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The Mac world and its discontents - Psystar to sell a $399 Mac clone

by Mikasi | April 14, 2008 at 09:58 pm | 183 views | 1 comment

While we in the realm of PC are used to this sort of thing it's pretty likely this is a bit unsuspected in the Mac world.

Miami-based Psystar has begun selling a new computer that it says will run Mac OS X Leopard — in other words, a Mac clone. The company is touting the computer as the “Open Computer: The Smart Alternative to an Apple.”

“Why spend $1999 to get the least expensive Apple computer with a decent video card when you can pay less than a fourth of that for an equivalent sleek and small form-factor desktop with the same hardware,” says a note on the company Web site.

But while Mac may outpace its PC breathren in the graphics arena it seems it far outsteps it in the world of sharing software and allowing 3rd party access. Witness the following -

There may be another problem for Psystar on the horizon. Apple’s enduser license agreement states that “You agree not to install, use orrun the Apple Software on any non-Apple-labeled computer, or to enableothers to do so.” It seems pretty clear that the new computers are inviolation of this agreement.