It seems like the guys from Psystar are very determined to
sell their MacClone. After it looked like their website was shut down, now it is
again available. The main difference is that the computer previously known and
marketed as OpenMac is now called OpenComputer.
“Why spend $1999 to get the least expensive Apple computer
with a decent video card when you can pay less than a fourth of that for an
equivalent sleek and small form-factor desktop with the same hardware.
Sometimes reinventing the wheel is a good thing. The Open Computer can work for
new Mac users and Mac geniuses, alike,” Psystar writes on their website.
OpenComputer offers 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 Processor,
2GB of DDR2 667 memory, onboard Intel GMA 950 Graphics, a 20x DVD+/-R SATA
drive that is Lightscribe-capable, a 250GB 7200RPM hard drive and is capable of
running unmodified OS X Leopard kernels.
Speaking with ArsTechnica,
Psystar’s owner explained that despite rumors, the name change was a “proactive
step, […] to avoid any legal issue” and is not a consequence of any legal
actions from Apple.
In addition to OpenComputer, Psystar offers a new
configuration called OpenPro, which is based on Intel Core 2 Quad processors,
supports up to 8 GB of RAM and 1TB hard drive.
“The name "Open" has been selected to reflect the
fact that ANY consumer operating system can be installed and run on it. Not
only is it bigger and better but it's even more customizable,” wrote Psystar in
the product page.
Psystar says OpenPro can be delivered with Windows XP,
Windows Vista for an extra $150 or with Ubuntu Linux (7.10 Gutsy Gibbon until
the release of 8.04 Hardy Heron is tested) for no additional costs.
However, because of preinstalling Mac Os X on their systems,
it seems like Psystar might run in some legal trouble not only with Apple. As
the British website Register noted Psystar uses the EFI V8 emulator to run OS X,
but Netkas.org, the creators of the emulator, said the Miami-based company is
violating their authorship rights.
“Redistribution and use in binary form for direct or
indirect commercial purposes, with or without modification, is strictly
forbidden,” stipulates the Netkast license.
Meanwhile, InformationWeek
reported that an unnamed Psystar’s employee said in a phone interview that the
company believes Apple's prohibition against third party installations might
not hold up in court: "We're not breaking any laws," he insisted.
Apple’s EULA clearly stipulates that installing Mac OS X on
non-Apple hardware is a violation of its terms.
