Recent Comments:
Apple's Steve Jobs calls Blu-ray "a bag of hurt" {Engadget}
Oct 21st 2008 10:38PM @SSPA
So you actually see Steve Jobs, regularly, in the "Palo Alto Sony Style store buying blu-ray players and Discs. Asking if and when the new Sony Blu-Ray players are coming out."
Do you mean that literally?
DisplayPort and HDMI square off in uber-thorough comparison {Engadget HD}
Oct 21st 2008 10:19PM I've read the excellent EDN article, and as someone with an electronics degree since 1976, and who has followed the development of interfaces ever since, it's obvious to me that DisplayPort will replace HDMI at some point in the next few years. It's cheaper, more capable, more expandable, requires fewer wires, smaller connectors, etc.--it's all the stuff that manufacturers like.
Psystar says it's shipping Open Computers, anyone get a tracking number? {Engadget}
Apr 22nd 2008 11:31PM "Apple is also concerned about creating an OS that has unparalleled stability"
I've been a Mac user and technician since 1985, so I can say Apple is concerned about that, but often doesn't back up that concern with enough work to make it happen as much as they could. Any of the Mac troubleshooting web sites can confirm that. Same goes for the hardware.
Psystar says it's shipping Open Computers, anyone get a tracking number? {Engadget}
Apr 22nd 2008 11:28PM Sorry about the double post.
Psystar says it's shipping Open Computers, anyone get a tracking number? {Engadget}
Apr 22nd 2008 11:28PM Sorry about the double post.
Psystar says it's shipping Open Computers, anyone get a tracking number? {Engadget}
Apr 22nd 2008 11:16PM I forgot to add: Apple, so far, won't provide OS X tech support for people with Open Computers--when you call Apple for tech support, they ask for your Mac's serial number, and when you tell them you don't have a Mac, I doubt they'll be willing to help, even if you're willing to pay the $49 per trouble incident. This won't be a problem for people who can provide their own OS X tech support, but for the average Mac user who at least wants to retain the option of support from Apple, that may not be available. Some people feel that if Apple takes Psystar to court, that may be one issue that may be decided not in Apple's favor, since some people say that if you sell an OS, even if the EULA says installing it on another computer violates the EULA, that you still have to provide tech support, but we'll see.
Psystar says it's shipping Open Computers, anyone get a tracking number? {Engadget}
Apr 22nd 2008 11:11PM Just to pick a less-than-fine point, for the benefit of people not familiar with the OSx86 project, but Psystar isn't selling Mac clones--they're selling PCs for which they claim they've carefully hand-picked hardware that works better as a Hackintosh than some other PCs, but we'll see how good they are at that. Then they install Netkas' PC_EFI firmware emulator, which allows the installation of Leopard (Psystar says they haven't tested earlier versions of OS X), and then give you the option to either have Psystar install Leopard on top of that, or let you do it, using your own commercial copy of Leopard (the copy that came with your Mac won't install, since it's model-specific), for about $155 less than Psystar would charge for the convenience (if you have them install Leopard, you have to buy Leopard from them). This is what's usually known as a Hackintosh. Clones are supposed to work just like the originals, but Hackintoshs are known not to work exactly like Macs under all circumstances, particularly for OS updates, for which you often need to wait until a patch is released by the OSX86 community before you can install it.
Psystar's Open Computers also don't have built-in Firewire ports, wireless, or Bluetooth--these cost extra. Firewire is gotten by installing a PCI slot Firewire card, but that immediately takes up a PCI slot that some users (though not most) might have wanted to use for something else. Wireless and Bluetooth can be gotten by plugging in USB or Ethernet adapters, saving PCI slots, and that generally works well without needing extra drivers, but we'll see how well that works with Open Computers. Psystar says they'll soon be offering a wireless card as an option, but without info to the contrary, that may take up another PCI slot.
As for the desirability of having a non-Mac tower from Psystar, in hopes of upgrading it with hardware you buy (not easy or possible with the comparably-priced Apple product, the Mac mini), that should be fine, but for the average person who can't provide their own tech support, be prepared to rely on tech support from the vendors of the parts you install, and not Psystar, who says:
"Psystar will offer approved upgrades to the computers at a future date. At this time any upgrades not purchased through Psystar may cause problems with your operating system. We only support the original configuration of this system."
I'd also like to know the maximum amount of RAM that can be installed--their online specs page doesn't say. The basic Open Computer has only two RAM sockets, and comes with two gig of RAM standard (presumably two one-gig RAM boards). Can those sockets support four-gig RAM boards, or eight-gig RAM boards, for people who need it? The lack of basic info like this, and a lot more, on the Psystar web site, is one thing has me wondering about their preparedness in other ways. But maybe, if they get enough orders coming in from the first curious buyers, proving people are interested, they'll clean up their act.
I suggest potential buyers visit the Psystar web site and read all the FAQs posted there. From the comments posted to a lot of blogs, it seems that few people are doing this, and I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people pulling out their credit cards haven't done that either. These and other issues may make a Hackintosh not the right choice for the average, non-technoid user, but may be fine for a subset of more technically-capable users. The extra knowledge required isn't much, and if things go right, you don't need much more knowledge than the basic Hackintosh knowledge, but most people aren't interested in spending extra time learning or doing anything extra just to get their computer to run like any other Mac, so if you're someone who just wants a computer that runs OS X with as few hassles, extra work, etc. as possible (sometimes the extra hassle for real Mac users is enough extra work), a Hackintosh may not be the right choice, at least not quite yet.
DoD establishes institute tasked with regrowing body parts {Engadget}
Apr 22nd 2008 11:10PM That's right--throw soldiers onto the battlefield where they get ground up (especially when you're dealing with an army or an administration too cheap or uncaring to spring for adequate armor), patch them up, then throw them right back onto the battlefield with their new parts installed. Like you'd do with a robot. I wonder if the DoD will require soldiers to go for another tour of duty if they want to have their broken parts replaced by DoD doctors?
Psystar says it's shipping Open Computers, anyone get a tracking number? {Engadget}
Apr 22nd 2008 10:51PM Just to pick a less-than-fine point, for the benefit of people not familiar with the OSx86 project, but Psystar isn't selling Mac clones--they're selling PCs for which they claim they've carefully hand-picked hardware that works better as a Hackintosh than some other PCs, but we'll see how good they are at that. Then they install Netkas' PC_EFI firmware emulator, which allows the installation of Leopard (Psystar says they haven't tested earlier versions of OS X), and then give you the option to either have Psystar install Leopard on top of that, or let you do it, using your own commercial copy of Leopard (the copy that came with your Mac won't install, since it's model-specific), for about $155 less than Psystar would charge for the convenience (if you have them install Leopard, you have to buy Leopard from them). This is what's usually known as a Hackintosh. Clones are supposed to work just like the originals, but Hackintoshs are known not to work exactly like Macs under all circumstances, particularly for OS updates, for which you often need to wait until a patch is released by the OSX86 community before you can install it.
Psystar's Open Computers also don't have built-in Firewire ports, wireless, or Bluetooth--these cost extra. Firewire is gotten by installing a PCI slot Firewire card, but that immediately takes up a PCI slot that some users (though not most) might have wanted to use for something else. Wireless and Bluetooth can be gotten by plugging in USB or Ethernet adapters, saving PCI slots, and that generally works well without needing extra drivers, but we'll see how well that works with Open Computers. Psystar says they'll soon be offering a wireless card as an option, but without info to the contrary, that may take up another PCI slot.
As for the desirability of having a non-Mac tower from Psystar, in hopes of upgrading it with hardware you buy (not easy or possible with the comparably-priced Apple product, the Mac mini), that should be fine, but for the average person who can't provide their own tech support, be prepared to rely on tech support from the vendors of the parts you install, and not Psystar, who says:
"Psystar will offer approved upgrades to the computers at a future date. At this time any upgrades not purchased through Psystar may cause problems with your operating system. We only support the original configuration of this system."
I'd also like to know the maximum amount of RAM that can be installed--their online specs page doesn't say. The basic Open Computer has only two RAM sockets, and comes with two gig of RAM standard (presumably two one-gig RAM boards). Can those sockets support four-gig RAM boards, or eight-gig RAM boards, for people who need it? The lack of basic info like this, and a lot more, on the Psystar web site, is one thing has me wondering about their preparedness in other ways. But maybe, if they get enough orders coming in from the first curious buyers, proving people are interested, they'll clean up their act.
I suggest potential buyers visit the Psystar web site and read all the FAQs posted there. From the comments posted to a lot of blogs, it seems that few people are doing this, and I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people pulling out their credit cards haven't done that either. These and other issues may make a Hackintosh not the right choice for the average, non-technoid user, but may be fine for a subset of more technically-capable users. The extra knowledge required isn't much, and if things go right, you don't need much more knowledge than the basic Hackintosh knowledge, but most people aren't interested in spending extra time learning or doing anything extra just to get their computer to run like any other Mac, so if you're someone who just wants a computer that runs OS X with as few hassles, extra work, etc. as possible (sometimes the extra hassle for real Mac users is enough extra work), a Hackintosh may not be the right choice, at least not quite yet.
Former LG employee leaks $1b in top secret plasma info to Chinese manufacturer {Engadget HD}
Mar 6th 2008 1:55AM UK->US->Japan->Taiwan->Korea->China
Who's next in that roughly east to west geographic line--India? Then the various "stans" west of India? Russia and/or its former republics?
Then all the way back around to the UK.
