Ed "The Computer Wizard"

Since Apple was able to get Psystar's countersuit kicked out (http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=10923) unless they can come up with a more convincing argument, there is a lot of chatter around this subject.....again.

So, here is my take on this.  First of all, I was using the Mac OS back when the Mac was a one piece black and white little bugger with a funny looking mouse.  I've been using Microsoft's various operating systems just as long.  I have experience with many distros of Linux, as well as BeOS and OS2/Warp.  I think that I can be somewhat unbiased in this post because I can see the good and bad points of all of these products.

The arguments I have read around the web are generally not thought out and can even be quite humorous.  For instance, I have seen a lot of people stating that Psystar should lose because they are "putting a Ferrari engine in a Pinto / Volkswagen / Yugo, etc).  Well here is an example of an argument that is not thought out.  The posters are stating that a clone uses inferior hardware and that this will detract from the user’s experience. 

Let's think about this.  If I take an average off the shelf computer and a Mac Mini and compare the guts what would I see?  Well, if I am to believe what I have read, almost every component in the PC should be well below par on a computer of equal price.  To prove my point, I will BEAT the Apple price with equivalent or better parts.  I am using the Mac Mini because that is Psystar’s target consumer. 

There you have it, newer processor, larger hard drive, every port that a MAC has, and then some, including 3 Firewire!  Mac is sporting only one.  Oh, and just to be a smart ass, I threw in a refurbished Dell LCD Monitor!  The Mac is BYOM!  No mouse and keyboard, because I would just hook this to my KVM and use my Saitek keyboard anyway.  The specs above include Windows XP Home or Vista Home Basic., but I could have bumped it to Vista Home Premium for $29.95 more. 
Two quick points here. 

The video card, 64mb or shared memory?  Really?

The hard drive, 5400RPM?  What is this, left over laptop drives?


Another argument is that is thrown out quite often is that Microsoft and Sony are not required to let you install the X-Box 360 OS or the PS2 OS on other systems, so why should Apple have to allow it?


The X-Box analogy doesn't work and here's why.  Go to Amazon.com and search for "OS X" and you will see that you can buy the OS for a little over $100.  Now, Search for "X Box 360 OS" and you will see that it is not a stand alone, shrink wrapped, available on every computer reseller’s shelf product.


The OS that the X-box, Zune and PlayStation use are tied to the hardware because they are ONLY sold with the hardware.  If you shrink warp it and sell it all over the place then the consumer should have the right to use it as they see fit, even if that is not in line with Steve Jobs' vision.


Many people LOVE the look and feel of a MacBook.  This leads to the third Mac user argument; the “overall user experience.”  I can see the point that is trying to be made here.  Everything looks nice and works like it should.  There is nothing wrong with that, but what if the integrated hardware is not something you want?  How easy is it to change or upgrade these devices?  Let’s just say that Apple has their planned obsolescence model based around this inability, ‘nuff said?


Personally I can't stand the keyboard on the Mac laptops (especially the Air) and would rather use OS X on hardware that suits me.  Sorry Senior Jobs, I think the MacBook Air stinks and would rather use an MSI Wind with OS X.  The EULA?  Oh, that’s simple.  It states that you can not install the software on a non Apple labeled machine.  I have Apple stickers, so problem solved.


Seriously, why does he even care?  Apple gets money from the OS sale, granted it's not the overly marked up price that they get for hardware, but a small sale is better than no sale!  This will also increase visibility.  Increased visibility means that others will start looking at Apple hardware as an option as well.


I may be missing something, but what do you think?

Bookmark It

Hide Sites