Pesky Psystar to emerge from Chapter 11 with new Mac offering

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Battered, bankrupt, and thought to be wobbling on its last leg, Psystar this week proved that it can still turn heads when it announced that it will soon emerge from Chapter 11 bearing its fastest Mac system yet.



In an email to its customers, fans, and intrigued journalists, the unauthorized Mac clone maker introduced the Open(7), which will reportedly marry Mac OS X with Intel's Nehalem Xeon chips to yield the company's "fastest and most quiet computing configuration" yet.



TheDoral, Fla.-based solutions provider also used the same email to inform those following its legal proceedings with Apple that its decision to file for Chapter 11 in May was "critical" to maintaining its daily operations, but that the company now sees itself "ready to emerge" from bankruptcy and "again battle Goliath."



"More information will be available in the coming days when we will be formally discharged by the Bankruptcy court," the e-mail concludes. "When life gives you apples, make apple sauce."



As ChannelWeb most appropriately puts it, the email is the "latest twist in a bizarre saga that began last July" when Apple, fed up with the Psystar's online sale of a $399 knock-off Mac systems running hacked versions of the Mac OS X operating system, sued the little-known company on grounds of copyright infringement.



Pystar retaliated with a counterclaim of is own, alleging that Apple was violating anti-trust laws through the terms of its Mac OS X end user license agreement, which forbids the installation of the software on non-Apple hardware.



The court eventually threw out Pystar's anti-trust claims but allowed the company to proceed with its second line of defense, which argues that Apple wrongfully extended the scope of its Mac OS copyright through the end user license agreement.



For its part, Apple has also said in court documents that it believes Psystar may be part of a larger conspiracy and is seeking to uncover unknown parties who may be secretly backing the clone maker, either financially or otherwise, in its efforts to disrupt Apple's stronghold on Mac hardware sales.



In an amended motion filed in late May, Psystar attributed its hardships to the turbulent global economy and pullback in consumer spending, saying the crisis has spilled over to its creditors, who have tightened their terms and become more demanding for immediate payments.



"Debtor’s vendors due to their own financial problems are not being able to supply all necessary items to allow Debtor to produce their product, thus, forcing Debtor to pay higher prices for parts in order to fulfill customer orders in a timely manner and to assure satisfaction with the product," Psystar's attorneys wrote. "These factors seriously contribute to the Debtor not being able to turn a significant profit in each sale."



Psystar's request for bankruptcy threatened to delay its case against the official Mac maker because the proceedings in that case were put on hold while the bankruptcy court began hearing the clone maker's case for Chapter 11 protection. However, Apple a little over one week ago successfully won its motion to have the temporary stay in the case lifted. That ruling overturned the automatic freeze on any court proceedings that followed when Psystar filed for Chapter 11 in May.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 227
    chronsterchronster Posts: 1,894member
    too funny
  • Reply 2 of 227
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Queue the debate about programming code copyrights that somehow spiral into a debate about the pointless EULA….



    Though the Psystar supports keep becoming less and less as the situation evolves.
  • Reply 3 of 227
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,425member
    This story



    was boring like two months ago.
  • Reply 4 of 227
    dr millmossdr millmoss Posts: 5,403member
    They say they're emerging from Chapter 11, but what does the court say?



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hmurchison View Post


    This story



    was boring like two months ago.



    Funny, I'm just starting to get interested. It's like a bad movie melodrama that somehow gets better the longer it goes on.
  • Reply 5 of 227
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dr Millmoss View Post


    They say they're emerging from Chapter 11, but what does the court say?



    The court are the ones who lifted the bankruptcy after Apple filed to have it lifted, claiming that Psystar was using it to hide behind.
  • Reply 6 of 227
    dr millmossdr millmoss Posts: 5,403member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    The court are the ones who lifted the bankruptcy after Apple filed to have it lifted, claiming that Psystar was using it to hide behind.



    Where do you read that? I know what Apple has claimed, but even according to this story, Psystar is only anticipating emerging from Chapter 11. I find no indication that this has actually occurred.
  • Reply 7 of 227
    chronsterchronster Posts: 1,894member
    To be honest, if I had disposable income at the moment, I might buy one of their new i7 machines just out of curiosity basically. I mean, a few years from now, if I still had it, I could be like, "I have a Psystar machine, remember them? No? LOL!"
  • Reply 8 of 227
    boogabooga Posts: 1,082member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    The court are the ones who lifted the bankruptcy after Apple filed to have it lifted, claiming that Psystar was using it to hide behind.



    Apple just requested lifting the stay on litigation while the Chapter 11 proceeded. It looks like since the Chapter 11 gambit didn't work to protect themselves from Apple, Psystar doesn't need it anymore and quickly "emerged".
  • Reply 9 of 227
    dr millmossdr millmoss Posts: 5,403member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Booga View Post


    Apple just requested lifting the stay on litigation while the Chapter 11 proceeded. It looks like since the Chapter 11 gambit didn't work to protect themselves from Apple, Psystar doesn't need it anymore and quickly "emerged".



    As I understand it, yes. But I don't see where they have actually been released from Chapter 11 proceedings, only that they claim they will be soon. This may or may not be a real difference.
  • Reply 10 of 227
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dr Millmoss View Post


    Where do you read that? I know what Apple has claimed, but even according to this story, Psystar is only anticipating emerging from Chapter 11. I find no indication that this has actually occurred.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Booga View Post


    Apple just requested lifting the stay on litigation while the Chapter 11 proceeded. It looks like since the Chapter 11 gambit didn't work to protect themselves from Apple, Psystar doesn't need it anymore and quickly "emerged".



    I should have been more clearer. I meant the bankruptcy protection staying the lawsuit was lifted, not that the bankrupcty itself was withdrawn.
  • Reply 11 of 227
    bregaladbregalad Posts: 816member
    It'll be interesting to see if Psystar's financial supporters can continue to remain hidden. Clearly they have someone with deep pockets behind the scenes.



    I'm intrigued to hear that they've got Leopard running on a Core i7 based PC. Much as I want Apple to prevail in this court case their steadfast refusal to offer any true desktop Mac has me seriously considering a hackintosh.



    Some say Apple won't offer a true desktop because it would destroy iMac sales. I have a friend with a hackintosh he built 2 years ago for the price of the entry level iMac. That machine is still faster than the top-of-the-line 2009 iMac. So before considering the much greater expansion and upgrade capabilities of the hackintosh, it's still going to remain usably fast two years longer than an iMac. If Apple had such a machine in their lineup, customers who currently replace their iMac every 4 years would be able to hang onto their towers for 6 years. The great debate has always been whether or not Apple could attract sufficient new customers to make up for the longer upgrade cycle and increased costs of a desktop lineup with 4 models instead of 3.



    Within Apple I don't believe such a debate has ever occurred. I believe Apple considers desktops to be dinosaurs and have absolutely no interest in making one regardless of the financial implications.



    Apple doesn't want me as a customer because I think bang for the buck is far more important than portability. I simply cannot envision any point in the future where I would want to buy a notebook computer. To me the perfect combination is a desktop with lots of power and storage plus a handheld portable device like the iPhone.
  • Reply 12 of 227
    wplj42wplj42 Posts: 439member
    Apple could solve this whole thing by adding the Intel processors used in the iMac line, into the Pro. If Apple could sell a Pro + 24" LED monitor for $2500, how cool would that be? Then again, I don't run Apple, do I! On the other hand, and you knew there would be, I know where there are used Power Mac G5s for sale at an average price of $1250.
  • Reply 13 of 227
    nano_tubenano_tube Posts: 114member
    Just look at this:

    Psystar Open 7 Workstation:

    Core i7 Xeon 2.66GHz

    6 GB DDR3 RAM

    1 TB HD

    GeForce 9500GT GTX 512MB

    DVD-RW

    802.11n (PCI-E 1x) (added)

    FW 400 + 800 (added)

    Mac OS X + iLife + iWork

    ================

    $1,734



    Apple Mac Pro, DEFAULT configuration:

    Core i7 Xeon 2.66GHz

    3 GB DDR3 RAM

    640 GB HD

    GeForce GT 120 512MB

    DVD-RW

    Mac OS X + iLife

    NO WIRELESS

    FW 800 ONLY

    Mac OS X + iLife

    ================

    $2,499



    $765 more for the same computer!

    F*ck Apple, what a sorry ass bunch of thieves. Now, who has the balls to tell me that the there is no apple tax?!

  • Reply 14 of 227
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Nano_tube View Post


    $765 more for the same computer!



    I’m not saying that isn’t a good deal to suit one’s needs, but you really should look up the word “same” in a dictionary.





    Price of CPUs from the Intel price sheet...
    Mac Pro :: X5550 (8M L2 cache, 4 Cores, 8 Threads, 2.66 GHz (95W) 6.40 GT/sec Intel® QPI 45nm) $958

    Open(7) :: W3520 (8M L2 cache, 4 Cores, 8 Threads, 2.66 GHz (130W) 4.80 GT/sec Intel® QPI 45nm) $284

    Difference in just the processor costs in batches of 1000 is… $714
  • Reply 15 of 227
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Nano_tube View Post


    Just look at this:

    Psystar Open 7 Workstation:

    Core i7 Xeon 2.66GHz

    6 GB DDR3 RAM

    1 TB HD

    GeForce 9500GT GTX 512MB

    DVD-RW

    802.11n (PCI-E 1x) (added)

    FW 400 + 800 (added)

    Mac OS X + iLife + iWork

    ================

    $1,734



    Apple Mac Pro, DEFAULT configuration:

    Core i7 Xeon 2.66GHz

    3 GB DDR3 RAM

    640 GB HD

    GeForce GT 120 512MB

    DVD-RW

    Mac OS X + iLife

    NO WIRELESS

    FW 800 ONLY

    Mac OS X + iLife

    ================

    $2,499



    $765 more for the same computer!

    F*ck Apple, what a sorry ass bunch of thieves. Now, who has the balls to tell me that the there is no apple tax?!





    Heh - really the same? :-)



    http://store.psystar.com/media/catal...p/r/pro3_1.png



    VS



    http://images.apple.com/macpro/image...ro20090303.png
  • Reply 16 of 227
    irnchrizirnchriz Posts: 1,617member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Nano_tube View Post


    Just look at this:

    Psystar Open 7 Workstation:

    Core i7 Xeon 2.66GHz

    6 GB DDR3 RAM

    1 TB HD

    GeForce 9500GT GTX 512MB

    DVD-RW

    802.11n (PCI-E 1x) (added)

    FW 400 + 800 (added)

    Mac OS X + iLife + iWork

    ================

    $1,734



    Apple Mac Pro, DEFAULT configuration:

    Core i7 Xeon 2.66GHz

    3 GB DDR3 RAM

    640 GB HD

    GeForce GT 120 512MB

    DVD-RW

    Mac OS X + iLife

    NO WIRELESS

    FW 800 ONLY

    Mac OS X + iLife

    ================

    $2,499



    $765 more for the same computer!

    F*ck Apple, what a sorry ass bunch of thieves. Now, who has the balls to tell me that the there is no apple tax?!





    Apart from the fact that you get no support for the OS or hardware especially when psystar goes tits up. I can just imagine the calls to Apple support

    Support rep: May I take your serial number?

    Fool that bought the psystar PC: Erm, its a Psystar..

    Support rep: LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL click.
  • Reply 17 of 227
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Nano_tube View Post


    Now, who has the balls to tell me that the there is no apple tax?!



    Me. Apple Tax is a made-up term. There is no such thing. Its a catchy phrase to use against Apple. Apple decides what it sells its wares for like everybody else. Love it or loath it, but there ain't no thing such as Apple Tax.
  • Reply 18 of 227
    nasseraenasserae Posts: 3,167member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Booga View Post


    Apple just requested lifting the stay on litigation while the Chapter 11 proceeded. It looks like since the Chapter 11 gambit didn't work to protect themselves from Apple, Psystar doesn't need it anymore and quickly "emerged".



    Yep, the bankruptcy thing didn't work as they wished. Time for plan C
  • Reply 18 of 227
    mactrippermactripper Posts: 1,328member
    Hire me to spy on Pystar.



    PM me for qualifications...
  • Reply 20 of 227
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by NasserAE View Post


    Yep, the bankruptcy thing didn't work as they wished. Time for plan C



    I think Psystar is well beyond the there third plan at this point.
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