Reports of Psystar's Demise Appear Premature

[powers74]

In other words: Apple still has "reasonable" margins only because their products are over-priced -- especially when you consider the fact that their stuff is produced in cheap labor factories in China.

It won't hurt you when you admit the fact that this designer hardware is expensive.

I would contend that the latest generation MacPro is the best designed example of *consumer* electronics in the world. Ever. Easily in the top 3. Worth the price? I'd say so.

Anyway. It's still ridiculous enough that an American court decided that Apple gets away with their EULA. If Sony got away with an EULA saying that Sony Pictures movies can only be watched on a Sony DVD player, and not on DVD players from Toshiba, Philips or anybody else, you folks would probably also find that totally okay and would applaud Sony and hate Toshiba for selling a DVD player that could playback Sony DVDs. And this whole Apple vs Psystar thing is NOTHING else -- it's only about Apple's EULA that tells you that you are not allowed to use a separately sold piece of software named Mac OS X on a compatible computer from a competitor.

It's completely insane and against common sense that you can apply a copyright law to enforce the most customer-hostile and anti-competitive end user license agreement currently in existence.

I think this is the whole misconception right here. OSX is not sold separately. It is sold with a Mac. It's only sold separately with the understanding that you already bought a Mac - and therefore the OS that goes with it - to put it on. An upgrade essentially.

Your SONY hypothesis is a bit of a stretch. Yes, SONY owns the rights to the movie on the disc, and they also designed and sell the hardware to play it on. But it breaks down after that. The two are not directly dependent to one another as an OS to a computer are. Their BD sales are not dependent on their studio releases. The studio releases have little effect on the sales of BD players. People can buy a SONY player to watch a Disney movie on. Or they buy a TOSHIBA player to watch a SONY production on. Either way SONY is making money, but they are two different industries altogether. Sony had no choice but to license their BD technology or lose the war to their competitor, otherwise they probably would have loved to keep SONY films exclusive to SONY hardware. Some companies choose not to license it. That's just the way that industry works so it's nearly impossible to draw a comparison like that. Apple isn't forced to license anything of theirs just to remain in a market, so they don't. Pretty simple.

Additionally, like I said earlier, How can it be considered anti competitive if they aren't forcing another company to use their product? A company can't be anti competitive against itself, or compete with itself, or be a monopoly by denying other companies access to it's product. None of these arguments make any sense.

 

[michaellinehan]

People keep saying Apple products are "overpriced", but the irony is, that's impossible. They're sold in a free marketplace, where price is dictated by the consumer. If Apple products really were overpriced, they wouldn't be able to sell them at the asking price, and would be forced to offer something more appealing, or lower prices on what they have.

Nicely said.

I keep wondering who these people who incessantly whine about price are. Everyone I know who has switched has been overjoyed --- and extremely happy to pay what is asked. I looked at some cheap Dells in Costco once, just to see what they were actually like. The plastic looked like some joke toy out of a cereal box. The "metal", the same. But some people expect Macs to sell for the same price as that junk!!!? Get real.

Whether this is one's major business tool or major recreational tool, what the heck is a few hundred bucks over the life of the computer? It's been shown again and again that Macs are better - better integrated, more efficient operating system, higher return per employee when they're using Macs, longer lasting, etc. etc. To not be prepared to pay a little more for all that extra quality is the height of unthinking petulant selfishness.

And no, the world doesn't owe you a Ferrari for $30,000, either.

 

[supremedesigner]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7D11 Safari/528.16)

I am very glad its back up, I love the Mac OS, but seriously Apple products are simply overpriced.. Even the "Mac Mini's" are expensive and under spec'd.. If Psystar is still in the game then I think in the future Apple may consider making there systems cheaper.. If not then people would still be able to buy PC's and use OSX.. win-win for anyone looking to use Mac OSX..

Please remember hardware is the only money apple make.

 

[!¡ V ¡!]

And no, the world doesn't owe you a Ferrari for $30,000, either.

awh shucks I really wanted a Ferrari for $30k. Not to mention the insurance on that puppy.


Seriously though this company should just let it rest, I mean they gave it a good go and they lost. Move on to something else.

For an end-user to install whatever OS they want on they system as a technical experiment I have no problems with it, heck I have done it with multiple OSes. I do have a problem if they try to make a business out of it.

 

[ikeywah]

Conspiracy??

No it can't. It's amazing how many times this conspiracy idea is raised. The less evidence of it, the more people insist it's true.

You have a point, but you also cannot prove it either.
Some could come out next and say that Apple is behind Pystar... Then someone might say "Why would Apple be behind Pystar?"
Think about it.

You say less evidence... but in courts eyes...
money = evidence & motive = evidence

It was obvious what Pystar was doing. And the fact that they decided to go to court was even more baffling. There IS something in that.

I don't THINK it is a conspiracy, but then again... I could be wrong.

 

[jooak]

It was illegal to start with!

I wish people would stop supporting illegal behavior. Want a Mac, Get A Mac. That is what I did. Pay the Price. Serves Psystar right to closed for good.

 

[cmaier]

No it can't. It's amazing how many times this conspiracy idea is raised. The less evidence of it, the more people insist it's true.

You have a point, but you also cannot prove it either.
Some could come out next and say that Apple is behind Pystar... Then someone might say "Why would Apple be behind Pystar?"
Think about it.

You say less evidence... but in courts eyes...
money = evidence & motive = evidence

It was obvious what Pystar was doing. And the fact that they decided to go to court was even more baffling. There IS something in that.

I don't THINK it is a conspiracy, but then again... I could be wrong.

"The fact that they decided to go to court?" They had no choice. They were served with a summons and a complaint. Everything after that (declaratory judgment complaint) was just to try to get out from under their legal problems.

I don't understand your "think about it." Think about what? Apple can't be behind psystar. If they were, there'd be no "case or controversy" and they'd be perpetrating a fraud on the court and lying in court papers. Attorneys can be disbarred for that, or worse.

 

[bunty]

I'd like to be there when the judge asks, "Now the software in question here is called 'Rebel EFI'...why did you choose the word 'Rebel'?

 

[hiimamac]

Just do it yourself. Psystar has done nothing but rip off all the work done by Hackintosh community.

Rebel EFI is just a modified version of the free and currently available Chameleon boot loader with pre-selected kext files. Nothing more. You could find all the necessary instructions and files in less than an hour by searching InsanelyMac.

exactly. Although I started again with a hack (always had them at work), the one benefit, if true on those new 6/12 core chips are if they really run well and are cool, the PC user has the luxary of the bios and it reads like these may overclock almost double due to coolness. If that turns out true, watch out. Even Otis may do that just to save in rendering time.
Time will tell.

 

[twoodcc]

interesting. i'm kinda glad they aren't just giving up

 

[cmaier]

I'd like to be there when the judge asks, "Now the software in question here is called 'Rebel EFI'...why did you choose the word 'Rebel'?

Indeed. Reminds me of a deposition I was at once. The attorney on the other side was asking the witness about his login ID, which was "gorilla43." The attorney kept asking questions about why he chose that login ID, did he think he was a gorilla, etc. Turns out the witness picked the login because his kid liked gorillas - the attorney was not the brightest bulb - he didn't realize that "guerilla" was the not the same as "gorilla," and he assumed the user ID represented some sort of rebellious thing. When the witness finally pointed this out, the attorney got all redfaced. It was pretty funny.

 

[KnightWRX]

So what? Apple has ripped off the FreeBSD community to create the foundation of Mac OS X. Everything that makes Mac OS X a half-way decent Unix system has not been developed by Apple. Apple's development tools are also just rip-offs of the GNU development tools.

Really ? Because Apple doesn't respect the BSD or GPL license ? Or maybe they do and you're just full of crap :

http://opensource.apple.com/

Apple didn't rip off anything. Except in your little Apple hating world. I hope they sue PearC out of existance and that we get to laugh your sorry self off this forum.

 

[movieator]

Just another example of something that is going to drag on well longer than it should have.

Like Sarah Palin's political career. Or MTV.

 

[joelmcintosh]

I never understood why this got so much play with Mac news sites. As expected, Apple simply defended their EULA, trademark, and copyright. Anyone seriously following the story knew they would win.

I know that, as Americans, we tend to favor the underdog, but Psystar was clearly in the wrong. They ended up selling fewer than 800 computers, all but thieved the code for their EFI Rebel code, and got a solid smack-down from a judge.

Who didn't know this was coming? I'm just surprised it got so much play in the Mac press. I'm still surprised it is getting play.

 

[kilowattradio]

They could sell bare bones computer systems.
They could sell PC's with windows 7 installed.
They could become an Amazon Associate and sell Mac OS X and computers through them.

Because of their copyright violation injunction I don't think the courts will allow tem to sell Rebel EFI software.

 

[hiimamac]

interesting. i'm kinda glad they aren't just giving up

Me too. But if these new chips 6/12 core run as cool as they say they do, I might build a hack as I do audio and heat is the enemy to overclocking. But if the speed is say 2.6 and it's 40 d C, then your looking at 3.6 or higher which would blow away a MPro and still be quite cool.

I never understood the whole EFI thing when you can get it for free.
I still await the mid range, headless mac. The markets there for it, gamers, A/V, enthusiasts and the numerous people with nice displays. The mini just won't cut it when you know in your heart for the smae price as a mini you can build a futureprood mac pro for almost the same price. Makes no sense.


Peace All

I never understood why this got so much play with Mac news sites. As expected, Apple simply defended their EULA, trademark, and copyright. Anyone seriously following the story knew they would win.

I know that, as Americans, we tend to favor the underdog, but Psystar was clearly in the wrong. They ended up selling fewer than 800 computers, all but thieved the code for their EFI Rebel code, and got a solid smack-down from a judge.

Who didn't know this was coming? I'm just surprised it got so much play in the Mac press. I'm still surprised it is getting play.

You ever winder though? When they made the switch to intel, some thought as CPU prices dropped, so wouldnt mac prices. Never happened.

 

[cmaier]

You ever winder though? When they made the switch to intel, some thought as CPU prices dropped, so wouldnt mac prices. Never happened.

Yes it did.

 

[Byrnes3969]

Antitrust..Yeah baby!! That's what I'm talking about!! Go Psystar, Go!

We still on that "Macs are overpriced" nonsense? Record sales quarter-for quarter, people are lining up to buy "overpriced" Macs. And judging by the Mac-using demographic, these consumers aren't slack-jawed yokels.

Apple charges what they do because they've been able to achieve traction at those prices. Apple takes a value-based approach rather than a cost-based price approach. As long as enough consumers find value in Macs and are willing to pay, the price is just right. Part of it comes down to perceived value of goods.

Apple should continue to cater to rich white people. They have been very good at it so far, no doubt about that.

 

[nuvolino]

Psystar won't die, like the true cockroach they are.

hhehe yeah and just like cockroaches they are still spewing shyte from their mouths

die shytestar die

 

[powers74]

new news

Only dumb ass rednecks and old ladies watch FOX news

I didn't realize Denis Miller fell into one of those categories! Thanks for the update!

 

[Joe Hill]

I'm rooting of Psystar because they piss fanboys off. Go Psystar, go!

 

[markcres]

To be honest... I toyed with the idea of trying to get OSX running on my Windows laptop... but realised half of the hardware would need updating and lots of functionality would be lacking.

In the end.. I got a great deal on a basic white unibody MacBook (a week before the unibody MacBook range was refreshed) - over 100 pounds off ! - and it came with a SL DVD in the box. It was the best decision I could have made.. and much better than trying to live with a permanent compromise that is a Hackintosh !

 

[krye]

Why go through so much trouble to defend a product that no one is buying? Psystar needs to get their head out of their ass and learn when to throw in the towel.

 

[hiimamac]

Yes it did.

If your talking about the price drops, well sure, but it's a far cry from going to a place like pricewatchers.com where chips could change daily with the higher end changing every two week while at the same time, PC developers would release theses new pcs like evey two week and mark down the higher end machines almost monthly, if not every two week.

The equvilant, would be MacBook and MacBook pro price drops, every month as Apple released faster chips all the time. This is what I meant.

Peace

 

[*LTD*]

If your talking about the price drops, well sure, but it's a far cry from going to a place like pricewatchers.com where chips could change daily with the higher end changing every two week while at the same time, PC developers would release theses new pcs like evey two week and mark down the higher end machines almost monthly, if not every two week.

The equvilant, would be MacBook and MacBook pro price drops, every month as Apple released faster chips all the time. This is what I meant.

Peace

Apple's business model, their position in the industry, their reputation, their commitment to certain standards, preclude their participation in any Pricewatcher-like activity. And as mentioned before, there is no such thing as "overpriced." If you think Macs are too expensive or unaffordable, or if you don't see value in them for the price, then it's your own anecdotal position.

It's all based on perceived value of goods.