OpeniMac offers cut-rate, aesthetically challenged Apple clones direct from Argentina
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted Dec 4th 2008 5:41PM
posted Dec 4th 2008 5:41PM
After seeing how well Psystar did with its Open Computer, we think we'll just build our own Hackintosh rather than jump into this OpeniMac we've recently been hepped to. But who knows? Maybe you've been dying to send your hard earned money down to some shady Argentinean characters. In that case, this 2.53GHz machine should be right up your alley. Selling for $990 (or $1,330 with an LG 19-inch monitor), the base unit ships with 2GB memory, 320GB storage, and a 256MB ATI Radeon HD PRO. If you've got deep pockets, $1,710 will get you the OpeniMacPRO, a 3.0GHz machine with a 20-inch widescreen monitor and 4GB RAM. But seriously -- who knows where the money goes? And who knows whether you'll ever see the machine? One thing is for certain, however -- this case is as ugly as sin.
[Thanks, Santiago]
[Thanks, Santiago]
A dollar and 71 cents U$S?? I'm in for 3.
That, is not a comma.
it's a space station
Let me sum up every comment that will be made after this...
Apple Fanboy perspective - "Blah Blah Blah, Jobs, Blah Blah Blah, Psystar = Fail, Blah Blah Blah, Load of shit, Blah Blah Blah, Fuck Vista, Blah Blah Blah, I think Im a Lawyer, Blah, Blah, Blah."
Everyone Else persprective - "Blah Blah Blah, Jobs pees on every product, Blah Blah Blah, Apple = Monopoly, Blah Blah Blah, Knock off computer, Blah Blah Blah, Fuck Apple Fanboys, Blah, Engadget sucks, Blah, OSX Should be compatible on everything, Blah, Blah, Blah"
@1234321
No, the ISS is a space station, USS is a United States (navy) ship. Dunno what U$S is though..
Blah Blah Blah, Jobs pees on every product, Blah Blah Blah, Apple = Monopoly, Blah Blah Blah, Knock off computer, Blah Blah Blah, Fuck Apple Fanboys, Blah, Engadget sucks, Blah, OSX Should be compatible on everything, Blah, Blah, Blah
I think in Spanish and French a period is used instead of a comma in numbers.
@Nick, I think 1234321 was making a [failed] Star Wars joke.
"That's no moon. It's a space station." But it only would have worked if rock99rock had said "that's no comma" - which is not what he said.
In Spanish, periods are used to group digits, commas are used for decimals. U$S = US dollars. And
Why, the U$S is used internationally to emphasize those are US Dollars... as you can use AR$ to say Pesos Argentinos. The "$" sign is used only locally not internationally. By law you have to specify which currency are you talking about.
The comma is used to separate decimals, and the point is used to mark thousands in all Latin America and almost all latin Europe (Portugal, Spain, France, etc)
I was thinking more of a Twister quote than Star Wars but, hey, same line different movie.
Yes, in most countries the comma and period are switched when using numbers. But educating people is not as fun as making jokes, no matter what country you come from.
Someone has a hit out on Apple...
BTW, no one mentioned the iPhone...
'i' dont like it llllllllllloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooolllllll
ery good - you noticed the dot where you expected a comma in a number.
Guess what, my firned? Most of the world uses commas for decimal points and dots as group dividers in large numbers.
Of course, USians are always confused when confronted with proof that we are in the minority...
@fairportfan
What is a firned?
IT was a joke, and a quite obvious one. Lighten up there guy.
U$S != US$
Let me get this straight... It's $1330 for a Hackintosh with a 2.53 GHz processor, 320 GB hard drive, 2GB RAM, and an 256 MB ATI Radeon HD Pro, including the monitor.
Or, you know, you could get the actual iMac for $1100.
... Your choice, I guess?
$1,199
Here in US maybe, but in Argentina an iMac costs about twice as here.
You're lucky, in Argentina the iMac costs at least 2000 dollars. Nevertheless, 1000 dollars for this is a scam. In Argentina you can get a comparable PC for 700 dollars, maybe even less.
The iMac with those specs is $1500 so you're saving $400. Why are you comparing the prices of an iMac model that has lower specs to a Hackintosh with better specs.
I was scared more by the extra $340 for a 19-inch widescreen monitor since I don't typically follow Macs.
I'm gonna guess that monitors are a bit more expensive over there considering you can get a good 24-inch off Newegg for that price.
@Alex
And its not just a scam in Argentina either.
Funny cause you can get a better comp for 500$ on Dell site... but hey, Dell are not make by flamenco artists!!
noppp u can't buy a mac here for that money... you need exactly plus 2 times that amount ... YESss... here is like this...
@Boards of Canada:
Flamenco = Spain
OpeniMac = Argentina
You = Fail !!
Boards of Canada: Make that Tango, not Flamenco
I wish I could Tango ...
Not in Argentina... The customs taxes double the US price of the machine, so this is quite a deal there, actually.
iMacPro?
Talk about identity crisis
It's a Mac with Klinefelter syndrome!
Marble: You don't really know what Kleinfelter's syndrome is, do you?
Gorjan: You didn't really get my joke, didn't you?
Hey OpeniMac, this isn't a good idea - you know psystar? Yeah, they got sued for this.
:P
But OpeniMax is in Argentina, they don't have the same laws we do.......
Lipstick on a pig. YUK
Better than a pig on lipstick.
better than lipstick on a pitbull...
They're probably not banking on huge sales to customers in the US anyway.
Was it not yesterday or the day before that, that I said there would be another company releasing OSX on computers outside of apple.
Exactly. Rebellion costs 200 bucks.
Good luck to them. Apple has legal teams around the globe to kill this company before xmas..
Well, I live in Argentina, but I'm SOOO NOT buying this. Although the comparision table is... interesting, there's nothing like a real iMac.
Plus, with a name like OpeniMacPro, I'm better off buying cats.
What makes a real iMac so amazing to use?
dugg for obscure Argentinian joke referencing cats.
cats= escorts=hookers=ladies that will go out with macboys
"there's nothing like a real iMac."
Whether ill-intended or as praise, truer words were never spoken.
Yep, nothing quite like paying an arm and a leg for a shiny white plastic coating over what is essentially an everyday desktop running a poorly implemented version of Linux.
Databaze got my joke right :)
And lars, well, it's just like prated games. They work almost perfectly, but most of the times you get no support or multiplayer.
Lars, if OSX was linux it would have hardware support.
OSX is a unix, and it does ship python, gnu, and what have you, but if you're talking kernels, they are quite different.
Both are based on Unix, which is why I'm saying OSX is LIKE a shitty version of Linux. For the record I'm a big fan of Linux... I can't count how many distros I have lying around the house, some of which are pretty obscure flavors. Currently I run FC5 at work (yes I know, a bit stale) by choice, and Ubuntu 8.04 at home.
It's funny how a person named "Santiago" emailed this tip in. I think that someone from OpeniMac is trying to get free publicly. After all, all news is good news...
But Santiago is the capital of Chile!
Maybe his real name is Buenos Aires... hmmm....
"Hello? SDotCiRe?'
"yes?"
"your wife just died."
How exactly does this "all news is good news" thing work?
I, for one, can think of many reasons a wife dying would be good news. Probably should use a different example next time.
My wife is dead.
High five!
What is wrong with my name? I was the one that tipped this in (Engadget's staff can confirm this by my email address) and believe me I could not be angrier at that project, I really hate this kind of things.
Either way, it is interesting that on their website they say that they ship copies of original (unmodiffied) Leopard bought directly from Apple... would those copies work on a Hackintosh or are they really fooling us with that saying?
I thought the point of a mac clone was a cheap price and to show that apple overcharges..
As stated above by another guy from Argentina, macs here are pretty much expensive. To give you some examples:
imac 20": 2000+ us dollars
imac 24": 2900+ us dollars
So, pretty much comparing to the prices of the original imacs, they are relatively "cheap".
But for that same money this mac clones are worth, you can get yourself a computer with far more power in it.
And I believe that they never intended to sell this outside the country.
Yeah well it's a common thing with US inhabitants to ignore the fact that some (most) people live outside of their country, with a different way of living.
What's wrong Apple fans, is it not shiny enough for you? I thought you loved the OS, not the shininess.
(i'd low rank this if i was an Apple fan so go ahead, make my day)
Apple is more than just an OS. It's the design and QUALITY of there computers. Not the shininess of there computers.
(NO I will not placate you and give you a low rank)
The entire point of a Mac is that it's very pretty and has a nice case and monitor. Since this has neither of those things, why would you want it? If you're going to get an ugly machine, you might as well get a real operating system to go with it.
"Apple is more than just an OS. It's the design and QUALITY of there computers. Not the shininess of there computers."
Macs use the same products made in the same shitty factory in china by the same workers who are payed $0.50/hr that all other computers use, especially now that they use intel processors. You're not buying quality, you're buying a brand. A shiny "PC" with an apple OS.
To be fair, many of the hardware design decisions Apple makes are simply superior.
Magnets are the best screen latch mechanism, and flat, unmarked surfaces look elegant.
...but then come the glossy screens.
The fact of the matter is that if you're looking for something worthy of being called an operating system, for a reasonable price, and you must be able to run the latest Creative Suite, at present, you're looking at a hackintosh.
Macs use better parts fool. That is why they are more expensive. That is also why they don't break down like crappy PC's.
is a mac still a mac, if the OS is on a non-mac?... think about it... DUDDDEEEEE i need a burrito
Look, I don't hate Apple. I think their stuff is really nice, but overpriced. I have never owned an apple product but I've had my fair share of experience with them. The hardware-software integration is the best I have even seen and works really great! Saying that, I don't think a mac clone would have the same user experience. Give me the same pc with vista and it will cost hundreds less and probably be a better user experience then a fake mac.
Some countries can't buy American products. I know one guy from Venezuela who was planning a trip to America just to buy a MacBook. I don't know if Argentina is like that or not - but they might sell to countries, (like Venezuela), which are.
Well when Apple will change his dollars/euro ratio 1:1 to the actual change rate I might consider buying any american product.
(I remember 6 motnhs ago or so, when 1 euro was worth more than 1.5$, the iPod nano was like 120 euros and 99 dollars.)
Meanwhile we pay for you and that's not really fair...
I didn't say they can't afford it, or that the pricing was wrong - I said they "Can't". It's illegal. At least that is what this Venezuelan dude told me.
"Here in US maybe, but in Argentina an iMac costs about twice as here"
Maybe that explains the $340 extra for a 19" monitor we could get for well under $200.
In Soviet Russia ... ah, never mind.
Yeah, so, two things:
1- to that sad generalization made by "peachcutters", burritos? not so much my man, that is in Central America, not South America. Geography not so much your thing right? We have no mexicans here and we do not speak mexican spanish but Castellano.
2-There are Mac Stores in Argentina, one of them is http://www.macstation.com.ar, so yeah you can get a "REAL" mac but look at those prices! ridiculous due to the taxes import goods have to pay, not really for the general population.
Laws in Argentina are pretty lax considering that using the legal system in place would take litterally years to get some outcome and since you wont see any money or jail time for peple involved i woul like to see dear Steve to try to pull the same on them.
Oh and that "news" is from November 17:
http://blogs.perfil.com/conexion/index.php/2008/11/17/openimac-las-mac-truchas-hechas-en-argentina/
so you know...
Muy buen comentario Databaze.... estos piensan que somos indios a veces... saludos desde la Patagonia.
I made my system here, in Argentina, for 1000 USD... Core2Duo E8400 / 4GB RAM DDR1066 / 2x400mb WD HDD / GForce 8800GT 512mb...... MACS are twice the price than in USA and yes, we use periods to group thousands, and commas for decimals.
Geography 101 :
America = US of A.
Canada =Hockey.
Mexico = burritos, pinata and taco bell.
The rest of America = jungle, military government, people is so damn naive and smell awful.
UK = They talk funny, Monty Python and Doctor Who, best friend ever (tough, second amendment is still active)
France = Cowards and cuisine.
Germany = Nazi in disguise plus expensive cars.
Italy =Creator of Pizza Hut.
Finland=Nokia.
Ireland=Beer and four leaf clover.
Russia=ex commies, yet we don't trust them.
China=Counterfeit products, Iphone is build here.
Japan=Sony, Nintendo, Honda and ninjas.
Korea=Samsung and LG, new best-friend.
Korea (the other korea) = New enemies.
Mid west=Gas + terrorism.
Africa= Nat Geo and Discovery Channel are filmed here.
Australia=Crocodile Dundee and Mad Max.
New Zealand =Xena.
Xena? Not Lord of the Rings?
lllllllooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooollllll
I just had to say, well done Internet for discarding excess LOL.
I wonder what happens if you bring these things into the Apple Store and drop them off at the Genius Bar.
I was always tempted to when I had a spare HP Compaq 2710p tweaked to run OSX. Considering it was better than any small notebook Apple sells, and had full tablet support, it probably would have turned some heads and made an amusing moment.
Since then, I invested in the real thing, since the hackintoshes won't do svideo/composite out, and that's needed for my applications.
They're not for everyone, but for me, it works. *and that's all that matters*
what the hell..
boot132 or buy an Efi-X..
These "manufacturers" solely exhist to steal your money
If nothing else these guys will go down for trademark infringement. "OpeniMacPro" does it twice -- iMac and MacPro. Nevermind the Hackintosh stuff.
Isn't the point of an iMac to be an all-in-one? The creators clearly have no idea why people even buy Macs.
Don't waste your money on these. A Vista machine with similar specs would be far more reliable than a fake Mac. The main reason why Macs are more reliable is because Apple is able to control both the hardware and the software, and this would destroy that advantage.
Well said, repped for truth; Your statement applies to all fake Macs I think.
I don't get it...
If you wanted a Mac, you'd buy a Mac.
If you wanted OS X on a PC, you'd build a Hackintosh.
Why on earth would you pay a huge premium to get someone in Argentina to install it for you?
Let me explain: this article is not about importing some Argentinian made Hackingtosh but about the fact that OTHER people, not only Psystar, are doing the same in OTHER places.
Simple right?
now lets go play with Terminal :)
$1330 it's 415 dollars!!!!!
Typical Mac fanboys.. only care about the look of their machine rather than how it runs.
Yeah, that's why they're used so often in graphic design and 3d modeling, which actually require nice hardware. Oops!
What an absolute load of crap. The next person who says that the construction of the computer doesn't matter and that if you buy a Mac it's "form over function" is getting a slap. The form of the machine IS important. The whole point of the iMac is that it is an all-in-one device that takes up minimal space and doesn't have wires running all over the place. People like this. This is why other manufacturers make similar computers.
Form is always important and should be considered along with everything else.
muchu: and NOT how it runs? Are you not aware of the issues you come up against when running hacked OS X on a PC? Features not working, crashing, bugs, no software updates in a lot of cases. You think you have those problems running OS X on a Mac? You'd have to be pretty damn ignorant to think it's only about how it looks.
ARGENTINIANS, a honest question for you.
I understand that this clone is quite a bit "cheaper" than a real Mac, but how does their price compare to your average income?
Or in other words, what's the average Per Capita income in Argentina?
I'm asking because it seems even this cheaper clone is still way, waaaay too expensive for the average wage earner in Argentina. Thanks.
How does this relate to the topic?
Apparently the Per Capita Income in Argentina (PBI or PIB) is about USD 8,147 but really the average is not even close to that. The current lowest income imputed by the president was at about AR$ 900 that is about USD 260 and the average would be at about AR$ 2000 that being USD 579 with the current change rate of 4.43 pesos = 1 dollar. So, you get the idea... So to reach the amount of money for this OpeniMacPro an average Argentinean would need to save his whole monthly income for about three months. To get the real iMac it would be arround five months.
Here in Argentina, a normal mid-class yearly income is around $15900 American Dolars
1) Santiago, your information is kind of inaccurate, 1 dollar = AR$3.45.-
2) Average monthly income: U$D 430 (more or less AR$1300 - 1500).-
3) Credit cards exist all over the planet. You always buy all of your stuff in cash? I envy you.
4) Most people all over the world couldn´t care less for a Hackintosh, the same here. My Inspiron was even cheaper than that, probably as yours.
The only real problem here are importation taxes, which are monstruous.
That's one sexy Mac.
I don't have official numbers, but to give you an idea you would have to save your total monthly income for about three months to buy this apple clone, insane. Fake imac, empty fridge, Gandhi's skinny look.
One and a half month in fact.