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'OpenMac' Promises $399 Headless Mac... But Not From Apple

mutantteenager said:
I want a workstation, but find the MacPro to be way out of my budget. I've got an iMac, but can't upgrade the graphics card. I am seriously considering building a hackintosh, but this option (if it runs 10.4) is perfect for me.
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Don't see why it wouldn't run 10.4... One of the Kallyway or Uphuck disks should have all drivers needed to do whatever you want. You'd have to seek out your own graphic .kexts over at insanelymac though.

The only thing with 10.4 though is it -doesn't- have a standalone installer and you can't buy one. 10.5 provided the first legitimate way to Hacintosh.
 
I will not buy this, but only because the boxes for my new mac are still in the living room.

I use the hell out of my computer, mostly now for home use, but I am a graphic/design professional and do some of the work at home still. The replacement computer is an iMac. Because I couldn't justify $3000 for a tower.

This is fairly inconvenient. I don't change video cards a lot, but I do run numerous spare drives, all of which now have to be external. And find extra ports to be nice also.

I settled on the iMac by asking around and reading a lot. All sorts of professional/office users are getting iMacs and Minis because the towers are just insane-expensive now. And kinda big. A mini-tower would seem to make sense for apple, and the size change could help with their slotting it into the product range; smaller=less.
 
rhpenguin said:
One of the Kallyway or Uphuck disks should have all drivers needed to do whatever you want. You'd have to seek out your own graphic .kexts over at insanelymac though.
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That really fits the bill of "it just works"

Dont waste your time with this unless you want a constant headache and all you ever want to do is troubleshoot.
 
eastcoastsurfer said:
I think need to differentiate between Apple laptops and desktops. I have a MBP that was very price competitive at the time (this is usually the case only right after an update) I bought it. The problem is that many of Apples desktop machines are overpriced compared to the hardware that's in them.
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Duly noted. However, I think people were comparing this 'headless Mac' to the Mac Mini for its parts. The headless is $399 + $129 + $79 for Leopard and iLife would be about $507. Mini's retail for about $579-$599. A minimum of a $72 difference for preinstalled OS and Apps, full support and not to mention the ability to use Front Row with a remote far outweighs the potential to save a small amount on money. :)
 
I would rather pay the extra 150% to have a mini that I know will work and will always continue to work with updates.
 
Now in black.

psystar_openmac.jpg


Still as ugly.​



Doesnt quite match the slick apple hardware quotes.
 
dukebound85 said:
you could easily make a great hackintosh yourself for under 1k if you know what you're doing

why people would go this route when they could do it themselves is questionable to me lol



poor sound quality? how come this is the first ive heard of it? sounds decent to me lol
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Go listen to a Cowon and an iPod side by side and see what you think... night and day.
 
joemama said:
Apple can't do anything as long as they don't ship it with Leopard.
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Apple can shut them down as long as they advertise a computer as an "OpenMac". An interesting thought is that if the same thing happened in the UK, Apple could probably cause them a lot of grief by writing to the Trading Standards office; apparently their own advertisements claim that the buyer should have no expectation that the machine is suitable for its intended purpose.
 
clyde2801 said:
I know a lot of people who would love to try mac, but balk at its lack of options and perceived lesser value hardware wise compared with pc's. Heck, I'm going to be sending them the link.
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I hope they are already your enemies, as they will be pissed off from sending their money to a company that will shortly not exist. This company will be belly-up in a week.

Apple is required to sue them to defend the "Mac" trademark. There is no choice. These people were fools to use "Mac" in their product name and obviously don't know enough about business to keep the doors open.

I could believe someone can build a workable Mac clone out of bin parts. I could believe the EULA could possibly be finagled or overlooked. What I can't believe is that a couple of dweebs can manage their cash flow enough to build and sell a few thousand units. And these guys are obvious dweebs, given their absolutely idiotic decision to use "Mac" in their name.
 
Have we learned nothing from all the old Mac clones? This just pollutes the brand. Just like if UPS started using their old logo along with their new one, it pollutes the identity of the company and the products they offer. Apple has worked hard in the last decade to revive the idea that Macintosh computers are the upper tier of personal computing. If a third party is introduced, that image will be damaged. I'll bet that Apple will sue this company, win the case, and shut it down.
 
BenRoethig said:
Things were so much better in the Mac community before the cult of Jobs took over.
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Before?

Ah I get it - a joke.

(The period when Jobs wasn't around was an unmitigated disaster. Remember Gil Amelio?).


tsd said:
Have we learned nothing from all the old Mac clones? This just pollutes the brand.
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...only if it cannibalises their current market. If it's a controlled cloning programme then I think it could work.
 
jdc said:
I have just bought a MBP and I love it.
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They have to dumb it down to simple terms like economics for it to get through the distortion field. To them its inconceivable that Apple could be wrong or that people might need a computer different than what apple offers.
 
arn said:
right to clarify some things.

a EULA is that - and end-user agreement. The only weird thing is that this company will preinstall Leopard for you. So I could see Apple trying to get them in trouble for that. That being said, EULA's are of debatable enforcement. But I'd guess Apple would try against a company like this.

If they don't sell it with Leopard, I don't see how Apple can block it. They'd have to go after the end users buying/installing Leopard and it seems unlikely that would happen.

arn
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The second obvious attack by Apple lawyers will be use of the name Open"Mac". (Watch the name change quickly in response.) Apple also tightly controls distribution channels for its software; without a contract, companies are not authorized to sell Leopard.
 
Santa Rosa said:
Dont waste your time with this unless you want a constant headache and all you ever want to do is troubleshoot.
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And you base this on?

Hackintoshes have been around for awhile now for people who want to use Apple software without the exorbitant prices associated with Apple hardware.

It's really not that hard to pay attention to what updates are compatible or not.
 
What exactly are the legal ramifications of breaking a EULA? Shouldn't there be laws against an legally enforceable contract if you have no bargaining power? Most other contracts I sign can be amended with consent of both parties, let's say if I find a particular part unfair or written in a shady manner. How is it that you go to a store and pay $100 for something, take it home and then have to agree to a legally binding contract that you have no say in before you can use it?
 
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