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Psystar suspends sales of Mac cloning tool
By siliconindia
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Monday, 28 December 2009, 15:30 IST
Bangalore: Psystar has indefinitely suspended sales of its Mac Cloning tool, which helped customers in installing Apple's Snow Leopard operating system (OS) on generic Intel-based computers. The company has decided that it will now resume selling the system soon but would now run on Linux rather than Mac OS.
Psystar, which began selling Mac clones in April 2008, has been battling Apple in federal court in California since July 2008, when Apple sued the firm, saying it violated copyright laws by preinstalling the Mac operating system on its machines, according to Computer World. The company has suspended the sale of Rebel EFI, which was launched in October as it is still awaiting the court's decision.
Rebel EFI has been Psystar's only product since early December, when the company halted sales of all hardware, including the Intel-based clones pre-loaded with Snow Leopard, and agreed to pay Apple approximately $2.7 million if it loses planned appeals of a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup.
Although Psystar took Alsup's warning seriously enough to pull Rebel EFI, it continued to trumpet its right to sell the utility. "We respectfully disagree with courts (sic) notion that we are 'hardcore copyright infringers,'" said Psystar on its Web site. "Psystar has never, and will never, condone software piracy. It's your software, you should be able to use it where you want to."
Apple, however, has argued in the Florida federal court of U.S. District Court Judge William Hoeveler that Rebel EFI is "simply a repackaged version of Psystar's circumvention technology" that has been barred by Alsup. Apple has asked Hoeveler to transfer the Florida lawsuit to Alsup's court.
Not surprisingly, Psystar sees things differently. "If you purchase an off-the-shelf copy of OS X Snow Leopard, its your right to use that software," said Psystar. "A publisher cannot forbid you from reading a book in the bathroom or listening to a music disc while riding your bicycle. There should be no difference in the software realm, no matter how much money Apple or anyone else throws at it."
The new computers will be aimed at customers who want to install Snow Leopard rather than actually use Linux. "In addition to using only first quality components, our hardware specifically chosen such that it is known to be compatible with OS X (via Apples [sic] own drivers or open source offerings online)," said Psystar. "This makes it easier to get up and running with your favorite XNU based operating system, including Pure Darwin."
Last week's statement was the clearest indication yet that Psystar, which once told potential investors it could sell as many as 12 million machines in 2011, will rely on Rebel EFI to drive any future business. By selling Linux PCs and Rebel EFI to customers, Psystar would shift responsibility for installing Mac OS X to its users.