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iBox Episode 2

Posted by timothy on from the bits-is-bits dept.

coolgeek writes "According to this article on Wired, the iBox (original SlashDot post), later renamed to the CoreBox, has run into some trouble. Their strategy is to clone Mac computers using spare parts from repair centers. Evidently, the supplier of the repair parts was reminded by Apple Computer's Legal Department that supplying to a computer manufacturer was a breach of contract. Consequently, the supplier has chosen to stop supplying parts. More information on at the CoreComputing website, and they say the game isn't over yet..."

4 of 441 comments (clear)

  1. "Actively searching for new suppliers"? by Phroggy · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I was under the impression that every Apple-authorized repair center had a similar contract with Apple, which is why I didn't put too much stock in the original story (I expected this to happen - similar things have been tried before). Where are they going to find reliable suppliers who are not authorized by Apple?

    I remember that one of the CPU upgrade makers had a deal where they'd send you a new CPU and daughtercard, and give you a major discount if you sent in your old daughtercard (so they could swap CPUs and resell it, since they had no other way to obtain the daughtercards the CPUs were soldered to). I don't think that strategy would really work in this case.

    --
    $x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
    $x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
  2. 'Home Repair' by sbszine · · Score: 4, Interesting

    the supplier of the repair parts was reminded by Apple Computer's Legal Department that supplying to a computer manufacturer was a breach of contract

    I wonder if it's okay to supply parts to a (non-business) individual, for 'DIY home repair'? Could be a good way to put together an OS X box on the cheap.

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    Vino, gyno, and techno -Bruce Sterling

    1. Re:'Home Repair' by halo1982 · · Score: 3, Interesting
      And Apple is far from the only company that does something like that. You think service parts purchased legitimately from a Chevrolet dealer will let you assemble your own Corvette for less than the normal price of a factory-built one? Hell, no!

      Someone in my highschool autoshop class priced out how much it would cost for him to build a complete new Mustang from scratch, down to every last part, from the Ford dealership. I think it ended up comming out to well over $100k

  3. Re:Underhanded? by MoneyT · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Because when you reverse engineer the BIOS and write your own, you're not using the original IBM parts anymore. THis person was using original Apple parts.

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    T Money
    World Domination with a plastic spoon since 1984