14 DAY TRIAL // Miami, Florida-based Psystar, the controversial company that got the attention of every tech website out there last month, has issued updates to its Mac clone users, in what seems to be yet another illegal move to which Apple isn't responding in any way. Macworld notes that the updates appear to be direct replicas or modified versions of Apple's security updates for Leopard users. Apple's Leopard EULA strictly forbids modified versions of the company's software.
"Safe updates, as well as bug fixes and workarounds, are now available in our Support section," Psystar says on its website. "We have released a couple of fixes for things like Time Machine as well as a fix for DHCP issues that some customers are having. Computers shipped as of today have all updates available preinstalled with Leopard."
It is widely believed that Psystar's Open Computer (formerly known as Open Mac) comes into conflict with Apple's EULA. Updates / patches to the software it runs (be it Apple's own Leopard) should further prompt the Cupertino-based giant to wake up and smell the roses.
"Please check our website regularly as we will begin releasing safe updates through the operating system's Automatic Updates and will require all of our existing users to download a small update manually and install it to enable this functionality," Psystar advises.
Psystar's Mac clones start at $399. The company sells its systems with or without Leopard pre-installed on them, but strongly advises that interested parties opt for the pre-installed versions. Here's a sample of what Psystar is offering on its Support page, as far as updates go, just so you can make an idea of how similar they are to Apple's:
"Time Machine and AirPort Updates v1.0 - This update increases the functionality of Time Machine and Time Capsules.
QuickTime 7.4.5 for Leopard - This update addresses some security issues within the QuickTime application and enhances compatibility with third-party apps.
Security Update 2008-002 v1.1 (Leopard) - This is a cumulative Security update for Leopard that closes several security loopholes in OS X Leopard."
Next time, don't forget to note that updates are recommended to all Leopard users, just so everything falls into place.
Of course, some of the patches Psystar recently issued appear to be aimed at the Open Computers alone.
Apple's Mac OS X 10.5 End User Licensing Agreement (EULA) specifically mentions other parties may "not copy, decompile, reverse engineer, disassemble, modify, or create derivative works of the Apple Software or any part thereof." It does not, however, forbid others from posting its software updates (unchanged).