Psystar could change Macs forever, or get consumed by the lawyers

The very curious case of Psystar... Several months ago they announced the availability of their "Open" and "Open Pro" computers, shipping with Mac OS X installed. At first, the Mac community scoffed, and many found reason to believe the whole thing a hoax. But Psystar still exists, and they've upped the ante with the availability of their new xServe "clones."

The world wonders though, why hasn't Apple done anything? Could it be, that maybe, just maybe Psystar has found a legitimate loop hole in Apple's licensing agreement? Is Apple concerned that if they try to sue and lose, and the floodgates will open to other unauthorized clones?

Or, let's pretend for just a minute, that Apple may at some point bring OS X to PCs themselves. Yes, this rumor has been floated out there for years, and now of all times, it seems LEAST likely to happen. But what better way to gauge interest than tacitly allow a small manufacturer to dip their toe in the market, and presumably they will talk about sales numbers at some point, and Apple will be able to gauge the interest in OS X for PC. Given the success of the Intel Macs, it would seem silly for Apple to license the OS to others now. But the question remains, why hasn't Apple brought any kind of legal action against Psystar? We know when product shots leak, the attorneys respond within days...

Will you be in line for the new iPhone? We need your help!

As we inch closer to the release of the iPhone 3g, and the App store, I wanted to let everyone know our gameplan for coverage. We'll be posting reviews of as many of the new apps as possible as soon as the app store goes live. We'll also do some live video segments, highlighting what the apps can do.

It's not entirely clear whether the App store and 3G phone will launch at the same time, but we have both covered. Matt and Sidney from theilife.com will be bringing us live updates from the front of the line at one of Apple's NYC locations.

But, we want to get a feel for the launch at other locations, and around the world. If you plan on heading out to an Apple store, or AT&T store for the phone launch, send us an email: feedback@thedigitallifestyle.tv

If Apple didn't exist...

I know, I know, it's a broad title, and could go in a million different directions, so let's just think about portable devices today. Wipe Apple off the map. Would we be living in an alternative universe where the Zune is the top music player? Or would we still be going along buying CDs? Would anyone be manufacturing mp3 players or phones with sealed batteries (and thinking about it, does anyone else do this now?). Who would have the most talked about cell phone right now, and would it have a touch screen? Would Sony have remained the dominant name in portable music? Would minidiscs become the next big format?
Just some food for thought to start your Wednesday.

Will iPhone unlocking continue?

With the official App store launch presumably little more than two weeks away at most, many iPhone owners are content to wait for the Apple-sanctioned App store to start adding new software functionality to their devices. From day one though, there's been an unclear number of people who have chosen to "jailbreak" their phones, allowing them to try a variety of programs and features, some of which won't be available to the masses even with Apple's software store.

However, with what's expected to be a wide range of software, much of it free, available in the App store, will there still be a reason beyond just for fun tech exploration, to jailbreak the iPhone? It's one thing to go through the steps and risk "bricking" the phone to use a wide array of programs, but if most of those same programs are available through the App store without fear of damaging the phone, can the jailbreak scene survive/thrive after the App store?

Let us know what you think.

New product launches from the genius' perspective

Soon, Apple stores around the world will be swamped by people looking to buy the new iPhone. What kind of preparation goes into that kind of launch by the people who have to troubleshoot the devices as they're potentially seeing them in person for the first time? Find out in this segment of Root Access: