James Delahunty
17 Apr 2008 0:19
Psystar got international attention from the media just days ago when it announced plans to manufacture and sell a $399 computer capable of running the Mac OS X operating system, which would openly defy the End-User License Agreement (EULA) of the Mac software. Since then the media has attempted to probe this company, with some strange results which include it changing its physical address multiple times in days.
On Wednesday, Psystar's website was down for several hours. The company claims the site was taken offline because of problems processing credit card transactions. It markets its "Open Computer" as being less than a quarter of the cost of a high-end Mac. The company offers a basic configuration of a 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 Processor, 2GB of RAM and an integrated Intel GMA 950 GFX processor.
The EULA for the Mac OS X operating system specifically states that it should not be used with anything other than an Apple-labeled product, and forbids users from enabling others to do so. An employee of Psystar talked to InformationWeek. "What if Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) said you could only install Windows on Dell (Dell) computers?" he said, identifying himself as Robert. "What if Honda said that, after you buy their car, you could only drive it on the roads they said you could?"
He went on to insist that Psystar is not breaking any laws. However, when tech enthusiasts checked for the physical address of the company on Psystar's website, they ran into a big problem. The first address found led them to a residential area, then the second address led them to a packing supply company which had never even heard of Psystar and now it lists an address about 10 miles from Miami International Airport.
With such weird behavior going on, is Psystar really that confident it is not breaking any laws? Apple appears to have remained silent, at least publicly, so far.