openMac

[rfruth]

What about Psystar's openMac, is it a Mac clone or will Apple make sure it doesn't see the light of day ?
http://www.psystar.com/psystar_openmac_osx86_reinventing_the_wheel.html

[pieisgood4589]

Wow, I might use this! It looks promising.

[handy]

I don't know how they think they can get away with breaking Apple's software license? Apple OS can only legally be run on a machine using the Apple brand. Perhaps there is an Apple sticker on each OpenMac? :lolflag:

Good luck to them I say!

[swoll1980]

www.crn.com/hardware/207200440 doesn't look to good for them

[handy]

Perhaps the entire OpenMac project is just a publicity jab at Apple's prices & business model?

It will get some media attention which highlights Apple's expensive hardware, hardware that in most cases locks out user upgrading of important components like graphics cards & also gets more media attention for the OSx86 project.

I can't believe that anyone would think that they are going to be able to slip one like this past Apple.

[schauerlich]

It only took a few hours after the story broke for the project's site to get shut down. Apple's legal team wasted no time.

[JLB]

ummmm... it is up atm. I just read the entire site.

[handy]

Yep I checked it out too.

Maybe they will just take money & not supply an illegal system. ;-)

If they sold the machine & left the sourcing & installation of the Mac OS, they would be able to get away with it, I would think.

[baumgc]

It's perfectly legal to run your copy of leopard that you purchased on another machine (Apple just won't help you if anything goes wrong).

The minute you start selling those machines...,

[schauerlich]

It's perfectly legal to run your copy of leopard that you purchased on another machine (Apple just won't help you if anything goes wrong).

The minute you start selling those machines...,

Section 2a of Leopard's EULA:

2. Permitted License Uses and Restrictions.
A. Single Use. This License allows you to install, use and run one (1) copy of the Apple Software on a single Apple-labeled computer at a time. You agree not to install, use or run the Apple Software on any non-Apple-labeled computer, or to enable others to do so. This License does not allow the Apple Software to exist on more than one computer at a time, and you may not make the Apple Software available over a network where it could be used by multiple computers at the same time.

It's not legal.

[swoll1980]

notice the name change it's called open computer now instead of open mac
add: they have a free 8.04 installation option

[schauerlich]

notice the name change it's called open computer now instead of open mac

Semantics.

Steve crushed the clones once, and he'll do it again in a heartbeat.

[3rdalbum]

Semantics.

Steve crushed the clones once, and he'll do it again in a heartbeat.

No he won't.

Sure, he will crush this particular model of clone, but if these guys manage to ship these computers, lots of other people will get the idea and start selling Hackintoshes based around the same hardware design.

There is no special ROM needed, and Apple hardware is basically commodity stuff these days, so it's technically very easy to create one. Since it does not involve copying a ROM that contains Apple IP (intellectual property), and if the system builders buy a copy of OS X for each computer, there's much less threat of successful legal action.

Don't forget, EULAs are judged on a case-by-case basis by US courts, and there have been many instances where they have been judged to be unenforcable.

[handy]

The problem little guys can have in a court case against a multi-billion dollar company is costs. The OpenMac people would need to find themselves a top shelf legal firm that would only get payed if they win against Apple.

It could even be a great idea to find the legal backing before you officially launched the project! :lolflag:

[3rdalbum]

It could even be a great idea to find the legal backing before you officially launched the project! :lolflag:

Heh, yeah, but I've now had a bit of a think, and I'm tempted to build Mac OS X computers in my backroom :-)

Only problem is, my clients expect stable, secure, fast computers, and they expect me to know something about the system I build for them :-) That's why I use Ubuntu!

[LaRoza]

http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2008/04/mac_clone_maker.html

Posted in the OS X forum, moving thread as I feel it fits there and it will likely spark more threads.

[jesusfreak107]

http://www.news.com/8301-13579_3-9919432-37.html?tag=nefd.lede
looks like they are taking the fight to Apple.

[handy]

http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2008/04/mac_clone_maker.html

Posted in the OS X forum, moving thread as I feel it fits there and it will likely spark more threads.

Thanks for that link LaRoza.

It looks like they did organize their legal team before they launched the product.

If they do win, it will certainly be a landmark day for the computing world & one that Apple will rue.

[schauerlich]

I think this might have been more of a publicity stunt aimed at embarrassing Apple. Did they really expect Apple not to throw down the banhammer?

[riven0]

I've posted this link on another thread. It's a hoax, so this whole discussion is moot. They just want your credit card no.'s...

Charles Arthur, a technology blogger who writes for the U.K.-based Guardian, first noted some discrepancies in the information posted by PsyStar on its site, including the fact that the company had changed the address it listed online. Earlier yesterday, said Arthur, the company had posted its locale as 10645 SW 112 St. in Miami, which according to references such as Google Maps, is in a residential district. Later in the day, the address was changed to 10481 NW 28th St., also in Miami.

The new location is a commercial building that's occupied by CottomImages.com Inc., which bills itself as "one of the largest screen-printing, embroidery and now garment-dye companies in the nation."

A man who answered the phone at CottonImages said there were two other businesses at the 10481 NW 28th St. address, but PsyStar, or any other computer company, is not among them. "I don't know how they got this address," said the spokesman, who declined to give his name.

After a brief hold, he returned and said he had been told to refer all questions about PsyStar to the same e-mail address the Mac clone maker has been handing out. The spokesman flatly denied any link between CottonImages and PsyStar.
Suspicions soar about Mac clone maker PsyStar (http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9078198&intsrc=hm_list)

[LaRoza]

I've posted this link on another thread. It's a hoax, so this whole discussion is moot. They just want your credit card no.'s...

Suspicions soar about Mac clone maker PsyStar (http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9078198&intsrc=hm_list)

Figures.

[misfitpierce]

I feel it shouldn't be illegal for the company to offer that... Technically they could stop selling the software and just say it is perfect for running OSX legally and have you purchase the OS seperatly and install it yourself.

[cprofitt]

I don't know how they think they can get away with breaking Apple's software license? Apple OS can only legally be run on a machine using the Apple brand. Perhaps there is an Apple sticker on each OpenMac? :lolflag:

Good luck to them I say!

Then again Apple broke its own EULA when it used the 'update' route to install Safari which has the same EULA.

Doesn't that make the EULA null and void? or at least undercut the legal merits?

[handy]

Then again Apple broke its own EULA when it used the 'update' route to install Safari which has the same EULA.

Doesn't that make the EULA null and void? or at least undercut the legal merits?

I don't know, I'm no legal eagle.

I do know that two wrongs don't make a right!

[LaRoza]

I don't know, I'm no legal eagle.

I do know that two wrongs don't make a right!

The funny thing is that the EULA for the Windows version of Safari has the same wording as OS X. It may be installed on an "Apple labelled" computer. So, either one can't install the Windows version of Safari on Windows, or one can install OS X on any PC.

[handy]

The funny thing is that the EULA for the Windows version of Safari has the same wording as OS X. It may be installed on an "Apple labelled" computer. So, either one can't install the Windows version of Safari on Windows, or one can install OS X on any PC.

I agree, that is funny...

[3rdalbum]

The funny thing is that the EULA for the Windows version of Safari has the same wording as OS X. It may be installed on an "Apple labelled" computer. So, either one can't install the Windows version of Safari on Windows, or one can install OS X on any PC.

Exactly the same EULA, with exactly the same clause, was provided with my mother's iPod. Two years ago.

[riven0]

I was wrong, guys; it's for real. PsyStar has arrived! :o

PsyStar in the wild
It's alive. Reader Patrick (Whiskeyfrown) is lucky enough to be using one of the few Psystar Open Computing machines that have made it into the wild, and he was generous enough to make a video showing the machine (including the connections in the back to the monitor to show that it's legit). The thing boots up and runs pretty damn fast, says Patrick, but Software Update won't recognize it so you won't be able to patch.

Exclusive video: PsyStar in the wild (http://gizmodo.com/384526/exclusive-video-psystar-in-the-wild)

What? No software update? That's not a good deal, at all.

[metallicamaster3]

Read here, via engadget (http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/30/psystar-open-computer-unboxing-and-hands-on/)

Honestly, I just got the biggest "wtf" moment. The Psystar "open computer", which most, if not all, believed to be a hoax, due to the fact that the randomish address and suspicious 'online store' activity, has actually shipped!

http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/2114/81d8f9c82f7b5a2c0ebc385kg2.jpg

Quoting from Engadget;

Engadget NYC might have gotten to play with Apple's latest and greatest iMac yesterday, but we keep it dirty in the Chi -- yep, we've got the first Psystar Open Computer shipped out for review. We're just getting it set up, but check out the unboxing below, and hit us up with anything you want to know in comments -- you know we're going to put this thing through its paces.http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/8365/6132ab93b69c6351f5deda1rq1.jpg

Yep, that's the sexy new iMac's that we're released not 48 hours ago to the left, and the Psystar "open computer" osx86 machine on the right. With OS X. Leopard. Working. Out of the box.

Alas, it is exactly what it says it is, osx86. With osx86, there are always hardware issues, considering the operating system isn't made for the hardware... Which is exactly what engadget said.

Okay, so we've been playing with the Psystar Open Computer (http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/30/psystar-open-computer-notes-benchmarks-and-video/engadget.com/tag/psystar) for a few hours now, and we've formed some early impressions and put together a short video of it in action. We haven't really tried to stress the system yet, but based on our other experiences with OSx86 machines, we're expecting things to generally go smoothly. That said, there are some definite rough patches and issues, all mostly having to do with the fact that OS X isn't really built for this hardware.Here's the low down from Engadget.


# It's running 10.5.2, build 9C31, which is behind the latest Apple build of 9C7010.
# The mobo is a Gigabyte GA-G31M-S2L with an Intel G31 Express chipset. We're not sure which model of Core 2 Duo is in there as of yet.
# The graphics card appears to be an NVIDIA GeForce 8600GT, but it doesn't show up in ASP, so we have to confirm. Psystar's store says it's supposed to be a 256MB card, but we have 512MB -- strange.
# It's LOUD. Crazy loud. OS X doesn't seem to interface with the fan controller, so it runs at full tilt all the time. It doesn't really come across on the video, but it's loud enough so that it's hard to talk on the phone when the machine is running. There's no way we could deal with this thing on a daily basis.
# The DHCP lease drops every fifteen minutes or so and you have to manually renew it in prefs.
# Apple System Profiler doesn't know how to read the configurations of several systems, notably memory and audio. The Audio screen just says there's no built-in audio, while the Memory page returns an error.
# That said, audio works just fine, showing up in prefs as HD Audio Output, and obviously the memory works fine.
# We plugged in a couple cameras, an iPod, and an iPhone, everything worked as expected.
# There's no iMovie or iPhoto out of the box, since iLife doesn't come with Leopard -- you'll have to buy it separately.
# Time Machine seemed to recognize an external HD, but we didn't have time to fully test it out.
# The included copy of Leopard was out of the shrinkwrap, but there's no way to install it -- it shows up in Startup Disk but it won't restart, and it's not recognized at boot.
# Front Row works fine.
# You can grab the entire System Profiler file here, if you're so inclined -- just make sure and share with the group if you notice anything crazy, okay?
As far as benchmarks, it doesn't exactly blow Apple's gear away, but it definitely holds its own -- and the GeForce card just destroys the integrated graphics in the MacBook / Mac mini. Check it out:

* All machines tested with Xbench 1.3.
* All machines tested were using Leopard.
* You can check the bold Xbench scores to compare the cumulative results for each test.

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/5121/fc65f0d5f190b5883be3035vz6.png
http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/4623/4031682fe39b1067e2c2fceyw3.png
http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/789/5655bc6ccc65ae1c9489241eb1.png
http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/4385/f8ad2302c47e2c3c0238bffri6.png

[flat4]

well if you find your self and an old mac, peel the sticker off that one and put it on your hackintosh and then its perfectly legal.

Its and apple labeled computer. :)

[Alfa989]

well if you find your self and an old mac, peel the sticker off that one and put it on your hackintosh and then its perfectly legal.

Its and apple labeled computer. :)

They don't have stickers. :D

Single Use. This License allows you to install, use and run one (1) copy of the Apple Software on a single Apple-labeled computer at a time. You agree not to install, use
or run the Apple Software on any non-Apple-labeled computer, or to enable others to do so. This License does not allow the Apple Software to exist on more than one computer at a time, and you may not make the Apple Software available over a network where it could be used by multiple computers at the same time.

[LaRoza]

They don't have stickers. :D

The same wording is used in the EULA for Safari for Windows.

[Alfa989]

The same wording is used in the EULA for Safari for Windows.

Haven't they fixed it yet? :shock:

Why does Apple even pay their lawyers? :D

[LaRoza]

Why does Apple even pay their lawyers?

Because lawyers can suck their blood.

[the6step]

I've posted this link on another thread. It's a hoax, so this whole discussion is moot. They just want your credit card no.'s...

No it's actually not a hoax, that was just poor reporting done by Gizmodo. They have since gone back online.

[handy]

Yes, I have read that they are doing it, & are ready to go to court & fight Apple, which is surely something that they would not have started unless they had the legal team to begin with.

[3rdalbum]

I used to have an Apple sticker on a glass sliding door. It's a pity I don't still have it to donate to someone with a hackintosh. :-)

[handy]

I used to have an Apple sticker on a glass sliding door. It's a pity I don't still have it to donate to someone with a hackintosh. :-)

I should be able to lay my hands on 5, possibly 6 of those nice white Apple stickers... I doubt I'm ever going to bother using them on a PC. There are other OS's/distro's I'd prefer to use.