SimpleClix Studio

Just got this email today. Seems like the Windows 7 final version is coming very soon. At the mean time, I can tell you that I received a final debug version of Snow Leopard as well. However, due tho the NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) agreement, I couldn’t post it here. We will see a big combat between Windows and Macintosh this October probably. Nice job Microsoft and Apple!

Windows 7 Release Candidate Announcement

Thank you very much for your help in testing the Windows 7 Beta. Your feedback is invaluable in helping make Windows 7 a high quality operating system. With your help, we have reached the next major milestone on the journey to Windows 7: the Release Candidate (RC).

Finally, EFI-X is sold to the public. In case that someone doesn’t know what’s that about, I will tell you a bit more about this device.

A while ago, I wrote a comment about a “war” between Apple and Pystar. Since 2005, when Apple decided to move their platform from PPC to Intel, the raise-up of OSX86 project has never stopped nor slowed down. Lots and lots of people devoted themselves into the OSX86 community and contributed uncountable efforts to make this “was-impossible mission” real and many people can taste a bite of Apple on regular PC.

Apple kept silent through all these years until Pystar Tech was opened up and announced to sell Hackintosh to the public. This event was introduced in the previous post, so I am not going to say more about it.

As I browsed around today, I was surprised that EFI-X was sold in the US already. And the are having a special price right now for $155 USD, please check “EFI-X sold online“. This device is like a USB device that has a 10 pin internal USB port that connect to certain models of motherboards, for more information, please check Hardware Compatibility List. When you boot up your machine, it will ask you whether you want to boot into Mac OS or Windows. If you select Mac OS, then it will take 2 mintues to prepare and you will eventually get to a Mac OS system. Well, 2 minutes might be a bit too long but once you get into the system, it will run smoothly; I have checked online and people have feedback that the Bench score for a Hackintosh with below $1000 USD hardware is not much difference as a real Mac Pro and sometimes will have even higher score.

You may ask, I can use a modified Darwin bootloader and use vanilla kernal to install a Mac system on my computer with more choices of hardware, why do I want to pay extra money for such a device? Yes, it’s true that this device is NOT for anyone who wants to save money in building up a Hackintosh; let me ask the following questions first:

1. Can you get everything functioning just like you do on Windows using the same hardware?

2. Do you have to download a modified DVD online withouth purchasing a Mac OS?

3. When there are updates, will you be brave enough to grab those updates and install just like the other Mac users do?

EFI-X is a device to allow you install Mac on your PC without changing anything on the Macintosh Installation DVD and at the same time you can update just like on a real Mac.

To me, there are both sides that I need to look at:

Advantages:

1.Easier to install Mac;

2. Can update directly from Apple’s office update site;

3. BootCamp-like interface bootloader

4. More stable than other Hackintosh.

5. Ensure the compatibility on the list.

Disadvantages:

1. Price is still high

2. Boot time too long

3. The range of choices is still narrow<– I guess this can’t be their fault becasue Apple didn’t really develop their system to fit in any hardware.

Yes, I am a hard core Mac user. Will I give it a try? Yes I will if I have a chance. Do I think it’s illegal? I don’t know, it’s obviously different with the Psystar’s situation; and I am NOT a lawyer so I am not going to argue.

To me, this is interesting; at least, more and more people will be willing to try Mac OS. Apple will get more market share, why not?

[UPDATE]: By reviewing the picture above, I found that the data was not that accure since for the EFI-X Mac Pro, it has 3GHz CPU and 4GB RAM, while the real ones have relatively lower specification.

Since Apple imported Intel as the “heart” of Macintosh, it’s inevitable that OSX 86 projects will come up and take part of the cake. Psystar is one of the “brave” man to stood up and opened a store to sell PC-Mac to the public.

Things get more interesting now. Apple as the big guy in this case, yet they are not in a sure-win situation. I will keep my eye on this case and look forward to knowing who is the final winer.

To be honest, Apple won’t get anything even if they win. Psystar is an Inc. company and even if he lose, to the worst case, he will declaim bankruptcy and maybe start it somewhere else. Apple can’t do that all the time, one court might take up to 1 year to finish!!!

Second result is that Psystar wins. Apple not only need to pay for huge amounts of fee for court or even for Psystar. What’s more, the whole Apple industry will be shaken and we will see lots of “Macintosh” with the dress of regular PC case will come up to the PC market. And later, no one will ask “What computer do you use? PC or Mac?” Instead, they will ask, “What system do you use? Windows, Mac, or Linux?”

Source (CNET)

PALO ALTO, Calif.–Mac clone maker Psystar plans to file its answer to Apple’s copyright infringement lawsuit Tuesday as well as a countersuit of its own, alleging that Apple engages in anticompetitive business practices.

Miami-based Psystar, owned by Rudy Pedraza, will sue Apple under two federal laws designed to discourage monopolies and cartels, the Sherman Antitrust Act and the Clayton Antitrust Act, saying Apple’s tying of the Mac OS to Apple-labeled hardware is “an anticompetitive restrain of trade,” according to attorney Colby Springer of antitrust specialists Carr & Ferrell. Psystar is requesting that the court find Apple’s EULA void, and is asking for unspecified damages.

Springer said his firm has not filed any suits with the Federal Trade Commission or any other government agencies.

The answer and countersuit will be filed Tuesday afternoon in U.S. District Court for Northern California.

Pedraza attended a press conference his lawyers called to present how Psystar will defend its its OpenComputer Mac clone, which has been for sale online since April.

Psystar’s Open Computer, as seen shortly after its unboxing at CNET.

(Credit: CNET News)

Psystar’s attorneys are calling Apple’s allegations of Psystar’s copyright infringement “misinformed and mischaracterized.” Psystar argues that its OpenComputer product is shipped with a fully licensed, unmodified copy of Mac OS X, and that the company has simply “leveraged open source-licensed code including Apple’s OS” to enable a PC to run the Mac operating system.

Pedraza says he wants to make Apple’s Mac OS “more accessible” by offering it on less expensive hardware than Apple.

“My goal is to provide an alternative, not to free the Mac OS,” said Pedraza. “What we want to do is to provide an alternative, an option…It’s not that people don’t want to use Mac OS, many people are open to the idea, but they’re not used to spending an exorbitant amount of money on something that is essentially generic hardware.”

Apple will have 30 days to respond to Pystar’s counter claim, and so far has declined to comment on the case.

Other legal experts say Psystar faces a tough legal challenge in proving Apple has engaged in antitrust behavior by loading its software on its own hardware and thereby allegedly harming consumers and competitors. Psystar’s ability to prevail on the issue of having the latitude to load Apple’s OS on its own hardware, given it has a licensing agreement with the company, may prove an easier road to hoe, legal experts note.

A newcomer to the PC scene, Psystar caused a stir when it first went online selling white box Macs earlier this year. The site went down hours after it opened for business because the company was overwhelmed with orders for the OpenComputer, originally called the OpenMac, which was then changed to its current name. And the site went down several more times as its payment-processing company pulled its services from the Psystar site. Psystar managed to stay shrouded in a bit of mystery for a while, until intrepid gadget blog readers joined the press in fleshing out some details about the company.

Psystar eventually got back online with a new payment-processing service, and it continues to take orders for the OpenComputer and OpenPro Computer. When Apple finally did file suit against Psystar in July, it surprised nearly no one–except perhaps Pedraza. He said he had no contact with Apple before legal papers were filed against his company. Customarily, there is some sort of communication between companies before lawsuits are filed.

For now, Pedraza says it will be “business as usual” at company headquarters. Though he said there was a “slight” downward dip in sales once Apple filed its suit, he plans to go ahead with making servers, and soon, a mobile product, which he said will be “like a notebook.” But he refused to offer more detail.

More to come…

CNET News’ Dawn Kawamoto contributed to this story.