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German Mac clone maker "not afraid" of Apple

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On February 17, 2009, 5:49 PM EST

As Psystar continues to duke it out with Apple in court, many other potential clone makers have been sitting on the sidelines waiting for the outcome of the fight. Some, such as the German-based company HyperMegaNet UG, are more than willing to demonstrate that they think Apple is stifling competition. They are doing this by selling Mac clone computers, all the while saying they are not afraid of any legal repercussions. Their PearC computer is similar to Psystar’s offerings, in that it makes use of standard hardware bundled with OS X to produce a vastly cheaper alternative to an official Apple-branded machine.

Their principal argument against Apple is that since a machine is sold before a EULA can even be agreed to, there can be no restrictions placed upon that EULA. They assert that Apple's EULA is invalid in Germany because of this, and thus they have no fear of going to court to defend themselves if necessary. They are currently selling to multiple countries in the EU, but not to the US or Canada.

Could the days of Apple being the exclusive Mac dealer be over? If more computer manufacturers overseas take this approach, and if Psystar actually makes progress in the US, that could certainly be the case.

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User Comments (8)

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kingdingdong
on February 18, 2009
10:53 AM
I hope to god Psystar rapes Apple, Im sick and tired of Apple. I would love to own a Mac OS along with my Windows, but I refuse to pay the money for the overpriced controled Macs.

Reply

tengeta
on February 18, 2009
1:51 PM
But I thought paying twice as much for a new HDD or RAM stick was fair? Sheesh, give them a chance!Seriously though, it is nice. Apple will be forced to deal with the competition Microsoft was forced to. Its not like they do business in a much more ethical way, their users just blind themselves to it more.

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mattfrompa
on February 18, 2009
3:10 PM
Can't wait to see Apple's stupid commercials against platforms using their precious OS X haha

Reply

jawjammer
on February 18, 2009
4:17 PM
Do you really think apple will allow this to happen. They will just change the EULA for the OS so it is not Voided by german laws. All of you apple haters are hilarious "Apple will be forced to deal with the competition Microsoft was forced to." .... uhhh Microsoft sells their operating system to computer manufacturers/consumers to load on their computers, they don't sell computer themselves so there was no forced competition ?

Reply

tengeta
on February 18, 2009
5:18 PM
There is plenty of competition, its the consumers fault they don't leave the Windows their machine comes with not Microsoft's. Would you want your car to come with no engine so you can choose a competitors engine over the manufacturers choice? How about a house with no walls or roof, because you might choose another construction companies method instead? People act like what Microsoft does is unheard of, and its how business has been getting done for LONG before they came around. Even Apple was like that until the 80's, their stances on things have changed significantly since they started the "Lets bash the company that we used to smash in sales". They did it with IBM, and now Microsoft is their target.The extra 100-200 bucks a version of Windows may bloat your PC's price by is still NOWHERE close to what Apple does with their "certified to work on Apple hardware" bs.

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jawjammer
on February 20, 2009
4:44 PM
Do you think that apple could use the argument that they have the license agreement readily available on the apple webpage therefore making it not a EULA that you only can agree to after the purchase? That way making that german law not apply to this situation and the Clone maker SOL in court.That's an honest question, I am wondering if they could actually use that as an argument

Reply

Grimrocker
on March 5, 2009
12:51 PM
I guess in many ways, apple had it coming...

Reply

burty117
on March 11, 2009
9:15 AM
I hope apple do defend there OS, They created it for there own computers specifically. so why should other companies steal it? Microsoft actually sells there software to computer makers as apple create the OS for just there computers. I don't see what anyone has against apples for doing that. I am not an apple fan I owned an ipod a fews years back is as close i've got to an apple product. I personally see no reason why Apple should be forced to give there OS away to other manufacturers.

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