Mac 'cloner' Psystar pushes peck of pickled patches

By Stephen Withers
Wednesday, 21 May 2008 10:29

Opinion and Analysis

Psystar, the company that caused a stir by offering a low-cost computer running Mac OS X, is now providing a range of software patches via its web site. Will Apple finally respond?

Psystar, a Florida based startup, was at the centre of a massive furore last month for daring to release Mac 'clones' (actually assembled from off-the-shelf hardware) pre-loaded with Mac OS X Leopard.

Now it's upping the ante against Apple in a big way, while silencing critics who claim Psystar's machines will never have any patches available, by releasing a slew of updates.

While some are specifically for the hardware Psystar provides - such as the network interface card - others appear to be official Apple updates that have been determined to be safe when applied to Mac OS X running on non-Apple hardware – are alarm bells ringing for Apple's lawyers?

Examples of the latter include iLife Support 8.2 and Security Update 2008-002 v1.1.

Computers currently being shipped by Psystar have the updates preinstalled if the customer purchases Leopard with the hardware. (Other options are Ubuntu, Windows XP, and Vista.)

Furthermore, Psystar has announced its intention to deliver future updates via Mac OS X's Software Update feature. This "will require all of our existing users to download a small update manually and install it to enable this functionality," the company has warned.

The idea of messing with Software Update is superficially attractive, as it will allow owners of Psystar's Open and OpenPro computers to update the operating system and related software as easily as they are used to doing on a Mac.

Apple generally takes a hard line on other organisations redistributing its software, but has curiously remained completely silent on Psystar... so far. Yet even when magazines offer to carry updates on their cover discs at no cost, they usually get the brush-off from Apple.

The fact that Psystar is pre-installing Mac OS X on its hardware was expected to result in Apple launching legal action against the company, as the licence only allows its use on Apple-branded computers.

So, are Psystar in for some serious psychological – and legal battles – with Apple, or is Psystar the warped brainchild of Steve Jobs and is a bizarre Apple front? Please read on to page 2.