Mac Clone

I can’t believe this but it’s true and perfect for me.

Personal technology enthusiasts yearning for the Mac Experience without the Apple Tax—that huge markup that Mac users pay for off-the-shelf PC hardware with OS X—your days of gnashing teeth may be over. Psystar, a plucky little company from Miami, Florida is, for the moment, selling OpenMac, a Mac clone with Leopard pre-installed for $554. You also get:

* 2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU
* 250 GB Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
* 2 GB DDR2 667 RAM
* Intel GMA 950 integrated graphics
* DVD+/-R Optical Drive
* 4 USB ports

For another $110, you can get an NVIDIA GeForce 8600GT, and for another $50, you can get FireWire too. Even without that, this price seems a little high compared to other OEM PCs sold by mom and pop. I guess we could call the overhead the Apple Legal Defense Fund Tax, because the EULA (PDF) for Leopard makes the legality of this computer seem dubious.