MSI keeps racing with Asus. They have now released a new nettop called the Wind Box, but instead of taking the Wii-lookalike standalone approach of the Asus Eee Box, MSI has designed their slim, tiny black computer to attach to the back of any VESA-mountable monitor, effectively converting it into an all-in-one computer. Smart, and with nice enough features:
Overclocking is nothing new, but rarely is it promoted by a PC manufacturer, let alone in a netbook. But MSI has released the v1.09 BIOS update for their Wind mini-notebook that allows users to function key toggle an 8%, 15% or 24% automatic overclock that can translate to a 30% performance boost (as independently tested). You’ll notice the extra power in apps like Photoshop especially, but keep in mind that it probably won’t do wonders for the battery life. All in all, however, it sounds like an absolute must-have update. [Electric Vagabond]
Earlier this month we peeked at official shots of the MSI Wind’s 3.5G-equipped refresh, the 10″ U120. Now news from Taiwan is that the U120 will hit the wild in November at $US552 (converted) in both white and black, with an Intel Atom N270 processor, 1GB memory and a 120GB hard drive loaded with Windows XP in addition to the built-in 3.5G module. Whether the November date is worldwide or Asia only does not yet appear to be confirmed. [DigiTimes]
MSI hasn’t been shy about their Wind U120, a 10″ netbook that should pack a 120GB hard drive, SSD options, 802.11n Wi-Fi and 3G (HSDPA) fun. But from these first official shots of the unofficial sequel to the praised MSI Wind, we see that not much has changed about the exterior beyond adding a new two-tone style with a black border around the screen (probably to help colours pop). Then again, popping in a SIM card to surf the web from anywhere is a pretty solid update in itself. Look for the Wind U120 priced under $US600 this December. [Fudzilla]
Netbooks were supposed to be this great inroad for Linux development, but it turns out that the XP side of the netbook business is doing a lot better in the area of customer satisfaction: MSI today told Laptop that, according to internal studies, “The return rate is at least four times higher for Linux netbooks than Windows XP netbooks.”
Ohmigod, it’s a MacBook Mini! Oh, wait, no it’s not. It’s a cheap MSI Wind clone with a fake Mac backing on it, put together with dremel, six white LEDs, tape and aluminium foil. Impressive, but not quite what people have been waiting for. But hey, nice work nonetheless! I’m sure it works to fool people in coffee shops. [Gadget Lab]
Hackintosh machines are nothing new, but the guys over at APC have got a rough guide to troubleshooting the process of installing OS X onto an MSI Wind netbook.
You have to make some small sacrifices (like losing the headphone and microphone jacks) and if you want wireless you’ll need to open your Wind up, but for $700 bucks or so, this solution makes it one of the cheapest Mac options around. And while it’s not exactly legal in the eyes of Apple and their army of lawyers, that doesn’t mean it can’t be done.
[APC Mag]
While the rest of the world has been enjoying the MSI Wind, the US release has suffered multiple delays due to battery shortages. Finally, after months of waiting, the little Asus-killer laptops are shipping. So while some of you may already have a Wind in your hands, I thought I’d take this chance to share my own impressions with you all the same. But maybe it’s best summed up by my wife as she walked in the room, grabbed the computer off of my lap and said, “This is what I wanted the Eee to be.” Seriously, she really said that.
It’s not even out yet and people have already hacked Mac OS X to run on the MSI Wind. Like with other non-Apple Leopard boxes, the little computer believes it is a Mac Pro, which is OK because we all want to be Mac Pros when we grow up. This version is still lacking some fine tuning, but it runs quite well according to Insanely Mac forum member Jav:
Reports have been floating around from various forums and tipsters that the MSI Wind was delayed yet again. MSI has confirmed the delays with a representative explaining that the problem is still industry battery shortages.
