PC maker looks to sell $399 Mac clone

Mon Apr 14, 2008 11:36AM EDT

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The OpenMac would come in a big, decidedly non-Apple beige box with a 2.2Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, a 250GB hard drive, and (for an extra $155) Mac OS X pre-installed. But the Miami-based company that's hawking the machine had better brace itself for the wrath of Apple's legal department.

The Web site for Psystar, the company that’s selling the OpenMac, has been down for the count all morning—probably due to the crush in traffic after the story broke early Monday.

But according to Ars Technica, the OpenMac supposedly will run Mac OS X "Leopard" natively, thanks to a series of emulators and drivers that fool Apple’s OS into thinking it's running on Apple hardware.

Indeed, getting Mac OS X to run on various non-Apple gadgets is a favorite pastime of tech hobbyists and hackers. But Psystar’s attempt to sell the OpenMac commercially is sure to draw the attention of Apple legal, especially since (as Ars Technica points out) the Leopard license specifically forbids installing the OS on non-Apple hardware.

Still, the story harkens back to the tale of Power Computing, the company that made Apple-authorized Mac clones back in the '90s. Personally, I thought it was a great idea—why not give us consumers more (and cheaper) choices for buying Mac hardware?

But Steve Jobs clearly isn't a fan of the Mac cloning business; Apple snapped up Power Computing in 1997, after Jobs returned to Cupertino, and that was that.

So, what do you think? Would you be interested in cheaper Mac clones, even if they don't come in sleek aluminum cases?

Related:
Company claims to sell Mac clone for $399 [Ars Technica]

Comments on PC maker looks to sell $399 Mac clone

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  • 1 Posted by stalker+of+the+web on Mon Apr 14, 2008 12:23PM EDT Report Abuse

    Knowing Apple they will make an update for their OS that will disable the clones. My feeling is these machines might be a little twitchy because they are using emulators. Dell a while back asked to Apple if they could install the OS system on their systems. Apple Balked at the idea. There are some interesting legal issues about fair trade about OSX only being for Mac.

  • 2 Posted by kupriaa1 on Mon Apr 14, 2008 12:32PM EDT Report Abuse

    and people complain about Microsoft- this is a racket

  • 3 Posted by dryicezero on Mon Apr 14, 2008 12:48PM EDT Report Abuse

    I absolutely love it...there is no reason people should have to pay for over priced hardware just to run an operating system. This is a great leap forward for the Hackintosh culture. http://www.smbtechadvice.com

  • 5 Posted by maori_yelir on Mon Apr 14, 2008 9:45PM EDT Report Abuse

    Apple has terrible hardware. While it might be reliable and styli----- 's anywhere from state of the art. They use crappy, slow parts and charge way too much. If you made a PC with the same specs as a $2000 dollar Mac you would pay less than half of that. As for the OS I can't speak for Leopard but I was never a fan of OSX. It doesn't let you customize enough. It's either their way or get out and that is the same way they are with hardware apparently.

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