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Power Computing all over again…Psystar out-features Apple desktops

Avatar for 9to5 Staff Oct 28 2008

Upstart, questionably legal, Psystar is now shipping Mac clones with built-in Blu-ray and NVIDIA 9800GT graphics cards.  For those of us with some gray hairs, this might bring back the memory of Power Computing, the Texas-based original Mac clone maker that vexed Apple over and over again back in the 1990’s by releasing computers that out-specced Apple’s own. 

Power Computing was also able to utilize technologies like VGA connectors and off the shelf power supplies and cases to sell lower prices than Apple’s own computers.  At the same time, they were also able to get the fastest PowerPC chips into the machines months ahead of Apple’s.   Therefore, their machines constantly out-performed Apple’s and cost less.

The company never realized their full potential.  Unfortunately, they were really a victim of their own success.  The conventional wisdom at the time was that half of Power’s customers were new to the Mac platform.   The downside of that is that the other half were cannibalizing Apple’s sales.  This obviously wasn’t sitting too well with Apple.  Was Apple’s hardware team to blame?  Was there too much bureaucracy at Apple to beat the streamlined Power Computing cloners?  Was Apple R&D not properly being accounted for in the licensing scheme?

Then Apple aquired NeXT to build the new MacOS…and we all know what happened..erm…next….

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Thoughts on Wireless Access – part 2

Avatar for 9to5 Staff Nov 4 2007
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Thoughts on Wireless Access

Avatar for 9to5 Staff Nov 4 2007

We were Inspired by Steve Wozniak’s comment the other day on Apple’s stance on SIM Locking vs. DRM locking.  We decided to do something about it.  What if we took Apple’s position on DRM for music and applied it to the SIM locking of the iPhone?  Does Apple stand up to its own scrutiny on the locking in of content and services?  For this experiment we did the following: 

  1. We took Steve Jobs Open Letter to the Music industry
  2. Copied it verbatim
  3. Did a Text Edit – Find/Replace on it using the following:
    cd -> Home Wifi
    iPod -> iPhone
    music -> wireless data
    iTunes -> AT&T
    MP3 -> GSM
    AAC -> EDGE
    leak -> hack
    DRM -> SIM lock
    copied -> used
    song -> phone
    Screen     Capture
  4. Then we cleaned it up and removed iTunes specific data.

Below you will find the results of this experiment.  Notice how just exchanging a few words turns everything around on Apple.

Apple Statement – Steve Jobs -February 6, 2007 9to5Mac Revised Apple Statment for use with iPhones
With the stunning global success of Apple’s iPod music player and iTunes online music store, some have called for Apple to “open” the digital rights management (DRM) system that Apple uses to protect its music against theft, so that music purchased from iTunes can be played on digital devices purchased from other companies, and protected music purchased from other online music stores can play on iPods. Let’s examine the current situation and how we got here, then look at three possible alternatives for the future. With the stunning success of Apple’s iPhone and AT&T wireless data service, some have called for Apple to “open” the SIM Lock system that Apple uses to protect its iPhone from obtaining data purchased from other online wireless data providors so that it can be used on iPhones. Let’s examine the current situation and how we got here, then look at three possible alternatives for the future.