Psystar, an independent systems vendor that sells hardware solutions to the enterprise, created waves Monday with the announcement that it is selling a Mac clone capable of running Apple’s Leopard operating system.

Originally billed as OpenMac, the company quickly changed the name to Open Computer, presumably in response to a shout from Apple’s lawyers reminding Psystar that “Mac” is a trademark.

Psystar says it is offering a “smart alternative to Apple.” According to the Open Computer page on its Web site, “The Open Computer is a PC that works just like a Mac with Apple’s latest operating system OS X 10.5 a.k.a. Leopard. With the Open Computer you can run OS X natively as whether you had purchased an expensive Apple computer except that, while paying less, you receive more.”

Is License Monopolistic?

Psystar’s base configuration sells for $399, compared to $599 for the slowest Mac mini from Apple. The company says its PC features a faster processor

than any Mac mini model, 2GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive that can be upgraded to 400GB, and an optional high-performance nVidia GeForce 8600 card. “You can buy it in black without paying more,” the site adds.

But a larger issue is whether Psystar can sell hardware running Leopard in violation of Apple’s end-user license agreement, which prohibits installation of Mac OS X on computers that are not “Apple-labeled.”

A Psystar employee told InformationWeek that Apple’s prohibitive end-user license agreement (EULA) is “monopolistic” — and said the company will fight for the right to sell its clone.

Restraint of Trade Issues?

“We’re not breaking any laws,” the employee, who identified himself only as Robert, said. “What whether Microsoft said you could only install Windows on Dell computers? What whether Honda said that, after you buy their car, you could only drive it on the roads they said you…

Orginal post by Top Tech News

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