OpenMac: The Rumored Mac Clone For $399

On Wednesday, April 16th 2008 at 05:46 PM

By Andrew Pociu (View Profile)

A bold new company by the name of Psystar announced a Mac clone that would run Apple's OS X Leopard through the use of an EFI V8 emulator so that changes to Apple's OS are not necessary for it to run as a hacked machine. Psystar's machines, originally named OpenMac but now renamed to Open Computer and OpenPro (the more expensive version), are essentially PCs running Intel processors. The Open Computer sells for $399 and features an Intel Core 2 Duo processor running at 2.2 GHz with 2 GB of memory, an integrated graphics card, a 250 GB hard drive, 20x DVD drive and 4 USB ports.

Apple refuses to allow other hardware vendors to run its operating system, however a spokesman for Psystar said their company is not breaking any laws and Apple is behaving like a monopoly. "What if Microsoft said you could only install Windows on Dell computers? What if Honda said that, after you buy their car, you could only drive it on the roads they said you could?", he said.

The majority of system builders believe Apple is going to immediately pursue this legally as a breach of their user agreement, which doesn't allow the redistribution of its operating system on hardware other than the one it sells. However, the Psystar website is continuing to accept orders after a brief period of downtime.

Suspicions arose after Psystar's address (10471 NW 28th St, Miami, FL 33172) pointed to a t-shirt screen-printing company by the name of CottonImages.com Inc. that denies any affiliation with the computer company and says they don't know of any nearby computer assembly business.