The idea is to put the iPad in a hinged case that contain a bluetooth keyboard to use for typing instead of the on-screen keyboard.  This essentially turn the iPad in some sort of disfunctional netbook (try to use a netbook without a mouse/trackpad).

Sure it [...]]]> Clamcase is selling a nice looking but questionable case for the iPad.

The idea is to put the iPad in a hinged case that contain a bluetooth keyboard to use for typing instead of the on-screen keyboard.  This essentially turn the iPad in some sort of disfunctional netbook (try to use a netbook without a mouse/trackpad).

Sure it would be nice to use to type long documents but does one really need to use an iPad for this?  Long document typing is better done on a full feature computer.

The iPad is mostly oriented for casual document writing, email, surfing, gaming an a bunch of other portable application usage.  I don’t see it being a good document writing platform for day long usage.

I think the case look good but will not be really practical.

via Heres the coolest iPad product yet… | 9 to 5 Mac.

OK, now that the reviews are out and that the consensus is that the iPad is pretty much meeting/exceeding expectation my brain just kicked into justification mode.

Here is my thought process on why I should buy the darn thing (or not) for me and my familly.

1. I would like to be able to read books in bed/living room [...]]]>

OK, now that the reviews are out and that the consensus is that the iPad is pretty much meeting/exceeding expectation my brain just kicked into justification mode.

Here is my thought process on why I should buy the darn thing (or not) for me and my familly.

1. I would like to be able to read books in bed/living room but I don’t like buying paper books because they just take so much space when done with and I hate throwing good books in the recycling bin. +1 for an iPad

2. I need something to play video during long car drive for the kids.  I currently use a dell netbook but the viewing angle is crap, the control interface is crap, video playback is sometime jerky and the kids keep complaining about the screen not being visible enough. +1 for iPad

3. I/wife/kids could play games on it. Neutral since they have Nintendo DS and they are happy with them… and there will not be enough iPads for the kids to all play at the same time.

4. I like new gadgets +1 for iPad

5. I can get rid of the Dell Mini 9 that collect dust on a shelf to offset iPad cost (-180$ maybe). +1 for iPad

6. I can use my Dell Mini 10v as a big hard drive to store more content for/from the iPad while on the road to do things I can’t with the iPad… like moving Pictures from my camera on the netbook, browsing sites that requires flash, etc.  Neutral. Could have been a negative for iPad if I had not own a netbook already.

7. I can use the iPad as a music source during long drive independently from my iPhone 3G that act as my GPS.  3G running Navigon struggle with multitasking as an iPod at the same time. This way I may postpone my iPhone upgrade another year. +1 for iPad

8. I will be able to run all those new iPad apps! +1 for iPad (self serving justification).

9. If I jailbreak my iPhone I could tether my iPad to it while on the road with no wi-fi (cause I will buy the cheap 16GB wi-fi iPad). Neutral

10. I will be able to watch my movies/tv shows in bed without worrying about battery life and stuttering of my Dell Mini 10v. +1 for iPad

I think this is enough.  I now convinced myself to buy one

Can you think of other good reasons to buy one?

Dell’s 5-inch Internet tablet is to be called the Dell Mini 5 according to the company, suggesting that it will fit in its portable products range as the second handset to follow the Dell Mini 3 and slot in under the “Mini” range of netbooks.

Dell told Pocket-lint the news at an exclusive round table [...]]]>

Dell’s 5-inch Internet tablet is to be called the Dell Mini 5 according to the company, suggesting that it will fit in its portable products range as the second handset to follow the Dell Mini 3 and slot in under the “Mini” range of netbooks.

Dell told Pocket-lint the news at an exclusive round table event with a handful of journalists at its suite in the Palm's hotel in Las Vegas.

The phone-come-Internet tablet (announced at CES at the Dell press conference on Wednesday) has yet to get a launch date, or in typical Dell teaser style, any tech spec details.

Through further conversations with Dell we've also found out that the new Dell Mini 5 will feature a SIM card slot for use outside of a Wi-Fi hotspot.

via The Dell Mini 5: Dell tablet gets a name – Pocket-lint.

For those [...]]]> A solution was quickly found on how to make 10.6.2 work on the Atom based netbook… simply use the 10.6.1 kernel instead of the 10.6.2.  This is certainly a step back from a proper upgrade but it is better than no upgrade at all.  Here is a copy of the instructions as written by Meklort:

For those of you who have already updated, and don’t have a working system do the following
1) Boot from the medium you used to install the os.
2) Open up a terminal
3) Run the following commands

cp /Volumes/InternalDrive/mach_kernel /Volumes/InternalDrive/mach_kernel_10_6_2
cp /mach_kernel /Volumes/InternalDrive/

For those of you who have yet to update, you can do the following
1) Open up a terminal.
2) run the following command (con’t close the window after)

sudo cp /mach_kernel /mach_kernel_10_6_1

3) Install the 10.6.2 update, but don’t restart yet
4) Run the following commands

sudo cp /mach_kernel /mach_kernel_10_6_2
sudo cp /mach_kernel_10_6_1 /mach_kernel

5) reboot.

If you rebooted before you replaced the new kernel, you can type “mach_kernel_10_6_1″ at the bootloader (no quotes), and it’ll use the kernel you backed up.

Finally, run NetbookInstaller 0.8.3 RC3 from a normal boot, not safe mode (bug, doesn’t generate the mkexts correctly) so that you use the new extensions / GMA950 drivers / etc.

It’s not clear whether Apple would have intentionally broken Atom support in this release to discourage people from [...]]]> Apple pushed out OS X 10.6.2 today, and while the latest Snow Leopard update fixes a whole slew of bugs, it introduces one major problem for netbook hackintosh builders: It doesn’t seem to work with the Intel Atom processor.

It’s not clear whether Apple would have intentionally broken Atom support in this release to discourage people from installing the operating system on netbooks. But Atom compatibility is clearly not a high priority for Apple since the company doesn’t make any products that use the processor.

via OS X 10.6.2 is out: Intel Atom support not included.

Here is a great walkthrough from Gizmodo on NBI! Happy reading:

Last time we threw together a guide like this, things were different. Snow Leopard was but a glint in Steve Jobs‘ eye, and in terms of hardware, the Mini 9 was the best thing going—it was pretty much the only netbook you could guarantee would work [...]]]>

Here is a great walkthrough from Gizmodo on NBI! Happy reading:

Last time we threw together a guide like this, things were different. Snow Leopard was but a glint in Steve Jobs‘ eye, and in terms of hardware, the Mini 9 was the best thing going—it was pretty much the only netbook you could guarantee would work perfectly. Not to mention the hackintosh process was much, much more complicated. And riskier! And yet, despite all this, it was easy to recommend loading a Mini up with OS X, because to put it bluntly, the results were fantastic.

But the Mini 9 was a bit too small for regular use, and even if it’s still pretty easy to buy one, it’s not officially part of Dell‘s product line anymore. Fast forward to now: the Mini 10v is a (quite similar) replacement for the 9, with a slightly larger screen, 160GB HDD standard, and 1GB or RAM. Most importantly, the keyboard is a bit larger, and the price is wonderfully low: $300 for a netbook that’s completely ready for hackintoshing. Or to put it another way, the 10v is a $300 Apple netbook.

And it isn’t just the hardware that’s changed, it’s the software. Snow Leopard is fast—faster than 10.5—and its new interface features, like Dock Expose, make using OS X on a netbook even easier. Finder is faster, Quicktime has a new interface. It’s a pretty big upgrade from Leopard, is what I’m trying to say.

And installation tools have grown up too. Netbook hackintoshing used to be an all-day process, with external optical drives, Terminal commands, and numerous terrifying driver tweaks. Today, there are simple software utilities to take care of all this for you. So let’s recap: Since 2008, the hardware has gotten cheaper and better, OS X more mature, and the installation process much simpler. Oh yeah, and Snow Leopard retail costs $30. (Though strict moralists should note that this is intended to be an upgrade.) There’s never been a better time to hackintosh—not by a long shot.

read the rest via How To: Hackintosh a Dell Mini 10v Into the Ultimate Snow Leopard Netbook – Dell mini 10v hackintosh – Gizmodo.