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$399 Mac Clone Most Likely a Hoax

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the too-good-to-be-true-usually-is dept.

timholman writes "According to Gizmodo, an investigation has shown that the $399 OpenMac is almost certainly vaporware, as is Psystar itself. The company's address has actually changed twice this week, according to its web page, and Psystar is no longer accepting credit card transactions. Too bad for those who may have already ordered an OpenMac."

3 of 233 comments (clear)

  1. Vaporware? Hoax? by 26199 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If they've been accepting orders (and credit card numbers) for a product that doesn't exist -- isn't that called fraud?

    I know there can be concern about legal implications in making such statements... but surely the way to protect yourself is to make only statements backed up by evidence? Being vague is certainly not a way to sidestep libel laws...

  2. It's All An Apple Plot by Nom+du+Keyboard · · Score: 5, Insightful
    It's all a nefarious plot by Apple to discredit the very idea of clones running OS-X. Who would ever trust one again after this?

    As far as paying by credit card goes, you're likely protected by your card company against fraud so you shouldn't be too concerned there.

    --
    "It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
  3. Will it exist in 30 days by Ungrounded+Lightning · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If they've been accepting orders (and credit card numbers) for a product that doesn't exist -- isn't that called fraud?

    Only if they can't create and deliver it within 30(?) days and don't contact the people who ordered it within that time, notifying them of the delay and refunding the money of those who don't consent to the extension.

    Back in the early days of home computing a number of companies started up by selling vaporware, collecting the money, and using it to fund the development. (I don't recall if Apple was one of the companies that started up that way. But Woz and Jobs were pretty hard up for cash back at the start.)

    The FTC tightened up after some con men calling themselves "World Memory Systems" took a picture of a few chips sitting on an unstuffed PC board, ran an ad claiming it was a new peripheral board providing four serial and one parallel port for Altair/Imsai home computers (with a name, 4S+P, similar to another popular product, 4P+S), and pulled a major fraud.

    --
    Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way