Are you going to buy the Open Computer?

[mrwizardno2]

I have actually ordered one, and I posted in this thread... for some reason the post got deleted

Congrats! You'll have to share what you think of it (with me at least, if no one else cares to listen - I think it's cool)

If you're going to build your own and support it yourself just put linux on it. There are some pretty good distros now. Some people like the Mac's form factor and design, which is nice. But since the move to Intel the quality is little different than commodity PCs (depending on what you choose to put into it). The biggest draw of Macs for me is OSX, compatibility with unix, and support and updates for all the hardware they put in them. And if you're going to spend the time to support it yourself, you can make linux work just like OSX.

I can't believe there's much of a market for an unsupported Mac clone.

Yeah, linux is great - but it's still not OS X. You can make it do all the stuff, sure, but you don't get all the fancy Apple crap that comes along with it.

 

[CKtoph]

Mac OS X seller (not Apple) disappears after reports (from CNet)

Didn't notice, but there's a note on the bottom saying that the site is back up but chugging along very slowly...

 

[iFizz]

Maybe...

In answer to the OP, if I had money growing on trees in my yard, I would buy one today and not worry about the EULA. But, I have a hard time believing this company can beat Apple's lawyers in court. So, for me, I'll wait and see how the pending legal battle turns out. If they win, I'll probably buy one, but I'll still love my Mac Pro more! Can't have it getting jealous!

 

[Pope Jawn Pawl]

Those of us waiting for an xMac, this is about as close as we're going to get.
After I saw that they're offering it in the P182, I'm seriously considering this.

 

[Fuchal]

I would totally buy one.

Its just that I know as soon as I place an order, Apple will come out with their own version.

 

[Pope Jawn Pawl]

I'll bet that the procs are E4500, E4700, Q6600, Q9300, and Q9450 based on the speeds, which would make this an LGA775 socket motherboard. Which then makes me wonder if you can add PCI cards without a problem...

 

[Mord]

If I wanted a hackintosh I'd put one together myself, this is simply a hackintosh for the technically incompetent.

 

[kkat69]

Thank you, add me as well, Not a hope in all eternity am I putting cash on that.

Unfortunately speaking out against this so called computer just gives you a whole heap of hassle from the Hackintosh group or should we call them now the Hackintosh Fanbois because thats basically how they are acting. Apparently being anti Open Mac / Open Computer or whatever it is called means your an Apple Fanboi as well. The whole situation stinks and there should be a simple segregation between this and the genuine article. They are two completely different things, although try telling that to the Hackintosh FANBOIS!!!!!

Well said.

I've built pc's and I've built a hackintosh. you can built one or buy a barebone shuttle cheaper than what they offer if that's your freaky thing.

I've said my peace with this several times. Oh, reminds me I gotta respond to that other post....

 

[clyde2801]

Dunno. May let a few braver souls than me try it first.

 

[Jiddick ExRex]

If I wanted a hackintosh I'd put one together myself, this is simply a hackintosh for the technically incompetent.

Which is ironic since if you want updates, you need to become technically competent pretty quick.
I think the market they are hitting is very tiny, perhaps too tiny.

 

[kkat69]

Which is ironic since if you want updates, you need to become technically competent pretty quick.
I think the market they are hitting is very tiny, perhaps too tiny.

And doing a little searching, that tiny market knows it can build a hackintosh cheaper (once it's configured).

But if that's their freaky thing. Just keep in mind, always research where you buy on the internet. This company seems a tad shady...

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/technol...y_who_or_what_is_psystar_we_dig_a_little.html

Not to mention, I don't know a lot of IT consulting firms that aren't proud of their clients, this one however, has NO clients listed.

Also, I didn't do any shopping cart adding yet I seem to have 3 computers in my shopping cart???????

Rumors also of non SSL or non secure shopping is also shady.

 

[elcid]

Not going to last but I hope they do so Apple has a "competitor" to keep them going in this market.

I want an upgraded mini. C'mon.

 

[VoodooDaddy]

I wouldnt be opposed to buying one. What kills me about all this is the screaming and nashing of teeth over the EULA and the legality of using OSX on this. Yet how many times has Apple apparently just taken what they wanted from other companies and been sued and settled?

2 wrongs dont make a right, but Apple isnt above this either.

 

[err404]

If I wanted a hackintosh I'd put one together myself, this is simply a hackintosh for the technically incompetent.

You may call it incompetent, but I call it practical.

Building a machine from parts isn't as romantic or leet as some people would have you believe. Components are sometimes DOA. It not fun or fulfilling to build a machine and find that it wont post. Since you built it, it's now your problem to determine which of the dozen components is the problem. The last machine I built would post, but rarely complete loading into windows. It took literally hours to narrow it down to a bad power supply.

Prior to switching to Apple, I built and configured every machine I had owned. At this point in my life, the small amount of money saved, isn't worth the hassle. Even I was to buy a PC in the future, I'd probably just get a Dell or some other pre-configured brand as a base and upgrade the vid card and other parts from there.

While I could build one myself, why would I? To save $30 over the Open Mac? The big difference here is that the Open Mac should work out of the box, if not, send the whole box right back. I also like that you can install from an unmodified Leopard disk and maybe support Apple's updates as well.
I'm intrigued by this enough to keep an eye on it for a while. If it proves to be a seamless experience I may get one.

By the way, I ran a hackintosh for a while and the problems I had with drivers, updates and overall stabilty ultimately drove my decision to spring for the real thing.

 

[inkswamp]

In principle, I would buy one right now. In practice, I'll wait until some reviews are out and I get a general sense of what this machine is like.

And argue it all you want, but I've been buying Apple products for 15+ years and this is the first time they have no machine that fits my budget and needs. Their consumer-level hardware right now is the most pathetic it's been in a long time, so if buying hardware from a third party fits my needs, I'll do it. And I give f___-all for what Apple or any apologists here think about it.

 

[iFizz]

Building a machine from parts isn't as romantic or leet as some people would have you believe...

For you maybe. Some people enjoy it and DO consider it exciting and "romantic." They enjoy "wasting" time researching parts, the "hassle" of ordering all the parts, the "frustration" of it not working when it's all put together, and the "challenge" of troubleshooting what's wrong. Those who choose to build their own computer would call it "practical" too, based on their own reasons, needs, and desires. To each their own.

 

[VoodooDaddy]

For you maybe. Some people enjoy it and DO consider it exciting and "romantic." They enjoy "wasting" time researching parts, the "hassle" of ordering all the parts, the "frustration" of it not working when it's all put together, and the "challenge" of troubleshooting what's wrong. Those who choose to build their own computer would call it "practical" too, based on their own reasons, needs, and desires. To each their own.

This use to be me, but is the very reason I ended up buying my first mac 2yrs ago. I was totally burnt out on building my own stuff. I was not going to buy a a pre-built windows pc either. I didnt have the desire to research and order and build and troubleshoot, so I bought a mini. I use to think building your own was the only way to go, but it just got old.

 

[iFizz]

This use to be me, but is the very reason I ended up buying my first mac 2yrs ago. I was totally burnt out on building my own stuff. I was not going to buy a a pre-built windows pc either. I didnt have the desire to research and order and build and troubleshoot, so I bought a mini. I use to think building your own was the only way to go, but it just got old.

Well, if you ever want to get back into it, you have your mini for reliable use and you can just tinker with DIY PCs. That's how I do it. I have my Macs, and then I tinker with PC parts for "recreation".

 

[dukebound85]

well i made a hackintosh

q6600 at 2.4
4 gig ram 800mhz
8800gt
gigabyte ds3l mb
500 gig hd


Very pleased as it flies. only patch i had to do was download a kext to get sound to work but that was very easy

have had NO issues with it running and it blows my mb cd 2.0 ghz out of the water

initially bought it as a game system but now i use it more as my workstation

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

This is a GREAT deal. Finally, a CHEAP Mac that can actually play games! For less than $700, you have a machine that will blow away anything but a Mac Pro for playing games on a Mac AND also be a great alternative to an iMac. This is what people have been BEGGING Apple to release (a mid-range style Mac with expandability) and they just keep on ignoring us. You can put an Nvidia 8600GT into this thing and it will scream! A Mac-Mini is a useless piece of junk for 3D and so are Macbooks. Apple forces you to buy a Macbook Pro or Mac Pro to get even decent 3D performance. Apple deserves EVERY BIT OF THIS in my opinion. They keep ignoring their users and screwing them over with overpriced options to get something any PC user can get for well under $1000.

It's RIDICULOUS that you have to buy a $2400 (minimum; the 'standard' config for a Mac Pro is $2700+) computer just to get a decent graphics card. Here's a $400 machine that for another $150 can take one (plus $129 for MacOSX). So for $679, it'll blow away any Mac out there save the Mac Pro for gaming.

Apple claims they're serious about gaming (look at all that EA promo stuff last year) and yet they don't offer a gaming machine for a reasonable price! I hope they do challenge Apple in court and I hope they win! MacOSX should not be limited to Apple hardware only. Microsoft got in trouble for putting certain pieces of SOFTWARE in their operating system that discouraged competition and here you have Apple demanding their entire operating system only work with their expensive overpriced hardware just to make more profit. The ONLY reason Apple hasn't been taken to court before is that they're such a small player in the PC market that no one has cared before.

I love MacOSX, but I don't like Apple any more than I like Microsoft. I always think the consumer should have the choice to decide what hardware and what software they want to use together. I believe the same thing for the iPhone platform and even for the XBox. If you offer a computer type platform (and that includes gaming boxes which are computers inside) to the general public, you should have to let the general public run whatever they want on it. In fact, I think that should be a general law. People should write their government representatives and demand a FAIR USE computer law.

 

[VoodooDaddy]

Well, if you ever want to get back into it, you have your mini for reliable use and you can just tinker with DIY PCs. That's how I do it. I have my Macs, and then I tinker with PC parts for "recreation".

Never will. No desire to ever run Windows again. Linux, no thanks either. Ive tried enough of those. If Im going to spend money on computer hardware it will be a Mac. In fact, already moved on from my mini to an iMac.

 

[iFizz]

Never will. No desire to ever run Windows again. Linux, no thanks either. Ive tried enough of those. If Im going to spend money on computer hardware it will be a Mac. In fact, already moved on from my mini to an iMac.

I wouldn't say "never again" to Windows. There was a time in the late 90s when Mac OS was pathetic and Windows was the better way to go between the two. The big tech companies wax and wane like the moon. I hate to say this, but it's possible that someday Mac OS will not be the best OS out there. That's why I never say "never again".

 

[SpaceMagic]

I think the whole project is good. I'm not going to buy one, but isn't this exactly what we want from Apple? A headless mac? The MacMini is just blurgh... I don't want a thinner mac mini, i will go for a thicker one! Just with upgradable graphics card and a 3.5" SATA HD.

Where is it? I want it.

 

[duncyboy]

I spent 8 or 9 years building my own PC's and one of the reasons I stopped and switched to a Mac was I was fed up of haggling with XP trying to get drivers working right and doing System Restore points before an update in case it killed something.

This seems to me to be a pre-built computer with all of the hassles of a home-built PC and none of the advantages of OS X. As if a future Apple update's not going to kill it completely.

People say that Mini's and iMac's are over-priced but the £800 I spent on my iMac is the best value for money I've ever had. Yes, for that money you can build an strong PC on paper with the same specs but it won't look as good, be was well designed, have such a small footprint, run so quietly, be as reliable or come with the suite of software and the OS you get with a Mac.

People who are interested in a "Hackintosh" are the kind of people who would build their own anyways.

Overall from a legal standpoint I'll be interested to see how this pans out for the company.

Would I swap one of those and a refund from my £800 for the iMac I've had sat on my desk for the past two and a half weeks? Not a chance in Hell!

 

[Phil A.]

Not a chance in hell I'd ever buy anything from these guys. Not because of some intense love of Apple but because they're taking advantage of the Hackintosh community to make money without giving anything back, which for me is morally wrong.

For example, they refer people to the insanelymac forums for tech support, and, even worse, appear to are using the EFI emulator without permission and in direct contravention of the license terms for that product (they don't seem to care much about licenses do they?): http://netkas.org/?p=62

Now, people may or may not care about them ignoring license terms from a big corporation (i.e. Apple), but breaking the license terms for the EFI emulator is a whole different ballgame: netkas produced this for the good of the hackintosh community, and psysys are simply exploiting that community and riding roughshod over his rights...