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Laminar · Oct 25, 2009, 05:53 PM

Remember Psystar, the company that tried to sell homemade computers loaded with OS X? They're at it again, this time with a slightly more "legal" approach.

They've developed what's essentially a bootloader that lets you run the retail version of OS X on their homebuilt PCs. They also offer a "certification" for other companies' hardware, so that consumers can buy the hardware with Psystar's licensed bootloader, and installed Snow Leopard from their own retail DVD.

Link

Is this the "Pro-sumer" Mac we've always wanted? Or will it be plagued by update errors and kernel problems? They claim to have a "safe update" that prevents the system from breaking every time an Apple update is installed. Thoughts?

Spheric Harlot · Oct 25, 2009, 06:11 PM

From brief skimming, they haven't "developed a bootloader".

They've taken a bootloader from the x86 guys and repackaged it as "Rebel EFI" for $90.

Laminar · Oct 25, 2009, 07:07 PM

Are you certain that the bootloader they're licensing is 100% the same as what the x86 guys are using?

Spheric Harlot · Oct 25, 2009, 07:19 PM

I have no idea. Either way, the benefit of this license is purely that people can buy a box and be reasonably sure it will work with OS X - basically a sort of alternative certification.

Of course, this is of utterly questionable business morality, as it's unclear how Psystar will be able to "certify" something that Apple is AT ANY TIME entitled to break.

The bootloader itself is a great business model: You're selling a downloadable hacked bootloader as a disk image with a serial authentification to a bunch of customers who are BY DEFINITION hackers and will have no trouble whatsoever distributing your disk image and circumventing the authentication.

So there remains the "certification", which isn't.

These guys are trying desperately to fashion a niche and a business model on something that will always happen anyway, and THE WHOLE POINT OF WHICH is to circumvent business models.

The Psystar guys really need to lay off and get real jobs, methinks.

Mrjinglesusa · Oct 25, 2009, 09:46 PM

I'll give them one thing - they are persistent.

olePigeon · Oct 26, 2009, 11:44 AM

Apple just needs to release an EFI firmware update, and everyone who bought the Psystar kit just wasted $90.

olePigeon · Oct 26, 2009, 11:45 AM

Oh, and that's not the Prosumer Mac I want because it looks like ass.

CRASH HARDDRIVE · Oct 26, 2009, 10:11 PM

Originally Posted by olePigeon

Apple just needs to release an EFI firmware update, and everyone who bought the Psystar kit just wasted $90.

Help me out here, how exactly does an EFI firmware update effect anyone with a PC running OSX?

Anyhow, just tried out the Rebel EFI on an i7 machine (it's free to try) and it does actually work as advertised. Booted and installed Snow Leopard no problem. It does seem to be just a repackaging of work done by the OSx86 crowd, but then, that's all Psystar is in the first place. Nothing anyone with the right hardware and Google couldn't figure out for free in about ten minutes.

olePigeon · Oct 27, 2009, 12:05 AM

Originally Posted by CRASH HARDDRIVE

Help me out here, how exactly does an EFI firmware update effect anyone with a PC running OSX?

Apple can release an EFI update to add something new for OS X to look for in a 10.4.12, 10.5.9, and 10.6.3. If you want to continue getting updates for OS X, you'll have to buy a new copy of Psystar's tools with an updated EFI.

CRASH HARDDRIVE · Oct 27, 2009, 03:10 AM

Originally Posted by olePigeon

Apple can release an EFI update to add something new for OS X to look for in a 10.4.12, 10.5.9, and 10.6.3. If you want to continue getting updates for OS X, you'll have to buy a new copy of Psystar's tools with an updated EFI.

That'd be figured out in about three seconds and psystar would merely release an update themselves after they steal it from the OSx86 folks. Not that anyone should pay psystar a dime for any of this anyway, but they certainly wouldn't have to charge anyone again.

Also, wouldn't that require an across the board firmware update for every single Mac out there running 10.4, 10.5 and 10.6?

olePigeon · Oct 27, 2009, 11:33 AM

Originally Posted by CRASH HARDDRIVE

That'd be figured out in about three seconds and psystar would merely release an update themselves after they steal it from the OSx86 folks. Not that anyone should pay psystar a dime for any of this anyway, but they certainly wouldn't have to charge anyone again.

Must be a conundrum for OSx86 folks. They want the publicity, but some other company is making money off their hard work. I'm sure Psystar would just charge money for another CD.

Originally Posted by CRASH HARDDRIVE

Also, wouldn't that require an across the board firmware update for every single Mac out there running 10.4, 10.5 and 10.6?

Yeah, if you wanna update to the latest OS and keep getting patches. It's no big deal, it'd just how up as an EFI Firmware Update in Software Update. I've seen at least two already.

CRASH HARDDRIVE · Oct 27, 2009, 12:51 PM

Originally Posted by olePigeon

Must be a conundrum for OSx86 folks. They want the publicity, but some other company is making money off their hard work.

The dirty little 'secret' is that company is Apple by day... psystar and others by night.

Publicity? heh. I doubt it. Exactly the opposite I'd wager.

I'm sure Psystar would just charge money for another CD.

A person would be a fool to pay them the first time. You can d/l the tool for free, install with it, then just switch it out for Chameleon.

Yeah, if you wanna update to the latest OS and keep getting patches.

Ah, like everyone's been doing right up to 10.6.1.