Psystar Announces OEM Licensing Program – Open Labs, Are You Listening?
Psystar Corporation has announced their new OEM Licensing Program, which is sure to put yet another Bee in Apple’s bonnet. Psystar will begin certifying Intel-based computer manufacturer’s hardware to allow the licensing of Psystar’s new virtualization technology, effectively making their systems Mac OS X compatible. A manufacturer simply has to license Psystar’s virtualization technology, specifically engineered for Snow Leopard, which will allow for seamless operation of the Mac OS on generic Intel Hardware.
Here’s Psystar’s Pitch:
In an effort to spread the Snow Leopard experience to an ever-expanding number of people, the licensing initiative will allow manufacturers to have their hardware Psystar Certified and have their computers pre loaded with our unique technology including the Darwin Universal Boot Loader (DUBL). Qualifying products must fall in Desktop, Server or Mobile categories. Once a product is certified, consumers can purchase it off the shelf or through standard channels and when labeled Psystar Certified would allow the installation of Snow Leopard simply by inserting the retail OS X DVD.
Psystar’s vision of open computing is to provide users with the freedom to choose which OS’s they install on their hardware. The Licensing Program will allow computer manufacturers the opportunity to ship the certified systems pre-configured with DUBL and OS of choice including Windows 7, Windows Vista and several flavors of Linux. These systems would also be compatible with Mac OS X Snow Leopard and receive normal software updates through the use of “Safe Update” technology. The customer can install the Mac OS themselves simply by inserting the retail DVD or choose to install several other OS’s with no manual boot configuration. DUBL supports up to six different operating systems on a single machine and configures itself automagicly.
Manufacturers can benefit from this unique licensing opportunity with minimal expense and in several hardware markets. In most cases Psystar will tailor the technology to a specific hardware profile(s) at no additional engineering cost, allowing manufacturers to save time and money by utilizing our familiarity running the Mac OS X on generic hardware.
Now while this may skirt some of the legal issues that has plagued the upstart, it certainly won’t prohibit Apple from playing Thor and wielding its mighty hammer.
However, this could have implications for the music industry, which could certainly benefit from such an offering, if it does prove legal. For instance, Open Labs, who incorporates an Intel-based computer into their all-in-one products, could certainly benefit by utilizing Psystar’s technology. A Mac-based D-Beat is a very appealing proposition to Apple-diehards who may shun their solutions due to the fact they only run Windows.
