Macolytes around the world were buzzing this week with news that an online hardware vendor called Psystar.com is selling a $555 PC called the "Open Computer" that runs the Macintosh OS X Leopard operating system.
In fact, for about the same price, you can buy the machine with Windows or Leopard installed - or buy it for $400 with the open-source Linux operating system.
For Mac lovers accustomed to paying the Apple premium, this would be a major breakthrough - at the very least, a cheap source for the second or third computer they can't afford (or justify to their spouses) at Apple's regular prices.
If you're a Windows PC user who wants to try the Mac operating system without much risk, this could be a good deal, too. If Leopard fails to make you feel as cool as Apple's commercials insists you'll feel, you can replace it with stuffy old Microsoft Windows for $150 or so.
There are potential drawbacks to a deal like this, including Apple's army of attack lawyers and policy of death to usurpers. But we'll discuss those later.
Right now, the hardware looks like a good deal. With a 2.2 GHz Intel Core2Duo processor, 2 gigabytes of memory, 250 gigabyte hard drive and standard chassis for expansion, the OpenPC's baseline specs run rings around Apple's only low-end offering, the Mac Mini.
A beefier version of the Psystar computer called the Open Pro, which starts at $999, is aimed at Apple's high-flying Mac Pro, a favorite with graphic designers. Like its entry-level brother, the Open Pro is much cheaper than the Mac with which it competes. Whether it can keep up with Mac Pro's performance is a different matter, but in a second or third machine, many buyers may not care.
The Attack of the PC Clones has been all-but-inevitable since 2006, when Apple gave up its proprietary hardware and switched to the same Intel-based platforms that Apple Chairman Steven P. Jobs has spent so many years trashing.
I discovered how profound this change was a couple of months ago when my younger son decided he wanted a Macbook, Apple's entry level laptop.
We went to the Apple store in Towson Town Center and priced out the model he wanted, which came to about $1,300. Out of curiosity, I wandered over to a Dell computer kiosk a few yards away and found a 13-inch laptop with nearly identical components, and I mean identical. The two computers were priced less than $50 apart: aside from the color of the case (Dell red versus Apple white), the substantive difference was the operating system.
