Mac clone manufacturer Quo computer said it would be opening a retail location in Los Angeles area on June 1. It will be located at 2401 West Main Street in Alhambra, a locality northeast of LA’s downtown district.
The company plans to offer three models, the Life Q, Pro Q, and Max Q. While Quo has not released details of what each model would entail, the company is using Apple’s current product lineup for guidance.
As with Psystar, the company is installing copies of Mac OS X Leopard on its equipment before shipping it to the consumer. This means Quo is breaking the same part of the EULA that Apple has sued Psystar over. In all likelihood, Quo will be the target of Cupertino’s legal guns next.
Quo is run by Rashantha De Silva, a Sri Lankan immigrant who has used Macs for nearly 25 years. A search on his name shows that he is a fairly frequent contributor to Apple’s support forums, so he’s no stranger to the Apple platform.
Sure to upset Apple even more is Quo’s business strategy: targeting education. This is one of the company’s most lucrative channels, and De Silva wants to put these clones in the hands of teachers and students.
While I commend companies like Psystar and Quo taking on Apple and forcing them to become more open–I am one of those Mac folks that believe allowing quality clones would be a good thing for the platform–they’re still breaking the law.
Apple’s EULA specifically forbids the use of the software on non-Apple machines. Until the courts find this clause illegal, it is pretty much akin to theft and prosecutable.
I’m fairly confident that the courts will rule against Psystar barring some unforeseen circumstance. Maybe future cloners will learn from the Psystar case and apply it to their efforts at breakng Apple’s grip on its OS software.
(Hat tip: CNET)