Want a $399 Mac?

<< Warning, geeky post >>

I’ll admit, I have a sweet spot for the Mac. Blasphemy! Coming from a guy who makes his money running a .NET applictation on DELL servers and the Windows OS? Yep, but the Mac is so pretty, and it seems to just work a little better than Vista. We have a Macbook Pro in the house and I’m always stealing it when work doesn’t involve windows-only programs.

The problem, for me at least, is switching to a Mac would end up costing about $3,000; $3,000 I’d much rather spend on something other than a computer. Is it worth it? Probably not. Will I do it eventually anyway? Definitely.

Why so expensive?

1. I run dual 24″ monitors to feed my “keep as many windows open at the same time as possible” addiction. For instance right now I am running Visual Studio, iTunes, Photoshop, SQL Server Management Studio, Google Talk, a command prompt, Firefox, and Safari. It’s a bit ridiculous, but it’s what I’m used to. The only Mac in the lineup that could power both these monitors is the Mac Pro ($2500). Ouch!
2. I still need Windows to work. I’d have to invest in VMWare fusion ($80) to run Windows inside the Mac OS and would also need a license of Windows ($200 or so).
3. All my current programs. I’d have to get Mac licenses for all my current programs. The only one I’m really worried about is Adobe Create Suite (Photoshop, etc.). At $1400 that’s not something you want to buy more than once.

Well these issues may all be solved now, PsyStar is offering a new computer, the “Open Computer” which apparently will run any OS under the sun. The best part, a pretty nice one is $399.

The downside, it’s against Apple EULA (End User License Agreement) to run Leopard (Mac OS) on anything other than Apple hardware. As soon as the lawyers over at Apple catch wind of this they’re going to sue to paints off PsyStar. As soon as the geeks over at Apple catch wind of this they’re going to update Leopard to prevent it from running on non-Apple hardware.

My advice, if you want one get it now and don’t count on it running Leopard forever. Via CrunchGear, Gizmodo, Engadget.