Is it possible to run the iPhone SDK from a flash drive?

Question

I'm getting into iPhone app development, but I have neither the money for a mac mini, nor a PC with hackintosh compatible specs. However, my university has some mac labs that I can access, but to which I cannot install new software.

As such, I'm wondering if there is a way to run the iPhone SDK from a usb drive, so that I can start practicing while I try to save enough money for a machine of my own.

Also, if anyone knows other potential solutions to my problem, please let me know.

I greatly appreciate any help that can be provided.

Answer 1

Without being able to set up symbolic links, probably not, and you can't install software, so that probably means you can't set up symlinks.

You might look into booting the lab Mac directly off an OS X installation on the flash drive. Then you can install whatever software you want.

Answer 2

Could you afford an external FW800 hard disk and a copy of 10.6? Should be a bit over $100 all up.

Take them into the Mac lab, and install 10.6 onto the external hard disk. Then boot into the external hard disk, and for all intents and purposes you have "your own" Mac that you can do with what you'd like.

When you're finished, reboot the lab machine off the internal hard disk and it will be back to normal.