Psystar Debuts New, Sleek OS X Hackintosh

By Jane McEntegart
published

Psystar’s headlines as of late, okay, for the last year and a bit, have been about the company’s legal battle with Cupertino-based Apple. Today the company has a bit of good(?) news for the masses: A new addition to its Mac clone line.

The company is calling the latest Open computer, the Open (3), “Smaller, Faster and Sexier” and says it will include Intel’s E7400 2.8 GHz Core 2 Duo making it 50 percent faster than previous models. Processor aside you’re looking at 500 GB HDD, 8400GS graphics unit and 2 GB of DDR2 RAM. If you’re willing to go over $600, optional features include upgrading to a Core 2 Quad, GeForce 9500GT 512 MB (DVI + VGA), a Blu-ray burner, Firewire, Bluetooth, wireless and extended warranty.

While the base specs are great value for the price, almost everyone who’s shopping with Psystar is only interested in one thing: the fact that the computer ships with Mac OS X pre-installed. This little perk is something that landed the company in trouble with Apple and the two have been fighting it out in court since this time last year. It’s one big mess of counter-suits and appeals but it hasn’t stopped one German company from coming out with their own Mac clone, which it claims is perfectly legal. Apple’s beef is that the OS X EULA states that the software can only be installed on an Apple branded machine. Germany-based Hypermeganet says that because of German law, Apple’s EULA is void. The company’s main argument is that since the customer can’t read the EULA before purchase (it being sealed inside), it’s not valid.

Check out the Psystar website for ordering and preordering. No word on UK pricing yet, unfortunately.

Jane McEntegart
26 Comments Comment from the forums
  • thedipper
    I think it's nice that a company is taking a stand against the inability to buy OS X by itsself. Apple should at LEAST sell OS X by itsself but clearly state that they do not support it.
    Reply
  • captaincharisma
    that's an interesting point. the EULA is not on the outside of the box and the only way to see it would be to open the box which would void you returning it if you do not agree to it.
    Reply
  • hellwig
    I'm torn between saying "Let Apple keep its OS if it wants" and "Why is Apple so stupid". Microsoft knows how to make money from software, but apparently Apple never figured that one out. They use their software to force... er... entice people into buying their overpriced hardware. I still also don't see how their practice ISN't anti-competitive. You will never see a Microsoft branded computer, ever.

    Apple knows the OS is the ONLY reason people buy their computers (its certainly not the overpriced, off-the-shelf components inside). As such, if they just started selling their OS, they would loose all the money they make off computers. Would you serisouly pay twice as much for a computer just because it has the Apple sticker on it? Trust me, charging hundreds of dollars for 2GB upgrades in memory makes them a lot more money than selling copies of their os at $199 a piece.
    Reply
  • SneakySnake
    Phystar must be getting support from some big companies like HP or Dell (who have asked apple to allow them to produce OS X computers). Ohterwise how could they keep up this months long legal battle.

    Being a mac man myself I would love to see OS X released for the masses. At the moment I don't own a mac, only an extra HDD in my homebuild for hackintosh. Being able to run OS X natively in my rig would be phenomenal.
    Reply
  • pharge
    I believe that Apple has stated many times that Apple is a "hardware company/computer company". For Apple, OS X, software packages, iTune, and others are just the iceing on the cake... the eye candy for increasing the sale of their "hardware"... From that point of view, it is not hard to understand why Apple keeps trying to keep its OS X Mac exclusive.
    It is like microsoft will never want to allow Halo to be played on PS3 (not a prefect example.. but you know what I mean..:P )
    Reply
  • Tindytim
    Apple would never release their OS to the masses because the only thing that makes OSX great, is the anal control Apple has over hardware compatibility. The instant we allow people to freely use OSX on whatever hardware they want, it will have many more issues than Windows ever did.
    Reply
  • Niva
    I still don't understand why anyone would ruin a perfectly good set of hardware by installing OSX on it. I'll stick to windows and linux thanks! I guess I'll get negged for this by the apple fanboyZ! Cheers!
    Reply
  • captaincharisma
    I agree the moment it is released to the masses OSX may be worse then windows because of all the low quality parts and drivers out there
    Reply
  • grieve
    "" The company’s main argument is that since the customer can’t read the EULA before purchase (it being sealed inside), it’s not valid.""

    OMG.. that statement is SOO ridiculous and brilliant all @ once.
    Reply
  • grieve
    captaincharismaI agree the moment it is released to the masses OSX may be worse then windows because of all the low quality parts and drivers out thereYou can buy OSX ? im not following what you guys are saying...
    http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC094Z/A?fnode=MTY1NDAzOA&mco=MzgxNDk3OQ
    Reply