That could well go further in revealing who – if anyone – Psystar’s mysterious backers were. At one point, Apple alleged that it believed the company was being used as a type of front, by a potentially high-profile rival who wanted to see the Cupertino firm’s OS X restrictions lifted. The identity of that backer is yet to be revealed, and Apple hasn’t made public any suspicions it may have.

“Psystar’s principal argument on appeal is that the district court should have held that the license agreement is an unlawful attempt to extend copyright protection to products that are not copyrightable. The heart of Psystar’s argument is that the Copyright Act affords Apple protection only against unauthorized copying and distribution of the operating software, but not on its use once it is purchased. Thus, because Psystar purchased unopened copies of Mac OS X and included these copies when it sold its computers, Psystar argues the Copyright Act is inapplicable and its alterations permissible” Appeals Court text

The judge agreed with Apple that Psystar infringed its “exclusive reproduction right, distribution right, and right to create derivative works” as well as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) for modifying OS X to run on non-Apple hardware. The full text of the Appeals Court’s findings is here [pdf link].

[via CNET]

However, should Psystar continue to sell the $50 Rebel EFI app, there’s a good chance that it could fall foul of the broader scope of the injunction.  Alsup said “Psystar will be selling Rebel EFI at its peril, and risks finding itself in contempt if its new venture falls within the scope of the injunction”.

Psystar had already stopped selling its clone Macs after an earlier agreement with Apple that saw the Cupertino company agree to hold off on collecting a $2.7m damages settlement until all of the infringer’s appeals had been exhausted.  Psystar still maintains that Apple is guilty of “anticompetitive attempts to tie Mac OS X Snow Leopard to its Macintosh line of computers”, which remains the subject of another lawsuit being decided in Florida courts.

• Copying, selling, offering to sell, distributing or creating derivative works of Mac OS X without authorization from Apple.
• Intentionally inducing, aiding, assisting, abetting or encouraging any other person or entity to infringe Apple’s copyrighted Mac OS X software.
• Circumventing any technological measure that effectively controls access Mac OS X, including, but not limited to, the technological measure used by Apple to prevent unauthorized copying of Mac OS X on non-Apple computers.
• Playing any part in a product intended to circumvent Apple’s methods for controlling Mac OS X, such as the methods used to prevent unauthorized copying of Mac OS X on non-Apple computers.
• Doing anything to circumvent the rights held by Apple under the Copyright Act with respect to Mac OS X.

“Psystar and Apple today entered into a partial settlement that is embodied in a stipulation that will be filed with the Court tomorrow. Psystar has agreed on certain amounts to be awarded as statutory damages on Apple’s copyright claims in exchange for Apple’s agreement not to execute on these awards until all appeals in this matter have been concluded. Moreover, Apple has agreed to voluntarily dismiss all its trademark, trade-dress, and state-law claims. This partial settlement eliminates the need for a trial and reduces the issues before this Court to the scope of any permanent injunction on Apple’s copyright claims” Psystar motion

Rebel EFI, Psystar insist, is entirely a software product of their own creation, and doesn’t contain or include OS X.  As such, they reckon it should be left on sale, since Apple’s assertion that Psystar have impinged copyright does not apply to the software tool (even if that’s what users then go on to do with the app).

The unusual element to the story is that Apple seem to have agreed to the settlement amount – as well as to “voluntarily dismiss all its trademark, trade-dress, and state-law claims” against Psystar – only being payable once all of Psystar’s appeal avenues are exhausted.  More details of the agreement are expected to be revealed later on today, as the motion is presented before the court in San Francisco.

According to a former Apple employee who came forward early this week, the computer maker has been working on that much rumored tablet since 2003. The first prototype was abandoned because of construction costs and poor battery life. Kempler & Strauss unveiled a cool watch phone called the W PhoneWatch this week that also includes a Bluetooth communicator. The thing reminded me a lot of the LG GD910.

Microsoft pulled several prototype mice of the future out of its hidden R&D stock this week to show off what the future of the pointing device would be like. The mice all looked a bit different, but sported similar touch technology inside. The Motorola DEXT is set to hit Orange in the UK on October 7. The DEXT is the European version of the Motorola CLIQ.

Tuesday we posted up a review of the HTC Touch2 Windows smartphone. We liked the device despite the reduced specs compared to some of the other Windows mobile handsets that hit the market at the same time thanks in part to its smaller form factor. The same day we looked at the Touch2 we also posted up a full review of Windows Mobile 6.5, which left us looking forward to Windows Mobile 7.

Western Digital unveiled a new external hard drive called the My Passport Elite this week that has a docking station and an illuminated capacity gage. That means you can tell at a glance if you have space left on the drive. Super Talent pulled the wraps off a new branded Toshiba SSD called the UltraDrive DX. The SSD has two levels of data security and the price isn’t too bad for the smaller capacity versions.

The TI OMAP-DM5x coprocessor was unveiled this week promising 20MP and 720p camera phones soon. How great would it be for the next iPhone to have a decent camera? Microsoft may be sleeping with the enemy soon with rumors of Zune and Zune Pass compatibility for Apple devices. I would love to get a working subscription service for my iPhone.

Acer’s forthcoming Timeline 1820p multitouch windows 7 tablet computer leaked this week. The little notebook looks pretty cool and has a very portable form factor. Rumors that Dell was bringing its Mini 3i Android phone to the US popped up this week. The device is already available in China and word is that it may be hitting AT&T.

AT&T finally opened its 3G network up to VoIP applications this week. The move opened the door for Skype and Google Voice users to take advantage of VoIP away from Wi-Fi networks. Amazon debuted its popular Kindle eReader internationally this week. The device even has 3G capability globally and at home, the device got a price cut to $259.

Dell teased us again with its Adamo XPS this week. We still don’t know what’s inside that thin case, but the profile sure makes me want one. I am afraid to find out what the thing will cost. Kempler & Strauss unveiled its Billionair 7 GSM quad-band phone this week. The name is curious since the handset is actually pretty cheap.

The Sony Vaio CW notebook debuted this week starting at $799. That is actually pretty cheap for a Vaio machine and it can be had with some nice specs, though the options will drive the price up considerably. Sony also offered up the official specs on its Vaio X notebook this week. The notebook is tiny and has a 2GHz Intel CPU and more.

Psystar may be in the middle of a bankruptcy and getting sued into oblivion by Apple, but that hasn’t stopped the Mac clone maker from offering its Mac cloning tech to other companies. I seriously doubt anyone steps up until the suit is final, Apple will fight this with all they have. Kohjinsha unveiled a slick dual display netbook at CEATEC this week. The two 10.1-inch screens stack on top of each other for storage and more portability.

Iomega unveiled an updated StorCenter ix2-200 this week with larger HDDs that are swappable. The device sells for $699.99 for the 4TB and a 1TB is $369.99. KDDI unveiled a prototype methanol fuel cell for mobile phones this week that provides 320 hours of run time for the device. That is a lot of run time; I can’t wait for this to hit the market — several years from now.

Photos and specs for a couple upcoming, cheap, video cards from ATI leaked this week. The HD 5750 and HD 5770 should offer good performance for well under $200 each. Barnes & Noble announced that it is working on a new eReader with Plastic Logic that will have a color screen due to hit in the Spring of 2010. I wonder how Amazon will respond.

Mad Catz showed off a new distressed Rock Band wireless guitar controller for the Xbox this week. The thing looks like it needs to be replaced as soon as you get it; I guess that is the point. We love it when geeks mode two already cool things into one really cool device. One enterprising geek has taken a NES console and modded it into a HTPC computer complete with NVIDIA Ion graphics. Yeah, it’s cool and I want one. We heard grumblings from inside the Microsoft Pink project that things are not well and the entire project is in jeopardy. If the rumor is to be believed the entire Pink project could fail and possibly take Windows Mobile with it. Friday saw the confirmation that NVIDIA Ion 2 was set to launch this year. You can bet machines running it will be on the market in time for holiday shopping.

Well there you have it, another week in review! If the storms stay gone and my junk rural electric co-op can keep my lights on, I will see you next week!

The latest version of the Psystar software is specifically designed to allow makers of Wintel PCs to run the latest Mac OS offering. Psystar plans to sell its virtualization software along with the Darwin Universal Boot Loader to generic PC builders who will be certified as official partners.

With the legal might of Apple bearing down on Psystar I hardly see computer makers lining up to license the technology. Psystar declined to say if it has partners lined up already for the license agreement. Any reputable company will at least be waiting to hear the outcome of the suit before it signs up.

“As you may already be aware in late May, Psystar filed for Chapter 11 protection. Although this was critical to our continued daily operations, we now are ready to emerge and again battle Goliath. More information will become available in the coming days when we will be formally discharged by the Bankruptcy court. When life gives you apples, make applesauce” Psystar statement

The news of the recovery came in Psystar’s customer mail-out, and included a rather loaded snub at Apple themselves.  Full details of the recovery are unclear – Psystar describe it as “critical to our continued daily operations” – but considering Chapter 11 protection is generally used to give a company time to reorganize or source alternative funding, while putting off repaying creditors, it seems obvious that Psystar have had a new injection of cash from somewhere.

As for the new product, the Psystar Open(7) pairs Intel’s Xeon processor with OS X, complete with support for up to 24GB of RAM.  Both rackmount and desktop versions are on offer, priced from $1,499.99.

[via Neowin]

Apple has maintained that Psystar have received considerable financial backing from one or more unknown third-parties, keen to see the Cupertino’s OS X licensing regulations loosened.  No names have ever been confirmed, but if such an arrangement has been taking place, the companies in question will be outed on June 5th.

As for the legal battle, that will be frozen while the bankruptcy court investigates.  It’s expected that this interim period will last for just a few months before resuming; however it’s unclear where – if at all – Psystar could find funding to pay for whichever legal services they have retained.

Netbooks running OS X are nothing new – we’ve featured a few of them here on SlashGear before – but up until now they’ve been DIY efforts, owners buying Windows XP or Linux machines and replacing (or supplementing) the original OS with Apple’s platform.  Psystar, however, have made a habit of selling generic PC hardware modified to run OS X off-the-shelf, which has already earned them an ongoing legal battle with Apple.

If Psystar can bring an OS X netbook to market at a low enough price – and considering one of the models known to work well with OS X is the MSI Wind, also one of the cheapest netbooks and known for being supplied as a whitebox unit for rebranding – then they could see a whole lot more buyers than already buy their clone desktop systems.  Up until now, the company has been happy to mimic Apple’s own range at cheaper prices; an OS X netbook would be the first time Psystar offered something that Apple themselves did not.

The “smaller, faster and sexier” mini-tower starts out with a 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo E7400 CPU, 500GB SATA hard-drive, 2GB of memory and GeForce 8400GS 256MB graphics.  That can be boosted up to a 2.53GHz Core 2 Quad processor, twin 1TB drives, 4GB of RAM and the snappy NVIDIA 9500GT, together with Blu-ray burner and WiFi draft-n.

Pricing starts from $599 but can get perilously near to $2,000 if you choose enough of the upgrades.  Psystar have also updated their rackmounted OpenPro, with new RAID functionality, 1TB of standard storage (4TB max) and a free upgrade to 8GB of RAM, starting from $1,154.99.

[via Pocket-lint]

“Psystar may well have a legitimate interest in establishing misuse [of copyright] independent of Apple’s claims against it — for example, to clarify the risks it confronts by marketing the products at issue in this case or others it may wish to develop … Moreover, if established, misuse would bar enforcement (for the period of misuse) not only as to defendants who are actually party to the challenged license but also as to potential defendants not themselves injured by the misuse who may have similar interests” Judge William Alsup

Psystar are now claiming that Apple has “stretched” copyright laws; if it is able to prove this, Alsup has suggested that some of Apple’s own claims regarding the clone company’s supposed copyright infringements may be unfounded.  Apple has not yet revealed the “John Does 1 through 10″, the companies which it believes are behind the Psystar case, saying it will release the names once it has uncovered them.

Judge Alsup did dismiss Psystar’s attempt to include state unfair competition charges in their counterclaim, however, together with acknowledge Apple’s right to decide how Mac OS X is licenced and used.  The case is scheduled to go to trial on November 9th; Psystar has one week to submit its counterclaims, following which Apple has 20 days to respond.

[via Neowin]

“[Apple] is prohibited from bringing action against Psystar for the alleged infringement of one or more of the plaintiff’s copyrights for failure to register said copyrights with the copyright office as required” Carr and Ferrell, Psystar’s legal representation

Psystar has also accused Apple of installing “stealthware” to check systems for hardware origin before OS X will run.  Their claims that Apple will be “prohibited” from seeking any injunction, however, seemingly ignores the Berne Convention which outlines the limitations of copyright law protection if a company has failed to secure it officially; however, a quick check of the US copyright database shows Apple’s original OS X registration.

The response has added further fuel to the rumors that Psystar – and their legal case – is being secretly funded by a big-name PC manufacturer who wants to see OS X opened up to non-Apple systems.  Apple themselves have suggested this could be the case, but so far no specific company has been named.

[via Slashdot]

However Judge William Alsup disagreed with Psystar, finding their arguments to be not only insufficiently evidenced but, in some cases, contradictory.  For instance, Psystar had claimed that OS X was different enough from other operating systems to be rightly considered a single-product market; however, not only was their justification lacking, their own suggestion that Apple aggressively market OS X as an improvement over, say, Windows, highlighted the fact that the two products occupied the same market.

Psystar now have until December 8th to produce further evidence, else their claims will be dismissed “without leave to amend”.  That paves the way for Apple’s notorious legal team to pursue their original complaints against the company.

[via Apple Insider]

“Blu-ray has already won the format war. Not only is there fully functional and mature support for Blu-ray in other operating systems but you can now rent Blu-ray discs from almost any rental chain. Blu-ray has become pervasive technology that is being widely adopted by consumers everywhere.  Blu-ray is not just for movies. The ability to burn 25-gigabyte discs is a feature that can help users in media editing or enterprise environments keep archives of large file sets. Our systems, regardless of configured operating system, can now provide this functionality” Rudy Pedraza, president, Psystar

A 6x Blu-ray burner is now a $310 option on Psystar’s OpenPro desktop Mac-clone.  It’s unclear, however, whether the systems will play movies or just access the drive for data burning purposes, since Apple OS X currently lacks the OS-level DRM to play back content in the format.

Psystar are also offering the NVIDIA GeForce 9800GT 512MB video card, in single ($200) or dual ($400) configurations, with the rather snide aside that while the 9800GT has become “ubiquitous in today’s PC hardware market” Apple still do not offer it.  Press release sniping aside, we do find ourselves agreeing a little with Pedraza: Jobs’ excuses for Blu-ray’s absence felt like cop-outs, and not including the functionality on the new MacBooks was a disappointment.

A Psystar OpenPro desktop with Blu-ray and the NVIDIA GeForce 9800GT costs from $1,664.99.

[via MacUser]

Boiling the Apple experience down to just the operating system seems a blinkered view of the Cupertino company’s success.  Even the most ardent anti-Apple observer would likely agree that its a combination of their exclusivity, their industrial design, the so-called purity of their software and the presumed reliability of a controlled environment that comes together to create the Apple halo. 

The ongoing Hackintosh OSx86 project, at worst merely ignored by Apple, have spent the past few years refining the OS X experience on mainstream PC hardware.  Now there are relatively straightforward methods to create your own Hackintosh, potentially as simple as a single install DVD, and yet there have not been floods of defectors from official iMacs and MacBooks to homegrown alternatives.

Beyond those who like to tinker with their hardware, then, who is waiting desperately for a non-Apple Apple?  Beginners, lured in by the simplicity, inevitably prefer the reassurance of an official product (or perhaps don’t even know a cloned version exists).  Those tempted by the infamous Jonathan Ives style would turn their noses up at even a replica, never mind the budget cases we’ve seen so far.  And even if a large company, say Dell, won the right to install OS X onto their machines, it’s hard to imagine them recreating the same customer experience as Apple do.

Apple fights this case because it has to – its trademarks and licencing are at stake – but, with the exception of the lawyers among us, the public is using it as just another opportunity to draw the line between Apple-philes and Mac-mockers.  I’ve a sneaking suspicion that, even if companies such as Psystar won the right to make OS X computers, their market would be a bafflingly small percentage of the interest Apple themselves receive.

Am I wrong?  Would you buy a clone OS X computer, and if so, what camp would you say you fall into: tinkerer, fan or something else?  Let me know in the comments.

The machines – called the Open Tech Home and Open Tech XT – will be priced at $620 and $1,200.  While the former has an Intel dual-core Pentium CPU, 3GB of RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8600 CT graphics and 500GB of storage, XT upgrades to an Intel Core 2 quad-core CPU, 4GB of RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8800 graphics and a 640GB drive. 

According to an Open Tech Inc. representative who would only describe himself as being “on the legal team” and give his first name as Tom (citing concerns with “the ruthless sharks that are swimming around” in what looks likely to be a reference to the Apple/Psystar case), Apple’s EULA contains “conflict” between parts limiting what hardware (i.e. Apple only) the user can install OS X onto and what rights the user has “to modify a system for his personal use”.  In effect, the company is attempting to distance itself from the criteria of the case that Apple brought against Psystar; no mention of OS X or Apple is used on the Open Tech Inc. website, and they merely provide the capability to run OS X rather than install it for you.

However, even if the company succeeds in avoiding Apple’s legal team (which is still nowhere near assured), their desire for secrecy could nonetheless lead to trouble acquiring sales.  “Tom” refused to disclose whereabouts the company is located (its .tk domain is is hosted on a domain on the South Pacific island of Tokelau, and the WHOIS information ends at a Netherlands domain registration company) and there is only a single email address to contact them. 

[via ZDNet]

As for grown-up notebooks, Intel finally made the Centrino 2 platform official, and with it the promise of not only faster processors but native draft-N WiFi support and longer battery life.  In fact this week the company had plenty to be pleased about, as they soundly thrashed arch-rival AMD with their Q2 2008 financial performance.

One manufacturer with new Centrino 2 machines in their line-up is Sony, and we spent some hands-on time with the new VAIO range at the beginning of the week.  As for reviews, this week we looked at VTech’s IS6110 instant messenger DECT phone (and came away less than massively impressed) as well as Palm’s new 3G Treo 800w (which was, frankly, equally disappointing).

In gaming, we summarised Microsoft’s new Xbox Experience as well as the news that Sony has a new, 80GB PS3 in the works for a September release.  Activision also gave us some good news regarding Rock Band instruments and their compatibility with Guitar Hero.

Filed under “what took them so long”, Apple finally got around to taking OS X clone manufacturer Psystar to court over accusations of trademark and copyright infringement as well as violation of its EULA.  Some wondered if the Cupertino company had bitten off more than it bargained for, however; not from a strong rebuttal from Psystar but from the possibility that Apple will be forced to licence out its software.  Also in the courts, ATI and NVIDIA faced more unpleasant evidence as part of the price-fixing class action against them.

Finally, chumps-of-the-week award goes to AT&T, for their on-again, off-again iPhone WiFi farce.  After several rounds of confirming and denying over complementary wireless for the first-gen iPhone, the carrier has once again “accidentally” announced and then withdrawn the offer for the iPhone 3G (of which in excess of one million were sold over the weekend, with stock delays stretching into weeks).  Incidentally, you can read SlashGear’s review of the iPhone 3G here.

Regular readers may have noticed a flip back from the video Week in Review; we’re reworking staff here at SlashGear, and frankly you wouldn’t want to see my ugly face!  We’re hoping to return to the video format in the near future, so keep reading!

Assuming Apple wins the whole case, and the judgement demands every Psystar machine be recalled and destroyed, other companies are unlikely to attempt to produce their own Hackintosh machines in future.  However, if the ruling decides that, while damages are in order, Psystar should instead of a recall be forced to pay licencing fees to Apple for their use of OS X, this sets a worrying precedent for the Cupertino company.

Other companies offering Hackintosh machines will, according to Don Reisinger’s theory, use such a legal outcome against Apple should they themselves come under the company’s legal fire.  He suggests that the potential for establishing a business in the closed environs of Mac hardware will be temptation enough to run the risk of an Apple court case.

Psystar is unlikely to survive no matter the outcome; whether from the legal fees or an Apple-friendly ruling, they’ve probably not sold enough clones to keep up against Cupertino’s voracious lawyers.  However, the cost for Apple themselves might be much more than financial should the courts not agree with their OS X hyperbole.

[via CrunchGear]

Psystar themselves admitted to modifying Apple’s code and then redistributing it.  While this has been done in the past by the popular Hackintosh project, the difference here is that Psystar are making money from it.  They’ve also used at least one Apple trademark.

“As a direct and proximate result of Psystar’s infringing conduct, Apple has suffered and will continue to suffer lost sales and profits in an amount not yet fully ascertained in an amount to be proven at trial. In addition, Apple has suffered and continues to suffer injury to its business reputation and goodwill for which no adequate remedy exists at law and for which Apple is entitled to injunctive relief” Apple lawsuit

The company has previously suggested that they believe Apple’s license could in fact contravene US monopoly law, and stated their aim to argue it in court.  Apple may just have given them the opportunity to do so.  It’s uncertain what this means for the other OS X hack device recently in the news, the EFiX USB dongle that allows the operating system to be installed on non-Apple hardware.

[via ZDNet]

The obvious solution would be to somehow tweak the Open Computer to access Apple’s official update server; however, that’s still not possible.  Instead, PsyStar will be offering safe updates, bug fixes and workarounds from their own Support section.  So far there’s a Time Machine fix available, together with patches sorting DHCP issues some users are experiencing.

Existing owners can download an update client, while new buyers will have the app already installed.  PsyStar are claiming that an in-depth examination of the Apple EULA has shown up no clauses that might prevent the from distributing their own versions of the company’s patches, however if they modify them they’ll certainly fall foul of Apple’s lawyers.

[via Gear Diary]

It hasn’t been all desktops this week, though, with a variety of new notebooks released.  Hovering at the top-end, Alienware announced their stonking m17x gaming laptop, bearing a minimum $3k pricetag; considerably cheaper, and weighing a little more than a fifth of the m17x, the ASUS Eee PC 900 in black was the subject of a curious photoshoot with a snapper (the fish, that is).  While this was the first time we’d seen the black variant, what could prove more interesting over the coming months is Intel’s shortage of Atom processors; Asustek are claiming it’ll cause Eee delays until September, which could be a stumbling block for their rumored splitting off of the Eee brand to form a standalone entity.  Somewhere in the middle of all this sits Lenovo’s IdeaPad U110, which went up for order on Tuesday.

In gaming, Grand Theft Auto: IV was the big launch of the week, despite the best efforts of some UPS workers to stage their own robbery.  If all that is a little too serious for your liking, Nintendo also announced online Mario Kart Wii Tournaments, while the first tracks for Guitar Hero: On Tour were revealed.

Microsoft managed to alienate the criminal fraternity on Tuesday, with the revelation that law enforcement agencies in fifteen countries have been using its COFEE data analysis tool.  A thumbdrive full of password-bypassing, Windows-cracking backdoor apps, it could be the impetus for 2008 to be the year of the open-source felon.

Turning to home entertainment, Sharp and Hitachi jumped into the proverbial ring to pit their super-skinny LCD and plasma HDTVs against each other.  Both the Sharp X-Series and Hitachi’s “1.5″ range now have wireless options for cutting the cord between display and separate tuner box.  What they don’t have is JVC’s massive 8192 x 4320 resolution LCD projector panel, the world’s first Super Hi-Vision definition device.

Finally, we brought you reviews of the CoolIT PURE water-cooling kit, possibly the easiest way to remove some noisy system fans that I’ve ever seen, and LapLogic’s Aerogel Extreme LapDesks.  If you’ve ever experienced toasted thighs from some high-temperature laptop use, do yourself a favor and check out the review!

Don’t forget, we’ll be live from HTC’s exclusive London press event on May 6th.  The liveblog is at http://live.phonemag.com so make sure to join us from 11:30am GMT+1!

However it’s the lack of software updates that could cause the most issues.  Psystar’s shipped unit arrived with 10.5.2, build 9C31, whereas the latest build from Apple is 9C7010.  On a proper Mac that would just be a case of hitting update (or, more likely, letting it continually update itself in the background), but Psystar are yet to detail exactly how they’ll provide ongoing support.  Considering the frequency of bug-fixes, patches and general tweaks these days, it won’t be long before your Open Computer is left trailing behind.

The question remains: who are Psystar targeting their machines at?  Enthusiasts seem to concur that they could put together a better setup using the guidance of the freely-available OSX86 project, while those looking for a cheaper entry point into Apple’s well-publicised stability and ease of use will be disappointed by how ramshackle the Psystar system appears to be.  More dangerously, while Apple has suffered the work of the OSX86 team quietly hacking away in a not-for-profit capacity, they’re unlikely to be so accommodating to Psystar who are trying to make money out of it, especially if it could lead to people believing OS X is buggy and temperamental.  Some are suggesting that we’ll soon see updates pushed out from Apple that undermines the whole thing.

Still interested in a Psystar machine?  Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

“I used this machine all day today at work without a hiccup. So far everything is working perfectly (something I can’t say about my G5 it’s replacing) Photoshop, Firefox, VMware Fusion (I know…ironic) as well as the OS itself all performed as expected” Patrick (Whiskeyfrown)

Now Patrick has produced a video of his Psystar system in action, including tracing the VGA cable from tower to monitor just to confirm it’s not some under-the-table Mac doing all the hard work.

According to Patrick, the Open Computer boots and runs “pretty damn fast” but, despite OS X System Profiler recognising the machine as a Mac Pro, updates won’t work.  That, says SlashGear commenter John Sawer, is going to be perhaps Psystar’s biggest headache.  In a comment well worth reading if this whole Open Computer business has got you tempted to flex the plastic, he argues that average, entry-level users of OS X – which Psystar has suggested are part of its target audience – could in fact find the machines are a poor deal, despite potential cash savings.

“Psystar isn’t selling Mac clones. They’re selling PCs for which they claim they’ve carefully hand-picked hardware that works better as a Hackintosh than some other PCs, but we’ll see how good they are at that. This hand-picking may also narrow your hardware choices, possibly more than using a Mac tower” John Sawer

Indeed, the process of creating your own Hackintosh can be as simple as a short Lifehacker tutorial.  What’s tricky is getting a system which will play nicely with Apple updates and for which tech support is easily found, neither of which seems to be on offer from Psystar.  Right now, however tempting a $399 OS X machine is, it’s difficult to recommend it as a first experience of Apple to budget-short buyers.

Current theories include “Psystar have put a Mac mini inside a big tower case” and “Psystar have secretly wired up the monitor to a hidden Mac”; to be fair, in a video attempting to prove a concept they could’ve been more obvious about what was plugged into what.  Of course, though, actually running OS X on non-Apple-sourced hardware isn’t especially new.  What will likely get them into trouble is falling foul of Apple’s EULA; maybe they should release a video of their legal team limbering up for action?

Psystar are offering two main OS X systems, the Open Computer and Open Computer Pro, priced from $399 and $999 respectively.  So far happy customers seem to be in short supply, though one Gizmodo commenter claims to have received his computer two weeks after ordering it:

I posted this yesterday in one of the older Psystar threads, but no one noticed. So far I haven’t seen any other comments by people who’ve ordered and received a computer from Psystar so I’ll stick my neck out once again.

Just so you know I ordered on April 10th, several days before the news broke about these guys supposedly being shady scamsters.

=====================

Well…

I got mine today and it’s awesome. Leopard preinstalled and included (still in shrink wrap) Core2Duo 2.66 w/4gigs of ram and a Geforce 8600GT w/256 mb ram. Everything as advertised. Clocked a very respectable 3585 on Geekbench.

Plus I got 3 calls from Psystar:

1. to let me know it had shipped.

2. to let me know UPS got it here a day early and it was on the truck for delivery.

3. to follow up and make sure I got everything and was happy with the machine.

Time will tell, but I think Giz may owe these guys an apology.

Cheers

======================

To follow up, I used this machine all day today at work without a hiccup. So far everything is working perfectly (something I can’t say about my G5 it’s replacing) Photoshop, Firefox, VMware Fusion (I know…ironic) as well as the OS itself all performed as expected.

These guys may have made some mistakes, and are obviously treading on very thin ice regarding Apple’s EULA, but they ARE shipping plain vanilla PC’s that run OS 10.5.2 like a champ.

Say what you will, but the black boxes they are using are not ugly (and who really gives a rats ass if it works)

The answer is simple, the User Experience, level of security, and quality that goes with the Apple/Mac/OS X name has only built up to what it is today due to the care Apple has given to choosing its computer’s hardware components and controlling how they work together, how they’re built, basically controlling everything. Changing that would be a detriment to Apple’s reputation and would drop OS X’s reputation as what is quite possibly the easiest operating system there is to use.

Sure, I’d love to own a Mac, and sure, the reason why I don’t is because they cost so much, but I’d much rather not have one that not have the experience the way Apple built and designed it. When I get a Mac, and I will, it will be, at the time, the pinnacle of today’s hardware and software efforts bringing me the best of both worlds, the reason is because Apple won’t allow it to be anything less.

All of that hard work on Apple’s part will quickly go down the drain if any yahoo is able to throw OS X on any old machine he throws together of what is likely to be subpar hardware. Then the OS starts throwing errors due to incompatible hardware, things become as glitch and as sketchy as Microsoft Windows, and it’s not because Apple created a weak OS, it will be because the system builder made a crap computer, but much like Windows, Apple will get the blame, not the guy who built the crappy computer.

So although I do like the idea of Apple’s OS running on some cheaper hardware, I also really hope that Apple wins all future cases to keep their software off of subpar hardware. So, what are your thoughts on this matter? Are you and Apple purist or are you browsing this site using your custom built hacked OS X system right now? Hit me up in the comments, I love to hear what you all have to say.

Psystar is no longer just targeting Apple’s Mac Mini and iMac lineups, with the new OpenPRO they are even going after the Mac Pro, a computer which, from Apple, has a base price of a fair amount over $2000. The OpenPRO can be had, maxed out with a 1TB HDD, an 8800GT with 512MB VRAM, 8GB of RAM, and a nice case with 3 120mm fans inside and OS X installed for you for $1929.99.

Then there is the Open Computer, or OpenMac as it was formerly known, that is selling for $399 with a plain white case, a 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 processor, 2GB of RAM, integrated Intel Graphics, a 20x DVD burner, 4 USB ports and a 250GB HDD, that’s $200 less than the cheapest Mac and running hardware more comparable to higher end Macs. OS X installation is $155 extra on each machine and includes a copy of the OS as well as the installation being performed for you, you can also get the OpenPRO configured with a number of OS’s including Windows XP Pro, Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit edition, OS X, and even Ubuntu. I must say I’m impressed, and the company is even rumored to be willing to fight Apple’s EULA terms in order to get the OS installed on their hardware.

[via Psystar]