AOpen's Pandora Mac mini clone opens box of legal trouble

At the moment everyone might be buzzing about that Mac mini-alike concept PC from Intel, but it's AOpen that's throwing out the lawsuit-bait. Their new Mac mini clone, codenamed "Pandora," is based on Intel's reference design, runs on a Pentium M chip designed for laptops, and should be out by September.

[Thanks, Jan]

[swarmster @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

What would the PC industry do without Apple? Remember when beige boxes were hip? Yeah, me neither.

[egarc @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

Apple leads...the rest follow.

[Alex Brooks @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

This thing is almost identical, how can they possibly get away with that.

[Joshua @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

That is the reason that Apple killed the clones: Why not let the PC industry do the copying? THe amazing thing is that AOpen had 4.5 months to copy and they still couldn't get it as sexy as a Mac...

[Ian Jardine @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

It's my belief that other small PC manufacturers came out with small shaped PCs well before Apple.

[Brian @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

How is this not legal? As computers get smaller there are only so many ways that they can be designed.

[Chris @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

There will be no lawsuits!

Come on, I know its apple but beyond a similar shaped boxes, they are completely different.

I guess under the lawsuit logic, someone should sue Apple for copying the G5 tower. Yeah, its made from different material, but its still a tower...

[Jayson Elliot @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

It's tacky, it's pointless, and probably will end up costing more than a real Mini, and is likely to mark its owners as fools, but where's the lawsuit?

I'd like to know what kind of patent or copyright Apple could get them on here.

Looks to me like nothing more than a form factor, and if you could copyright that, there would only be one laptop maker, one pizza-box case, and one tower-case manufacturer in the world...

[Max @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

Yeah but ones enclosed in brushed steel, with a slot-loadign CD drive at the front? Even the fan at the back is the same!

[ipoured @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

"Small shaped"? What about "Silver" and "curved corners" and "completely smooth except for the CD slot. It's irrelevant who made small PCs first, the fact is this specific design is clearly stolen.

[egarc @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

Ian Jardine,
The Shuttle is still 2-3X the size, costs the same or more than towers, and look horrible. The Mac mini brought the spotlight on small form factor computers. They essentially pioneered a market that others dabbled in. AOpen won't be the last PC manufacturer that tries to match the mini.

[Yellow Texan @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

#5,

I think Engadget and the first 4 comments are referring to the look of AOpen's computer looks (silver and round edge box) almost exactly like the Mac mini not because it is a small form computer.

[Peter S @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

What's the big deal? Shuttle has been making Fully Functional small form-factor PCs for a long while. The Mac Mini is a less than fully functional, cheap Mac in an even smaller case. Why would anyone want a PC like that. It's like the iPOD shuffle and the idiots that buy it. Apple can take a "lack of features" (displays and control) and turn it into a FEATURE and sell it for only $50 less than a fully functional iPOD Mini with 8x the storage. Only Apple can do this as they are more form over function. Why would anyone really want this - on either platform?????

[lcd @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

#1. you're forgetting the apple 6100/7100/8100 line-up... just as beige and ugly as all the other machines out there.

#5 is almost correct... Apple hasn't really led with this first... AOPEN and Shuttle have had led the mini case market for quite sometime. they just didn't see the need to target the low-end consumer market. Most of these systems were for the mod consumer market and DIYers.

the mac minimalist is nice but it's really just an intro for the consumer market to test the waters of the Apple os/line... other then adding to the the unit via other stacked component boxes - which truly defeats the purpose of being a mini... the mini concept is a dead-end purchase forcing you to eventually go to a higher end model or laptop. at least it will make for a nice bookend one day instead of a doorstop.

[Brian @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

Apple products have great design behind them, but they are hardly ever original, just unnoticed before Apple gives them the rehaul. The Mac mini's form factor has been around for ages:

http://www.cappuccinopc.com/cappuccino.asp

Too many see far too much into Apple's capabilities. Apple is not the end-all, be-all of tech. Companies like AOpen are merely bottom feeders.

[Chris @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

But those Cappuccinos are nothing like a Mini - they're all vents and chrome. Nobody said Apple had a patent on 'small', it's the VERY close visual approximation of the AOpens that's the problem.

[Christian @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

Apple wont file charges. We're looking at a shameless, lousy look-a-like. Steve Jobs must be humored by the sight of this thing.

[jc @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

We used to use Aopen for our PC's here... we will not be supporting them again.

I see this as Aopen being too cheap to hire their own designers... and stealing from an existing popular line. Shame Aopen!

[Max @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

That cappuccino pc looks completely different! I am not saying that ti is wrong to make a small computer because of the mc mini, that would be stupid, this is far worse. Where as the cappuccino looks nothign like the mac mini this aopen looks almost identical.

[Robert Preseau @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

In case you didn't know, Intel asked AOpen to make this PC so they could showcase the M chip.

[Buzzcut @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

You Mac geeks need to catch a clue. What, is the Mini-Mac patented or something? What are they going to sue FOR? There's no law against copying a design. It's still a free country.

Cost? Those Pentium M's ain't cheap. This will be a good test of the Mini-Mac, how does it compare on price and performance? I'm guessing that the Mac comes out on top.

[Max @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

That cappuccino pc looks completely different! I am not saying that ti is wrong to make a small computer because of the mc mini, that would be stupid, this is far worse. Where as the cappuccino looks nothign like the mac mini this aopen looks almost identical.

[Robert Preseau @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

Hmm....I must be wrong. I read somewhere else yesterday that Intel asked someone to make a small PC based on the M chip. Must have been the company referenced in the other article.

[Robert Preseau @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

No, I was right.

"Working prototypes of the Mac mini look-alike running Microsoft Windows and based on Intel's Pentium M CPU have already been built by Taiwan PC maker AOpen at Intel's request, according to two sources in Taiwan's PC manufacturing industry who have seen them."

http://www.wirednews.com/news/technology/0,1282,67664,00.html

Now, I realize I'm not an international corporation, but if Intel came to me and asked me to do something, it would be hard to say no. Don't hate the player, hate the game. :)

[popeye @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

Yup looks cheap to me (looks not cost...) maybe the aesthetic patrol can shoehorn the AOpen guts into a mini case for Win/Linux functionality...

Is that a DVI video out???

[narco @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

I don't know if anyone remembers when the original blue iMac came out, shortly after there was a similar computer in almost every way (right down to the bondi blue) for half the price, sold at Circuit City. I'd say the resemblance is about as close to the mini as this AOpen machine.

To my knowledge, no lawsuit was filed yet the thing disappeared. I think for the most part, people realize this is a knock-off and will more than likely buy the original.

And it's really funny watching all these people complain about how Apple just copied the small-form "mini" computers from a "long time ago." I guess they just have no design-sense to tell the difference. I suppose they're the ones who feel ma and pa should own a state-of-the-art gaming machine otherwise they're retarded.

Fishes,
narco.

[Joseph @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

I actually believe it is against copyrights to copy any design and call it your own. Just look at what happened to the company that copied the iPod Shuffle, with the Supper Shuffle.

[Ian_Dass @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

What's the price tag on this beauty?

Also in the news, Ford sues EVERYONE for making vehicles that have 4 wheels. They claim these blatant vehicle designs are blatant rip offs. A company exec was quoted, "I mean look at chevy and every other car manufacturer. They include doors, trunks, tires, and windows for god's sake...the windows were a pet project of mine, and i intend to see these companies are punished. WE WANT COMPENSATION."

In the end, that's what its about. People and companies compensating for their shortcomings. Translate and discuss.

[Ian Jardine @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

There are many other small from Intel based PCs other than the capuccino and the shuttle etc.
I look for one to be offered with the new VIA portable cpu which uses less power and costs a lot less than the Intel M class cpu.
IMHO VIA could well make inroads in this sector pretty quickly. I can see why Intel are interested. We are basically opening up the car PC market and a consumer home theater product with these designs.

[Mike @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

It's missing TWO HUGE things! OSX and Apples amazing hardware. What a waste of time AOpen go back to make motherboards that are actually good instead of ripping off other peoples designs.

[JD @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

Hey Buzzcut,
It seems to be you who needs a clue. As a matter of fact there IS international copyright law that covers design. Please don't shoot off your Windoze infected brain before doing some research. Apple has successfully defended many copycats. If you want something that looks like a Mac, get with it and just cross over!

[Awesom-o @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

At least it's not white...

I don't what design you babies WOULDN'T complain about. It's not like they have a lot of choice in the design matter.

I think this is useless and stupid, but as far as design, it's just a small square box. What could they possibly do to change it and still be practical? Make it pyramid shaped? Or cylinder shaped?

It's not like it's a groundbreaking design or anything.

[Jeff @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

"I actually believe it is against copyrights to copy any design and call it your own."

Designs cannot generally be copyrighted. See here:

http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html#wwp

"Several categories of material are generally not eligible for federal copyright protection. These include among others:

Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans; familiar symbols or designs; mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering, or coloring; mere listings of ingredients or contents"

Various *elements* of designs can be copyrighted, other elements can be patented, and still others can be trademarked. Most companies with a clue will include enough of this protectable IP in their designs such that copying it would be basically impossible from a legal standpoint - you'd have to change so many things about it that in the end there would be no resemblance.

Apple, on the other hand, almost goes out of their way to ensure that their designs are *not* protectable. I don't see how you can call a plain, small aluminum box an "unfamiliar" design. No, nobody could make a similar box and then stick the Apple logo on top, but anyone can make a small aluminum box and put their own logo on top. You can't copyright, trademark or patent a metal box.

[Chris @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

To everybody who claims that the Apple Mini was a unique design, please see: http://hoojum.com/gallery/slideshow.php?set_albumName=nanode

This came out over a year ago and the Apple Mini is a blantant rip off of it. So shut up if you now complain that Aopen has also copied the Nanode.

[ChillyWilly @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

I love this line from the link for the Cappuccino PC:

"Up to 256MB SDRAM Memory"

Yeah... uh.. doesn't the Mac mini go up to 1gb?

As for the Aopen model, it's flattering, but that's about it. I don't think Apple will waste their time sueing for this one.

I think Apple would be more curious what's under the hood... like how in the hell are they cooling this thing? I know it's a Pentium M, but still... you could fry some bacon and eggs on the bottom of some laptop models that use the M.

[Mik Ishmael @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

Notice it has no firewire...3 USB2 ports. Bet it has no bluetooth, nor wifi either. Just how much juice does this thing need? Mini's only 20 watts during normal operation. Note to PC makers...no firewire = no sale. 10 USB ports are no good if i can't plug my video camera in.This one's too close. I hope Steve rips 'em a new one.

[TZK @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

WHO CARES? You people would bitch is the one button mouse came back into style. Hey, wait a minute...

[Joe S @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

#32... get your eyes or anti-Apple bias checked

Sure, like anyone would confuse the nanode with the mini (or mini PC knock off). (if anything, the nanode could be more a mis-shapened Apple Cube (on it's side) of 4 years ago than a mini look alike)

Just because something is a small form factor doesn't make it a copy. Even the Intel mini protoype/mockup of a few months back (after the Mac mini intro) looked a bit different (squared off corners, different materials/look)... not a dead ringer.

The recent SuperShuffle and this PC-mini are examples of shamelessly trying to cash in on others R&D (and possible confusion by the buyer).

[SK @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

Quote by Mike "Apples amazing hardware".
What is so amazing? Certainly not the technology used in a Mac mini. Everything in this box is from yesteryears. 2 year old graphics card, old memory bus, slow harddisk, same old G4 CPU, so-so sound and no 1GBit Ethernet. Hmmm... I can't find any other amazing products from Apple. All the technology is copied from PC's. What's left is a great design and marketing. But that won't sell huge volumes. Most people don't care how it looks as long as its cheap and does the job.

[OMGWTFBBQ @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

"Apple leads...the rest follow"

yeah, that's why you get games a year after they're released on PC ;)

Mac fanboys need to stfu.

[OMGWTFBBQ @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

"Apple leads...the rest follow"

yeah, that's why you get games a year after they're released on PC ;)

Mac fanboys need to stfu.

[Peter Rojas @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

Could we please have one post that doesn't descend into a pointless Apple vs. PC flame war? Please keep everything your comments specific to this post, or I'll simply close the comments thread. I'm getting a little tired of everyone getting incredibly defensive about their choice of machine.

[Bryan @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

I don't know the legality of this ... it's the shape of a box after all. Can you patent or copyright that?

If they could, Apple would be wise to simply license their shape out at an affordable cost. Imagine if all sorts of accessories came out in a stackable format - hard drives, KVM switches, wireless base stations, routers, etc. Just link 'em all with very short firewire or USB cables ... easy expansion for the masses!

And someone really /should/ come out with a powersupply module the same size & shape (thinner in the vertical dimension maybe).

[SilverOne @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

Relax guys!!! All these benefit us, the consumers... IF they start going after each others, we are the losers, both in technology and our pockets...

I say, enjoy the ride and 'don't be hatin'...

[Threnody @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

Okay the Nanode is similar to the mini. You might say it inspired the mini. Design inspiration is nothing new.

But this is an exact copy. It's not because it's small, or has an optical drive at the top, or rounded corners, it's the fact that it's virtually identical except for the placement of the power button. This isn't a Mac-vs-PC thing, so everybody settle down. It's just a matter of AOpen getting lazy and I personally hope they don't get away with it.

[gt @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

i'm too lazy to do a search, but apple could have the mac mini covered under a Design patent. basically, any patent number starting with the letter D in it. it is not a copyright issue.

[SK @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

Does that mean if I ship something in a white box approx. the size of the mini that I'm violating the design patent? What can you possibly patent on this white box? Its just a box with rounded corners.

[the_bully @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

"OMGWTFBBQ"

Who cares about PC games coming late to macs.Grow the f*ck up
not everyone cares about games.I hate when people cant give credit were credit is due.This is a big rip off point blank

[Ken @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

You know, AOpen COULD have made it look like the Nanode. They COULD have made it look like the cappuccino. Actually, just seeing that those are two designs that are VERY different (shapes, esthetics) from the Mini proves that AOpen could have made something that looks clearly different AND small.

But they didn't. If this was the ONLY form factor a small computer could achieve, that'd be one thing. Fact is, I could come up with two designs off the top of my head that would be just different enough to avoid any kind of legal entanglement. They didn't even try.

[Mad Anthony @ Dec 19th 2005 12:16AM]

#26 - actually, there was a lawsuit over the iMac clone. The machine you are talking about was the eMachines eOne, an all-in-one computer running a celeron that looked a lot like the original Bondi Blue iMac.

eMachines got sued and eventually settled the lawsuit by pulling the eOne off the market.

http://news.com.com/Apple+settles+suits+over+iMac+knockoffs/2100-1040_3-237717.html