Mac desktop clone violates license agreement

2008-04-15 03:20:52 (GMT) (WiredPRNews.com - Featured Stories)

Dallas, Texas (WiredPRNews.com) — They say that imitation is the best form of flattery and it looks like Apple has competition in the form of their own signature Mac OS X Leopard hardware on an imitation Apple machine. Psystar, a company based out of Miami, has begun to market the Open Computer for the bargain price of $399.

According to MacWorld.com, the Open Computer’s specs include “a 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 Processor; 2GB of DDR2 667 memory; Integrated Intel GMA 950 Graphics; 20x DVD+/-R SATA drive that is Lightscribe-capable; and 4 rear USB Ports.” This sounds appealing especially since Psystar’s configuration tries to dim the Mac. “Apple’s cheapest desktop computer is the Mac mini, which comes with a 1.83GHz Intel Core 2 Duo; 1GB memory; and an 80GB hard drive. That configuration costs $599.”

Although the mid-1990’s briefly allowed the ability to install their operating system on non-Apple machines, the computer-maker’s current end user license agreement will inevitably put a stop to any further copy cats. Undoubtedly in violation of the agreement, the verbiage states, “You agree not to install, use or run the Apple Software on any non-Apple-labeled computer, or to enable others to do so.”

Mac should be entertained by this. Anything that is worth its weight in gold will have an opportunist try to imitate its genius.

Dallas News Reporter