MacBook Air hack unearths more relatively inaccessible USB connectors

Unfortunately, Apple's MacBook Air still only arrives with a lone USB port. Save for using a dongle / hub, there's really been no other way to connect a bevy of USB peripherals to the lappie -- until now. Thanks to a curious hacker with a thing for perusing microchip documentation, he discovered that the internal ICH-8 southbridge chip actually has five low-speed and two high-speed USB controllers. After rolling up his sleeves and finding the correct pins, he was actually able to make the partially exposed MBA recognize and talk nice to a USB flash drive. We know, you USB-lovin' Air owners are already dreaming up ways to add new ports to your slim slab of aluminum, so head on down to the read link if you're ready to work (hard).

[Via TUAW]

[sburko @ Mar 22nd 2008 3:20PM]

Or buy an X300

[Chebwa @ Mar 22nd 2008 3:37PM]

Agreed. This has to be the single lamest way to spend your time I have ever seen (aside from playing World of WarCraft or something). If you are that desperate for more USB ports, odds are you didn't even CONSIDER the MBA as an option when purchasing your laptop. So to you, Mr. "hacker with a thing for perusing microchip documentation," with this much attention to detail surely you can find something more useful to put your skills to.

[Michael LaFramboise @ Mar 22nd 2008 4:19PM]

...or buy a regular MacBook - half an inch thicker (boofuckinghoo) then the MBA but w/ ports and costing almost 2x less

[James @ Mar 22nd 2008 4:25PM]

But does a regular MacBook fit in a manila envelope? That to me is very important.

[Darkest Daze @ Mar 22nd 2008 5:14PM]

Pffft...I only buy laptops that can fit into a standard envelope.

[JLTate @ Mar 23rd 2008 9:43AM]

I dunno... I like laptops that don't look like I could accidentally snap them in half.

[tribalmasters @ Mar 24th 2008 12:14PM]

Chebwa is the sex boy of sex!

[bartoron @ Mar 22nd 2008 3:20PM]

Cool beans.

[clak @ Mar 22nd 2008 4:05PM]

My fellow Mac users, get ready for the Hate-On-The-MacBook-Air-circle-jerk. Watch out for the flying.... uh, well, you know. After all, Mac users are 100 percent gay.

[James @ Mar 22nd 2008 4:19PM]

Hey Clak, pass over some of whatever you are smoking this afternoon.

[Aguiluz @ Mar 22nd 2008 4:47PM]

"Mac users are 100 percent gay."

GASP! A mac user itself admits it! I can't say anything...



(/s)

[ethana2 @ Mar 22nd 2008 5:11PM]

Oh, well, we penguins are like 50% asexual...

I tell you though, if ISA's were women, our kernel would be one heck of a player.

[Za @ Mar 22nd 2008 5:31PM]

It's funny because I actually know 3 gay gfx designers who use Macs. However, most Mac users I know aren't gay. Not that actually *means* anything - Aguiluz, grow up, just a little. Please.

[roach @ Mar 22nd 2008 8:59PM]

Actually, my girlfriend's gay friends either owns a Mac or would like to get one. I wouldn't be surprise if the majority of gay population prefers a stylish Mac over ugly PC box.

[Sukhminder @ Mar 23rd 2008 8:39AM]

(After reading half the comments here, NOTHING to do with USB on a MBA and the war between clak & Common Sense)

Damn it Engadget look what you've done!

[rechnen @ Mar 24th 2008 6:05PM]

Not all mac owners are gay, but all gays are mac owners.

[Paul @ Mar 22nd 2008 3:24PM]

Just like an iphone, you need to hack or mod it to make it useful

[clak @ Mar 22nd 2008 3:52PM]

Yes, because being able to make calls, send e-mail, get on the real internet, look at pictures, play music, videos, YouTube, and plot destinations and locations on Google Maps is NOT useful to normal people. Because normal people need the same thing geeks needs, which means everything in the known universe. Yes, you're exactly right.

Even Chris Pirillo, the biggest geek on the planet said, "I don't need to jailbreak my iPhone. If I can make calls and send e-mail, I'm good...." Oh wait, maybe he isn't the best example.

[JAmerican @ Mar 22nd 2008 4:08PM]

LMAO! Apple it just works...

when you hack it :)

[Abuzar @ Mar 22nd 2008 4:46PM]

Hey Clak, my BB Pearl, that I bought for 80 bucks used, can do that too.

[Aguiluz @ Mar 22nd 2008 4:53PM]

@clak:

Me? Get on the "real" internet on an iPhone? Yeah, I'd prefer to go on the internet on my laptop (14.1" screen, full KB and mouse) rather than on an iPhone (3.5" screen, hard text input).

[Za @ Mar 22nd 2008 5:29PM]

Aguiluz, so does your 14" laptop fit in your pocket? Did it cost $399? Come on man, you are so full of nonsense for trying to compare a smartphone/iPod to a computer.

Oh, durr durr, my Thinkpad is pretty fast but the IBM Blue Gene/L is faster...durr durr. Yes, a supercomputer funded by the government and developed with LLNL will be faster than a laptop...which, having a large screen and faster processor among other things, is more functional than an iPhone.

It's also more expensive and bigger...seriously man, give it a break.

[Aguiluz @ Mar 22nd 2008 6:48PM]

Za, It *actually* cost me $399.
(Acer Aspire 3050-1092)

[Alex @ Mar 22nd 2008 7:34PM]

@ Za

I remember a post about an IBM computer imitating a mouse's brain at -45x the speed of normal. Then I remembered all of the silly 'Can it play Doom' comments, then wondered if it runs on Leopard, Vista or something IBM made themselves.
But yeah, if USB ports were your main concern, you wouldn't be considering an MBA

[Za @ Mar 22nd 2008 9:31PM]

Very nicely played, Aguiluz. I would be lying if I said that response didn't bring a smile to my face. And that is the joy of having competition in the marketplace which Windows/Linux allow for. On the flipside, because the OS is required to support so many more hardware configurations, it can't be as streamlined as an OS specific to a limited set of hardware. You can compare Windows and Mac OSX in this regards, but I was thinking of something more fun, like SunOS/Solaris on SPARC hardware.

Of course, someone buying a low-end Acer would be buying for straight up function without much attention to the form. I sold Acers/HPs/Gateways/Sonys/Toshibas at a brick and mortar store for a while and I can assure all of you that the return/failure rates on the Acers were pretty much identical to anything but the HPs, which we got back more often than any other. The HPs and Sonys definitely looked the best though, with the Acers bringing up the rear. Substance over style is better though than the other way around.

[mastersmite @ Apr 13th 2008 11:39AM]

@Za

my EeePc does fit in my pockets. It surfs the web better than my friends Iphone, it can play games, and holds a lot more music than the iphone. and it can make phone calls with Skype. all for the same price as the iphone.

[bob sakamano @ Mar 22nd 2008 3:33PM]

yeah its kind of like a genious kid that lives in the projects.

all it takes is someone from outside his neighborhood to show him his potential

[Chris @ Mar 22nd 2008 3:37PM]

Whats with people and hacking/moding apple stuff, if they just added everything in the first place they wouldn't have to do this.

[clak @ Mar 22nd 2008 3:59PM]

Yeah, I agree with you 100 percent. When I was a Windows users, I never had to add RAM to get Windows to run smoothly or install USB PCI cards or upgrade my video card or play around with the registry or install Anti-Virus software or overclock my processor to get 60 FPS in games or download drivers for anything. PCs come out the oven perfect, so what's Apple's problem?

[Kamokazi @ Mar 22nd 2008 4:05PM]

Clak-

Some PCs do come with everything you need. Some don't. At least with them you have a choice...Microsoft doesn't restrict their OS to their own hardware.

[Chebwa @ Mar 22nd 2008 4:07PM]

@clak

Nobody NEEDS to overclock a processor - EVER. That's for the truly hardcore.

And on top of that, everything you just mentioned is exactly Chris's point. You didn't HACK your system. You bought an upgrade, plugged it in, and enjoyed the benefits. If anything you've just proven him right.

[dj-kenpo @ Mar 22nd 2008 4:08PM]

clak, I don't think a pci card is inline with hacking a device.

[clak @ Mar 22nd 2008 4:15PM]

@Kamokazi

Preach on, brother, preach on. Isn't it sad? You know, there used to be a time when you could go to Apple's web site and configure your computer according to RAM, hard drive size, video cards, processor speeds and install Windows and Linux using Boot Camp. But now, the only choices you have for say, buying a laptop from Apple is the MacBook Air. Apple no longer sells the MacBook Pro or the MacBook, you know, those extinct laptops that had optical drives, firewire, USB ports and ethernet ports galore.

Apple only sells the MacBook Air and that's just insane. I feel sorry for all my fellow Mac users. They really just have no choice, but to buy the MBA. In fact, Congress passed a law making it illegal for Apple users to use anything but the MacBook Air. The police are coming over to my house today to confiscate my Mac Pro. Woe is me!

[James @ Mar 22nd 2008 4:23PM]

Like I said above in the 3rd post from the top, CLAK, PASS OVER SOME OF THAT GOOD ISH THIS WAY BRUTHA!

[Kamokazi @ Mar 22nd 2008 5:00PM]

Clak, I want a notebook that runs OS X and has an 8800M GT or maybe an nVidia Quadro. Oh, I see. Not an option (unless you resort to illegal and very bass-ackward methods, which of course beats the out of the box point anyway).

[Arnob @ Mar 22nd 2008 4:28PM]

man clak is annoying...why u gotsta be pickin fights?

[clak @ Mar 22nd 2008 4:39PM]

@Kamokazi

Yes, yes, isn't this a tragedy. Apple used to sell a version of the MacBook Pro with the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT, but as I stated before, Apple users can only use the MacBook Air now. In fact, when I bought my Mac Pro, Apple offered the ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB, and the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB and the NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 1.5GB, but as you know, the police will confiscate my computer today, so I'm completely screwed. No more expensive video cards for me.

In fact, as a Mac user, I can't even use Boot Camp to play games in Windows! I can't even buy a PC and use it exclusively as a gaming machine! Congress passed laws about this too! I want a PS3 when Metal Gear Solid 4 and Grand Theft Auto IV come out, but as an Apple user, I'm bound by law to the MacBook Air! This world is totally insane! Please write your Congressman and help a brother out!

[ben.hoover @ Mar 22nd 2008 7:05PM]

so he wired up some connections to already existing ports on the southbridge controller. this is hacking? sounds like he just enabled what was already there but due to trendy packaging wasn't available.

[FTY @ Mar 22nd 2008 5:01PM]

@Clak

There is virtually next to zero freedom of picking up specific parts for anything Apple. I am considering on buying two iMacs in the close future for me and my partner. However the only offering of ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT (128MB) and Radeon HD 2600 PRO (256MB) is what is stopping me. And if future iMacs wont give me the option to pick another "better" GFX card I simply wont buy it.

Granted the iMac isn't a working horse machine, but with the CPUs and RAM upgrades you can have it surely could do with a lot better graphics card and you could actually get some semi demanding work done with them.

Even the Mac PRO is pretty limited in this department, but I guess it's less of a problem to replace stuff there as it is in an iMac. You have no control over what RAM, HDD and other stuff goes into those boxes which is, in todays times, kind of sad.

I want a Mac, but I don't want Apple to tell me what parts are best for me or what parts I want in my Mac. I want to chose it myself and let them build it. Granted there are certain limitations cause of their design and what not, but they need to open up a bit in that department.

[clak @ Mar 22nd 2008 5:02PM]

You know what's really crazy! I checked Apple's web site and they're still offering all those expensive video cards, even though Congress has made it illegal! Don't believe me, you can go and see here:

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/91054001/wo/vF5Fbvggf1bN2ANHEw52i5x9I5N/3.?p=0

They still have the page up for the MacBook Pro. Why is Apple taunting me!

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?nnmm=browse&node=home/shop_mac/family/macbook_pro

[Kamokazi @ Mar 22nd 2008 5:04PM]

8800M is not the same as a 8600M, not by a longshot. And why should I have to own two computers to do what I want? Maybe I like to do 3D modeling or CAD and not just play games, eh?

Maybe I want a built-in broadband card, or Blu-Ray, or biometrics, etc....the point is you're stuck with what Apple gives you if you want to use OSX (legally and without hacking crap).

[Kamokazi @ Mar 22nd 2008 5:07PM]

And since you just posted the link to the Mac Pro, we're talking laptop hardware here. And even with the Mac Pro, you're still limited (and paying way too much on top of it).

[clak @ Mar 22nd 2008 5:15PM]

@FTY

You know, FTY, you're exactly right. When I was still running my G5, I wanted a bigger hard drive and the only place I could get one was on Pricewatch and NewEgg.com. While virtually any SATA hard drive will work on a G5 or a Mac Pro, I just still felt unfairly limited having to choose SATA, when what I really wanted was the older parallel ATA.

And then I was dismayed to find out that I didn't have to buy my RAM from Apple. I actually paid less than Apple would have charged me by going to this God forsaken site: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/Mac-Pro-Memory

It just isn't fair. I shouldn't be able to get my Mac Pro hard drives and RAM upgrades from anyone but Apple, but that's how controlling Apple is. You HAVE to use the standards that they created. I mean, SATA, who the hell wants to use that crap! It's so obsolete.

[clak @ Mar 22nd 2008 5:21PM]

@Kamokazi

Yeah, Apple is so expensive! Preach on, brother. Before I bought my Mac Pro (that the police will confiscate today), I priced out a Dell XPS 720 and a HP Blackbird with the same specs. This is what I came up with.

Dell XPS 720
2.93 GHz Intel Quad Core
Vista Ultimate
2 GB RAM
500 GB hard drive 7200 RPM
CD/DVD Double Layer Drive
nVidia GeForce 8800 GT 512MB

Price: $3,529.00

Mac Pro
2.8 GHz Intel Quad Core
OS X
2 GB RAM
500 GB hard drive 7200 RPM
Double-Layer SuperDrive
nVidia GeForce 8800 GT 512MB

Price: $2,599.00

(Note: Apple's default model is a 2.8 GHz 8-CORE model, but there is an option for a 2.8 GHz QUAD model for $500 less if you go to the configuration page on Apple's web site.)

HP Blackbird
2.93 GHz Intel Quad Core
Vista Ultimate
2 GB RAM
500 GB hard drive 7200 RPM
Super Multi-drive
nVidia GeForce 8800 GT 512MB

Price: $3,540.00


Can you believe this crap! Apple was only $1000 dollars cheaper! What a rip off!

[eggothewaffle @ Mar 22nd 2008 5:27PM]

That's funny, my Mac Pro cost me less than $1000 and has 2.8 TB of hard drive space, 8 GB of RAM, a 3.0 GHZ quad core processor, and an 8800GT video card.

Considering octocore systems haven't thus far really provided much of an advantage (or anywhere even close to 100% performance scaling) to the two flagship Apple exclusive products (FCP and Logic Studio), you certainly got quite the deal Clak!

Don't you get tired of being so baselessly smug and making other Apple lovers look bad?

[clak @ Mar 22nd 2008 5:41PM]

@eggothewaffle (nice name. very catchy)

Why are you guys calling me smug? Apple has raped me and is forcing me to use the MacBook Air and yet, you guys are acting as if I'm like, being sarcastic or something. If you haven't noticed, I'm agreeing with you! Apple is the devil. Steve Jobs is the Anti-Christ and eats kittens for breakfast. No doubt Apple will be coming to your house and forcing you to buy a MacBook Air.

Call your Congressmen before it's too late!

[eggothewaffle @ Mar 22nd 2008 5:44PM]

Why are you still trying to belabor such a useless point? Like other Mac lovers have pointed out, you're making them (and even me) look bad.

[dj-kenpo @ Mar 22nd 2008 5:56PM]

Clak, if you fell down the stairs or had a heart attack no one would miss you.

to summarize: pcs have more options, macs have spotty config options, and you're making some random non sensible argument about something, like everyone else just doesn't get it but you do. or like you're funny, but you're not.

just move along.

[James @ Mar 22nd 2008 6:10PM]

Clak = Troll

[clak @ Mar 22nd 2008 6:10PM]

Okay, okay, I've had enough, PC people. You win. I will act inferior from now on, okay? Happy? I'll dump my Mac for a PC and install Vista and viruses and the Zune marketplace. I won't be a sheep anymore. From this day forward, I'll be one of the underdogs with ninety percent market share. Yes, I will download WMA music and Xvid and FLAC and Vorbis for no particular reason at all. I'll be sure and run Windows Geniune Advantage every chance I get and return my multiple Xboxes as they get the Red Rings of Death, happily and without complaint.

And you know why? No one has a right to buy expensive gadgets or computers and feel good about it. In fact, I will petition BMW to stop making cars and for Rolex to stop making watches and Versace to stop making clothes. Hell, First Class can kiss my ass. I'm riding Coach from now on. And I'm moving to the Ghetto. And buying some crack. And I'm giving away my pony. No one deserves a pony.

Happy now?