1. Download the App
2. Open Safari
3. In the URL field, enter the following: “camplus://enablevolumesnap”
4. Hit GO!
5. Done!

If you want to disable this feature, type in “camplus://disablevolumesnap” in Safari.

Why Apple banned this app because of this feature in the first place is beyond me, but I think it is genius!

[Uneasysilence via Gizmodo]

The computer and the external DVD drive

Let me start this by saying that although the most common way to create the MacNet is by downloading a hacked copy of the Macintosh OS X Operating System, I actually already owned a licensed copy of OS X. Just wanted to get that out of the way. Now, as for how it was done…

First things first, you’ll need an operating system. I’m not about to link you directly to the location of hundreds of pirated versions of Macintosh’s OS X Leopard system, but a well-worded Internet Search should provide you with a wealth of sites providing OS X Leopard for Netbooks, and even a handful that have already created the image specifically for an MSI Wind U100 (my Netbook of choice).

You’ll also need an external DVD Drive or DVD Burner if your netbook does not come with an internal optical drive (as most don’t). I had an HP DVD-RW drive that I hadn’t used in months, so I was happy to dust it off and plug it in. If nothing else, it was a good way to make sure the drive survived my recent cross-country move.

The Mac OS X Startup Screen

If you install based off of one of the pre-built images (highly recommended…) you should only have to make a few minor tweaks to the system after installation (video drivers, Wireless drivers. Be sure to get both the Realtek and RALink drivers, as the Wind uses both types of Wireless cards in their netbooks. I spent two hours messing with the Realtek drivers before realizing I had the RA Link card.

Once your drivers are updated… well, you’re good to go. It’s that simple. I’m actually typing this entire post from my new MacNet, and I couldn’t be happier with it. I expect roughly a 5-hour battery life on a full charge, and once I upgrade the RAM from 1GB to 2GB I plan to use this system for mobile work (web, e-mail, office functions and photo editing) on a daily basis. It’s under 3 pounds heavy – almost as light as my morning cup of coffee.

The Final Product

As for add-ons, I did take Kurt’s advice and pick up the Logitech VX Nano travel mouse (everything’s going “Nano” now, I love it), mostly because for people who grew up with a full size touchpad the Netbook mouse trackpad is kind of annoying. It was worth a little more to get the ease of having a real mouse at my side.

Obviously, we here at TNMS can’t endorse violating the Apple/Macintosh EULA, nor do we recommend breaking your computer’s warranty unless you really know what you’re doing. But I will say that this was a fun project, and something I look forward to being able to experiment with in the future.

Anyway, over the past ten days there has been a fairly fascinating debate about Intellectual Property Laws, Computer Fraud, and plain old bored college geniuses.  (Or is it Genii?  Genies?  Can they grant wishes?  I need to figure this out.)

Last week, a group of MIT students (a rare species known both for their ridiculous ability to calculate Pi to 37 digits in their head, and their ability to throw surprisingly good frat parties on Bay State Road in Boston) announced that they had successfully hacked the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority’s (MBTA’s) CharlieCard system, used for all public trains and busses in and around Boston. 

The MBTA, after hearing the students’ presentation, reacted rationally by filing a court injunction (PDF Format) to have the presentation gagged from all public dissemination.  Makes sense – not exactly good for business if everyone can ride for free.

This week, as the 10-day injunction was set to expire on Tuesday, a Boston Federal Judge threw out the lawsuit against the students, saying that they had not violated the Computer Fraud laws of the United States.  The judge declined to rule as to whether or not their “school project” (for which they got an “A”, by the way) of hacking the MBTA system constituted something protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution, but that’s to be expected.  Wouldn’t want a Federal Judge to actually set precedent or anything.

The news is fairly monumental in the Tech World, opening the door to newer and better hacks of major corporations.  This is not to say that the deadbeats who spend all day trying to get your credit card information from TJMaxx’s database are going to go unpunished.  But it does mean that kids messing around and not actually causing any harm to a corporation (in this case, actually showing the corporation the flaws in their system before ever releasing the information to the public) will not be punished for their efforts.

Many major corporations have wised up and started employing hackers like these kids to help clean up computer security within their firms.  Rather than trusting the old guard to sit around all day and try to find security vulnerabilities, companies are starting to simply pay the people who find the loopholes first to come in and close off the access.

The MBTA has announced they will be cleaning up their security flaws within the next three months, so for those of us in the Boston area – better fill up that CharlieCard fast!

Last note – in what is either an ironic twist of fate, or just one really really stupid lawyer, it appears that the MBTA has inadvertently released exactly the information they went to court to have gagged.  Sometimes corporate incompetence is staggering.

(One more last note: I’ve found my answer.  I can’t believe there are 585,000 Google hits for this question, but I guess the answer lies out there somewhere.  We have too much time on our hands in this society…)