Items tagged with Psystar
A few years ago, an upstart manufacturer named Psystar made headlines when it began offering low-end x86 systems loaded with Mac OS X. Psystar was predictably sued by Apple, but offered an EFI tool to make it easier for anyone with a 'Hackintosh' to run OS X. The company never contested Apple's charge that it had violated the company's copyrights, but instead claimed on appeal that Apple's Software License Agreement (SLA) was uneforceable. That argument has been rejected by a panel of judges on the 9th Circuit. Judge Schroeder wrote the opinion for the three judge panel. Psystar's argument hinged on the idea that the Copyright Act protected Apple from unauthorized copying and distribution...
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Is it over? Is it really, really over? Can we finally stick a fork in Psystar and consider them "done?" We can't honestly say we can until the company comes forward and makes a claim that it's giving up the act of selling its own flavor of OS X-loaded machines, but it sure looks as if it may have sold its final rig based on new reports from the legal side. According to AppleInsider, Apple and Psystar recently wrapped up nearly 1.5 years of court battling, but it was less of a handshake and more a judge-mandated injunction. An injunction of the "permanent" variety. The ruling essentially does what you'd think it would--it bans Psystar from selling hardware with Apple's operating system. According...
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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...
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Psystar, obviously not satisfied with the hot water is already in with Apple, has announced it will begin selling the software it itself uses to install the Mac OS X operating system on generic Intel hardware. According to company, the software, called the "Rebel EFI suite," allows users to easily install any OS on a computer. Psystar has already been sued by Apple over selling Mac clones, with Mac OS X pre-installed on the computers. Apple says that doing so violates the EULA for Mac OS X, which says: "You agree not to install, use or run the Apple Software on any non-Apple-labeled computer, or to enable others to do so."which is a pretty straight-forward and simple statement. Still, to this...
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Think of it as the computer company that just...won't...die. After being lambasted by Apple from day one, dealing with more threats and lawsuits in a year that most of us will hear of in a lifetime and eventually filing for bankruptcy, the infamous Mac clone maker known only as Psystar is back. Shortly before most of America hits the pause button for a holiday weekend, the company made famous for producing its very own machines with OS X installed on them (without Apple's permission, mind you) has issued an email newsletter that clearly states that it is "ready to emerge [from bankruptcy] and battle Goliath [otherwise known as Apple]." Of course, the company is still awaiting a formal dismissal,...
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When we first heard about Psystar and their Open Computer that could run OS X, we were understandably skeptical. It didn’t help that numerous news agencies around the country were having difficulty tracking the company down. But all of that is the past, Psystar is shipping units and a review site has finally gotten their hands on one.While review sites that focus mostly on Apple products tend to be unimpressed with the overall unboxing and boot experiences, they are claiming that the machines deliver on what they promise:“I’ve been impressed by how compatible the Psystar is with applications and peripherals—many of the OS X features work as they would on a legitimate Mac. Look for Speedmark...
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Fist it was: Psystar who? Followed by: Psystar wherefore art thou? Then nipping on those heels came: okay, I see it, but I don't believe it. Now the latest installment in the Psystar soap opera has us eating crow, because Engadget actually has a preliminary hands-on review of a Psystar Open Computer, including video and benchmarks."As far as benchmarks, it doesn't exactly blow Apple's gear away, but it definitely holds its own -- and the GeForce card just destroys the integrated graphics in the MacBook / Mac mini."It works, but it's not perfect. Apparently the system fans stay on all the time and they are loud. Plus every fifteen minutes they had to manually reset the DHCP lease.At the end of...
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The folks over at Engadget appear to have received an actual Psystar Open Computer Mac clone, and they've posted a number of photos from the system's unboxing. The case looks to be the same design as appeared in the video post we wrote about yesterday. Which means we're probably going to have to eat our words: We theorized that the video was just an elaborate OSx86 Project hoax. We'll have to check back in with Engadget to see what their experience is once they power the system up....
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Gizmodo has posted a video clip sent in by a reader that supposedly shows a Psystar Mac Clone up and running in the home of an actual Psystar customer. "The thing boots up and runs pretty damn fast, says Patrick, but Software Update won't recognize it so you won't be able to patch. System Profiler thinks that it's a Mac Pro." The video is fairly convincing in that it appears actually to show the Mac OS running on non-Mac hardware. However, there is nothing that definitively identifies the machine as from Psystar. With the right hardware, resources, and patience, it's actually not terribly difficult to get the Mac OS to run on a non-Mac system, as many members of the OSx86 Project could tell...
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While the rest of the world tries to figure out if this company is legit or not, Psystar keeps chugging along. And now, they say their first PCs are shipping!So, is it a hoax or not? Mac clone builder Psystar has experienced in just one week all the good and bad today’s Internet has to offer: The possible availability of a cheap Mac clone spread like wildfire through the Internet last week, confusion about its address and payment processor attracted the wrath of the Internet and most of us concluded that, yes, some things are too good to be true and Psystar may have been just a hoax. But, as of today, we know that the company is back online and may have sorted things out: It even claims...
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Psystar, the maker of the so called “Open Computer” series, is now being actively investigated by various web communities. One of which has dug up some fairly interesting information:"First, let's revisit what we already know. Not only does the Miami Chamber of Commerce and BBB not know anything about any company named Psystar (confirmed by reader [Gizmodo] Travis through his contacts in the chamber), the actual physical address they listed on their website actually changed halfway through the day yesterday. What's going on here? Did they all of a sudden move from a home business into a new office space? Nope."The new address is actually occupied by a completely different and seemingly unrelated...
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Psystar continues to make headlines, this time because the company’s OS X Leopard-based systems are now being attacked for what seems like the most basic oversight imaginable:"The company didn't get permission from developers working on the OSx86 Project to sell their work. Netkas, who developed the EFI emulator Psystar is using, posted up a blog entry yesterday calling Psystar "liars" and has re-released his code under a license that specifically forbids commercial usage."If Psystar starts shipping their machines, it might end up causing a lot of trouble for the entire OSx86 group. Thus far the group’s ability to avoid legal action from Apple is fairly impressive, and some take it as a sign...
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Most people have been expecting Apple to wield the sharp stick of a lawsuit against Mac clone maker Psystar, but it may not be so easy.And while Psystar may be violating Apple's end user license agreement, or EULA, by doing this, legally there's not much Apple can do about it, says Raj Abhyanker, a patent lawyer who used to write patents for Apple."Basically, when people go to a store or download software, they have a license with Apple to use this patented software on their computer. But breach of contract is one of the weakest forms of legal disputes," Abhyanker says, referring to EULA violations. ...While Apple could likely tie Psystar up in litigation by filing patent or copyright lawsuits,...
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I know it's Microsoft that has the reputation for being computer monopolists. But all they supply to the affair is the Operating System and a free browser, after all. You can run it on any computer you like, or one that has enough horsepower to render Vista, anyway. You want a monopoly? Apple is a vertically integrated competitor killer. Psystar, a small manufacturer from Miami thought you'd like to get what is essentially Mac Mini performance, but with twice the memory, at half the price. Persuading a generic PC to run OS X isn’t that hard to do. Ever since Apple (AAPL) switched from PowerPC to Intel, hackers in the OSx86 movement have been playing cat-and-mouse with Cupertino, writing a series...
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