That may be too rich for me.

I'm not sure I dig the red/blackness, but the OLEDness is pretty hot. Also, that keyboard looks flush against the case - is it a touchscreen keyboard? I can't really tell.

A key moment in the evolution of the PC: Byte Reviews the Compaq - First PC Clone (Jan, 1983)

Unlike the IBM machine, the Compaq does not have a disk-drive expansion connector from the disk-interface board, but you can plug an IBM floppy-disk controller board into one of the expansion slots and add two additional drives. Finally, the Compaq, in another variation from the IBM PC, does not have a cassette interface; the Compaq’s disk drive is a standard feature, so its designers chose not to include one.

I used one of these (with a 10-meg HD) at my first programming job back in '84-'85.

Can Leopard be installed on any dual core computer?

Out of the box, Leopard can only be installed on Apple hardware.

There are hacking sites that let you do that, Sean, but from all accounts, it doesn't work very well (the fans might run at full blast all the time, for example).

I hear that it works better inside a VM, like VMWare.

Do you mean any dual core mac (yes, or any G5 and faster G4s), or any dual core computer? In that case, there are people who have gotten it running, but it's apparently very picky about exactly which hardware it'll run on, which makes it a lot harder to install on third party hardware than other OSes.

eta: The VMWare idea is a good one, and probably easier than futzing.

any dual core computer?

Any dual core computer. My dad bought a new tablet, and was thinking about getting a second computer to get back into Macs, but I was wondering if just installing Leopard on the new computer was an option, but it sounds like not.

Doubtful, especially with a notebook -- but the OSx86 Project maintains hardware compatibility lists and installation instructions if you're feeling masochistic. Note that even if you can do it on this machine, you won't have tablet functionality.

Note that even if you can do it on this machine, you won't have tablet functionality.

I figured as much. I'm now instead walking him through refurbed options. That seems to be a much better way to go, especially if it's not his main work computer. He can get a light little refurbed 13" for under $1,000.

They had a refurbed 15" Macbook Pro the other night for $1299 and one for $1499 last night. You tend to have to be up to check in the middle of the night for those deals though as they sell quickly.