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A MacFixIt reader had a very interesting email exchange from Psystar's support, who told him that they don't want customers installing Leopard themselves. Here's the quote from the support team:

We absolutely do not support customers attempting to install the Leopard operating system on our Open Computer themselves. This is due to a difficult process that we go through to get Leopard to function on our computers. We encourage you to purchase an open computer, and select the option to have Leopard Pre-installed. Currently, (shipping the computer back to us) is the only option available. If the HDD dies, you can ship it to us for $50 plus shipping, so we can replace it for you.

Good luck to anyone buying!

What do these wankers want to be able to trawl anyone stupid enough to buy one for any personal info. eg: credit card, bank or other info they could use to rip the unspecting idiot off with.

A simple system update will be more than enough to kill off them for a start.

If anyone has taken the time to closely read their website front page there is little to any info about osx mostly all windows crap. Most of which would probably make windows worse than it already is.
 
Anyone living in a trailer has already given up on life.

When I lived in Colorado I knew dozens of people who lived in trailers yet had good jobs, good income and good culture, yet chose to focus their investments outside of real estate. A couple of them even had iMacs...:cool:.

Not a housing choice I would make, but let's open our minds to a little non-traditional thinking here, which is supposed to be why macs are cool in the first place...and why the idea of Psystar is worth talking about, even if they're a bunch of clowns.
 
on their site:

Can I update my Open/OpenPro with the Leopard OS using the Apple web site or the Leopard Automatic Update Feature?

We do not support that feature of the operating system. Supported updates will be listed under support on the Psystar website. Future operating system updates may cause severe system problems. Only install updates that have been tested and posted to the Psystar support website.

So, this is not like really having a mac. It does not interface with the Apple servers well I guess. This is why I didn't jailbreak my iphone. Any update could bring down the house of cards.
 
EOL Psystar

They're SO gonna get it!!!

What are they THINKING?

They might get away with cheapo Ubuntu or whatever it is called, BUT, then the truth is that Apple IS Apple and isn't it about time people like these Psystar started to do their homework?

Apple will NOT allow ANY modified, hacked or otherwise OS run on a Machine that's not designed to run OS X natively.

To make the argument short, here's why :

Apple WILL NEVER allow any company to cheapen their image. Their products are not approved or tested by professionals not to mention they don't have any backing from Apple at all. So this means, if Apple wants to they can pretty much make their OS react badly to their set up in the next OS update. Simple... but Apple won't even bother doing that... They'll just send a letter and if these guys think they'll get anything out of this, other than shame and a loss of money, they're kidding them selves..

Sad but true... They should have checked up on the rights and asked for permission...

This is why I'm thinking they're all PeeCee users... an Apple user would NEVER be this absentminded in going forward with such a dim plan.

Good luck to them... and RIP...
 
I'm sorry no, because components ARE converted to Euro using the exchange rate and thus those two CPU's are 619 Euro each, boxed retail.

Then you found them cheaper I did use the correct exchange rate (the price I found was 950€ or so), there are many to chose from perhaps you looked up an older model?

Anyway with your example you get $1933 for two cpu´s at 2.8 ghz. Then you need motherboard, HD´s, memory, optic drives, and a equivalent case, power supply, keyboard and mouse oh and a copy of mac os.
 
There are occasional hardware failures, but Apple's computers have them at a rate lower than the rest of the industry.

And those failure rates are getting higher as what Apple sells gets thinner and more experimental. The days were you could buy a Mac and not worry about the warranty are unfortunately gone. These days Applecare is a must if you don't want to get burned.

Also, Apple bought Macs do NOT have the basic kind of compatibility issues that this "open computer" will have. Mac OS X runs natively on Macs, and it has to be hacked to run on this piece of garbage. Big difference there, pal.

The only compatibility issues it will have are due to trying to simulate EFI. Once it gets into OSX, it uses the same drivers as Apple.

If you want this open computer so bad, then why don't you order one and tell us how reliable and stable it is? Have fun being ripped off.

I'll pass for now. But I hope this causes Apple to take a look around and insert an desktop or light workstation into their line. Not too many can afford the Mac Pro and the iMac is a very limited machine.
 
Apologies for jumping in, but let's face it -- a shrink-wrap license like a typical EULA is worth about as much as toilet paper, and that's only if you can manage to print one out on toilet paper. If you read them carefully, you will frequently uncover over-arching and unenforceable provisions, as well as a few rules that you may have already unwittingly broken.

I can't comment on Apple's EULA because I haven't read it, and I don't plan on reading it in the future. I know what I can and can't do with it, under the laws of the state and country where I live. That is good enough.

One of the few sensible posts re EULAs that I have read on these boards.
 
Most macs or atleast the mac pro´s have top of the line technology in them and that is reflected on the price. Go out and buy two xeon 5400 and you´ll realise it´s a good deal actually.

The specs of this hack computer seems to be closer to a mac mini. I hate it.

If you're a movie or record producer, its an amazing great deal. The Mac Pro blows the other dual xeon systems out of the water. If you're buying it because you have to move up because Apple doesn't offer a desktop its not such a great deal. Especially since Apple has raised the price close to a grand since your last Mac.
 
Then you found them cheaper I did use the correct exchange rate (the price I found was 950€ or so), there are many to chose from perhaps you looked up an older model?

Anyway with your example you get $1933 for two cpu´s at 2.8 ghz. Then you need motherboard, HD´s, memory, optic drives, and a equivalent case, power supply, keyboard and mouse oh and a copy of mac os.

I have no doubt that you can't build a equivilant mac pro for cheaper than you can buy a proper mac pro.
However to be fair the open computer is not supposed to be an alternative to the mac pro, it's supposed to be an alternative to the mini.
So taking out any issues of legality or morality. It still isn't fair to compare it to the mac pro as it was not really going after the mac pro.
 
Apologies for jumping in, but let's face it -- a shrink-wrap license like a typical EULA is worth about as much as toilet paper, and that's only if you can manage to print one out on toilet paper. If you read them carefully, you will frequently uncover over-arching and unenforceable provisions, as well as a few rules that you may have already unwittingly broken.

I can't comment on Apple's EULA because I haven't read it, and I don't plan on reading it in the future. I know what I can and can't do with it, under the laws of the state and country where I live. That is good enough.

That's why one has never been tested in court.
 
Oh boo-freakin'-hoo. Many people, myself included, would buy a mid-range tower from Apple if they made one. Hell, I've even gone on record here in this very forum saying I would pay the Apple premium for it. I'd prefer to do it the legitimate way, but I cannot if Apple refuses to pull their heads out of their arses and put out the machine that everyone on the planet seems to realize is their next logical move (save for a few fanboys/apologists who denounce such a thing now but will fall madly in love with the mid-range tower the day Apple puts one out)

Oh boo hoo to you too. :D (Alliteration, I love it !)

"Apple doesn't make the comp I want , Waaaah!"

"They owe it to me, Waaaaaaaah!"

"There's something cold and wet in my diaper, Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Wow, overly dramatic much? What sort of sad life must one live before finding a freakin' software EULA as personal and meaningful as their marriage?

Sigh, it's not the EULA I find personal and meaningful, it's my word. You know, honor, integrity, self respect. I'd suggest looking them up in a dictionary if you're not familiar.


Guess what? It's not against the law to break the terms of a EULA where copyright is not infringed. Go look into it. The EULA is legally in place to protect the work from being pirated and illegally distributed. The rest of the EULA terms that don't pertain to copyright is generally considered unenforceable and not necessarily legally binding to the end user. If I install a legally purchased copy of Leopard on non-Apple equipment, I've done nothing illegal. Why do you think Apple hasn't gone after OSX86? Why do you think Apple isn't doing to that site what they did to Think Secret? It's because they can't.

Way to miss the point, completely!
 
If you're a movie or record producer, its an amazing great deal. The Mac Pro blows the other dual xeon systems out of the water. If you're buying it because you have to move up because Apple doesn't offer a desktop its not such a great deal. Especially since Apple has raised the price close to a grand since your last Mac.

I agree completely. But IMO there is no reason to go for a tower model in 2008 if you aren´t in the category that you mentioned or other fields that require loads of processing power and expansion options.
 
I have no doubt that you can't build a equivilant mac pro for cheaper than you can buy a proper mac pro.
However to be fair the open computer is not supposed to be an alternative to the mac pro, it's supposed to be an alternative to the mini.
So taking out any issues of legality or morality. It still isn't fair to compare it to the mac pro as it was not really going after the mac pro.

Yes you are right I don´t know how this came up actually. But if I had to choose between the mac mini and this 3rd party pirated tower I would pick the mac mini. The graphics is integrated on this box and its a core 2 duo, an update to the mini is expected soon.

With the mini you get a quiet and small format computer that apple will give support for.
 
Oh boo hoo to you too. :D (Alliteration, I love it !)

"Apple doesn't make the comp I want , Waaaah!"

"They owe it to me, Waaaaaaaah!"

"There's something cold and wet in my diaper, Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!"



Sigh, it's not the EULA I find personal and meaningful, it's my word. You know, honor, integrity, self respect. I'd suggest looking them up in a dictionary if you're not familiar.




Way to miss the point, completely!

Speaking of dictionaries, you mean "assonance" not "alliteration."

And these emotions you associate with the EULA/purchase of a computer, do you think corporations share such feelings?
 
Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/4A102 Safari/419.3)

I checked out this video and one of the related videos says that the company seems to be a fake due to some pretty interesting finds. What does everyone think about this?
 
Yes you are right I don´t know how this came up actually. But if I had to choose between the mac mini and this 3rd party pirated tower I would pick the mac mini. The graphics is integrated on this box and its a core 2 duo, an update to the mini is expected soon.

With the mini you get a quiet and small format computer that apple will give support for.

Fair enough I'd go for the mini too. I don't like headaches with my computers.
 
Haven't you guys all figured it out yet? That's what Psystar wants. The purpose of setting up this company and selling hacintoshes is not to make money (you can't make money selling PCs at that price) the purpose is to force a challange in court. They put together a company with no assets to loose. They are thinking all we have is rented office space and an invenory of 50 PCs, nothing to loose, but if we win the right to make and sell clones with a decisive court opinion we can sell the business for a mint.

I can se where Apple is NOT going to jump on them so fast. A lawsuit is like flipping a coin. You never know the outcome. Apple has a LOT to loose here by going to court. They might have the entire concept of a EULA invalidated and what do they have to gain if they win? Only continueation of the staus quo

It is the same type of gamble some people take when they don't buy auto insurance. I have a lot to loose if some one were to sue me. But what I the most expensive thing I owned as a $600 car that just just wrecked and I have a $7 per hour job. Even if I was drunk and ran over 4 kids who would sue me? No lawyer would take the case because he couldn't be paid. I'm sure Psystar is thinking the same thing "sue me, if I loose I can't pay and if I win we're millionares"

Their route to becomming rich requires Apple taking them to court. Why else violate the ELUA in such a conspicous public way.

Exactly. Apple is not currently being threatened by these guys. Why spend the money to sue? Why give them free publicity? Under the current conditions, there is no reward, but lots of risk in suing.
I suspect Apple will let them have their 15 minutes of fame before they just disappear.
 
Like some have said it could be just a system hooked up to a different monitor. The proof is in the pudding when one gets in the wild.

It's so damn easy to get Leopard running on a PC. Why would anyone think that this is a system hooked up to a different monitor.

Prior to this December, I hadn't touched a Mac of any kind since 1994. After a day and a half of flipping through forums on another set geared to this type of thing, I was able to install Leopard on a Dell Optiplex, then a Thinkpad T60, and a Thinkpad x60s. It's easy to do, Psystar has no reason to fake it.

Don't get me wrong, I recognize there are signficant problems with their business model. But getting Leopard to run on a cheap PC is not one of them.
 
I doubt this is for OS X beginners, this is not put a disc in and the installation will start. I will definitely not getting on of those for OS X nor XP... I am sorry

I will rather stick with DIY computers, but of course for XP/Vista
 
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