Slashdot Log In
$399 Mac Clone Most Likely a Hoax
Posted by
ScuttleMonkey
on Fri Apr 18, 2008 04:42 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."
Related Stories
[+]
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."
[+]
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 Suit Demands That Psystar Recall OpenMacs 84 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."
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
Full
Abbreviated
Hidden
Loading... please wait.
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: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: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
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:Vaporware? Hoax? (Score:5, Funny)
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
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.
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)
It's not a hoax (Score:5, Funny)
You say "Hoax" (Score:5, Funny)
Let's call the whole thing off.
Parent
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: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
Re:been here before (Score:5, Funny)
Easy. They're not his millions. They're yours
Parent
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: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