Recently, Psystar Corporation came out with a product originally called “OpenMac”, however, due to legal issues with Apple, it is now called “Open Computer”. The Open Computer is, simply put, a computer that can run ANY consumer operating system, including Mac OS X. Obviously, this opens a huge door of legal issues with Apple. Their EULA clearly allows “(1) copy of the Apple Software on a single Apple-labeled computer at a time.” However, the company is fighting back, saying that the EULA is against U.S. monopoly laws. The Psystar site has been up and down intermittently over the past few days, and there is question whether the company will be able to take a hit from corporate giant Apple.

All legal ramifications aside, I commend Psystar for taking a leap into universal computing. This is exactly what I was talking about in my previous post, “Running OS X on Unsupported Hardware”. However, I did not think that a situation like this would arise this quickly - I was thinking more along the lines of a couple years from now. Nevertheless, this is the BEST thing that could happen to the market right now. And even if Jobs does sue the daylights out of Psystar (which he probably will), it will not end there. I see this as the beginning of a chain of events that could potentially end with Apple being forced to support third-party hardware. How? I have no idea. But once this idea gets out, there’s no stopping it.

Many people are calling the Open Computer a Mac clone. I strongly disagree with these claims - the Open Computer is not exclusively geared towards OS X. Customers can order the machine with XP Pro, Vista x32, Vista x64, or Ubuntu 8.04 (when it is released). OS X is simply another operating system the box is capable of running. I see a lot of potential with the Open Computer. This first-generation OEM PC with full-OS capabilities will most likely get shot down, not only by Apple, but also by EFI (BIOS for Mac, basically). But, I think other manufacturers will at least contemplate the possibility of a computer along these lines. However - If you want one, GET ONE NOW!! Psystar might be out of business tomorrow.