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$399 Mac Clone Most Likely a Hoax
Posted by
ScuttleMonkey
on Fri Apr 18, 2008 03:42 PM
from the too-good-to-be-true-usually-is dept.
from the too-good-to-be-true-usually-is dept.
timholman writes "According to Gizmodo, an investigation has shown that the $399 OpenMac is almost certainly vaporware, as is Psystar itself. The company's address has actually changed twice this week, according to its web page, and Psystar is no longer accepting credit card transactions. Too bad for those who may have already ordered an OpenMac."
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[+]
Apple: Psystar Offers $399 "OpenMac" Computer 615 comments
mytrip writes to tell us that Psystar has announced a new line of Intel-based computers that promise to run an unmodified version of Mac OS X "Leopard". Unfortunately almost immediately after the launch their website went down and as of this story remains unaccessible. "Astute readers may well hear this news and ask themselves if it doesn't sound like a Mac clone, something whose time came -- during Gil Amelio's tenure at Apple -- and went shortly after current CEO Steve Jobs assumed the helm at the company. [...] It definitely defies the EULA for Mac OS X, which specifies that the purchaser of a legal copy of Leopard is entitled to install the operating system on an Apple-branded computer. If you buy the $399 OpenMac, you can check the EULA yourself if you also buy the pre-install option, as the company includes a retail copy of Leopard with your purchase."
[+]
Apple: First Psystar Mac Clones Ship 466 comments
An anonymous reader writes "According to Gizmodo, Psystar has begun shipping its Macintosh clones, thus proving that the company is not a hoax. Initial impressions seem to be positive, though Software Update does not work."
[+]
Apple: Apple Suit Demands That Psystar Recall OpenMacs 759 comments
Da'Man writes "The Psystar saga takes another series of turns. Not only is the website down but an examination of the suit filed by Apple shows that the Cupertino Goliath wants Psystar to recall all Open Computer and OpenServ systems sold by the company since April. It seems that Steve Jobs is out to totally sink Psystar and put an end to Mac clones."
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Vaporware? Hoax? (Score:5, Insightful)
If they've been accepting orders (and credit card numbers) for a product that doesn't exist -- isn't that called fraud?
I know there can be concern about legal implications in making such statements... but surely the way to protect yourself is to make only statements backed up by evidence? Being vague is certainly not a way to sidestep libel laws...
Will it exist in 30 days (Score:5, Insightful)
Only if they can't create and deliver it within 30(?) days and don't contact the people who ordered it within that time, notifying them of the delay and refunding the money of those who don't consent to the extension.
Back in the early days of home computing a number of companies started up by selling vaporware, collecting the money, and using it to fund the development. (I don't recall if Apple was one of the companies that started up that way. But Woz and Jobs were pretty hard up for cash back at the start.)
The FTC tightened up after some con men calling themselves "World Memory Systems" took a picture of a few chips sitting on an unstuffed PC board, ran an ad claiming it was a new peripheral board providing four serial and one parallel port for Altair/Imsai home computers (with a name, 4S+P, similar to another popular product, 4P+S), and pulled a major fraud.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Will it exist in 30 days (Score:5, Informative)
I do remember the Altair add-on scam... that was pretty funny.
Parent
Re:Will it exist in 30 days (Score:5, Informative)
You can read about it here:
http://www.brouhaha.com/~eric/retrocomputing/wps/ [brouhaha.com]
Parent
Re:Will it exist in 30 days (Score:4, Informative)
Parent
Re:Will it exist in 30 days (Score:5, Interesting)
The false "DOS was vaporware" version of what happened often gets modded up on Slashdot. This is the version told on that stupid made-for-TV, "based on a true story" docudrama Pirates of the Silicon Valley [imdb.com]. A much better telling of what actually happened (with actual interviews with Paul Allen, Bill Gates, Steve Balmer, Jack Sams of IBM, and Tim Patterson of SCP) is available from the PBS documentary Triumph of the Nerds [pbs.org] (transcript of the relevant part available here [pbs.org]).
Parent
Re:Will it exist in 30 days (Score:4, Interesting)
Back in the early days of home computing a number of companies started up by selling vaporware, collecting the money, and using it to fund the development. (I don't recall if Apple was one of the companies that started up that way. But Woz and Jobs were pretty hard up for cash back at the start.)
The Woz [woz.org] already had a working Apple before offering one for sale. He was showing it to meetings of the Homebrew Computer Club [wikipedia.org], of which the Two Steves were members of. At the tyme the Woz was working for HP as an engineer [hbs.edu] and asked them if the company wanted to make the Apple, management turned him down. Jobs was able to find a store that would place a large order but in order to fulfill it the Woz had to quit working at HP. In order to fund the company the Woz sold an HP 65 calculator he owned for $500.
FalconParent
Re:Will it exist in 30 days (Score:5, Interesting)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0973864907/ref=pd_bbs_olp_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208554130&sr=8-2 [amazon.com]
Parent
Re:Will it exist in 30 days (Score:5, Interesting)
SoftRAM [wikipedia.org] is a good story. They sold 600,000 copies of a program that they claimed would compress the contents of RAM, effectively doubling the available amount. It turned out that the program didn't even attempt it.
Parent
The OpenPro (Score:4, Interesting)
So I think that was just a stunt. The real bargain on the site is the openPro which has a bigger power supply and better case permitting it to hold a high end graphics card and quad processor. A nicely specced unit of the openPro would be $1800 for quad 2.6Ghz and an nvidia 8800Gt card, including shipping, Leopard (firewire built in, and USB jacks on the front). This is actually now compartable to the apple powermac quad, which simmilarly speced runs about $2700, with a 10% faster CPU, blue tooth, wireliess, optical audio, and an amazing case design, and relatively quiet operation.
However to be fair, the apple's sweet spot for powermac pricing is at the 8 processor model. That's "only" $500 more. The psystar is not available in an 8 processor.
Parent
Re:Vaporware? Hoax? (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:Vaporware? Hoax? (Score:4, Informative)
Parent
Re:Vaporware? Hoax? (Score:5, Informative)
1: It's not true
2: A reasonable person wouldn't conclude that it is true.
3: A different reasonable person might believe that you're telling the truth.
4: Said person's disbelieve causes harm to the libelee.
Slander and Libel are pretty tough things, but like Assault, they require a common sense test. (Accidentally bumping into someone on a crowded street is not Assault, even if they scream their head off.)
Parent
It's in the wording too. (Score:4, Informative)
Conjecture is a different matter: eg. saying "If it is vaporware and they are accepting money then they are commiting faud". Those "if"s make a big difference.
Parent
Comoany was located in Nigeria? (Score:3, Funny)
Hoax? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Hoax? (Score:5, Informative)
It is both a scam and a hoax.
Parent
Re:Hoax? (Score:5, Funny)
It is both a scam and a hoax.
Parent
Re:Hoax? (Score:5, Funny)
http://www.pinksheets.com/pink/quote/quote.jsp?symbol=SCOXQ#getQuote [pinksheets.com]
Parent
You just won the Spanish Lottery! (Score:5, Informative)
Re:You just won the Spanish Lottery! (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
It's All An Apple Plot (Score:5, Insightful)
As far as paying by credit card goes, you're likely protected by your card company against fraud so you shouldn't be too concerned there.
Re:It's All An Apple Plot (Score:4, Insightful)
Apple couldn't have hoped for a better fumbling of the "Attack of the Clones". It's as if Lucas himself directed this train wreck.
I bet Apple and their lawyers are in their humidors sipping cognac, laughing at these amateurs.
Parent
Re:It's All An Apple Plot (Score:4, Funny)
I bet Apple and their lawyers are in their humidors sipping cognac, laughing at these amateurs.
Assuming you mean Steve Jobs when you say "Apple", I find it highly unlikely that Steve Jobs has a humidor, much less a humidor large enough to sit in--smoking's bad, mmkay? More likely, he would celebrate with mineral water and extra-dark chocolate (you see, the higher the cacao content, the snobbier you can act, never mind that it tastes like dirt), or maybe a joint rolled in Psystar's business registration paperwork--his company *is* headquartered in San Francisco, after all.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Generally speaking, if you attempt to purchase something, and the vendor does not follow through, you can go back to the credit card company and ask them to reverse the charges. The vendor ends up not only not getting paid, but a penalty is applied as well - both in immediate money and in the percentage that the credit card company charges the vendor to be able to use their service.
This often works even if you do get what you purchased, but it just plain doesn't work, as was evidenced when my neighbour bo
Proof again... (Score:3, Insightful)
Amazed that ANYONE actually signed up for this thing before anyone credible had reported that it was real and worked as expected. This is one of those cases where the early sucker...I mean adopter leads the way with their pocket book and loses everything.
The real interesting question here is how much did they get away with before they were busted?
Who would have ordered one so quickly? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Who would have ordered one so quickly? (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Look at it this way ... (Score:5, Funny)
Well, they *would* know...oh wait, my bad (Score:3, Funny)
For a moment, I read that as Gizmondo [wikipedia.org] and thought to myself "Well, if anyone would know about hoaxes..."
think people (Score:3, Insightful)
They (or you even) can't legally install OSX either can they? Not an Apple guy so dont know terms but i would assume not.
I suppose in theory one could reverse engineer a clone but it is kinda spendy for a doorstop with no OS. Even then there would be no legit uses and you still couldn't sell them since it is clearly intended to infringe.
Re:think people (Score:4, Informative)
Ok, wrong. Apple reserves all rights under copyright, that are not expressly granted by the software license.
The license is very specific, and in its very first specific clause:
A. This License allows you to install and use one copy of the Apple Software on a single Apple-labeled computer at a time.
You either agree to this license, or you have no right to install the software. Ok, you can put an "Apple" label on your computer. Then you're in worse trouble with a trademark infringement
This is not some nebulous "shrink wrap license are not enforceable" concern. If *any* license that is granted as a result of copyright is valid (hint, GPL, creative commons, SCSL), then this one is.
Parent
Re:think people (Score:5, Informative)
Bullshit. You bought it - you have the right to install it. I have old books that say you're not allowed to resell them, but that's BS too.
Not if you put them on your own computer, you're not. Trademark only kicks in when you're trying to pass something off as something else. There's an Apple sticker on my wife's minivan, but we're clearly not infringing anything.
Does Steve Jobs tuck you in at night or something? No. You're flat-out wrong. That is exactly one of those dumb EULA concerns, especially when you're trying to mingle it with copyright. As you bought the software, you have the legal right to use it so long as you're not installing it on a bunch of machines or distributing copies. It's kind of sad and scary that presumably rational people will try to argue otherwise.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm not disagreeing with you, but please tell me how that works out when you try to call Apple for support ;-)
(I anxiously await the updates on groklaw about the lawsuit you file ;-) )
It's not a hoax (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Jobs can run but he can't hide (Score:3, Insightful)
Psystar. PsyOps. Nothing but Jobs looking to drum up more support for sales and mindshare. Mindshare is probably more important for Apple lest they lose their niche cult status and drop out of sight completely.
It is not a Mac, its a Hackintosh (Score:3, Informative)
Is steve woz behind this? He is the one who wanted (Score:3, Interesting)
Is it some who is pissed off at the high priced mini with it's laptop parts and apples lack of DESKTOP with DESKTOP parts in the $500-$2000 price range the mac pro starts at $2200.
More like an inept business owner than a hoax (Score:4, Insightful)
You say "Hoax" (Score:5, Funny)
Let's call the whole thing off.
Parent
Re:You say "Hoax" (Score:4, Funny)
I'm working on that but I gotta go get my blinker fluid changed. On that note, does anyone know if $800/ounce is a reasonable price for blinker fluid? My dealer says this is a good deal but he's the same guy who wanted $400 for muffler bearings (I was able to get an independent shop to do them for just $200 - HA!).
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Not really.... (Score:5, Funny)
--Q
Parent
Re:Not a hoax, just a stupid kid (Score:5, Funny)
His mom found out.
DUDE You're getting a (knockoff) dell.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re:been here before (Score:5, Insightful)
There's nothing wrong with criticizing the good sense of people who fall prey to a scam, but I find it difficult to come up with a non-contrived situation where the poor judgement, ignorance, or even stupidity, of someone who falls prey to fraud or a scam is sufficiently damnable as to justify the crime committed by the fraudster/scammer. How can you have no sympathy for an unjustified crime?
It seems to me either they deserved what happened and deserve no sympathy, or they don't deserve what happened and thus deserve at least some sympathy.
Parent
Re:been here before (Score:5, Funny)
Easy. They're not his millions. They're yours
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
>4. Vanish.
5. Become the target of a fraud investigation by several credit card companies,
you know, the ones who have litigation budgets in the tens of millions of dollars.
6. Write letters from prison.