Psystar taunts Apple with Xserve clone

[AppleInsider]

Aggressively staking its claim as the lone company outside of Apple selling Mac OS X systems, Psystar on Thursday has unveiled a pair of Xserve-like rackmount computers unofficially based on Apple's Mac OS X Leopard Server.

The one-unit-tall OpenServ 1100 and the two-unit OpenServ 2400 both run the server OS in either its 10-client or unlimited versions but promise 2.5GHz Xeon processors and storage options that aren't available in any of Apple's systems -- including the very nature of the taller 2400, which also has six hard drive bays and a floppy drive.

Unlike Apple's servers, users can also specify a standard copy of Mac OS X Leopard rather than the server-class software, bringing the price of the base OpenServ to $1,724 with the software selection.

The release further cements Psystar's unusual position in the computer market as the only company to go unchallenged in selling unofficial Mac clones. Although the company is using third-party hacks to emulate Mac firmware and is otherwise known to be violating Mac OS X terms of service, Apple hasn't yet challenged the clone maker with warnings or legal action since it began selling a $400 Mac OS X tower in April.

For its part, Psystar has been on the offensive in staking out its rights to sell its clones, arguing that Apple would violate antitrust laws by attempting to ban third-party hardware and that Psystar itself wasn't violating any rules.

PsyStar OpenServ 1100

PsyStar OpenServ 2400

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[jimdkc]

Floppy drive? What for???

[wheelhot]

Boo! Psycrap is the biggest crappiest company in the history. They kept saying Apple will violate antitrust laws but take note that they are violating the hackers code by offering the hackers code in their machine without loyalty fees. They dont even ask permission from these hackers.

What I hope is Psycrap get huge sums of money and got sued and lost most of their money for breaking the freeware license agreement.

The OSX86 community developers is against this. Boo!

[ltcommander.data]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the whole point of server hardware reliability and stability? Who exactly isn't going to buy a server with hacked firmware and drivers?

[solipsism]

This article reminds me of a Darwin Award's 1995 honorable mention:

"Bowling Green, Ohio student Robert Ricketts, 19, had his head bloodied when he was struck by a Conrail train. He told police he was trying to see how close to the moving train he could place his head without getting hit."

• http://DarwinAwards.com/stupid/stupid1998-08.html

[digitalclips]

How come now mention of EFiX Dongle on this blog? It is everywhere else.

[abrooks]

Jesus! Floppy drive!!!

[Celemourn]

Originally Posted by jimdkc

Floppy drive? What for???

LMAO you beat me to the punch! Floppy drives!!! ROTFLMAO!!!!

C

[Celemourn]

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by digitalclips

How come now mention of EFiX Dongle on this blog? It is everywhere else.

I have my doubts about this making it as a product. Apple was able to stop the instant hack AppleTV USB drive stick. If was only software that one could install on any USB flash drive, then there would be no way for Apple to stop it, but with a physical product they seem to be able and willing to prevent it from coming to market.

[Celemourn]

if that wasn't bad enough, THESE GUYS still sell 8" floppies.

C

[Splinemodel]

Originally Posted by ltcommander.data

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the whole point of server hardware reliability and stability? Who exactly isn't going to buy a server with hacked firmware and drivers?

Yes... The enterprise market requires a lot of support and hand holding. Maybe they can provide this, but it's not evident.

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by Celemourn

if that wasn't bad enough, THESE GUYS still sell 8" floppies.

They also haven't updated their website since 5.25" floppies were still in use.

[JoeDRC]

Their systems look ugly as well! Has anyone tried any of their systems out? do they work well?

[digitalclips]

Originally Posted by solipsism

I have my doubts about this making it as a product. Apple was able to stop the instant hack AppleTV USB drive stick. If was only software that one could install on any USB flash drive, then there would be no way for Apple to stop it, but with a physical product they seem to be able and willing to prevent it from coming to market.

Here's hoping but they plan a launch June 23rd it's all over the news elsewhere.

[Samnuva]

Pystar has some connection to apple. Somebody posted a while back that they think Pystar is just a subsidiary of Apple designed to test the market, well, I agree with you.

[Celemourn]

Originally Posted by solipsism

They also haven't updated their website since 5.25" floppies were still in use.

Oops, you got me. Should have looked at the bottom of that page.

C

[JoeDRC]

Originally Posted by Zweben

Test the market for what? Noisy, poorly built Mac clones with floppy drives?

will Leopard even support a floppy drive?

[Zweben]

Originally Posted by Samnuva

Pystar has some connection to apple. Somebody posted a while back that they think Pystar is just a subsidiary of Apple designed to test the market, well, I agree with you.

Test the market for what? Noisy, poorly built Mac clones with floppy drives?

Suuuure.

[penchanted]

I wonder how many units they have actually sold. Other than people buying them for review, I rarely see anyone mention them in forums and discussions. It is interesting that although they claim to have a distribution program, they do not name any distributor in any part of the world.

I think this server announcement it meant to build up their related consulting business. In fact, I would not be surprised if most all their sold units are going into client installations.

[kkerst]

Originally Posted by ltcommander.data

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the whole point of server hardware reliability and stability? Who exactly isn't going to buy a server with hacked firmware and drivers?

You mean who IS going to buy a Psycrapy Serv with hacked drivers? Answer: No one but the desperate people who hate Apple.

[penchanted]

Originally Posted by Samnuva

Pystar has some connection to apple. Somebody posted a while back that they think Pystar is just a subsidiary of Apple designed to test the market, well, I agree with you.

There has been no credible evidence that Psystar has an Apple connection. There was simply some speculation that might be the reason that Apple had not yet sued them.

[solipsism]

I wonder if this means that Psystar is making money?

Originally Posted by Samnuva

Pystar has some connection to apple. Somebody posted a while back that they think Pystar is just a subsidiary of Apple designed to test the market, well, I agree with you.

The only connection Psystat has with Apple is the fact that they are break Apple's EULA and making Apple's attorney's earn their retainer gathering evidence on the company.

Originally Posted by Celemourn

Oops, you got me. Should have looked at the bottom of that page.

I didn't even see the date. I was remarking on the really old looking and simplistic HTML coding.

[emulator]

Originally Posted by ltcommander.data

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the whole point of server hardware reliability and stability? Who exactly isn't going to buy a server with hacked firmware and drivers?

don't be short sighted. if it's well done, cracked and recompiled software can be more stable than the original piece, not to mention being less resource hog if they eliminate the continuous copy protection check.

[frdmfghtr]

Originally Posted by JoeDRC

will Leopard even support a floppy drive?

Yes. I have a USB floppy drive that is recognized by Leopard. When I stick a disk in it, the drive icon shows up on the Desktop as a 3.5" disk.

[Squozen]

Originally Posted by emulator

don't be short sighted. if it's well done, cracked and recompiled software can be more stable than the original piece, not to mention being less resource hog if they eliminate the continuous copy protection check.

There is no continuous copy protection check on OS X.

I have to believe you don't actually admin servers supporting hundreds or thousands of users. If I was to suggest purchasing a machine like this, I would be cleaning up my desk.

[old-wiz]

Enterprise class server systems need support! I can't picture Psystar being able to handle such a complex task. If the buyers get no help from Psystar, do they really think Apple is going to help them?

Apple could simply put in a small change somewhere in Leopard and bingo the Psystar clones are dead after the next update. The osx86 people wouldn't be happy about that though.

[penchanted]

Originally Posted by old-wiz

Enterprise class server systems need support! I can't picture Psystar being able to handle such a complex task. If the buyers get no help from Psystar, do they really think Apple is going to help them?

But Psystar offers stellar enterprise-class suport. From their "About"page:

Psystar Corporation believes that your business should run seamlessly and so should your IT. It doesn't work to shape your business around your information systems. We can shape your systems around your business. With over 30 years of combined experience in Enterprise-level systems, Psystar can provide secure information solutions to everyone–from the independent small-business owner to the global market providers. We can work with your systems and personnel to streamline your workflow and increase productivity and effectiveness.

Since the two principals are all of 24 and 22 years old, I wonder where the rest of that 30 years of combined experience comes from.

[columbus]

Originally Posted by ltcommander.data

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the whole point of server hardware reliability and stability? Who exactly isn't going to buy a server with hacked firmware and drivers?

I think you may have spotted a vital flaw in this plan.

Also — whilst we can laugh and joke now I will actually be pretty annoyed if Psystar is the company that forces Apple's hand in locking down their OS with DRM, activation and the like.

On a separate note am I alone in thinking the Xserve is one of the prettiest pieces of hardware that has come out of Cupertino?

[smokeonit]

the floppy drive tells everything about this offering... LOL...

[penchanted]

Originally Posted by columbus

Also — whilst we can laugh and joke now I will actually be pretty annoyed if Psystar is the company that forces Apple's hand in locking down their OS with DRM, activation and the like.

I don't see Apple locking down their OS with DRM or activation. I do think they will likely use their purchase of PA Semi to include custom chips in their hardware which will make the OS run like crap in the absence of these chips. Of course, they would have to introduce these measures over time so as not to punish existing Mac owners.

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by penchanted

I don't see Apple locking down their OS with DRM or activation. I do think they will likely use their purchase of PA Semi to include custom chips in their hardware which will make the OS run like crap in the absence of these chips. Of course, they would have to introduce these measures over time so as not to punish existing Mac owners.

I think Snow Leopard would be a good starting point for HW authentication chips. This gives Apple 1 year to get the chips ready. It would mean that Snow Leopard will not be offered as an upgrade option for any current Mac user.

[Pythonista]

This is a ploy by crooked lawyers who want to make money. There is no rule of law in Florida, this can not be handled by the courts. Look what happened to Mr. Boulis when he trusted in the rule of law. Florida is the land of death. If you try to sue the crooks they will burn down your home.

[Virgil-TB2]

Originally Posted by solipsism

I think Snow Leopard would be a good starting point for HW authentication chips. This gives Apple 1 year to get the chips ready. It would mean that Snow Leopard will not be offered as an upgrade option for any current Mac user.

Those kind of chips (to stop clones from running OS-X) are unlikely to ever be included.

Apple does have a long history of optimising performance with secondary chips however. what I would expect to see is more and more of that kind of thing which will make a "real" Mac perform better than equivalent generic hardware.

These guys' computers are crap, the only time anyone is interested in them is when the performance to dollar ratio is better than what Apple offers. All Apple has to do is make sure that a real mac runs significantly better with the same hardware cost. Not t hard to do, and with PASemi onboard, increasingly easy.

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

Not to hard to do, and with PASemi onboard, increasingly easy.

Speaking of, I think the story that P.A. Semi will be designing iPod/iPhone chips is a ruse; I expect to their first efforts be used in the desktop line.

[federmoose]

Originally Posted by penchanted

I don't see Apple locking down their OS with DRM or activation. I do think they will likely use their purchase of PA Semi to include custom chips in their hardware which will make the OS run like crap in the absence of these chips. Of course, they would have to introduce these measures over time so as not to punish existing Mac owners.

no way. that would kill emulation/booting of 3rd party OS's, say, Microsoft and Linux...

[penchanted]

Originally Posted by solipsism

I think Snow Leopard would be a good starting point for HW authentication chips. This gives Apple 1 year to get the chips ready. It would mean that Snow Leopard will not be offered as an upgrade option for any current Mac user.

I am not sure Apple would want to risk alienating so many current users; look how angry some are with the rumors that Snow Leopard will be Intel-only.

I think if they could use custom silicon and software (maybe in some of the Core frameworks) to enhance performance on Apple products then they do not need to rely on hardware authentication - more a carrot rather than a stick. This would not punish existing owners but would add even greater benefit to buying a new machine.

Without access to these chips, would-be cloners would be attempting to sell a really sub-standard experience.

[penchanted]

Originally Posted by federmoose

no way. that would kill emulation/booting of 3rd party OS's, say, Microsoft and Linux...

Not sure why you think that - these custom chips can just be some form of hardware acceleration that a future version of the OS is looking to take advantage of.

[Walter Slocombe]

Originally Posted by Celemourn

if that wasn't bad enough, THESE GUYS still sell 8" floppies.

C

Single sided single density

WOW

retro bliss

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by solipsism

I have my doubts about this making it as a product. Apple was able to stop the instant hack AppleTV USB drive stick. If was only software that one could install on any USB flash drive, then there would be no way for Apple to stop it, but with a physical product they seem to be able and willing to prevent it from coming to market.

That group probably just complied with a C&D rather than continue and risk legal action.

Did Psystar get a C&D or not?

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

Those kind of chips (to stop clones from running OS-X) are unlikely to ever be included.

I thought it was built into Intel chips, as well as chips by other chip makers.

Originally Posted by wheelhot

Boo! Psycrap is the biggest crappiest company in the history. They kept saying Apple will violate antitrust laws but take note that they are violating the hackers code by offering the hackers code in their machine without loyalty fees. They dont even ask permission from these hackers.

What I hope is Psycrap get huge sums of money and got sued and lost most of their money for breaking the freeware license agreement.

The OSX86 community developers is against this. Boo!

Are the OSX86 coders any more legally "in the right" than Psystar?