Psystar and Apple strike Mac clone deal

May not prevent sale of Mac clones

Psystar and Apple strike Mac clone deal

1 December 2009 15:53 GMT / By Duncan Geere

In an unusual twist to the long and winding saga of Psystar, Computerworld is reporting that Apple and Psystar have come to an amicable settlement that may not prevent the tiny Florida company from selling its Mac clones.

Psystar offered the tech giant the compromise of shifting the responsibility for installing the OS onto the customers. Psystar would then sell computers bundled with its $50 "Rebel EFI" app to customers, but without a copy of OS X, which they'd have to find elsewhere.

The customers wouldn't then be liable, Psystar claims, because they wouldn't be installing OS X for commercial usage. Psystar's installation of the software does count as commercial usage, as it sells the machines. Apple hasn't commented on this claim.

In return for this concession from Apple, Psystar would pay unspecified damages, but crucially be able to continue its business of selling cheap computers that run OS X - something Apple has always refused to do.

It might not save the company, however. Despite promising investors sales of 70,000 or so, Psystar only sold 768 machines between April 2008 and Mid-August 2009. Apple sells that quantity of machines every 40 minutes.

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Comments

  • I'm sure even in the unlikely event that Psystar are able to operate, Apple will then enter into an ongoing war to cripple OS X and other software on non-Apple hardware just as it has with iTunes and non-Apple PMPs, and jailbroken iPods. Posted by GK, UK

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