB Key then run a Mac application (windows should be available one day) called NetbookBootMaker.

Once the application has done a few things to the USB Key (like installing a boot loader (Chameleon), creating a custom extension cache including custom kext, etc you will be able to boot the netbook with it to perform the OSX install.

Once you boot from the netbookified USB key the installation will proceed just like on a real Mac… except that at the end the all to familiar Fail error message will show up… but the magic already happened behind the scene. At this point you simply click restart, take the USB key out of the netbook and boot straight to OSX.

At that point you may elect to apply a Combo patch or upgrade to 10.5.7. Obviously going from a 10.5.0 install to 10.5.7 need a special -x flag at boot to make thing display right until you can run “NetbookInstaller” which will replace the trusty DellEFI application that I used to write.

NetbookInstaller will do similar things to your netbook as DellEFI and will allow you to boot to a fully functional 10.5.7 system.  The big difference is that it will detect your netbook hardware and will install appropriate custom kext to make things right.

Currently supported devices by the installer are:

• Dell Mini 9
• Dell Mini 10v
• Dell Vostro A90
• Lenovo S10

We are probably a week away (or less) from releasing an alpha version to the community.  We just need to figure out some bugs with the new GUI Installer that replaces DellEFI.

The design changes are subtle, but still effective. [...]]]> Today, Toshiba unveiled seven additions to its consumer-friendly Satellite line, as well as three SKUs for its small business-friendly L300 line. The notebooks, which range in price from $549 to $849 and have screen sizes from 14 to 18.4 inches, boast a tweaked design and, obviously, budget price tags.

The design changes are subtle, but still effective. For instance, the keyboard now has a matte finish, which means the keys should feel soft, but not slippery (not to mention pick up fewer fingerprints). Toshiba also brought its higher-end, glossy Fusion finish down to the entry-level– and extended it to the palm rest as well.

Other flourishes that Toshiba is offering on select models include: seamless, edge-to-edge glass displays; illuminated backlit- keyboards; slot-loading DVD ports; 3D accelerometers to protect the hard drive; 16:9 displays, some with native 720p resolution; and multi-touch trackpads (on all models except entry-level and netbooks, which were announced previously).

More via source

I know, I know. Technically, netbooks are just little notebooks. But the truth of the matter is that there are a number of things that most full sized notebooks can do that are tougher to do on a netbook. For one thing, most full sized laptops have optical disc drives for installing software, listening [...]]]>

I know, I know. Technically, netbooks are just little notebooks. But the truth of the matter is that there are a number of things that most full sized notebooks can do that are tougher to do on a netbook. For one thing, most full sized laptops have optical disc drives for installing software, listening to CDs, or watching or burning DVDs. Netbooks also typically have slower processors and lower resolution displays than most laptops which makes them less than ideal for watching 1080p video, playing some games, or performing other CPU-intensive activities.

On the other hand, netbooks are good enough for 90% of the tasks that most people perform on a day to day basis. They can handle web browsing, office document editing, and other duties with ease. Heck, you can edit video on them if you really want to. It’ll just take a lot longer than on a system with a Core 2 Duo CPU.

But I’m probably preaching to the choir here. Most of you already know these things. But according to an NPD study, it appears the general public might not have gotten the message yet. NPD reports that “60 percent of consumers who purchased a netbook instead of a notebook though their netbooks would have the same functionality as notebooks.” Among those who chose a netbook instead of a notebook, only 58% said they were “very satisfied,” while 70% of those who had planned to get a netbook all along were satisfied with the purchase.

Shocking, no? It turns out that there’s a better chance you’ll be happy with your purchase if you know what you’re looking for before forking over the money. Who knew?

Anyway, there’s one statistic in the study that’s even stranger. While the main appeal of netbooks is their light weight, small size, and general portability, 60% of netbook buyers report that they never take the little laptops out of the house. I suppose it could just be aspirational thinking: You buy a netbook because you think you’ll carry it with you everywhere you go, only to realize you never go anywhere that you need a computer. But maybe the idea of a cheap, light weight computer for use around the house just appeals to people who don’t really ever expect to become road warriors.

What do you think? Do you regularly use your netbook around the house, on the go, or both?

Via liliputing