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Mac Clones

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The biggest problem for any clone company that wants to be significant is product support.  Clones are not exactly like Macs. The hardware is not exactly alike. Firmware has to be written to support Mac OS X. Video drivers have to be written to support the video chips. Cracks have to be written to allow Mac OS X to work.  The biggest problem after installing Mac OS X is how to support upgrades.  ANY upgrade including Apple’s own software update and third party software installations can potentially BREAK the clone. A security update, a video driver update can break the clone so it won’t run or it will crash.  One can’t simply pop in new video cards or PCI-slot cards.  The drivers may not support your hardware and would crash the machine.  If the clone company wants to provide even a small amount of support, they will have a lot of work to do to keep up with Apple’s updates.  And they will have to keep a list of incompatible updates and software.  Thus, if anything, it is easier to provide no support other than to guarantee that the hardware is working.  The user is given the task of avoiding the minefield that software updates and application installations create.

The customer of a clone has to be far more vigilant and tech savvy than the usual Mac user.  You can’t just give a clone to your elderly grandparents or parents or your children.  They can easily install an Apple software update or third party application and crash their machine.  It would be a huge headache to problem-solve and fix such a crash. The customer has to be almost paranoid about any new update or software. This is an attitude far from the safe computing environment that has been part of the Mac user experience.  Gone is the “Macs Just Work” attitude in regard to clones.  One can’t just install with a feeling of safety nearly any update. FEAR will be a big part of the clone experience.

The Mac User experience is also an organic experience.  Apple frequently updates its software.  Thus a Mac grows and improves over time.  The clone, however, is FROZEN in time.  As the Mac OS and applications evolve, more and more updates and software won’t work on the clone.  It would be like buying a Mac OS 9 machine - a machine frozen in time.  The user will have to note which applications work and which won’t.  The clone will require a lot of handholding to make sure it will run.  It requires more IT support than the usual Mac.

Apple is also great at protecting its intellectual property.  When Rhapsody tried to encroach on the iTunes DRM, Apple kept changing the software, forcing Rhapsody to keep working to maintain compatibility for its customers. Eventually it gave up.  Apple can do this under the rationale of security.  The same can be said of Mac OS X.  Insecurities in Mac OS X allow it to be installed on a clone.  Apple can close the loopholes and be a moving target which each software update. It can check the hardware configuration, for example, to verify that it is running on a legitimate Mac.

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