Hackintosher aims 'blazin' guns' at Apple

Psystar calls in 'the cavalry'

Psystar, the pesky Hackintosher that has been giving Apple fits for well over a year, has switched legal representation and is preparing to go to trial with, as the company puts it, "guns blazin'".

In a posting on the Florida company's newly launched Psystar Community blog entitled, "In comes the cavalry", the Hackintosher sets the mood in its first line: "Psystar has always been more a Cowboy than a Hippie."

The post then announces that Psystar has dumped its original legal council and hired Camara & Sibley LLP of Houston, Texas in order to work with lawyers who "better reflect who we are."

Camera & Silbey's website refers to the firm as being specialists in "save-the-company litigation." In Psystar's case, that may very well be a needed area of expertise.

Psystar's new lawyers also state that "Our partners see the practice of law as essentially public." This lines up well with the Hackintosher's "cavalry" post, which states, "Everyone here values openness. And that’s how we’re going to fight Apple: in public. We have nothing to hide."

In the Psystar Community's introductory posting, the company also states that "Psystar has taken a reserved stance towards interactions with the public and media under the advice of our previous legal counsel. We would like to apologize to everyone, as this has never reflected the opinion of Psystar, nor its founders or employees."

Well, that appears to have changed, doesn't it?

The fight itself has certainly been less than "reserved" up to this point. You can read a summary of The Reg's ongoing coverage of the Psystar-versus-Apple-versus-Psystar tit-for-tat here.

At dispute is Apple's EULA, which states in part: "This License allows you to install, use and run one (1) copy of the Apple Software on a single Apple-labeled computer at a time. You agree not to install, use or run the Apple Software on any non-Apple-labeled computer, or to enable others to do so."

Psystar has claimed that the EULA should be declared null and void. In fact, Tuesday's Community posting opines that "Apple’s copyright on OS X doesn’t give Apple the right to tell people what they can do with it after they buy a copy."

Apparently, the Hackintoshing Floridians see no difference between licensing and buying. Apple does. Every EULA we've ever taken the time to read does too. And during the trial, which begins January 11, 2010 in San Francisco, we'll find out what the federal judge believes.

To keep up to date on the latest twists and turn of this saga, the Psystar Community blog recommends that you "Check back regualalrly [sic]." ®

Bootnote

In further proof of its adherence to the old maxim of "Steal from the best, ignore the rest," Psystar has launched a contest in which you're invited to contribute your own "I'm a Psystar" commercial to its YouTube Group. Either the Hackintoshers are simply trying to get under Apple's skin by parodying Cupertino's well-known "I'm a Mac ... and I'm a PC" ads, or another old maxim is in play: "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."