Psystar sells a $399 Mac clone

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.

The basic $399 configuration for the Open Computer is 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.

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.

Psystar isn’t the first company to make a Mac clone. Apple allowed a limited number of computer-makers to install the Mac OS on its hardware in the mid-1990s, but upon his return, Steve Jobs put an end to the clone computers.

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

Apple representatives were not immediately available to comment

Just because it violates the end user agreement shouldnt mean its illegal.

How can the tell users what they can or can't instal software one? I see parrallels to MS an the IE browser in windows.

The "end user agreement" sets the parameters for the use of the software.

There's a lot of information and details that you agree to when you check that I AGREE box without ever reading it.

There's one in the very very fine print that everyone over looks.

You buy and pay for the software, regardless of the app, but you DO NOT OWN the software. You simply paid for a license to use it.

In legal terms, it called the End Users License Agreement or EULA

By clicking that box, you electronically accepted the "Terms of the Agreement" and are contractually obligated to the terms of the EULA, knowingly or unknowingly.

You can also be held liable for violations in court. When you playing with billion dollar corporations, your chances of winning are slim..........

We saw how that shit worked out too. Dept of Justice threw some flimsy ass smoke and mirrors case together and it all went away.

MS is still standing and IE is still part of windose..........

Of course the "Rest of the Story" was never told in the media.