Russians offer hackintosh netbook
Desktops, laptops too, tovarisch
Want an Asus Eee PC 1000H to run Mac OS X? New Russian hackintosh supplier RussianMac is now offering just that.
It's not clear whether the Atom-based netbook - or, indeed, any of the other desktop and mobile systems RussianMac is offering - comes with the Apple operating system pre-installed or you have to do it yourself, from a legit, boxed copy of the OS, using a supplied utility.
Either way, RussianMac claims the install will be proof against Apple software updates, which usually break regular hackintosh installations.
Says the company: "We have designed and implemented a special method to make the computers fully compatible with Mac OS X." The company guarantees that all the components - Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, video, webcam etc - will work and that the OS will be stable.
RussianMac's Asus Eee-based hackintosh netbook
How it can make this guarantee, it's not saying. And it didn't mention that fact that Apple's Mac OS X End-User Licence Agreement - rightly or wrongly - forbids the installation of the operating system on hardware from anyone other than the Mac maker itself.
That's one reason why Apple's suing US-based hackintosh seller Psystar. It also claims Psystar has infringed its intellectual property rights. In return, Psystar alleges Apple is abusing its position in the market.
Will Apple take a pop at RussianMac? It's possible, but it will have a much harder time convincing a Russian court than it will one in the US.
RussianMac's website say the comapny wants €19,200 for the OS X-equipped, a price that only vaguely makes sense if the price is actually in Rubles rather than Euro, in which case it comes to £387/$613/€440.
The company only appears to be shipping to buyers in Russia. ®
COMMENTS
Google it
Google “19200 rur in gbp” and you'll get 388 quid. Price includes netbook with the abovementioned software installed.
Let me guess.
"How it can make this guarantee, it's not saying."
How about like this: "We're based in Russia. We can lie in our sales pitch and there's f*** all you can do about it. If you want to claim on our guarantee, our after-sales support guys Yuri and Leonid (who learned their people skills with Aquarium) will be happy to solve all your problems. Permanently."
<Knock Knock>
<Thump, pummel, batter>
Ah, right. The above is all highly speculative and merely a piss-poor attempt at humour of course. I'm sure that this is actually all completely above board and that they're a reliable company who would be a pleasure to do business with. In fact I'll be reviewing this astonishingly fine product soon.
Right after Yuri takes his foot off my neck in fact.
Naughty Russians
I am having a hard time understanding why anyone would want to run OSX on anything but a Mac, if you are going to go the effort of using different hardware, well use one of the free OSs.
If I was Russian, I would be building a Russian Based Operating System, celebrate Russian ingenuity and culture. Corner the Russian market, same with China they should just make their own, it is not that hard, if you have enough numbers you can go right from the bottom up, and that would break US hold very quickly around the world.
Uk company sells preinstalled OS X PCs too
See here, no need to go looking in Russia:
http://www.freedompc.co.uk/
I would choose the Mandriva version over OS X anytime...
Corrected
The site has since been corrected to show 28,000 rubles. This is going to be interesting as Apple should really weigh the cost of fighting what is going to be a losing battle in Russia with this lot. If I were them I'd just let it go since assuming they are legit they aren't selling to anyone outside Russia and if they aren't legit they will be shut down in short order after having scammed enough people.
BTW the screens for X-Pup make it look close to OS X but not nearly close enough to really fool anyone.
