Stan Beer
Monday, 21 April 2008 11:28
Opinion and Analysis
Page 1 of 2
In the past week, there has been an eerie silence about a certain issue from 1 Infinite Loop Cupertino, Apple headquarters. A tiny upstart system builder from Miami called Psystar is boldly taking orders over the net for Mac clones - Intel PCs modified to run the latest version of Mac OS X. A can of worms has been opened and the question is what is Apple going to do?
Some media sites have reported that Psystar is a
dubious company with no real fixed address and could even be a credit
card scammer. However, the latest news is that Psystar is real; its
premises are real; and it is already in the process of delivering its
first orders.
Reports that Apple initially shut down Psystar's website were wrong.
Apple is a powerful company but shutting down a website requires a
court injunction, of which there have been no reports. Psystar's
website went down because it couldn't handle the monstrous spike in
traffic when news of its existence broke. And this is the interesting
bit for Apple - the demand for Mac clones is demonstrably huge.
Apple and its legendary co-founder Steve Jobs have repeatedly let it be
known in no uncertain terms that the idea of Mac clones in anathema to
them. So why hasn't Apple already bombarded Psystar with a legal
barrage of writs and demands to cease and desist?
After all, Psystar is not only making PC hardware that uses a software
hack to by-pass the Mac Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chip. The Miami
system builder is also offering to help buyers install a legitimately
purchased copy of Mac OS X Leopard on their new Psystar Open PC box.
Apple's inactivity to date could be merely a case of the hardware giant
gathering its legal forces to slap Psystar down so hard that it
presents an example to anyone else who dares to challenge the might of
Cupertino. On the other hand, it could be a case that Apple knows that
its legal position is not as strong as some may believe and it has now
been forced into an area where it wishes it didn't have to go.
