Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2009/05/22/russianmac_osx_netbook/
Russians offer hackintosh netbook
Desktops, laptops too, tovarisch
Posted in Personal Tech, 22nd May 2009 10:53 GMT
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. ®