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Mac Clone Maker Psystar Files For Bankruptcy

Posted by kdawson on from the taking-the-pressure-off dept.

StikyPad was one of several readers letting us know that Psystar has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. We've discussed the Mac clone maker's battles with Apple extensively. The company apparently has over $250,000US in debt, and states that it cannot turn a profit in the current economy. "The Chapter 11 filing will temporarily suspend Apple's copyright infringement suit against Psystar, which is currently before the US District Court of Northern California. But once the bankruptcy protection is sorted out, the copyright case will resume." And PC Mag is reporting that, on the other side of the Atlantic, two new clone companies are just getting started. Like PsyStar, FreedomPC and RussianMac promise to deliver PCs with OS X preloaded.

3 of 366 comments (clear)

  1. Re:$250 K ? Must be a typo by rsborg · · Score: 5, Interesting

    That must be a typo - could they mean $ 250 million USD ? Most companies would not choke on $ 250,000 worth of debt.

    Unless they wanted to choke... as stated earlier, an important side-effect of bankruptcy is the disruption of all outstanding litigation... Maybe Apple was getting too close to finding the money behind PsyStar?

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  2. Re:$250 K ? Must be a typo by rjhubs · · Score: 5, Interesting

    While I agree with the mods that the parent could definitely use some tact and probably deserves the moderation. The point raised is valid. The mystery money behind Psystar will be revealed in the bankruptcy hearings as anyone that has given Psystar money would be considered a creditor. As a creditor you have a vested interest in reclaiming as you can of Psystars remaining assets in court. Their identity can only remain secret if they decide not to reclaim any of their losses and not participate in the bankruptcy hearings. Also, GPs point is invalidated in the summary, whicg indicated Apple's lawsuit will resume one bankruptcy is over. So anything that was going to be revealed from that can still be revealed.

  3. Re:because OSX is good, Apple hardware not so much by nsayer · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I'm an Apple investor too, and I'm not so appalled.

    The differences between, say, the iMac and Mac Pro:

    1. > 4GB of RAM
    2. > 2 CPU cores, and they're faster
    3. PCIe slots
    4. 4 internal hard drives
    5. Up to 2 internal optical drives

    Now, I'm sure this is going to be controversial, but I'll pose the question anyway:

    What would you really want to use those PCIe slots for that you couldn't find reasonably equivalent functionality via USB or Firewire? Bonus points if there are mac drivers available.

    If the answer includes Gigabit Ethernet (note that we'd be talking about a *second* GigE port, since the iMac comes with one), Fiber Channel or RAID, then doesn't that imply that you'd be better served by either the Mac Pro or an XServe anyway?

    What else is on the list?

    SCSI? Really?

    Fusion powered 3d graphics card? Are gamers really clambering to run awesome 3D games under OS X?

    TV tuners and video capture? There are plenty of those for USB, FW or Ethernet.

    What I'm saying is that the "mid tower" you describe *likely* doesn't differ significantly from the iMac except for not having a built-in display, those PCIe slots and extra optical and internal drive bays - and in the case of the optical and/or hard drive bays, FW800 is an alternative. And I am honestly struggling to think of why those PCIe slots are missed.