psystar

Newspapers could learn from Psystar brouhaha

We're in day five of the tech community's obsession with Psystar, that odd little company in Miami that claims to be selling Apple-like computers. There are still plenty of questions about Psystar. Shoot, we still don't even know for certain if Psystar is legitimate.

But there's one thing we know for sure: Citizen journalism has played a major role in ferreting out the Psystar story. And with that involvement, we're getting a better understanding of how mainstream newspapers can work with folks who aren't trying to make a living off gathering the news but … Read more

EIC Squared: Soaring Google, Psystar mysteries, and Microsoft's Albany

In this week's EIC Squared podcast Larry Dignan and I discuss Google's uplifting quarter, the mysterious Mac clone, and Microsoft's hybrid software strategy.

Google made the market move, with a stellar quarter, which should give Microsoft even more incentive to bring Yahoo into its camp. With quarterly earnings season in full swing, Larry notes that international sales and a weak dollar are helping out U.S. technology companies.

The Mac clone from Florida-based Psystar continues to be shrouded in mystery. The site has been down and the company isn't processing orders, but it says it will … Read more

Psystar still down as Powerpay explains its decision

Psystar's store remained down on Friday, as its former payment-processing company expanded its explanation of why it pulled its services from the computer maker's site.

Anyone who might have wanted to order an Open Computer last night or today has been stymied by the second interruption in Psystar's online store.

The first interruption, on Wednesday, was caused when Powerpay pulled its services after Psystar violated the terms of its agreement, as reported by CNET News.com.

My colleague Richard Koman, at ZDNet, obtained a statement from Powerpay's CEO, explaining the reasons why his company pulled Psystar'… Read more

Psystar Web store goes down again

Mac clone maker Psystar's Web store went down again on Thursday evening, the second time in as many days that the company has experienced an interruption in service.

"We're sorry but the store is temporarily down," Psystar said in the Store section of its Web site late Thursday. The company has been selling computers preinstalled with Mac OS X Leopard through that store, in violation of Apple's licensing policies for Mac OS X.

Psystar's site went down Wednesday after Powerpay, a payment-processing company, pulled its services from Psystar after the company violated the terms … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 705: Why court the pwnage?

In the news today, Safari saves your bacon with a hole-patching update, and NASA says it's better at math than teenagers (which we fervently hope is true). Yahoo and Google get closer to a deal, which we fervently hope is just going to happen, already, so we can quit speculating, and we're planning our summer road trip to Pittsburgh. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 705

NASA statement on student asteroid calculations http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/apr/ HQ_08103_student_asteroid_calculations.html

Yahoo-Google deal advances http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9920997-7.html http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120839839184321833.html… Read more

Psystar violated terms of merchant services agreement

The payment-processing merchant for Mac clone maker Psystar abruptly ended its relationship with the company Wednesday after it discovered what was for sale on Psystar's site.

Powerpay had been the payment processor for Psystar's online store until Wednesday, when it yanked its services from Psystar's Web site. That move sent the store offline for several hours midday Wednesday, halting sales of Psystar's Open Computer, which comes preinstalled with Mac OS X Leopard in violation of Apple's licensing agreement for its operating system.

Psystar posted a statement on its Web site Thursday explaining the downtime. "… Read more

Questions swirl around Mac clone maker Psystar

The more we learn about Mac clone maker Psystar, the more questions arise.

For those of you who missed it, the interest of the Mac world this week swung from 3G iPhone rumor-mongering to South Florida, where a company called Psystar has put up a Web site selling a product called an Open Computer. The product is essentially a white-box Mac with Mac OS X Leopard preinstalled, and a violation of Apple's licensing agreement for Mac OS X.

The Guardian did a little digging Tuesday into some of the basics around Psystar, such as its exact location and ownership. … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 704: Monster in Blue Jeans

I have never had so much fun reading a legal response than I did the note from the head of Blue Jeans Cables to Monster Cable. See the episode for the full story. We also determine that politicians across the world are nuts, and I'm not good math. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 704

Comcast to spearhead creation of P2P Bill of Rights http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/ 20080415-comcast-to-spearhead-creation-of-p2p-bill-of-rights.html

Defiant Psystar back selling Leopard computers http://www.news.com/8301-13579_3-9919432-37.html

So exactly who or what is Psystar? We dig a little http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/04/15/ so_exactly_who_or_what_is_psystar_we_dig_a_little.html… Read more

Defiant Psystar back selling Leopard computers

Psystar is back online selling "white box" Macs with a few subtle changes, and one employee has already played the monopoly card.

As you might recall, Psystar's Web site was overwhelmed Monday after it was found to be selling cheap computers with Mac OS X Leopard preinstalled. This caused quite the commotion, as Apple does not license its operating system to other hardware makers, and specifically prohibits (PDF) end users from installing Mac OS X on anything other than an "Apple labeled" computer.

Ars Technica noted that Psystar made several changes to its Web site … Read more