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Meet The Psystar Mac-Clone Mystery Man - Forbes.com

News Type: Event — Seeded on Sun Apr 20, 2008 1:24 PM EDT
Read ArticleArticle Source: Forbes
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Seeded by Andy Min
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How's this for a deal. At a fraction of the cost of a comparably equipped machine from Apple, a Web-based company dubbed Psystar is offering a computer you can have loaded up with just about any operating system you choose, including Apple's OS X Leopard.

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{"commentId":1714040,"authorDomain":"onlineapps"}
Andy Min

Still, Pedraza is short on the sorts of details most startups won't shut up about. He won't go on the record about his educational background, detail his professional history or name any previous ventures. The company's Open Computer is based on a machine put together by his brother (whom he won't name), he says. Nor will he say how the new computer works. He will say the company has 16 employees, and he just hired four more.

Idiot. This makes him look very suspicious. Very suspicious. Nothing on LinkedIN, either.

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  • 3 votes
Reply#1 - Sun Apr 20, 2008 1:26 PM EDT
{"commentId":1714182,"authorDomain":"timstown"}
Tim.

He will say the company has 16 employees, and he just hired four more.

Probably all releatives

{"commentId":1714182,"threadId":"252982","contentId":"1442249","authorDomain":"timstown"}
  • 3 votes
#1.1 - Sun Apr 20, 2008 2:15 PM EDT
{"commentId":1714241,"authorDomain":"onlineapps"}
Andy Min

No, he's probably got at least one good friend in there ;-)

{"commentId":1714241,"threadId":"252982","contentId":"1442249","authorDomain":"onlineapps"}
  • 3 votes
#1.2 - Sun Apr 20, 2008 2:35 PM EDT
Reply
{"commentId":1714240,"authorDomain":"lele"}
Leah M

Very shady... I just tried to go to their website, and it was having problems. I googled it and found this from gizmodo. What if its all just a joke like that person who said they had the iPhone SDK early and had everyone falling all over them? That'd be kind of funny.

{"commentId":1714240,"threadId":"252982","contentId":"1442249","authorDomain":"lele"}
  • 2 votes
Reply#2 - Sun Apr 20, 2008 2:35 PM EDT
{"commentId":1714243,"authorDomain":"DanLS"}
Dan LS

The thing is, ever since Apple moved to Intel processors, its been fairly easy to order compatible parts and build your own "mac" that will run Leopard. However, it is a violation of the Apple EULA to use any of its operating systems on non-Apple hardware, not to mention selling it that way.

In other words.... Apple will sue you if you do what this guy is doing, and they'll win.

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  • 4 votes
Reply#3 - Sun Apr 20, 2008 2:36 PM EDT
{"commentId":1714257,"authorDomain":"onlineapps"}
Andy Min

Not necessarily. They throw the kitchen sink in the EULA, but don't necessarily expect to be able to defend it.

Either way, I don't know that Apple will try and sue Psystar. The guy is shifty enough already and will probably disappear if sued. Plus, he may go out of business anyway.

{"commentId":1714257,"threadId":"252982","contentId":"1442249","authorDomain":"onlineapps"}
  • 3 votes
#3.1 - Sun Apr 20, 2008 2:43 PM EDT
{"commentId":1714304,"authorDomain":"DanLS"}
Dan LS

They sued New York for possibly copying their logo, whereas Psystar is "stealing" Apple's product. I think Steve Jobs would sue over that.

{"commentId":1714304,"threadId":"252982","contentId":"1442249","authorDomain":"DanLS"}
  • 4 votes
#3.2 - Sun Apr 20, 2008 2:58 PM EDT
{"commentId":1714333,"authorDomain":"onlineapps"}
Andy Min

Oh, I know they'd sue. But would they win? Questionable.

Though right now, they don't need to. Psystar is basically about to die right now.

{"commentId":1714333,"threadId":"252982","contentId":"1442249","authorDomain":"onlineapps"}
  • 2 votes
#3.3 - Sun Apr 20, 2008 3:09 PM EDT
Reply
{"commentId":1714430,"authorDomain":"SirThinkswaytomuch"}
Sir. Thinkswaytomuch

Seriously, this guy is a clown... Not to mention the fact that he appears to be just grabbing for attention.

{"commentId":1714430,"threadId":"252982","contentId":"1442249","authorDomain":"SirThinkswaytomuch"}
  • 2 votes
Reply#4 - Sun Apr 20, 2008 3:55 PM EDT
{"commentId":1714455,"authorDomain":"hemphill"}
hemphill

It really sounds like this guy is trying to be for real. I am not at all surprised by the problems he's having getting started with a company like this. I dare say apple will sue eventually and it will be an interesting case. I imagine that the microsoft anti-trust case will become relevant quickly.

As for the quip about not wanting to go into his background, they might have been valid points before the dot com boom, but education isn't required to be in the tech world now.

{"commentId":1714455,"threadId":"252982","contentId":"1442249","authorDomain":"hemphill"}
  • 2 votes
Reply#5 - Sun Apr 20, 2008 4:05 PM EDT
{"commentId":1714802,"authorDomain":"greenarcher170"}
bluearcher

Even if this guy and his company doesn't "make it" then at least he has planted the seed of possibility for others.

He has me thinking about building a machine just to run Mac OS X and flipping the bird to Jobs.

As for EULA, I bought it, I own it. Period. GM doesn't tell me how I can use the car I buy from them.

A computer company that makes more money by selling walkman and songs than it does hard and software. Oh, I forgot. It's all about the integration! Jeez.

{"commentId":1714802,"threadId":"252982","contentId":"1442249","authorDomain":"greenarcher170"}
  • 1 vote
Reply#6 - Sun Apr 20, 2008 6:41 PM EDT
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