German Mac clone maker claims it won't face Psystar's legal troubles

"I can only wonder what other countries are planning."

There's probably a Mac-clone company being created in each country, funded by some nameless PC maker. Then each of these companies will scarf up a team of laid off lawyers/solicitors. Once Apple is assaulted by 200+ lawsuits, the company will end up bankrupt as a result of the legal fees. And then the rest of us will be forced to use either linux, BSD or Windows 7 on our Apple hardware.

If you can't create a new product to overcome the opposition, then hire a bunch of lawyers to spread FUD.

As for my stand on this, I'm opposed to the clones. Apple doesn't need to spend support time (and money) answering questions from users who can't understand why OS X doesn't have any drivers for their clone hardware.

Next thing you know, some country in the far east will create a clone of Cisco's network switches using its cheap labour and will start shipping it with IOS, claiming it is all legal.

I think acceptance of Psystar's practise will set a bad precedent.

I can only wonder what other countries are planning.

The idea of Mac hardware and the Mac OS operating system is that Apple can guarantee that the products "work together seamlessly, integrated."

AppleCare, either the 1-year that comes with a Mac, or a 3-year service contract through Apple cannot provide coverage for any of the hardware or software when you get it from a third party company.

Apple tried becoming more like Microsoft years ago, when John Sculley was CEO of Apple, licensed Mac OS X out to third party clones, but Steve Jobs saw that Apple was losing money, and ended that in a heartbeat when he was hired again.

As for my stand on this, I want the latest and greatest hardware for the best possible price, and I want to use Mac OS X. I can't stand Windows (especially after using it for 18 years.) I'm all for the clones, unless Apple can get much more competitive than they are now.

It's funny how the "internet company" Homer started in a Simpsons episode was called Compuglobal-*Hypermeganet* -- at least in the German dubbing.

The laws in germany with EULAs are actually so that if it is sealed and someone doesnt agree after they open it that they can get a full refund, not exactly that they can say "It was sealed and I opened it so now I can do whatever I want"

Its still returnable and i'm sure this clone maker is no better prepared legally than any of the others. Though I do think i might buy a clone since i'm a cheap ass college student looking for a cheap desktop to complement my macbook :D

The Professional version, though, starts at €1,499, and can be powered by a 3.2GHz Intel Core i7 Extreme processor for an extra €720 -- a processor that Apple does not offer. http://www.laptops-battery.co.uk PearC also offers Blu-Ray optical drives as an option.

If Apple made a reasonably priced upgradable system the clone market wouldn't be half as viable. Yes I understand Apple needs its margins and wants to cater to the upscale, disposable income crowd but there needs to be some middle ground. As it stands you can't even buy an Apple-branded desktop Mac that supports more than 4gb for under $2500.

Sure I'm willing to pay a premium for Apple, I love the platform, but I can't say that it doesn't hurt just a little bit to know that a Hackintosh that costs less than 1/3 the price of my Mac Pro offers roughly the same performance in every day tasks.

Hypermeganet? Did anyone else see the Simpsons reference in there?

http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/Compu-Global+Hyper+Meganet+(The+Simpsons)

Looking at my Leopard box now I'm guessing they haven't read the bottom of the box (as Pystar also hasn't).

"Important: Use of this product is subject to acceptance of the software license agreement(s) included in this package. Don't steal software."

In other words, whomever uses a boxed, wrapped copy of Leopard is still bound by the SLA.

Apple just need to add one little chip to the MAC's and then one day activate ( software update ) os-x to only work with that chip installed. Now that would be fun :-)

Will these morons ever figure out an EULA is an END user licensing agreement. It applies to the end user. Their operating as a OEM if they preinstall which means they would have to get there own license to do such.