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

[kkat69]

Ok, I'm a believer, They are legit. Take a look at this. They've started advertising in the Oval Office with GW as their spokesman!!!!!
Here he is explaining why the Apple license agreement is monopolistic and illegal and how Psystar can break the agreement if it so chooses to and their pro-bono lawyers will take on the Apple lawyers easily as translegalizationism (GW come on use REAL words man!)

 

[k2spitfire88]

Source and description: http://gizmodo.com/382179/psystar-update-first-pictures-of-their-sign

Looks photoshoped, and if you read the comments off that link, someone had to give them their SSN for some type of discount SCAM

I ordered THREE different machines!! I paid for ONE eith a credit card, ONE with a Western Union wire, and then ONE with a direct bank transfer, but I had to give them my bank account info and Social Security number to qualify for the 10% Discount on the third one. Im really excited to get these! Its gonna be so cool!

 

[filthandfury]

sarcasm?

Looks photoshoped, and if you read the comments off that link, someone had to give them their SSN for some type of discount SCAM

you didn't pick up the e-sarcasm there? he was layin' it on pretty heavy.
(or the guy was mentally challenged in which case I feel bad)

but none the less; still probably a scam.

 

[kkat69]

Looks photoshoped, and if you read the comments off that link, someone had to give them their SSN for some type of discount SCAM

That person is gonna be real popular in Russia or Brazil. I can picture those identity theft commercials in my head now

 

[k2spitfire88]

you didn't pick up the e-sarcasm there? he was layin' it on pretty heavy.


but none the less; still probably a scam.

No, I thought he was serious, but there seemed to be a decent number of people there who thought that they were legit. My bad!

 

[MacMedic]

I take it Apple doesn't know about it or else they'd have been given a cease and desist for "installing it themselves."

The reason OS X works so well is because Apple knows exactly what hardware it runs on. If you put OS X on other hardware you quickly start to have problems.

My OS X Leopard wasn't stable at all on my MBP. Every update made it worse. So much for "Works together"

Went back to Tiger. It works.

 

[kkat69]

you didn't pick up the e-sarcasm there? he was layin' it on pretty heavy.
(or the guy was mentally challenged in which case I feel bad)

but none the less; still probably a scam.

Yah it had to be sarcasm because One with credit card would = 40x charges for 9.99, and only One with Western Union? that would be 40 WU checks for 9.99 ea, and come on now, One direct bank transfer? Try 40 @ 9.99 ea.

No way this guy is telling the truth. LOL

 

[ChrisA]

I agree, I don't think that they will ever ship, and I am sorry for people who ordered one, because I do not think they will get their money back, and people will have their CC numbers.

So what? If I tell my bank I placed an order and it was not shipped they will reverse the charge on the CC. There is no risk. As for someone else having my CC number, that happed once to me. I told the bank I did not make the purchace and they removed the item from the bill and sent me a new CC. It is a hassel to have to do this but I didn't loose any money.

And what about the waiter? Did you ever give your CC to a waiter t pay for dinner? Maybe he is keeping a list of CC numbers too and then he sells the list. Who would you know? I say "just don't worry about it"

 

[filthandfury]

yes and no...

So what? If I tell my bank I placed an order and it was not shipped they will reverse the charge on the CC. There is no risk. As for someone else having my CC number, that happed once to me. I told the bank I did not make the purchace and they removed the item from the bill and sent me a new CC. It is a hassel to have to do this but I didn't loose any money.

And what about the waiter? Did you ever give your CC to a waiter t pay for dinner? Maybe he is keeping a list of CC numbers too and then he sells the list. Who would you know? I say "just don't worry about it"

I do believe that 99% of americans are unnecessarily scared of identity theft; like killer bees, or bird flu; as soon as 20/20 does a special anyone over 40 years old is gonna freak out about it.

I still would be worried about giving a known shadt company my Credit card number, but a friend of mind told me paypal offers some sort of "one time credit card number", could be a safer option (once the units start shipping ofcourse)

 

[macEfan]

I hope apple crushes that company like an ant....


Yes I agree competition is a good thing but this company's design is totally ugly. Not to mention they are horrible at their marketing strategy- doesn't it make more sense to be able to get your manufacturing devision on par with the the advertising before you go public?

 

[kkat69]

Yes I agree competition is a good thing but this company's design is totally ugly. Not to mention they are horrible at their marketing strategy- doesn't it make more sense to be able to get your manufacturing devision on par with the the advertising before you go public?

Especially when you KNOW damn good and well the impact this would have.

Don't give any babble on "how would they know" if the osx86 community was behind something like this THEY WOULD have had their act together and ensure that machines would have been built and rolled out within days of announcement. These guys if they are legit would have known the impact.

Just another reason to cry farce.

*Poor servers? How hard is it to get a hosting company with fail-over system to host your site
*Bad merchant support? That's something you get right PRIOR to announcement
*Wrong Address/Typos? This establishes a credible line of communication as well as a sound business residence. TYPO'S is not a viable excuse.
*Interviews from the 'typo' addresses? The t-shirt/cotton place said one of the guys DID work there?? hmm fishy that they use a previous employers address
*Incorrect eCommerce procedures? Come on, there's no excuse for the way they're taking orders. Originally no SSL, then they have SSL, now they want CC numbers PRIOR to going to paypal? It doesn't work like that and consumers should know better.
*Details of funky transactions? 39x$9.99 charges to an offshore bank?

The list can go on. Regardless of the legitimacy, is this a company we want to send our money to? This is FAR from rocky start so that argument is null and void.

Then there's the link with razorfx.com.... ohh don't get me started there.

 

[3247]

Legally, we don't know if these license agreements will stand up in court. We really haven't had a situation where a computer company running on common x86 hardware has tried to restrict an operating system to it own hardware.

Actually, we have. It's quite similar to OEM versions that are supposed to be bound to the single computer (or make of computers) they've been sold with.

In Germany, Microsoft tried to enforce that restriction in court… and now sells "system builder" editions to everyone.

 

[NC MacGuy]

From PC World article:
During a quick visit by IDG News Service on Monday at around 9 a.m., the front office door was unlocked and a quick peek inside showed cans of paint on the floor, indicating that Psystar is likely in the process of conditioning its new digs.

They gots the paint so they gots to be real!

Now if they saw boxes and boxes with Psystar printed on them and workbenches with computers being tested to send to customers - or better yet, if Psystar in-fact had the goods in question, it would have been a slam dunk to allow a reporter a peak and shoe them away quickly regaining some credibility.

Let's see a review or receipt of just one.

I think it's becoming painfully apparent why Apple isn't commenting about this.

 

[macsmurf]

They gots the paint so they gots to be real!

I think there is a good chance they're real, albeit not too bright. Who in their right mind would base the succes of the company on poaching customers from a large company while hoping to be small enough for the big company not to notice?

On the other hand, Apple began in a garage producing hardware designed to defraud AT&T, so what do I know?

 

[NC MacGuy]

I think there is a good chance they're real, albeit not too bright. Who in their right mind would base the succes of the company on poaching customers from a large company while hoping to be small enough for the big company not to notice?

On the other hand, Apple began in a garage producing hardware designed to defraud AT&T, so what do I know?

Well the company is real technically speaking.

Not too bright is giving them credit.

 

[filthandfury]

may be life yet;

they got a video up on psystar.com website; kinda sketchy with the office (uses the same stock photos we have seen) but shows 3 "open computers" running diff operating systems.

 

[chrischin]

?

Has anyone received this thing yet?

 

[NC MacGuy]

Has anyone received this thing yet?

I keep waiting too. It will be interesting if or when someone actually does.

 

[LukeHarrison]

Actually, looking at the pic of their HQ from their website, which is much better quality than the pic posted on here a week or so ago, the sign looks very much real.

 

[NC MacGuy]

I want to see a pic of a real customer opening a real Psystar box

 

[dejo]

I want to see a pic of a real customer opening a real Psystar box

In an elevator, preferably...

 

[shikimo]

you didn't pick up the e-sarcasm there? he was layin' it on pretty heavy.
(or the guy was mentally challenged in which case I feel bad)

but none the less; still probably a scam.

I think our consciences are safe; I read sarcasm from the opening volley .

And what about the waiter? Did you ever give your CC to a waiter t pay for dinner? Maybe he is keeping a list of CC numbers too and then he sells the list. Who would you know? I say "just don't worry about it"

During my overly lengthy graduate school career I worked in lots of restaurants, and in my experience this only happens to people who don't display the bare minimum of decency when dealing with their servers . The way the machines are now--and have been for years--it would be hard to compile a big list of customer CC info without attracting attention.

It is worth noting that this sort of fraud was a big enough problem in France to help drive technology forward: now virtually every restaurant has portable card readers that allow people to slide their debit card (not much CC action over here) and enter their PIN without ever letting the card out of his/her sight.

BTW, before anyone screams at me let me be clear: I'm not at all saying that bad customer behavior makes vengeful credit card fraud OK, but it does happen and is thus worth considering the next time you think about taking out your bad day on some poor guy who has to say "let me get your drinks" like the guy in the Ween song 77 times a day. While taking the card of a guy who put a cigarette out on your shirt and ringing up a second check and signing it left-handed with a 45% tip might be tempting sometimes, it is definitely not OK .

From PC World article:
During a quick visit by IDG News Service on Monday at around 9 a.m., the front office door was unlocked and a quick peek inside showed cans of paint on the floor, indicating that Psystar is likely in the process of conditioning its new digs.

They gots the paint so they gots to be real!

Is anyone else having flashbacks to the early .com years, when we were stuffing empty office space by putting anyone we knew who owned a collared shirt behind an IKEA desk for when the 'investors' stopped by?? Ahh, the good ol' days...Psystar ought to know that fresh paint doesn't impress anybody anymore. I want to see a MACHINE DAMMIT!!

 

[NC MacGuy]

psystar website:
"Store Up And Running, Orders Shipped
FRIDAY, 18 APRIL 2008 22:46
It is our pleasure to inform you that our store is up and running thanks to our new high volume payment processor. To all, we challenge you, let’s see if we can max this one out. Regarding shipping, orders placed the week of April 7th are currently being shipped. We will be shipping units out of our new facility starting Monday, April 21st, including those orders placed the week of April 14th. Orders are being shipped in the order that they were received, don't worry, you'll get yours soon. Upon shipment an email notification including tracking information will be sent to you automatically."

Has ANYONE received an email about a shipped system yet? Just way too curious about this debacle.

 

[bla3rd]

Elitist Mac Users

This is illegal and will never happen. This is EXACTLY what Apple doesn't want: it's brand diluted with an ugly product full of bargain-bin components to appeal to the wellfare market. No thanks.

This is precisely the pervasive mentality that keeps many people away from Mac computers -- the nose in the air elitist mentality.

And if for no other reason I do hope that the 3rd party solutions providers that pop up and who are willing to put their venture capital, their ideas, their entrepreneurial efforts forward are incredibly successful.

Having low cost alternatives is good for the Mac consumers because it will lower the cost of the hardware for everyone across the board. Non Mac Intel compatible PCs are the proof of this reality.

Before AMD was so highly succesful they were the red headed bastard step child. Until the latest round of Intel processors they were the leader across the board in performance and cost -- consumers got more speed for less green, period!

Intel realized that they were getting the buns kicked and they stepped it up and what are the results of this threat and loss of market share by AMD? Simply put Intel is producing outstanding processors at competitive prices. But before AMD took the lead in performance and price what was the incentive for Intel?

So those of you wanting a few more choices, hell even from Apple itself, you should be championing this 3rd party option because it will benefit you and your beloved, snobby, and over priced Macs.

Last thing I will mention in this post is about the notion of "looks". Why are so many Mac users in love with the appearance of their computers? Do they stare at them, do they put them behind glass? Do they look at them like art work? Wow, if so then how pathetic. A computer is a tool, and what is under the hood and what is displayed on the screen is what matters, not the box that houses the CPU and memory for god's sake.

I never put my computers in a place that uses space that I could use for other things, that is just stupid in my view.

 

[Padaung]

I hope this goes well enough to simply prove to Apple that there is a market for a machine in between the iMac and the Mac Pro.

The impression I got was the components inside the machine are the same as the ones Apple use - ie processor, motherboard etc all in a cheaper looking case and sold for less due to a much smaller marketing budget and no R and D overheads.

As for how it looks - doesn't bother me too much with a tower machine as I'm usually looking at the screen. I'm still partial to a nice looking laptop though Mmmmm, sweet, sweet Air!