Hackintosh clones are back. After a bumpy start amidst swirling rumors of Apple corporate thugs and accusations of being a scam, Psystar is back online and is taking orders. The company seems to offer a lot of products and services, but the only ones anyone is talking about are the Mac clones.

Since Macs are just computers running OS X, this shouldn't be a big deal, but it is, since the Jobs Mob cripples OS X so it only runs on Apple hardware. It is easy to understand why they would do this. First, by restricting the hardware, it allows Apple to sell more stable and reliable computers and then legitimately claim OS X is more stable than Windows, even though there should be an asterisks saying "* OS X is more stable under very special, limited, restricted, certified, Apple-approved conditions only." Second, by restricting OS X to Apple hardware only, you have to buy Apple hardware. Duh. $$$.

So while Apple's position is entirely fair and understandable (from Apple's perspective, anyhow), in a free world filled with rebels and hackers, it's also easy to understand why the new Hackintosh is generating so much excitement. Positioned as an Open Computer that'll run Windows or Linux or OS X, Psystar is somewhat fatuously suggesting that this is really just a free and fair machine, when we all know it's just a Mac clone.

Just a Mac clone?

Psystar has two customizable models, one designed to compete with the MacMini and one that competes with higher end models. I can't see why you'd want the MacMini model: it's only about $100 less expensive and 100x less cool. I mean, you get the MacMini because it's, well, mini. The Psystar Open Computer is housed in small, attractive-but-standard ATX PC case. Yawn.

The high end is more interesting. While Apple has very smartly and successfully introduced very affordable, sexy, entry-level machines in recent years, completely debunking the myth that Macs are inherently expensive, they are still charging a premium for their, uh, premium machines. Comparing Apples to Apples, that is similar speed processors and RAM, a loaded Windows box still costs a lot less than a Mac, whether you build the Windows machine yourself or grab one from Dell.

So how much bang can you get for your buck at Psystar? This is as close a comparison as I could make:

While the 200% more expensive Mac is 0.2Ghz faster, since the Open Pro Computer is a hack, I think we can safely assume it can be overclocked to match or beat the 2.8Ghz Mac CPU, so that's probably a wash. For a Mac Pro, that is the very low end, so in terms of raw performance, more expensive Macs are really going to smoke the Psystar. For example, you can add $2,100 and get two 3.2GHz quads from Apple, but not from Psystar. The Psystar is housed in a lovely Antec case, but it still doesn't have the sex appeal of a Mac.

There are other reasons to be cautious about going with a Psystar Open Computer, notably, the company is a brand new upstart with no track record and who knows how Cupertino will respond to this. Will Jobs sic the corporate attack dogs on the company? Will Apple figure out a way to make future OS X updates incompatible?

Still: An entry-level Final Cut Editing box for $2,000 is pretty exciting. Personally, I hope Psystar manages to succeed, even if the Open Computer turns out to be a mediocre poor man's Mac from a second rate manufacturer of generic PCs. After all, revolutionary competition against a Big Brother monopoly is a good thing to be celebrated, right?

References:
* Psystar
* Apple