What the hackintosh community brings, Apple taketh away. And the hackintoshers then put it back. With the 10.6.2 Mac OS X update, Apple removed support for Intel Atom CPUs, so all of those netbooks running Snow Leopard lost their spots. A modified kernel brings back support, says MacWorld, although I’d be pretty leery of said kernel. Put another way: I’d live with OS X 10.6.1 on my netbook — but that’s just me.

Even though I had fun running OS X on a both a netbook and a touchscreen UMPC, a couple of weeks with the operating system turned semi-frustrating. Ironically, it was for the same reasons that Windows was a hassle on UMPCs when they first hit: the desktop operating system isn’t designed to fit in a space under 1280 x 800 or so. Does it fit? Yup. Does it work well? Sometimes yes and sometimes no, depending on the dialog boxes you see. It simply required too much tweaking to use on a full time basis for me — not to mention that pesky licensing issue.

Many moons ago I used SPB Wallet on my Pocket PC. And by many moons, I mean not long after Y2K — you kids will have to look that one up on Wikipedia. The application stores passwords, credit card numbers and other personal data in a virtual wallet. There was also a Windows desktop companion program, which made it easier to access and edit information. At long last, SPB announces support for Mac OS X, and it looks pretty slick and just as functional as its venerable Windows counterpart.

“The desktop component, previously available exclusively for Windows, is created to enable Wallet users to easily manage and arrange their sensitive data in a more convenient way, on a bigger screen and with a bigger keyboard. The Mac version of this software provides users with capabilities of editing data, syncing it with an iPhone or an iPod touch over Wi-Fi, as well as syncing every wallet with Google mailbox. It can also be synchronized with Windows Mobile and Symbian versions of SPB Wallet if the devices are connected via USB in Mass Storage mode.”

The OS X version of SPB Wallet is $14.95, but like most all SPB products can be used for a 15-day free trial. This is a bit of software that I used to install on every one of my devices, much like eReader and a few other utilities. If you’re looking for a place to securely store and carry personal info, I recommend taking a look at SPB Wallet.

I was so mesmerized with my new Apple Magic Mouse yesterday that I neglected to share an interesting, yet wacky, problem. I bought the new mouse to get away from typing and navigating on my MacBook. I already had an Apple Bluetooth keyboard, although I hadn’t used it in nearly a year. So I just bought the mouse. As I was setting up my more traditional setup, I realized that my keyboard wouldn’t power up. That’s to be expected, I thought. After all, the batteries have been sitting in there for a year. So I swapped the batteries and… nothing. No little green light to tell me the power was on. No keyboards found in the Bluetooth settings on my Mac. I really thought that the keyboard was shot and was quite annoyed, since I had just come from the Apple store. Then I did a little online research and found dozens of people with the same problem…

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The long wait for a Mac version of Orb is over. Orb today announced a Mac client with support for OS X 10.5 and up. The free application streams media, a live view from a webcam feed — hello kitties on my iSight? — and stored photos or video to practically any device. Orb does this over a web connection, so you can listen to DRM-free iTunes music on a non-Apple handset, for example.

“The free Orb application and service enable the streaming of any media type from computers running Windows or the Mac OS, to any other Internet-connected device including laptops, mobile phones, and even TVs connected to a game console.  Users can enjoy all their music, photos, video and webcams anywhere, anytime, without first having to download content before they leave the house, or upload anything to the cloud.  All media stays on the computer and is streamed directly to the remote device.  Unlike other mobile services that ‘trick’ iTunes into downloading titles to non-Apple devices, Orb for Mac simply streams the content over the Internet.”

I’ve used Orb since 2005, and it’s a solid product for those on the go. My most current usage is to stream music from my Windows Home Server directly to my iPhone and Palm Pre, but it can be handy for many other situations as well. In the past, I was streaming recorded television content from a Windows Media Center computer over the web. Orb says that there’s no television tuner support in this first version, but it plans to add such functionality in a future version. I’ll definitely have to look into the webcam bit because the Orb press release says it can stream from a “webcam feed in iTunes.” Last I checked, my cats didn’t have a webcam feed in iTunes, but maybe I can set one up for them so I can spy on them. You can grab the download here, even if you don’t have a webcam feed.

So I unplugged for a bit this afternoon and took the Mobile Tech Mobile out for a spin. I’m moving away from using the keyboard and trackpad on my MacBook in the home office and decided to take a closer look at the Magic Mouse.

This is all part of a little ergonomic redesign of my workspace, because I’ve been having neck, back and arm pain lately. Just today I took delivery of an ergonomic chair, which should help. And I’m looking into a new desk that’s fully adjustable as well. The problem is: I hate to give up the multitouch gestures on my MacBook, and for that reason alone, I wanted to see how much “magic” that Apple’s new mouse can give me.

In no particular order, here are my thoughts after spending an hour with the new mouse.

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The discovery that developer builds of OS X 10.6.2 had removed support for the Atom processor kicked off a storm on the web. On the surface it seemed that the only reason for Apple to remove the hardware support that was already in the OS was to kill off the “Hackintosh” projects. Those are the projects that have hardy souls installing OS X on netbooks and UMPCs to fill the void that Apple is reluctant to fill.

Word has surfaced that the current beta build (10C535) of 10.6.2 has regained support for Atom processors. Whether this is due to the reaction to its removal, or to fixing an accidental removal we will likely never know. Of course, until 10.6.2 is finalized, we’ll have to wait and see if the Atom support stays.

What perfect timing on this tip from The Apple Blog. I’ve been looking at moving away from my MacBook trackpad and keyboard so I’ve been researching Apple’s new Magic Mouse. There’s nothing wrong with the inputs on my MacBook — I’m simply looking at my home office workspace from an ergonomic standpoint. I’m not sure how ergo the Magic Mouse actually is, but I do know that it actually loses some key functionality. Namely, without the side buttons, there seems to be no way to use Exposé or Spaces with a Magic Mouse. How that’s actually “magical” is beyond me…

It turns out you can regain some of the lost magic using MultiClutch — a freeware Mac app we’ve previously covered — provided that you’re willing to give up other functionality. Essentially, you can use MultiClutch to re-map the left and right swipes for Exposé and Spaces. You’ll lose ability to swipe forward and back between web pages, but that’s a personal decision. I’m not sure which way I’d go, but at least I have the option if I do move to the Magic Mouse.

I was asked about the ability to remotely access a Windows computer from a BlackBerry, and I admit I wasn’t up to speed on what solutions are available. I have tested various methods in the past, but I don’t access my PC desktops through a phone as a rule. It is not easy working with a large desktop on a small phone screen, but those who need this ability find it very useful. I know some system support folks who do this regularly, and it often saves them a trip to sit down in front of the computer. I started searching around the web for such a solution, and found the Remote Desktop Manager Plus (RDM+) from SHAPE Services that looks pretty useful.

RDM+ does indeed work with certain BlackBerry models (Storm included), but there are clients for other phones too. There are client apps for the iPhone/ iPod Touch, Windows Mobile, Java phones and the old Palm OS. There is no Android nor WebOS version that I could find. There is also a client to allow remotely connecting via another web-connected computer.

The program consists of one of the clients, and a host application for the computer to be remotely accessed. The host can work with any flavor of Windows, 7 included, and there is a Mac version. This means you can effectively work with any Mac or Windows computer, from almost any phone. That is a very powerful combination, and it looks to be a viable utility for those needing remote access from anywhere. I have not used it myself, but would love to hear from those who are using RDM+. The program is an expensive $40, but there is no subscription and this price includes all future upgrades.

What is the most definite way that Apple can convince the netbook crowd that there will never be a Mac netbook? By killing off support for the Intel Atom processor family that powers virtually all netbooks. It is being reported that Apple is going to do just that, in the next version of Snow Leopard, 10.6.2.

It is easy to speculate that Apple is trying to kill off the growing Hackintosh movement. Just about every netbook out there has been hacked by someone to install OS X to create what has come to be called a “Hackint0sh.” Kevin even gave that a spin, and it’s pretty cool to have a little Mac netbook. That will be impossible once 10.6.2 is released, so those hardy souls who have created a Hackintosh better not update the OS once it is available. It is surprising that Apple would go to the trouble to remove processor support — it’s not often that a company will remove support that’s already included in an OS.

Image from OS X Daily

Many of us who have been using notebook computers heavily for years have experienced the “Blue Screen of Death” at least once. The sinking feeling you get when you have been working away fine and then the notebook refuses to do one more thing. It simply dies. Normally when we think about the BSOD we have a Windows machine in mind, but our boss Om Malik discovered the hard way that MacBook Pros are subject to them, too. He had not one, not two — three new 15-inch MacBook Pros die over the past few days, and he’s understandably upset. The diagnosis for all three notebook deaths: bad hard drive.

Om is a self-proclaimed Apple fan boy, so this is a particularly stressful time for him. It just goes to show that while Macs have the reputation of “just working”, bad components can bring things to a halt quickly. The Apple Geniuses admitted to Om that the hard drives in the new 15-inch MacBook Pros have been failing.

We wait to see if Om’s fourth MacBook Pro will escape the same fate as the first three, but meanwhile he’s using a ThinkPad to get things done. I must add that I have used ThinkPads for over a decade, and I can’t remember having one fail even once.

What does a Mac BSOD look like? Om’s photo tells the tale: