OS X running on Asus R2H: Mac tablet at last, sort of

While we all just sit around, twiddling our thumbs in tense anticipation of Apple finally releasing the tablet device it's had patented for some time now, Igor is making things happen. No, his discovery wasn't exactly unearthing the long-awaited Apple tablet from a secret vault in Cupertino, but he did manage to get OS X 10.4.7 up and running on his Asus R2H UMPC. Sure, Peter Green's home-crafted MKIII (vid after the jump) was svelte in its own homegrown way, but installing Apple's own operating system on a tried and true Wintel machine is a feat worthy of praise. Although the nitty gritty of the process is scant, Igor notes that he installed OS X "JaS Patched" and also utilized an SSE2 patch to get things moving along; he stated that the installation itself "had no problems," and was quite simple (albeit time consuming) once things got rolling. Moreover, the only quirks he's experienced thus far is the inability for OS X to render the 800 x 480 resolution natively, which snips a few precious pixels of desktop space. Overall, we'd say things must be working out fairly well, as he even goes so far as to proclaim OS X as "his only operating system" installed on the UMPC -- bravo Igor, bravo.

[Mike @ Dec 15th 2006 10:21AM]

Mmmm... OK but where is the handwriting recognition like on XP Tablet PC?
If you have to use the mini-onscreen keyboard for data input I'll pass.

[Jason @ Dec 15th 2006 12:44PM]

OS X has "Ink" built in which does handwriting recognition. I used to use it with my Wacom tablet for laughs while in chat rooms.

[uNext @ Dec 15th 2006 10:31AM]

Useless-if he required a sse2 patch that means his computer cant handle sse3 which translates to the inability to use quartz and the mac os x eyecandy. He will remain
stuck at whatever resolution he is currently running simply because the pc does not support sse3. He did nothing but install this on his computer the pat on the back is for maxxus and jas and the whole osx86 community for making it possible.

worthless but i guess the "WHOA i am cool" factor is in full effect

[kerunt @ Dec 15th 2006 10:40AM]

Clearly a false story. No self-respecting Russian ever touches Mac OS.

[Keef @ Dec 15th 2006 10:47AM]

Iv been wanting to install the Mac OS on to my computer.... like multi-boot it like i have done with my Media center + Vista OS's.

is there a guide on how to do this with the Mac OS too?, do i NEED an Intel computer, or will it still work on my AMD?

also the guide needs to be simple if not idiot proof, and im simple :P lol

[Ceralor @ Dec 15th 2006 11:20PM]

It'll work! Profit42.com had an article I found on digg that had how to dualboot vista and Mac OS X. Requires vista installed already, but it worked! I'm now quadbooting Vista, OSX, Win2k, and WinXP.

[Don @ Dec 15th 2006 11:02AM]

I wish he would post instructions on how to do this.

[andy @ Dec 15th 2006 11:11AM]

Keef @ Dec 15th 2006 10:46AM
Iv been wanting to install the Mac OS on to my computer.... like multi-boot it like i have done with my Media center + Vista OS's.

is there a guide on how to do this with the Mac OS too?, do i NEED an Intel computer, or will it still work on my AMD?

also the guide needs to be simple if not idiot proof, and im simple :P lol


well that would be illigal, if ya want mac os, buy a mac, then install windows as the dual boot, the legal way, the easy way, and no probs with updates, plus yourll have a nice computer to boot

[saboola @ Dec 15th 2006 11:44AM]

Are you sure its outright "illegal"? Could you not technically buy a copy of Mac OS X from any Apple Store and now own a license to use it?

[andy @ Dec 15th 2006 11:54AM]

"Are you sure its outright "illegal"? Could you not technically buy a copy of Mac OS X from any Apple Store and now own a license to use it?"

saboola, it is outright illegal to run osx on ANY hardware other than that made by apple, regardless of your ownership of a licence, otherwise they may has well just licence it to dell or sony like they want, but cant have mwahahahaha. a mac is the only computer that can 'legally' run the 3 main OS used today, why limit yaself

[KC @ Dec 15th 2006 6:08PM]

And here I thought DRM'ed music was evil. Boy, am I wrong!

[optV @ Dec 15th 2006 12:00PM]

It looks like QI/CE are enabled, look at frontrow, notice how fast its running, not to mention that thing most likely has an intel 950 (same as macbooks and mac minis) in it like alot of UMPCs. I also think that front row requires quartz extreme to be enabled. Personally, I'm amazed he got the remote working. Wonder if it'll patch to 10.4.8.

[Jeremy @ Dec 15th 2006 12:20PM]

It looks too slow to use realistically in the video. Made if used the terminal only, but then what's the point of OS X in that?

[andy @ Dec 15th 2006 12:34PM]

"It looks like QI/CE are enabled, look at frontrow, notice how fast its running, not to mention that thing most likely has an intel 950 (same as macbooks and mac minis) in it like alot of UMPCs. I also think that front row requires quartz extreme to be enabled. Personally, I'm amazed he got the remote working. Wonder if it'll patch to 10.4.8."

you are confusing the 2 devises, thats the mac mini hack, the post is really about the umpc hack, unrelated

[blah @ Dec 15th 2006 1:27PM]

I've been running OS X for a while now on my HP Compaq TC1100 tablet. Handwriting works, yes. In fact, after a little patching, everything works great on it.

To those that don't think this is legal: With the exception, possibly, of the US, this is perfectly legal if you already own a legitimate copy of OS X Intel (hell, in a lot of jurisdictions you don't even need to own your own copy first). You can do whatever you want with your copy in most jurisdictions, CONTRARY to what Apple's licensing agreement says.

[greg @ Dec 17th 2006 2:32AM]

Hey Blah, could you explain how you got OSX to recognize the Wacom digitizer on your HP tablet? I've got Tiger running on a Toshiba M200, but there's no recognition of the tablet hardware.

[espi @ Aug 19th 2008 9:38AM]

Hey I'm calling BS on this post - no one has ever posted how to get the digitizer to work on the TC1100! Sure, OSX can install, but the tablet functions do not work. Handwriting? BS dude.

[cromas @ Dec 15th 2006 7:18PM]

What is interesting about this? How is it any different from installing osx86 on any other wintel machine?

[Juan Pablo Pincheira @ Dec 15th 2006 10:26PM]

totally amazing.
apple MUST release something like that!

[Ceralor @ Dec 15th 2006 11:20PM]

You can manually change the desktop size. Profit42.com had an article on speeding up OSX on PC's, and one of those included setting the manual resolution. You have to reboot, but it works!

[whiskey @ Dec 16th 2006 12:34AM]

Ok first of all... GOOGLE MAN, seriously, there are LOTS and lots of articles on how to get this done. Second of all, well legality is a concern, so if you are going to get your equipment audited then by all means do not do so.
Third, this is new because it's an UMPC, not your everyday pc, a tablet that has a 7 inch screen.
Fourth, eyecandy works even after the patch. You just need to have decent video hardware and some ram (i have seen it running under vmware on a pretty decent rig and it worked ok).
Fifth, yes do not limit yourself, build your own pc and boot any OS on it (BeOS, QNX, Linux, FreeBSD, Windows XP + Vista and Mac, i don't know why, maybe just because you can?).
Sixth and last: Pretty cool, this could make Apple think about this UMPC differently (the iUMPC???).

[Thierry Bodart @ Dec 16th 2006 1:53AM]

It's a fake. The original is a mod of a Mac Mini with a LCD Touchscreen.

Look at

http://www.homepage.mac.com/peter_green/MMP_MkIII_Tablet

[Hyram H. @ Dec 17th 2006 3:20AM]

Tablet Macs, and hacks to make them, are not new. Apple have often dabbled in the design of such, and in 1996 worked with Assistive Technologies to repackage the PowerBook 3400 into a tablet design called the "FreeStyle", intended for use for the disabled. See http://www.moto.com/art/portfolio/004_assist_freestyle.jpg

I truly believe that tablet-style computers are the future, and cannot wait for Apple to release their own official one.

[manhattan @ Jan 22nd 2007 11:33PM]

"blah @ Dec 15th 2006 1:27PM

I've been running OS X for a while now on my HP Compaq TC1100 tablet."

3 quick questions:

1)How did you install... Google is not turning up anything about natively installing OS X on a tablet.
2)What version of OS X are you able to run?
3)What CPU does your TC1100 come with? Don't you need SSE2 & 3?

[midireebs @ Sep 4th 2007 3:14PM]

Howdy all,
I am illegally running Mac OSX (10.4.6 Jas downloaded from the org bay of pirates) on my HP NX6125 PZ895UA#ABA AMD Turion based laptop as well am illegally running 10.4.8 on my Asus R2H (1st rev / celeron M). Yes its illegal. I work in the industry dealing with Apple and Windows based gear and have contacted apple directly to inquire about the legality of such blasphemy and yes in fact it is illegal to install on non-apple hardware as well it is illegal to procure their operating system from "less than legal" sources on the net. They will not support it in any way shape or form even if you buy an upgraded license from a legal vendor. You want a good laugh look up "applecare+compaq" and listen to the recorded phone conversation.
My HP AMD notebook runs Mac OSX like a champ(in some cases/apps, faster than the actual macbooks) but not without MANY headaches... upon installation, wifi, (full speed)ATA support, (full)video support and audio DID NOT work... of course a little(or a lot depending on your learning curve and willingness to delve into the unknown) driver mod's will remedy the situation. Took me 4 days to get everything working and it does ALL WORK at this point. Even cracked parallels 3 and cracked XP run well on this thing. When the HP rep showed up at my store he was first amazed and then quick to point out I "may have" voided my 3 year warranty from HP by doing so... however it turns out that since I had bought a replacement 2.5" western digital hdd and installed MAC OSX on it (being a licensed HP business repair tech and all) that I did not void my HP warranty. He actually couldnt wait to get back to home base to tell his cronies.
The Asus R2H "can" run the Mac OS but there are some issues... primarily being the lack of SSE3 so the things super slow compared to my HP hackintosh... the screen resolution which is really oddball on a 7" screen. The wireless was a bitch to get working and I dont think there is any hope for the onboard GPS but hey... fun experiment. I think Ill put XP Tablet back on the thing or maybe dual boot it just for "geek prestigue" but I gotta say that even though it IS do-able it isnt all that functional performance wise(maybe rev 2 of the R2H with the Pentium mobile??? Anyone???)... although it definately isnt functional as a Vista UMPC... holy sluggish batman!
I saw the video and had to try it... despite the illegal nature. Anyways if you all want a hackintosh or crackbook head on over to insanelymac or osx86project and start reading... be prepared to sacrifice some time.
Fight the power!
midireebs

[davi perez @ Jul 4th 2008 3:27AM]

i wanna run mac's os on my hp tc1100. 1.2 ghz centrino,2 gigs of ram.