While the judge cited advertising as evidence of competition, the oceans of spilt blood in the Mac vs. PC fanwars should be proof enough.

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So they started a computer company just to prove a point? Then, if they did win, and OSX was opened up, would anyone buy a Psystar computer? Or would people buy an OSX computer from another reputable computer maker?

> "selling computers was a pretext to spark an inevitable legal battle they hoped to profit from."

Profit from? Did Psystar really think that a court would rule in their favor and award them a ton of money? For what? They didn't do anything! I hope nobody invested any large sum of money into Psystar.

I can respect Apple for conducting business the way they do. If a judge awarded any money to Psystar, it would be the death of the US Justice system. Just look at the two companies... Apple makes and sells computers and software... Psystar's business model is the equivalence of ambulance chasing.

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A point that would make them money, but I would characterize them more as a law firm than a computer company at this point in their chess game. They hoped Apple would either settle, with a nice return on investment, or if they won, then they could turn it into a computer company. In the meantime, the Psystar "computer company" seemed like window dressing, just enough to ensure a lawsuit would develop.

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I ask again... how would they make any money?

If Apple settles, Psystar would get a one-time payout... then what? Psystar continues to sell computers that no one has ever heard of.

And if they win, wouldn't every other computer manufacturer get to sell OSX machines? Could Psystar hold their own against HP, Dell, etc?

Let's say Psystar wins, and thus OSX is available to the masses. Psystar is now irrelevant. They fought hard, and every other computer manufacturer wins. Anyone can sell an OSX machine.

> "but I would characterize them more as a law firm than a computer company at this point in their chess game."

It's very hard to start a new computer company these days. If Psystar's plan was to become a Shuttle or Falcon Northwest against all the other big computer manufacturers, good for them. But by entering into a lawsuit against Apple as their big opening move... that's just crazy.

> "They hoped Apple would either settle, with a nice return on investment, or if they won, then they could turn it into a computer company."

That's a hell of a business model! They get sued, then countersue the very company whose software they are trying to sell. Genius!

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Because an Apple loss in court would open up the gates for 3rd party Macs, Psystar probably hoped for a windfall settlement from Apple to make the whole thing go away. Their business model was to invest in the prerequisites for a lawsuit they hoped to steer towards settlement.

Assuming they won in court, then they could actually try and build the computer business they started.

The one way they can't make money is if they loose in court. At the outset, they probably figured they were willing to take the risk of loosing given the rewards of settlement or a win, even though loosing was likely. Hey, people play the lottery every day.

>Let's say Psystar wins, and thus OSX is available to the masses. Psystar is now irrelevant. They fought hard, and every other computer manufacturer wins. Anyone can sell an OSX machine.

At the same time, they're notorious. They're the company that won, so they have a head start. I guess they figured it would be enough to sustain them, even with competition for "big hardware," kind of like a mac clone company of yore.

>That's a hell of a business model! They get sued, then countersue the very company whose software they are trying to sell. Genius!

Agreed, although dubious and with an almost certain fail. No one has ever subverted Apple's business model in 25 years of Apple.

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