Installing OSX on commodity PC hardware has advanced a lot because the early days of OSx86 when Apple switched to Intel. With the introduction of netbooks, a new target platform has emerged; one that doesn’t have an official Apple equivalent. The small subset of models implies that it’s easy to find someone else that has the same device as you, but it still takes some forum walking to bring all the pieces together. Gizmodo has done this and compiled a extensive guide for the Dell small 9. The small 9 is a very good device and according to Boing Boing Gadgets’ chart, one of the most compatible with OSX. earlier this week you could purchase a new one for just $200.

For Gizmodo’s install, they used a Leopard retail DVD with [Type11]’s bootloader. They’re breaking the EULA, but at least it’s not piracy. They had to use both a DVD drive and a USB hard drive because device recognition was flakey. despite this, the actual install process doesn’t appear to be too difficult. They say all the hardware works, “The small 9 is a beautiful OS X machine.” check out this Hackit to learn about netbook OSX experiences from other Hack a Day readers.