Psystar, a tiny computer company, claims to be selling a cheap “Mac clone” tower called “OpenMac” which comes in a black- or white-colored case.
The “OpenMac” tower comes with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard compatibility via emulated EFI firmware that Psystar claims fools Mac OS X into believing that OpenMac is a genuine Mac.
Psystar’s “OpenMac” in its base configuration retails for US$399 and includes:
• 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 Processor
• 2GB of DDR2 667 memory
• Integrated Intel GMA 950 Graphics
• 20x DVD+/-R SATA drive
• 4 USB Ports
“The highly extensible OpenMac is a configuration of PC hardware capable of running unmodified OS X Leopard kernels. If you purchase Leopard with your OpenMac, we will not only include the actual Leopard retail package with genuine installation disc, but we also include a Psystar restore disc for your OpenMac and we will preinstall Leopard for free so you can begin to use your computer right out of the box”, the Psystar website states.
More info via Pystar’s website [currently inaccessible] here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “oh my” for the heads up.]
MacDailyNews Take: Apple’s Software License Agreement for Mac OS X explicitly states: This License allows you to install, use and run one (1) copy of the Apple Software on a single Apple-labeled computer at a time. You agree not to install, use or run the Apple Software on any non-Apple-labeled computer, or to enable others to do so.
Expect Psystar’s Mac mini shoved into a fugly ATX PC tower case, er… “OpenMac,” to be shut down quicker than a Windows-powered Navy destroyer.
Why would anyone purchase one of these or anything from Apple at their inflated prices when today’s Linux is the best OS available? Oh, and did I mention that it’s free?
Next we’ll hear that Apple has dispatched an Army of lawyers by plane….
“Do or do not. There is no try.”
Going cheap will only cause grief. Look at Compaq,look at what is happening to Dell now. Apple is too clever to go for the low end market just to gain market share.
Clone makers nearly killed Apple because they went for the high end high margin sector rather than the low cost area as people had expected. Someone in those companies did the math and worked out where the money was.
I agree that a mini-tower would be a useful addition to Apple’s lineup. There are enough users out there who want the expandability. Problem is if Apple sell that for 1000, who will buy the MacPro?
I can see something like this happening to the poor saps who actually buy this thing…
1. Buy computer for cheap.
2. Crappy hardware creates problems with OS X.
3. They call Psystar to get problem fixed, only to have Psystar tell them that it is a software problem.
4. They call Apple, who turns their back on them for using Apple software on non-approved hardware.
5. Poor saps stuck with a crappy computer.
I think M$ and/or DELL is behind this, they are trying to “educate” customers on how expensive Macs are, that you can have a Mac at fraction of the current price, that you should say “no” to Apple’s high margins.
Who are they fooling. You get what you pay for, look at Dell.
@Get Serious:
The only thing that is free in your linux box is the source code. Then you will have to account for service and maintenace. Additionally, you will need to put the time in to config your computer. If you are a sysad type, sure, it would be no problem for you. However, most of us are not like you. We just want our computers to work. Besides, who has time to config a computer? Espicially linux or windows.
Apple should sue those bastards!
Wow their server is getting hammered. Down and out, tried a ping, heres what I got:
208.68.239.66
Reply from 208.68.239.66: bytes=32 time=67ms TTL=46
Reply from 208.68.239.66: bytes=32 time=65ms TTL=46
Reply from 208.68.239.66: bytes=32 time=156ms TTL=46
Reply from 208.68.239.66: bytes=32 time=121ms TTL=46
Talk about some lag! How long till the site drops off totally?
Apple needs a “Mid-Tower”. I’ve read plenty of potential PC switchers are reluctant to ditch their monitors for an imac. Many people need more power than the mac mini but want less bulk than the Mac Pro (awesome as it is!) – office folks, PC gamers. Apple needs a simple but powerful mac with a video card you can change. Only reason I guess Apple does not have a mac mid-tower is that Steve has said he hates wires sticking out!
@Get Serious,
Yeah, try getting my parents or 90% of my friends to configure Linux properly so it will work. Ubuntu is the closest to being easy, but it was still a bit of a pain to do for an IT friend of mine who is very facile in UNIX, Mac OS X, and Winblows.
@MDN: It’s not just a big MacMini. This thing has a nVidia 8600 GT as a $110 option. And yes … I am vagely interested in owning one of these things. Fills the void nicely.
@Davewrite,
You should be Daveright because I agree with everything you have said. There needs to be a monitor-less Mac positioned between the iMac and the Mac Pro.
Send in the dogs/lawyers first!
There IS a place for a mid-sized tower or pizza box Mac.
There’s a huge void between the Mac mini and MacPro. A void that USERS have been asking for for years.
I would love a MacPro that’s got half the slots, half the drive bays and half the SIZE of the MacPro: ta Half-MacPro. the current model is just too damn BIG for my space. I could use a MacPro to support one side of a desk. So, I settle for a MacBook Pro with a second monitor.
Sorry Apple, I do NOT want a shiny screened iMac or a Mac mini. The Mac mini would be perfect hooked up to my HDTV, but not as a serious work machine: I do VectorWorks CAD, 3D and Photoshop work.
Maybe an XServe is the answer? Just put a good video card in the thing.
Computer: 399, OSX Leopard: 129, iLife: 79, better video card: 110,
plus it’s probably noisy. Did anyone see any mention of Wireless network, if not forget time capsule. Not so cheap anymore except in quality and no guarantee.
Actually, I think that thing doesn’t look half bad. Not very Apple-like, but clean and, dare I say, attractive. And, I’d really, really like to see Apple make a minitower with Core 2 Duo, two 3.5″ HD bays, a high-performance graphics card option, Firewire 800 & eSATA, and one or two PCI slots. The gap between the mini and the Pro is just too big, and the iMac is not a good option for users who don’t want or need a built-in display.
This isn’t new. People have been running OSX on PCs for a while now, folks. Check out OSX86 Project. I mean, seriously, all you people talking about how much quality is in the Apple hardware compared to PC hardware seem to forget that they’re built on the same damn assembly lines as Asus, HP, Shuttle, et al. Exterior aesthetics aside, there’s not only nothing special about hardware (that’s a great thing for Mac users), there’s nothing inherently more (or less) reliable about it either.
All that said, it’s a bad idea for Apple to license out their OS. It just doesn’t work in the vertical business model Apple uses–they need to sell boxes to stay profitable. Why would they change that?
This is where Apple’s business model hits the wall of the real world. The fact is that Apple makes the best notebooks, the best handheld computers, the best all-in-one machines and the best giant tower machines, bar none. If you were in the market for any of those types of machines, you’d be nuts not to buy or at least consider Apple’s offerings. But the world is full of computing devices that don’t fit into these categories, and to these buyers, Apple has essentially given the finger. If you want a small-form-factor machine, the Mini is basically a joke. And if you want a mini-tower, small desktop case, or basically any machine that allows you to open the case easily, you’re SOL. This is the same attitude that tells a porential iPhone customer to go to hell unless they want AT&T;. And I say this as someone who owns three MacBooks, a Mini, an iMac and an iPod Touch. I’d buy several of these merely because they fill a need for me, and Apple refuses to address this market segment. And the issue is NOT price. I’d gladly pay five times the price of one of these machines to get the real deal from Apple, just as I’ve gone on record as saying that I’d gladly pay $2,000 to get a Verizon iPhone. Alas, it is not to be. Sigh.
@OBill-Wan Kenobi
I’ll do the same, but my dance would be done here in Budapest!
I run a business, and I have ‘given the finger’ to all the cheapskate, crappy, “can you do it for cash” customers out there.
I charge high rates, insist on large deposits to start work, dont advertise, only work for recommended people.
Since I changed my ‘business model’ to lose the low-end customers, I make 3 times as much for about the same amount of work.
Its still stressful and hard work, but I get the reward I deserve.
The low-end crowd can go elsewhere.
The day Apple make a cheap ‘headless Mac’ is the day I start charging $40 an hour again……it aint going to happen.
Psystar? Shouldn’t that be shyster?
It’s an Apple creation, to judge demand.
“Psystar, a tiny computer company, claims to be selling a cheap “Mac clone” tower . . .”
And this tiny company’s one clone tower that was also trying to serve their website has obviously burst into flames. Either that or Apple Legal is using it for a makeshift picnic table on the company jet back to Cupertino.
Why not write a Virtual Mac, Parallels, or other program to get the Mac OS onto existing cheap PCs? It seems like they’re reinventing the Dell wheel. Consumers want a Dell that can run Mac Software. Trying to get them to become enlightened to the Apple world of supreme excellence aint gonna happen for a while.