Snow Leopard 10.6.2: The Atom Killer

By: JP Smith | Published: November 10, 2009

Categories: Apple, Hardware

It's no secret that this was coming, Apple issued a big middle-finger to those who own "Hackintosh" netbooks.  As you know, Apple has a monopoly...er...selective policy on the types of hardware on which it's operating system will run.  Well, there's a thriving community of computer enthusiasts who like OS X but, don't want to have to buy all new computing hardware to run it.  Of course, to Apple, this is a big no-no. 

There have been quite a few folks who have gotten OS X to work on their netbooks.  I read accounts from many folks about how they were enjoying their "Hackintoshes".  However, the love-fest is over.

 

The latest update to OS X (ver. 10.6.2) kills netbook compatiblity by disabling support for Intel Atom processors (a majority of netbooks use this processor).  What basically happens is that the computer goes into and endless reboot loop, rendering the machine inoperable.  The only recourse is to power of the machine and install another operating system (Linux, anyone?).

However, it is odd that Apple would specifically target this processor.  This is leading some to speculate that Apple is looking at it's own competitor to the netbook and is trying to avoid any competition in this space.

Regardless of the "why", it's clear -- your netbook is getting no love from Apple.