On April 16, Gizmodo published an article reporting that Psystar Corporation was a hoax! So it's rather ironic that one of the first people in the world to be delivered the Commercial Hackint0sh Open Computer is Gizmodo member Patrick, username: WhiskeyFrown. According to Patrick, who ordered his Open Computer on April 10:

"I used this machine all day today at work without a hiccup. So far everything is working perfectly (something I can't say about my G5 it's replacing) Photoshop, Firefox, VMware Fusion (I know…ironic) as well as the OS itself all performed as expected"

Patrick's Open Computer configuration consists of an Intel Core2Duo at 2.66 GHz, 4 GB of DDR2 RAM, and a GeForce 8600 GT; the machine is reputed to score 3585 on Geekbench. Patrick claims that Psystar's customer service was very good, giving him 3 phone calls to:

1. to let me know it had shipped.
2. to let me know UPS got it here a day early and it was on the truck for delivery.
3. to follow up and make sure I got everything and was happy with the machine.

Patrick's video has made frontpage on Gizmodo, proving that Psystar has delivered, if only one, Open Computer out into the world.

InsanelyMac users, have you ordered an Open Computer from Psystar Corporation? Do you believe 3rd parties should be able to commercialize the work of Hackint0sh and the OSx86 Project?

Sources: theINQUIRER, SlashGear, Gizmodo

Update: Gizmodo has a gallery of images depicting the Open Computer, including an view of the internals.

In addition, InsanelyMac member Stravaganza has created a list of what he concludes to be the components used in this build of the Open Computer, along with evidence to support his claims and a price estimate based on NewEgg.com inventory:

Okay, so I did some research and here it comes. The machine shown in Gizmodo seems to consist of the following components (my best guess). Refer this video if needed.

• Case ASUS TM-250 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811173013
  No argument.
• Motherboard Gigabyte G31M-S2L http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813128078
  It's a Gigabyte. It's a G31M-S2L with BIOS version F3 (video, 0:47 left). If you think that since this is an Open Computer, it should have an Intel GMA 950 onboard, then watch the video carefully when the time is 1:31 left. The video cable came out of the PCIe slot location, not the back panel. The machine has its own video card, which means it doesn't need to depend on onboard video.
• Processor Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115029
  Psystar offers either E4500 or E6750. The video shows E6750 when the time is 0:47 left.
• Video eVGA 512-P2-N756-TR http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814130292
  While Psystar video card upgrade option is nVidia 8600GT 256MB, this picture shows 512MB, which was the biggest mystery to me. I know it's an eVGA. It turns out that there's an eVGA 8600GT with DDR2 512MB, which is cheaper than an eVGA 8600GT with DDR3 256MB. If you look at this and this pictures, you don't see SLI interface at the top of the card. Take a look at the pictures of the linked video card. It doesn't have SLI interface at the top either. Yes, they don't give a rat's ass about "open anything"; they are in for money. Feckers.
• Hard Hitachi HDP725025GLA380 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822145211
  The video shows Hitachi HDP725025GLA380 at 0:43 left. The size is 250GB and its S.M.A.R.T. capability is disabled (video, 0:41 left).
• Optical Lite-On LH-20A1L-05 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16827106073
  It's LH-20A1L (video, 0:43 left). It's either LH-20A1L-05 or LH-20A1L-06.
• Memory GeIL GX24GB6400DCKA http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820144064
  (This is the only pure guess work.) It's 2x 2GB because the memory posts 4GB (video, 0:47 left) and because this picture shows the motherboard has only two banks filled with two memory module with silver heat speader. The linked memory module is 2x 2GB with silver heat spreader.
• Leopard Mac OS X 10.5 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16832110033
  This is a Mac OS X retail DVD package.

So:
Case: $69.83 = ( $54.99 item + $14.84 shipping)
Motherbaord: $66.99 = ( $66.99 item + $0.00 shipping)
Processor: $179.99 = ($179.99 item + $0.00 shipping)
Video: $71.99 = ( $79.99 item + $7.00 shipping - $15.00 rebate)
Hard: $68.28 = ( $61.99 item + $6.29 shipping)
Optical: $29.99 = ( $29.99 item + $0.00 shipping)
Memory: $69.98 = ( $78.99 item + $5.99 shipping - $15.00 rebate)
Leopard: $109.99 = ($109.99 item + $0.00 shipping)
Total: $667.04 (v. $829.99 from Psystar)
The question is "where is FDD/HDD cables?"

I posted this earlier today. That thread's been deleted, I wonder why. May be because I didn't provide the source of where the article came from.

Here is the video: http://gizmodo.com/384526/exclusive-video-...tar-in-the-wild

Here's another video from Psystar! http://gizmodo.com/384526/exclusive-video-...tar-in-the-wild

I wonder what motherboard they're using. Anyone kmow? Couldnt find the info

http://forum.insanelymac.com/index.php?s=&...st&p=727383
Tell me what do you think. (At least it's Gigabyte microATX and uses G31 chipset.)
I still think it's Gigabyte G31M-S2L (my guess based on the booting screen of the video clip).
All in, , including my super-duper Hac Pro (lookie-lookie)

hmmmm

Okay, so I did some research and here it comes. The machine shown in Gizmodo seems to consist of the following components (my best guess). Refer this video if needed.

• Case ASUS TM-210
  No argument.
• Motherboard Gigabyte G31M-S2L
  It's a Gigabyte. It's a G31M-S2L with BIOS version F3 (video, 0:47 left). If you think that it should have Intel GMA 950 onboard (which is not on G31M-S2L) because this is an Open Computer, then watch the video carefully when the time is 1:31 left, or see this picture. The video cable came out of the PCIe slot location, not the back panel. The machine has its own video card, which means it doesn't need to depend on onboard video. If you are still not convinced, look at the layout of SATA ports where orange and red SATA cables come out. The layout is L shaped after rotating 90 degree counter-clockwise, which is quite unique for Gigabyte G31M-S2L.
• Processor Intel Core 2 Duo E6750
  Psystar offers either E4500 or E6750. The video shows E6750 when the time is 0:47 left.
• Video eVGA 512-P2-N756-TR
  While Psystar video card upgrade option is nVidia 8600GT 256MB, this picture shows 512MB, which was the biggest mystery to me. I know it's an eVGA. It turns out that there's an eVGA 8600GT with DDR2 512MB, which is cheaper than an eVGA 8600GT with DDR3 256MB. If you look at this and this pictures, you don't see SLI interface at the top of the card. Take a look at the pictures of the linked video card. It doesn't have SLI interface at the top either. Let me rephrase. They used a card using DDR2 512MB without SLI interface instead of one using DDR3 256MB with SLI interface because the former is cheaper. Yes, they don't give a rat's ass about "open anything"; they are in this for money. Feckers.
• Hard Hitachi HDP725025GLA380
  The video shows Hitachi HDP725025GLA380 at 0:43 left. The size is 250GB and its S.M.A.R.T. capability is disabled (video, 0:41 left).
• Optical Lite-On LH-20A1L-05
  It's LH-20A1L (video, 0:43 left). It's either LH-20A1L-05 or LH-20A1L-06.
• Memory GeIL GX24GB6400DCKA
  (This is the only pure guess work.) It's 2x 2GB because the memory posts 4GB (video, 0:47 left) and because this picture shows the motherboard has only two banks filled with two memory module with silver heat speader. The linked memory module is 2x 2GB with silver heat spreader.
• Leopard Mac OS X 10.5
  This is a Mac OS X retail DVD package.

So
The question is "where are FDD/HDD cables and one extra orange SATA cable, huh?"


e...Bay...?

Did anyone notice how loud the psu was?....... It sounded like a fighter jet was on that guy's dining room table! No big shock, the case is a cheapie....

What people don't understand is releasing OSX to run legally on generic hardware would destroy Apple completely, at least as long as they're in the hardware business. Think about it. How can Apple charge so much for hardware when PC equivalent hardware costs so much less? The answer is the operating system. And if they control what machines can run the OS, then they can do whatever they want within reason.

That said, yes, I'm running OSx86. But I understand it can break at any time and I don't expect it to run at 100%. Soon I'll be purchasing my first Mac and I'll do so confidently knowing all about it and how to use it. I know that's not everyone - probably most people who get this up and running won't buy real macs. But the reason this project has become so successful over the years is because of a dedicated community who volunteered their time to make this OS work.

No company should be profiting off of that work.

I think you're wrong on the motherboard, I think it's this cheap Asrock one. Check out a picture of the back, notice the odd ps/2 port configuration. Plus it has to be a 945 board of some sort since it comes with GMA950.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...82E16813157113R

Knowing Apple, I think they will pursue some type of legal action.

I do not like that this company is profiting off of this, that is not quite right. At least Hackintosh users aren't trying to make money off of it, they are simply doing it either to learn the OS or to see if they like it. Many Hackintosh owners end up buying Macs. This Psystar company is profiting off of the work of people in the OS X x86 community and also off of Apple's own work.

I also believe that this is a HUGE publicity stunt. They know they are gonna get in legal problems, but they see this as an opportunity for free advertising. A few weeks ago, no one knew who they were, today they are notorious. This could lead to them eventually becoming a large seller of Windows and Linux machines if Apple doesn't wipe them out of business completely.

Thanks for your opinion. I appreciate that. However do your research first. If you don't see GIGABYTE written on CD at the left upper corner, watch the video clip from Gizmodo. When the machine boots up, read the third line from the top (when the clip has 1 minute and 31 seconds left). If you don't see G31M-S2L F3 (F3 is BIOS version), well then maybe you are right. Then read this. This guy chose the video card upgrade option. The motherboard doesn't have to have Intel GMA 950.

I don't think that these people should be doing this, I want to build my own Hackintosh for just the thrill of building a computer and exploring the OS. I think the whole thrill of having a Hackintosh is the fact that it is your own note some store bought PC. I think that they should stop, I mean anyone could just build a computer and install OS X on it and sell it. they've taken all the OSx86 communities hard work and turned it into a company.

I don't like it at all.

Look at how linux destroyed unix. Competition is always good. Unless you're the one losing. As for companies that profit of other's work. Well how about RedHat.

I think they are only doing it to get some advertising in and get some news footage. But maybe if they go to trial they can change the laws. Who knows =]



-MacX

I own 2 Apple Computers, both with Core 2 Duo's, one is a laptop the other is the macmini... then I also own a windows vista laptop loaded with OSX... guess which one I use the most.. my Hackintosh because it is actually built better (even if it does not look better), has a screen that no macbook can match and I even have HDMI out (as well as VGA) and no macbook has HDMI out. Now if my ExpressCard and memory card reader would work it'd really be something.

Also upgrading my DVD drive to blu-ray is not going to cost me as much of an arm and a leg as what Apple would charge for the same upgrade.

Releasing OS X to clones would not destroy Mac sales, let alone Apple completely:

(1) Apple makes great laptops. Most Mac laptop users would still buy them from Apple even if they could get full OS X support on Sony, Dell or Toshiba.

(2) Apple's Mac Mini and iMac are clearly unique, niche products. There is little or no competition in these forms, people who actually want these types of computers would still get them from Apple.

(3) The Mac Pro is a good deal when compared with similar dual-socket workstations and a much nicer machine. Apple would only lose those people who want OS X getting forced to buy professional grade workstation when only need a regular mid-tower computer.

(4) People are much more likely to buy Macs after they use OS X. If OS X were released for general use, more people would use OS X and hence more people would be interested in buying Macs.

Therefore, although I think that unleashing OS X from Apple hardware might cause Mac sales to take a hit initially, it would be relatively minor. Furthermore, the hit could be largely offset by Apple offering something like a regular mid-tower computer. Moreover, Mac sales could be significantly boosted in the long term as the number of OS X users multiplied. The idea that releasing OS X would destroy Apple is absurd because iPods/iPhone and iTunes Music Store sales account for about half of Apple's revenue now. These non-Mac income sources of Apple obviously would not suffer from the general release of OS X. Finally, it does not require skills in rocket science or brain surgery to figure out that there is much more money to be made in selling OS X than Macs. Microsoft proved this with Windows a long time ago.

So true. If that was my system I would have hammered it to death before that movie ended. Was just so annoying But honestly, how could they sell such rubbish.

bofors has some good points showing how OS X being compatible on PCs won't destroy apple and in fact will generate more interest and will create more revenue. I was thinking why not then consider releasing a Lite OS X version which is PC compatible. I'm not exactly sure what the lite version would be missing but sounds like an idea to me.

ON the PSU, a good PSU means a long smooth life...I spent an extra $50 for a great PSU. and I knew very little about PC hardware at the time, but really all my friends' Dells and HP's and so on have suffered from fryed MOBO's etcc...due to a bad PSU

Thank you very much sir, your post will be added to FPN because I concur with the conclusions you have garnered from the evidence provided!

Psystar install ORIGINAL MAC OSX LEOPARD without any modifications? How they do it? Just insert retail OSX leopard on psystar dvd and it will be instaled?

sorry english.

You are very welcome, sir.

No, they likely include the Retail DVD of Leopard as a sad attempt to make it seem like they aren't breaking any laws. Well, it doesn't take a genius to realize the truth behind that. Selling a retail version with a hacked version (which is the one actually being used in these systems) does not clear Psystar legally. The fact of the matter is: they are not allowed to sell a hacked version to you. Period. In fact, I wonder if they're even legally entitled to sell the shrink-wrapped Retail version to you. Wouldn't they have to be licensed Apple retailers in order to do that legally? I HIGHLY doubt that Apple would give them the go ahead, considering the kind of business they're conducting. I'll add myself to the list of folks who think Psystar is going down soon, and boy, do they deserve it! Anyone who thinks they're going to get more publicity and business after a lawsuit is only half right. Publicity - yes; Business - no. After a legal battle with Apple, I'd be surprised if they so much as TOUCH another computer ever again, let alone build one for someone else. Besides, their business is solely based on the premise that they're giving you a hacked version of Leopard that runs OOTB. If they're not allowed to do that anymore, then all they'll be is a company that sells "Hackintosh Ready" computers. Well, buying a hackintosh ready computer is not the hard part. The hard part is getting Leopard to run properly on it. That is what InsanelyMac and other places are for, and if anything, InsanelyMac would get more popular if Psystar was limited to selling "Hackintosh Ready" computers. So I guess there's no light at the end of Psystar's tunnel after all. Bastards. If they frequent these boards as much as they say they do, then I'd like to give them a little parting gift for their troubles:

No, they modify the original to make it run on Open Computers.I agree with you on almost everything except two things. Psystar didn't violate any law by installing single copy of Leopard Mac OS X to multiple machines. They are, however, in violation of Apple Mac OS X EULA. I believe that once challenged in court, Psystar will lose for this one. (But I am not sure about Apple's winning on "installing Mac OS X on one Apple-labeled computer" thing in their EULA.) The other thing is I think it's not illegal to sell Mac OS X without retailer license from Apple. At most, Psystar may be in violation of Apple's retailer/distributor agreement or something. (Then again, it's not a law but need to be tested in court if Apple wants to stop Psystar selling Leopard.)

My thought exactly! I don't know much about law but it make sense.

On the other hand I beleive its possible that apple is revising its strategy. Microsoft has a much larger share of the market, and these events (insalymac and psystar) show the potential of osx becoming widely available on pcs. They could get a bigger share of the market. Some of you guys might even get a job since you've cracked it.

So they could be waiting to see how well is psystar doing. Dell alone sells a lot more units than macs now imagine if those brands were packing osx for general public. I don't see it yet becoming a server platform standart but at least it can be taken on board by general public, especially since vista is a total flop.

Buiding hardware doesn't come cheap they surely make more money out of the software just like microsoft did.

So I woulds take it easy, Psystar is adventurous but they have the balls or maybe just enough knowledge to predict what could be the future of apple.

Here is the video: http://gizmodo.com/384526/exclusive-video-...tar-in-the-wild

Here's another video from Psystar! http://gizmodo.com/384526/exclusive-video-...tar-in-the-wild

What is this?

the INQUIRER

"The only way to update the system is by some reasonably complex command-line jiggery pokery developed by the OSX86 community (which has its collective panties in a bunch about Psystar nicking its code without premission)

I totally agree with that, but in my perception they are waiting to reach a market share quota that make this more comfortable. The market is facing a major recession and Apple is like selling never, so why bother with that now, right?

I still feel like those provocations on Vista during the Leopard's presentation were more than a revenge for the past; Steve probably has a plan about it and we will see the day when Mac OS X will be released to our gray boxes. He can't be that blind. It's only a matter of timing, I think.

Stravaganza .... Dude You Forgot about Labor Costs in Your Quote .....

I think the real question now is this:

Why does Apple appear to be tolerating Psystar?

Apple should have acted as quickly as possible to shut Psystar down. Apple could have easily filed a lawsuit last week, but apparently choose not to. The legal case is very straight forward: DMCA and EULA violations. These are legal issues that Apple's lawyers should already be experts in, so it is not like they really more than a day or so to write their lawsuit. Furthermore, Apple could have foreseen the commercialization of OSx86 with the release of Leopard and had a plan to deal with it. At a bare minimum, Apple should have made a statement to the effect that it would not tolerate violations of their EULA. Instead, Apple has repeatedly made "no comment" on the Psystar matter. This only encourages others to do it.

What is going on?

Actually I didn't forget. I knew that I need to add the labor fee, but I still don't know how much my labor fee for building a hackintosh is. So I decided not to include it to show how much Psystar charges on their part: $162.95 (or $132.95 without considering rebates) for labor fee (all of it) because they don't pay loyalty or license fee to anyone. Not so bad for 60 minute job (20 minute to build a machine, 25 minutes to install and patch, 10 minutes for packing and shipping, and 5 minutes for a ciggy).

maybe apple owns Psystar?

apple ordered their own openpcpro from psystar and they are waitin' for it to arrive first. then they can present that as evidence in a trial (i betcha that they even keep the box to show that it was shipped from the psystar's business address).


psystar could have ordered the parts from a wholesaler like ingram micro
http://www.ingrammicro.com
and paid less money for the parts, ingram micro has cheaper prices than newegg (but you need to be a business/reseller in order to buy from them.

http://www.ingrammicro.com/us/0,,15176_151...8_15246,00.html

but i seriously doubt that psystar paid the $100 so that they could buy computer parts from ingram micro at wholesale prices. but if they did then our calcualations for their profit margin off of the parts will be too low (i betcha they used newegg anyways).

Well... if memory serves, Linus Torvalds received a handsome amount of stock options from Red Hat after they really took off. I don't recall how much exactly - I think a few million $ - anyway he can very comfortably retire on it. That is proper business.

Nicking ideas for commercial purposes without paying anything to the originators and (that's the point) developing complacency around it or even condoning it, will pave the way to a breeding ground for even more white collar thugs and ultimately a 'mobcracy'.

Not exactly a flattering reference for countries that love calling themselves 'civilised' before all others.

Apart from that it might potentially lead to a certain demotivation and reluctance to releasing innovation among bright and creative heads who lack the necessary capital and/or legal backing.

The belief that infringing author's rights solely for selfish commercial purposes incites innovation is a shortsighted 'quick-buck-thinking' fallacy.

Psystar is retarded. Its as simple as that. Psytar Stealing code from Netkas, and doing all that sought of stuff, just tells Apple that its time to act and expand their Mac OS X for mainstream users that use a PC.

hi everyone...

you said that the mainboard is GA G31M-S2L

there is a problem with sound card (realtek alc 662) only output......or output with line-in and mic.....but then can't control master volume bar.....it's grey out...

so it's not 100% perfect.!!!

i've got this mainboard.......

Torvalds is not the only developer of the linux kernel did he pay those who helped out?

lol Yeah, that's how they report the news...or non-news for that matter. XD

I was thinking "dustbuster". It reminded me of the athlon pc I put together years ago... man that thing was loud! I got used to it because I need noise to sleep after growing up living next to an airport.

You get what you pay for. I'm glad my hackintosh is quiet; it's quieter than the powermac it replaced.

I wonder how many here remember what Compaq did in the early 80's?

Thanks to Compaq reverse engineering the original pc bios, we are able to get clones and whatnot.

It would be funny if we only had 2 choices for personal computers, Apple and IBM.

Man, no computer would be cheaper than US$ 4K.

I agree, Psystar is using and profiting from someone else effort, but perhaps, will show Apple that the days of locked hardware are over and that Apple is missing a great chance to make more money and market share, since Vista is making MS vulnerable.

but sadly, we are in interesting times, nothing bad can be said about Apple before Job's unpaid mob lynches you.

*runs for cover*

does anybody know which hacked leopard disc they are using?

that is red hat's/torvalds' business whether he paid others or not. where do you draw the line???

*starts to download linux with the hopes of figurin' out how to add/debug/modify/"add your tech lingo" here so that i can be one of the people to receive a future royalty payment from red hat/torvald/any other company that sells linux 'cause i have now contributed to the development of linux*

hey, at least red hat has made some attempts to pay somebody, psystar hasn't contributed any monies to any developers, which red hat has done.

and i know nothin' about linux, i've only been on linux once (it was my friend's laptop and if i remember correctly he was runnin' red hat, lol). i have no computer/software programmer skill (this is why i stick to music, buildin' pc's...) so i won't google linux 'cause i have no plans on installin' linux on my pc (the music production programs that i use only work on windows/os x anyways) so i am basin' my post on solaar's post.

Bah, Apple makes so much money with iPods/iTunes that they could retail OSX with support for Intel CPUs, NV cards and the various Intel HDA chips with no losses whatsoever.

Their computers are so much overpriced it's not even funny. I bought me a HP Pavilion dv9450eb, works just as well as any MacBookPro, for about a third of the price.

Apple should think about this things, to legalize hackintosh.

If I copy paste some sentences from your reactions here, we could say the future will tell. Who could have imagine that one day Apple will announce to have been testing Intel CPU from years ? Maybe there is a secret lab in Copertino where some IT pro's are testing the Hackintosh ?

Am I drunk or crazy ?



I agree, Psystar is using and profiting from someone else effort, but perhaps, will show Apple that the days of locked hardware are over and that Apple is missing a great chance to make more money and market share, since Vista is making MS vulnerable.

Psystar is retarded. Its as simple as that. Psytar Stealing code from Netkas, and doing all that sought of stuff, just tells Apple that its time to act and expand their Mac OS X for mainstream users that use a PC.

Lord Orville Pot... maybe apple owns Psystar?

Im not sure that it was the PSU, it seemed to quiet down near the end of the video.

wasn't netkas EFI code based on GPL'ed code apple released though, if so then code made from that would also be gpl'ed.

i am not Psy... fan but i don think thay stole netkas Code. Netkas did not write PC EFI by himself, it is an effort of many users. Second, netkas has not made his EULA or his statemant until, he saw that he could earn some money.
I respect his work, he continue to lead OSX86, but all OSX86 work has been made by entire community, not just Netkas.

We all made same sort of effort contributing to all this what we have acchived.
Esspacialy Maxxuss

I think Apple should legalize OSX on PC, it is possible, And he could earn some monney.

Sorry for English.

You heard the pitch? Sounded like a really loud CPU cooler to me. PSU and case fans don't run that kind of rpm. They probably bought those cheap and loud Nexus or Dynatron garbage. You can be sure they're not using Intel coolers because they're buying big lots of OEMs, so they are using something really cheap and sh*tty.

I hope Psystar wins the possible case which Apple may or may not bring to the table. If Psystar wins I could buy one of their awesome computers and finally be able to experience "the apple experience" and not have to put up with defragging my hardrive, worrying about viruses, etc...

Netkas doesn't even own EFI all of the work put into OSX 86 isn't copyrighted its all open source code so Psystar owns now credit to anyone except the Insanely Mac Community. So people please hope they win because people like me who want to try OSX can do that and enjoy it. Although I would most likely not buy a imac or any mac computer(80% mark up+loyalties+tax= me not wanting to buy a mac for many reasons).

vaporATX,

After having seen your signature, I would like to ask where you bought your Aqua NBridge cooler and is it NSB-4a ? I had locate one dealer in NL (I am from Belgium), but the link is dead and another dealer in Nl is out of stock.