Often times i regret spending over $800 for this laptop i'm using now to write this blog entry but the past few weeks have made me appreciate this little machine much more than before. The picture shown above is the product of my labor for the past few weeks and also the work of many other thinkpad owners around the world! It shows the successful installation of OS X on a lenovo thinkpad T61.Ever since those Mac and PC advertisements i've grown some hatred towards Mac because of their consistent jokes about PC users. Anyway i finally get to see what the Mac OS X is all about and i have to say it is a unique blend of features for an operating system that places it ahead in some ways. I like the OS X because it makes you feel like Apple Computer is run by perfectionists that spend hours and hours until they are satisfied with their product.
Anyway, the reason why i'm so happy with my laptop is that it is 100% compatible with the x86/OSX operating system that has been always proprietary to Apple Computers. Most laptops out there are far from being 100% compatible with this operating system and will always have something to keep them from fully experiencing the software. The most common things missing are wireless capability and graphics support; without these the experience would be unpleasant and most would revert back.
The reason for installing the OS in the first place was because i decided to take a challenging course in "iPhone Development" which is a new course here at SJSU taught by professor that i'm close with. Because of Apple's common behavior, they would only allow their SDK to run on newer Apple computers that have the latest and greatest. Initially i thought about investing into an older model macintosh computer to setup my environment in, but the search proved to be a challenge. The lowest prices i saw on ebay were $350 for used "Mac Mini"s that should retail for $300 new. Anyway, i have heard about "hackintosh" - the term used to describe a PC running the Mac OS and decided to start.
The first day I spent most of my time researching forums and starting my downloads - the first disc i installed was a complete failure and it was very discouraging. As i searched more "stable" builds i got to my first checkpoint - installing and running the OS successfully. I was so excited that i went and showed my friend nearby but it ended up showing me how unstable these installs were and ended up wasting time re-installing. Eventually on the second day i was quite confident of my machine and decided to start downloading the SDK - and as i opened the program it informed me that my OS was outdated and needed and update. The update ... trashed my install and my two days worth of work! Anyway, it was clear that the more stable build did not support the SDK and i started back at square one and decided to go for the latest, less tested, builds. At this point i was clear on what must be done and have gone through the install process a few times already. Eventually everything came together and I have gotten everything to work properly with the exception of stable bluetooth detection and CPU speeds reduced by 10%.
When i brought the machine to school many were in awe and gave me props for getting the dev. environment working. Even a few mac owners were envious of what i had - the feeling was great and now i'm looking for a spare machine to play around with and also to replace some parts on this machine.
LONG LIVE THE THINKPAD T61, THE GREATEST LAPTOP I'VE BOUGHT!! Despite the crappier body made by lenovo!
Now i get to program iPhone apps and get a student developer license from school.
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