Psystar adds Blu-ray, Mac users yawn
Psystar's Open Computer now has an option for a Blu-ray drive, which is not available on a Mac.
(Credit: Psystar)Psystar's Mac clones now come with a Blu-ray drive, but they still can't do much more with the technology than is already possible on a Mac.
Go ahead, order an Open Computer or Open Pro with a $310 Blu-ray drive if you're a Mac OS X fan chafing at Apple CEO Steve Jobs' decision that Blu-ray is "a bag of hurt." But don't expect to be able to pop in a Blu-ray movie and watch a high-definition movie on the display attached to that system.
Without Mac OS support for a Blu-Ray player, all you can really do with a Blu-ray drive on an Open Computer is burn Blu-ray discs using Roxio's Toast 9 software, as Ars Technica points out. Apple doesn't appear close to licensing the Blu-ray technology to make a player compatible with Mac OS X, and Psystar isn't exactly in a position to add it on itself.
And you could already burn files or home movies with Toast 9 if you had a third-party Blu-ray disc drive hooked up to a Mac, or installed in a Mac Pro. I guess if you need the storage requirements of the Blu-ray format for files on a cheap computer this might be a palatable option, but otherwise, Psystar really isn't bringing much to the table with this move.
Tom Krazit writes about the ever-expanding world of Internet search, including Google, Yahoo, online advertising, and portals, as well as the evolution of mobile computing. He has written about traditional PC companies, chip manufacturers, and mobile computers, spending the last three years covering Apple. E-mail Tom. 
If I had psystar computer I would make it a BSD box and not even run OSX though.
Jody Weissler
newtechstuff.com
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RestrictedFormats/BluRayAndHDDVD
Using the same open source programs on Mac OSX should do the same thing.
Steve Jobs is becoming more like Jack Tremiel at Commodore/Atari, both of them don't believe in compromises. That is why the Commodore 1541 disk drive was the slowest one on the market, and why Mac OSX does not support Blu-Ray and more advanced standards.
Steve Jobs has become a Mac-Nazi (Like Seinfeld's Soup-Nazi) "No Blu-Ray for you!"
The very best way to ruin Apple and turn it into the second coming of Microsoft is to do exactly what Steve Jobs is doing now, and Jack Tremiel did with Commodore and Atari. That is not compromise and give the customers what they want, instead they are telling the customers what they want. That is very bad for business Steve, and it can turn around and bite you on the rear end.
Apple would get sued into oblivion if they tried to use open source "work arounds" to defeat Blu-Ray DRM.
As a reminder sony tried to get a worm out on its CD's via a copy protection system and i think since they tried it once already and that Blu-ray DRM code has not been reviewed by any objective company (sourcefire for example) it might just be a new way to try that maneuver again.
on the rootkit matter lookup here
http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/archives/00000714.html
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005/11/sonys_drm_rootk.html
I would not trust sony with my machines when it comes to DRM ,no thanks....
Apple may rule the music industry, but they haven't taken over the Windows PC. Blu-Ray is gaining momentum, like it or not, and people will realize that Apple laptops do not include Blu-Ray while similarly priced HP laptops do. Besides, what do Mac users have to worry about? Isn't Apple always advertising the fact that "Macs don't get viruses"?
You're right, though, I wouldn't trust Sony either. I generally don't trust them... but I'm sort of biased against them, as I am with Apple.
Just built a new system with hand-picked parts with better specs than the top iMac...for less than $700.
And I just activated the five year old Windows XP CD that came with the old computer with Microsoft. Next year will be putting a Nehalem CPU in as my MOBO already supports it ;)
These are exactly the things you can`t do with a Mac. Now back to Crysis with the settings maxed out.
I won't embarrass you by pointing out the obvious omissions in your post, but I had to point out the irony. Enjoy your slavery!
You'll get to completion and think, 'It works and does what I need but feels a bit cheap and doesn't look that well made'. A Bentley and a Ford Focus both do the same job, but it's how they do it.
Apple make their hardware with tactility in mind as well as a degree of useability, what's wrong with that? If I want to pay a premium for it am I not entitled to?
Applesuxleo, your PC works but is it nice? I mean really. Get some strangers in to take a straw poll. In fact post a picture of it on a blog or something next to an iMac and ask people who visit the web page to vote on which they'd prefer.
Mom and Pop simply don't care to replace their current system so Billy and Sally can watch Barney with such clarity.
Why play a Blu-ray movie on a 15-17" laptop? Are you kidding??? The guy just said you can hook it up to a Television! I guess when you are in an Apple MacDream world you can ignore anything. Plus, it WILL look better, even on your laptop. You sit pretty close ya know!
Having a high capacity disk to move or archive files is pretty important. To have that, and not be able to play a High Def movie seems sick. Also, have you guys ever considered that if you are downloading movies, where are you going to put them? When your hard drive craps out, you'll lose all of your movies. I don't think digital downloads will kill Blu-ray. It's the high capacity disc we all need.
There is no real demand for the format and there never will be. DVD conquered all by simply being so much better than VHS, plus it is very cheap. Blu-ray is not much better and it remains expensive. On-demand digital downloads are the future, be they from Apple, Netflix or whoever.
Oh, and I don't believe you get to download things again if your hard drive fails. Where are you seeing that?
- by Starfires October 30, 2008 12:55 AM PDT
- Something tells me that the Blu Ray issue is the first real mistake from Apple for a while. It is spreading to other laptops as an option, so makes for a more difficult choice to get one lacking it. In terms of movies it is not just being able to see it on the laptop screen- though even here it will be amazing, especially close-up. It is the fact that when I buy movies, I will go for the Blu-Ray to see it on the TV and the laptop. I won't bother with inferior DVD's or digital downloads (though I'll rent them).
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Showing 1 of 2 pages (43 Comments)Also the storage makes them very competitive with portable hard drives, if not so much with fixed ones.
Anyway, this is all temporary. Snow Leopard apparently features Blu Ray and I can see the point of Apple waiting for it's wider acceptance before they put it in. The mistake is to have a sour grapes attitude to new technology. And while I'm on the subject, can I just add that the DVD writer in my otherwise immaculate Macbook is a pile of... junk. Never have I seen a drive capable of making more coasters. I think the fact is that Apple have a very poor relationship with drive manufacturers and are stuck with sub-standard ones for now.