Psystar Pwned by Apple July 20, 2008

The Florida-based company Psystar challenged the might of Apple back in April by offering “Mac Clones” (as well as some “Clone” Mac servers), which were basically custom-built PCs preloaded with Mac OS X. Despite being in direct violation of Apple’s End User License Agreement, the company went forward with its operations; Psystar was even willing to face Apple in court if necessary, stating that Apple’s terms themselves are a violation of US monopoly laws. Their $399 basic Open Computer consists of a 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, integrated Intel GMA 950 Graphics, 2GB of DDR2 memory,  250GB 7200RPM drive, four USB ports and a 20x DVD+/-R Drive – Leopard will cost an additional $155. Authentic Macs are easily twice the price so this was quite appealing to customers as a much more cost-effective way to own a Mac. Unsurprisingly, Apple has sued Psystar last week for copyright infringement, and violation of Apple’s licenses and trademarks as well as demanding a recall of all Open Computers sold. While I agree that Apple’s way of restricting their OS to Macs is a little unfair, it would be stupid for anyone, much less a company, to directly violate their EULA – especially with a ‘bring-it-on’ attitude. I respect their efforts (take that, Apple!), but Psystar was digging its own grave right from beginning.

As of date, the Psystar headquarters has gone up for sale, while the company has remained tight-lipped about the whole situation.