Will EarPods work with my 2010 Macbook Pro? Plugging my EarPods into my Macbook pro will not allow me to use the button to control volume, nor will the microphone work.

The speakers work fine though.

Are there specific hardware requirements for the EarPods, when being used on something other than an iOS device?

They work as expected on newer Macbook Pros from the last few years.
I have a mid-2010 Macbook Pro, i can use my EarPods with it.

When plugging it in, try to give it a good push, i notice mine needs a a bit of force for it to click into the port.