We’ve looked at ways you can install Windows or Linux on almost any computer using nothing more than a USB flash drive. Now you can do the same thing with Mac OS X Lion. Developer tonymacx86 has whipped up a new tool called UniBeast that lets you turn an 8GB or larger USB flash drive into a bootable OS X installer.
In order to use UniBeast you’ll need to obtain a copy of OS X Lion. The easiest way is to pay $30 to download it from the Mac App Store or purchase a Lion USB Thumb Drive from Apple for $69.
While you can use that thumb drive to install Lion on a Mac, you’ll need UniBeast if you want to install the OS on a non-Apple computer.
The utility will copy all the installation files to a properly formatted flash drive. You can then plug that drive into a computer with supported hardware to install OS X. You’ll also want to grab the MultiBeast utility which will add support for audio, network, graphics, and other functions after you’ve got OS X up and running.
You can find step-by-step instructions for formatting a flash drive and using UniBeast and MultiBeast at the tonymacx86 blog.
via Lifehacker