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

[ease718]

I don't get this.

Apple has been a greedy corporate monopoly since 1977, at least.

lol @ that

but seriously there is nothing in apples lineup between 'laptop system in desktop form' and expensive 'server system misused as desktop system'.

how about an affordable core 2 quad system ? oh that might eat into the profit we make selling servers as desktop systems.

 

[tjohanne]

I've been contemplating buying a PC for the last few months because right now, for one of the first times in the 15+ years I've been using Macs, Apple has NOTHING in my price range and needs. The Mac Mini is within my budget but frustratingly overpriced for the paltry amount of computing power it offers. The iMac is a great deal but Apple chose to burden it with a crappy display and no matte screen option. Since there is no consumer-level headless Mac, I have no options as far as buying a Mac.

Amen to that! 🙂

 

[hugodrax]

The Mini is not a good value hardware wise for what you are paying which is a laptop with no keyboard and no monitor. Mini is a headless laptop. The only thing going for the Mini is the unique form factor but otherwise not a good value.

Apple could sell a desktop for 800 dollars and it will sell even if it has a premium over other devices in its range, people will pay for the difference knowing they are not having to deal with driver issues,WGA,etc.. a better OS and support for HW and OS from one company.

I would drop the Mini from the line up and offer a desktop minitower instead starting at 799.95

It would sell well and still bring in a good margin for apple. Better to cannibalize your own sales than let your competitor do it. I will still buy Mac Pro towers even if this existed.

 

[captain insano]

Clearly the only thing Apple has going for it anymore is it's marketing department:

1. Apple migrates to Intel hardware and software.

2. In order to close the gap in performance between PPC and x86, Apple's OS has included software and some hardware incentives. By putting these incentives in a pretty format, they retain the wonder of the using a premium product. The imagery of premium given by commercials and the exclusivity of being an Apple.

3. IBM compatible machines that have won over the server market, by simply being far more flexible in terms of hardware and software, has crippled Apple's professional market share with the notable exception of die-hard publishing and digital content creation. Even then, with Avid and Vegas, Photoshop and Indesign working better, faster, harder, and stronger on IBM compatibles, the choice of a business paying more for a "pretty machine" is very nil.

4. Buying an Apple is a lifestyle choice because a user likes it's aesthetics and being told what hardware to use, how to use, what to pay, and who you can get it from. Facism is also a lifestyle choice.

From the above points, clearly there is one very even and fair handed approach to Apple:

They are facist Nazis pushing a lifestyle of uniqueness and nonconformity on idiots with money. Can't fault them for that.

 

[turboflam3]

4. The interior design: The inside of a Mac Pro is a thing of beauty and things such as adding disks or memory are far easier than on the majority of Windows boxes

Upgrading a Mac?

Easier?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

[AlexisV]

People don't seem to understand that a Mac IS MADE OF standard PC parts, and the only differences between a Mac and a PC are three things:

1. The OS
2. The exterior design
3. The support

Those 3 things were enough for me to buy a Macbook. For some people, #1 only may be enough to buy an OpenMac.

Their's more to it than that. PC motherboards have an old fashioned BIOS, whereas Mac motherboards make use of an EFI. It's one reason PCs boot into a horrible 1980's low res screen at first. The EFI is only emulated in the cloned machine, which is not the best situation to be in.

 

[Beric]

You missed a couple off:
4. The interior design: The inside of a Mac Pro is a thing of beauty and things such as adding disks or memory are far easier than on the majority of Windows boxes
5. The resale value: The resale value of a used Mac is far, far higher than the resale value of a "standard" windows box and if you sell your machine on when you've finished with it you'll recoup a lot of the extra money you spent buying it

True. There're also some negatives of Macs:
#1: The price
#2: The upgradeability.

Both of these would increase the likelihood of someone buying an OpenMac.

 

[Yvan256]

"a company who has hand-selected the hardware and deliberately programed the software to work near perfectly with it"

Wow the apple commercials are very effective...

I read that as "Apple chooses components and then code their software accordingly" while a lot of people seem to have read that as "Apple only chooses the best"...

Apple are the same as Nintendo. They both make their own hardware so they can more easily make their software. The Wii is less powerful than either the Xbox 360 or the PS3, but I can only play Metroid Prime 3 on a Wii, so it doesn't matter.

Same goes for Mac OS X, except that Macs are now 99.999% the same as a regular PC, and that people are now used to "install any OS on any PC". Except that Apple doesn't sell computers or operating systems, they're still selling complete systems just like in the Atari and Amiga days.

In any case, PsyStar made a really huge mistake in calling their box "OpenMac". 😱

 

[oban14]

Humm let's see.

E5462 Xeon 2.6Ghz x 2 = 1600USD.
2Gb FB-DIMM DDR2-800 = 82USD
ATi 2600XT = 60USD
Tyan Intel DP board = 400USD
Optical Super Drive = 30USD
320Gb HD = 50USD.

Sub-total= 2142 USD.

+ Leopard = 100USD
+ Case = 300USD
+ feel good factor = 200 USD
+ Superior recognition = 100USD

Grand total: 2842USD.

Advertised on Apple: 2800USD

Yeh I guess it is competitively priced....😉

You forgot that the Mac Pro actually comes with 2.8 xeons, not 2.6. Also, is that ECC memory you're quoting there?

If you're going to do the comparison, it's gotta be apples to apples.

Upgrading a Mac?

Easier?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Have you ever tried upgrading the hard drive or memory on a mac pro? Easier than any PC I've ever worked on... although I think the drive bays are a bit difficult to pull out when they have a hard drive in them.

 

[macsmurf]

Good luck finding the system you're talking about for $2000 whether it be from Dell, HP, or someone else.

My Hackintosh consists of quality components (If you overclock, you have to buy quality). One Q6600 2.4 GHz running at 3.24 Ghz. 2 GB (quality) RAM. 500 GB SATAII hard drive. 8800 GT 512 MB graphics card. Dual-layer lightscribe DVD-RW. Antec P182 case. US price guestimate: $1200 (not including the $129 for Leopard)

This computer gets a slightly better score in Geekbench/Xbench than the comparable Mac Pro costing $2600. Granted, it's not a Xeon processor, but the original poster did not need one. I suspect the difference is not noticable.

There are a lot of reasons not to go with a hackintosh, but it's hard to beat performance/cost-wise.

 

[yomamafor1]

You missed a couple off:
4. The interior design: The inside of a Mac Pro is a thing of beauty and things such as adding disks or memory are far easier than on the majority of Windows boxes
5. The resale value: The resale value of a used Mac is far, far higher than the resale value of a "standard" windows box and if you sell your machine on when you've finished with it you'll recoup a lot of the extra money you spent buying it

4. The interior design also goes with the case. And contrary to your belief, a lot of "windows" boxes have efficient interior space usage, and most of them are equipped with prebuilt socket that's easier to install hardwares.

i.e. Cosmo S
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119138

Not to mention this also comes at a fraction of Apple's aluminum case, which is cheaper to manufacture.

5. Macrewed Syndrome?

 

[ease718]

those xeons are a waste in a desktop machine.

why not offer a core 2 quad option.only about a $1000 difference, for what???

 

[clevin]

Apple are the same as Nintendo. They both make their own hardware so they can more easily make their software.

no, apple doesn't, only hardware they make in a mac is the shell.

They don't make CPU/Graphic card/Mainboard/screen/RAM/HDD/Optical Drive/....they re-package them from taiwanese/japanese/etc company, heck, even the assemblage is in China or Malaysia, etc...

 

[yomamafor1]

You forgot that the Mac Pro actually comes with 2.8 xeons, not 2.6. Also, is that ECC memory you're quoting there?

If you're going to do the comparison, it's gotta be apples to apples.

My bad. E5462 is 2.8Ghz, not 2.6Ghz. Its a typo. Thanks for correction.

FB-DIMM is another name for ECC Fully Buffered memory.

 

[Antares]

I can seen them selling the computer, itself, without any issue. However, there's no way that they could sell it with Leopard pre-installed without getting into a whole heap of legal trouble.

 

[Phil A.]

Humm let's see.

E5462 Xeon 2.6Ghz x 2 = 1600USD.
2Gb FB-DIMM DDR2-800 = 82USD
ATi 2600XT = 60USD
Tyan Intel DP board = 400USD
Optical Super Drive = 30USD
320Gb HD = 50USD.

Sub-total= 2142 USD.

+ Leopard = 100USD
+ Case = 300USD
+ feel good factor = 200 USD
+ Superior recognition = 100USD

Grand total: 2842USD.

Advertised on Apple: 2800USD

Yeh I guess it is competitively priced....😉

You can't really compare a bunch of component costs to the price of a complete machine.🙄

Go to Dell and configure a similar spec machine to the Mac Pro and you'll see just how competitive the Macs are

 

[DamnDJ]

Well, the good news for these guys is that if Apple does come down on them, all they need to do is remove any mention of Apple or Leopard from their product, market their machine as "Compatable with All Operating Systens", and there'll be NOTHING Apple can do.

Just because these guys are selling a computer that will run Leopard with minimal hassle doesn't mean Apple has any case. The only thing they could get in trouble for is allowing the buyer to have them install OS X.

I for one love this idea. If I didn't already have the ability to build my own system that runs better and is cheaper than any Mac on the market, I'd take a look at this. At the very least, this will be good for people to look at to see what kind of hardware that they could use to build their own Hackintosh.

Also, if Apple wasn't so stupid not to have a headless iMac with some upgradable components like a video card, this type of thing wouldn't be such a big deal. Clearly the interest in this shows that such a product would do very well in Apple's lineup. Until then, Apple will continue to apply the RDF over everyone into thinking that their Desktops are worth the money.

You can't really compare a bunch of component costs to the price of a complete machine.

Go to Dell and configure a similar spec machine to the Mac Pro and you'll see just how competitive the Macs are

Except that not everyone wants such a pimped out system. Some of us would like a lower cost, less spec'd machine with the ability to upgrade video and an extra PCI card or two. Apple provides nothing of the sort at a more reasonable price for those of us who don't drive a BMW.

I hate when people tell you to configure a Dell system with similar specs and realize they are the same as a Mac. What's the first thing you have to do when you visit Dell's configuration page? You have to pump all the Specs up to match the price and features of the Mac Pro. The problem with Apple is that you have no other options. Dells you have plenty of "lower featured" options and can still get a usable system.

 

[compuguy1088]

You missed a couple off:
4. The interior design: The inside of a Mac Pro is a thing of beauty and things such as adding disks or memory are far easier than on the majority of Windows boxes
5. The resale value: The resale value of a used Mac is far, far higher than the resale value of a "standard" windows box and if you sell your machine on when you've finished with it you'll recoup a lot of the extra money you spent buying it

You also missed the point that the consumer macs use all laptop parts rather than desktop parts. This also raises the cost of the machines.

 

[asdavis10]

i think it shouldn' t be up to Apple whether sth is legal or not.

I buy the software and I should be able to use it.

USA means freedom but sometimes your freedom is so limited under these agreements etc.

I guess you've never read an EULA before.

 

[AlexisV]

True. There're also some negatives of Macs:
#1: The price
#2: The upgradeability.

Both of these would increase the likelihood of someone buying an OpenMac.

How much will the OpenMac be worth in 3 years? Not much. It would be a pain trying to get anyone interested in it on ebay and having to explain it's a cut price fake Mac that probably won't even run Cougar, or whatver the next OS will be.

Macs hold their value. Stick your Mac on ebay and you'll get a good price for it - a much better price in relative terms than your 3 year old Alienware or whatever. Then you can just put the money to your next Mac.

An initial outlay of £900 for an iMac, sell it for £500 in three years and buy the newest one for £400. That's £133 a year for a brand new computer at regular intervals. Not bad.

 

[asdavis10]

Upgrading a Mac?

Easier?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Clearly they were talking about a Mac Pro where, in the text you quoted, it stated "The inside of a Mac Pro is a thing of beauty"

 

[Yvan256]

ok i have one question. everybody is saying how expensive the mini is. well show me the alternative in the same form factor.

and i am not trying to be an ass. i am seriously wondering of a machine with windows on it with the exact specs made by a "major" manufacturer.

AOpen miniPC. Pratically the same size and the same specs (except Intel GMA X3100, but I'm betting the next revision of the Mac mini will also have it, just like the current MacBook).

I tried to price one at LogicSupply.com. I even gave it a chance and used Windows XP Home instead of Pro:

AOpen MiniPC Duo MP965-DR
- Intel Core 2 Duo Mobile (Merom) Socket P T7100 FSB800 1.8GHz
- DDR2 667 SO-DIMM 1GB
- 2.5" Samsung SATA 5400rpm 80GB
- Windows XP Home
Sub-Total: $967.00

And it's still missing a FireWire port. 😱

 

[Eraserhead]

2. In order to close the gap in performance between PPC and x86, Apple's OS has included software and some hardware incentives. By putting these incentives in a pretty format, they retain the wonder of the using a premium product. The imagery of premium given by commercials and the exclusivity of being an Apple.

PPC wasn't particularly bad until Intel released the Core * chips, especially for the desktops running the G5. Though admittedly the Powerbook G4's were underpowered.

3. IBM compatible machines that have won over the server market, by simply being far more flexible in terms of hardware and software,

True, but a lot of them run Linux.

has crippled Apple's professional market share with the notable exception of die-hard publishing and digital content creation. Even then, with Avid and Vegas, Photoshop and Indesign working better, faster, harder, and stronger on IBM compatibles,

a) Have you heard of Final Cut?

b) Actually Photoshop runs faster on OS X by almost 15% (source).

c) Indesign runs perfectly well on Macs.

4. Buying an Apple is a lifestyle choice because a user likes it's aesthetics and being told what hardware to use, how to use, what to pay, and who you can get it from.

Sure. That's why Apple is so profitable, because they provide a single solution, which works well for consumers.

Facism is also a lifestyle choice.

Thanks for proving Godwin's law still holds.

Upgrading a Mac?

Easier?

Why not? The Mac Pro doesn't involve having to move tons of wires out the way to install RAM and hard drive, which often is the case with PC's.

 

[oban14]

I guess you've never read an EULA before.

I've read plenty. Violating them only means that Apple is no longer responsible for supporting my copy of Leopard, nothing less and nothing more.

 

[grimslade]

Psystar web site is down. That was fast...