Psystar Sold a Total of 768 Mac Clones: Report
Mac clone maker Psystar, whose investors apparently drank a lot of their Kool-aid when looking to back the company, sold a total of 768 units. The company had last year projected it would sell millions of units by 2012. An economic consultant hired by Apple, Dr. Matthew Lynde, determined the actual number.
Of course, at this point, with Apple winning their lawsuit against Psystar, which began selling PCs with Mac OS installed, strictly a no-no, it's not as though Psystar is going to be selling the other 999,232 units anytime soon. However, it's possible they might stay in business, if the proposal the company made is accepted by the court.
The story began way back in mid-April of 2008 when Psystar launched its web site. Much to the chagrin of those reporting on it, the site disappeared, then re-appeared, all on the same day. This created obvious doubts among journalists, when then went looking for a brick-and-mortar office. They found it, but only after a few false starts: the company had moved apparently several times in the first weeks.
According to reports, Apple and Psystar have reached an agreement whereby Psystar will pay damages in the amount of $1.34 million, with an additional $1.34 million covering attorney's fees and costs. At the same time, the settlement would not be paid until Psystar has exhausted its appeals.
However, in its filing, Psystar argued that it should be allowed to sell its Rebel EFI utility. This software allows customers install Snow Leopard on clones sold by Psystar. This means the company could still sell Mac OS ready computers, but shift the burden of copyright infringement onto end users. It's unclear, actually, if this sort of argument will fly with the court. Apple, on the other hand, wants to shut down Psystar's Mac clone business permanently.
Below you will find a video from Psystar of one of their earliest Mac clones. Indeed, the systems did work, as even reviewers had to admit.
Of course, at this point, with Apple winning their lawsuit against Psystar, which began selling PCs with Mac OS installed, strictly a no-no, it's not as though Psystar is going to be selling the other 999,232 units anytime soon. However, it's possible they might stay in business, if the proposal the company made is accepted by the court.
The story began way back in mid-April of 2008 when Psystar launched its web site. Much to the chagrin of those reporting on it, the site disappeared, then re-appeared, all on the same day. This created obvious doubts among journalists, when then went looking for a brick-and-mortar office. They found it, but only after a few false starts: the company had moved apparently several times in the first weeks.
Psystar Location in Opening Days of Company
Psystar maintained that it wasn't doing anything wrong, although that was hard to justify as many pointed out that the EULA for Mac OS says the following: "You agree not to install, use or run the Apple Software on any non-Apple-labeled computer, or to enable others to do so."Recently, however, Psystar got the bad news that Apple was the winner in a lawsuit against the nascent clone maker. It was during a motion filed early last week that Apple showed a presentation in which Psystar tried to sell their company to VC investors. In that presentation, their "conservative estimates" indicated the company would sell 70,000 computers in 2009, 470,000 systems in 2010 and 1.45 million machines in 2011. The heftier, spiked Kool-aid version of the presentation, the firm's aggressive growth model, however, put those numbers at 130,000, 1.87 million and 12 million during 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively.
According to reports, Apple and Psystar have reached an agreement whereby Psystar will pay damages in the amount of $1.34 million, with an additional $1.34 million covering attorney's fees and costs. At the same time, the settlement would not be paid until Psystar has exhausted its appeals.
However, in its filing, Psystar argued that it should be allowed to sell its Rebel EFI utility. This software allows customers install Snow Leopard on clones sold by Psystar. This means the company could still sell Mac OS ready computers, but shift the burden of copyright infringement onto end users. It's unclear, actually, if this sort of argument will fly with the court. Apple, on the other hand, wants to shut down Psystar's Mac clone business permanently.
Below you will find a video from Psystar of one of their earliest Mac clones. Indeed, the systems did work, as even reviewers had to admit.
