Psystar Moves from Macs to T-shirts, Linux

PC maker Psystar may be out of the Mac clone business thanks to a court order, but that isn't stopping it from selling other products including t-shirts and PCs with Linux pre-installed. The company has also stopped selling its Rebel EFI tool for installing Snow Leopard on generic PCs, but is promising to bring the product back to the market.

Psystar's t-shirt says "I sued Psystar... and all I got was a lousy injunction."

The injunction the company is referring to came from U.S. District Court in Northern California. Apple sued the company for selling Mac clones without permission and ultimately won an injunction blocking Psystar from selling Mac clones, selling or copying Mac OS X, installing Mac OS X on non-Apple hardware, hacking the OS's copy protection measures, and from selling or distributing technology -- including Rebel EFI -- that lets others install Mac OS X on PCs.

Along with t-shirt sales, the company is asking for donations and is promising free copies of its Rebel EFI product in exchange for US$20, $50 and $100 donations. Psystar is assuming the courts will eventually overturn the order blocking the sale and distribution of Rebel EFI so it can make good on its promise.

In a statement on its Web site, Psystar said "In the coming days, we will again be offering complete systems but at discounted prices as they will be bundled with your choice of Linux operating system. In addition to using only first quality components, our hardware specifically chosen such that it is known to be compatible with OS X."

The company also stated "We respectfully disagree with courts [sic] notion that we are 'hardcore copyright infringers'. Psystar has never, and will never, condone software piracy. It's your software, you should be able to use it where you want to."

Despite the company's claims, the court saw the situation differently and chose to shut down its Mac clone and Rebel EFI sales. Since its t-shirt is less likely to infringe on copyrights, Psystar may have better luck with its new venture into clothing sales.