14 DAY TRIAL // Open Tech managed to make a few headlines by selling open-computers that can run OS X Leopard. Unlike Psystar, however, these guys have been in business for less than a month and are now selling the company, which includes the name, the website, the trade secrets and more, all for just 50 grand, via PayPal even.
"The Company Open Tech is up for sale," says a note on the Open Tech site. "We are selling the Open Tech name, the website, the trade secrets (including The Open Tech Home & XT Blueprints and future model blueprints), and press contacts all in one package. If you decide to purchase Open Tech all this information will be mailed or faxed to you after the purchase."
There's a small difference between Psystar's Open Computers and Open Tech's systems, though. Open Tech's "XT", for instance, doesn't ship with OS X preloaded. The system is touted as being able to run various OSes, including Apple's, and it ships with instructions on how to get Leopard up and running on it, but no Leopard discs or anything like that.
Open Tech XT
The Open Tech XT is the ultimate pro computer. With an amazing Intel Core 2 Quad processor, a 640 GB hard-drive, 4GB of DDR2 800 MHz, 800 Watt power supply, and an advanced cooling system, also one of the most powerful graphics card, the 8800 GT 256mb. The Open Tech XT is capable of running most popular operating systems. Fast is not a problem with the new Open Tech XT.
Psystar, on the other hand, ships its Open Computers with Apple's Mac OS X Leopard preloaded on them. It even admits it had to mess around with some drivers to get it to work.
The XT, Open Tech's most powerful system up for sale, is capable of running OS X Leopard, Windows Vista 64bit, Windows Xp 64bit, and Ubuntu 8.04. Other open source operating systems are also supported, Open Tech says.
Apple's EULA specifically forbids other hardware vendors to reverse engineer Apple software in order to run on it. Whether this is the case with Open Tech, or the reason behind their move to sell the company remains to be seen. One thing is certain though: $50,000 sure sounds like a desperate God-I-hope-someone-buys-us approach.