New xServe! You've Been Waiting For It, Right?

And so, we've made it through another "we'll be back shortly." The Apple store was down this morning, but now it's back with... The Nehalem-based xServe we mentioned on last night's TDL Live. In the server space, this chip will make a lot of difference, but beyond the chip, Apple has also added an interesting option for a 128GB solid-state drive that works as a boot drive, and doesn't occupy any of the drive bays. $2,999 gets you the low-end model, while our fantasy xServe topped out at $14,649.

It's still strange to see the Promise VTRAK RAID option where once the mighty xServe RAID stood. We'll miss you, even if we never saw you in person.

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...