MacBook Airs ship; Psystar plans Mac notebook, Blu-ray desktop
Apple is making good on a promise to have its new MacBook Airs in the hands of customers early next week. Meanwhile, unofficial Mac clone maker Psystar has announced a Blu-ray-enabled Mac desktop and says its also working on a Mac notebook.
Context & Ripple Effects
This story sits at the intersection of two threads from early 2008 coverage: Apple's high-profile launch of the ultra-thin MacBook Air, whose appeal was debated even then, and the question of when Macs would gain Blu-ray support, which AppleInsider reported on back in January.
Against that backdrop, Apple is now fulfilling delivery promises on new Airs, while Psystar — the unofficial Mac clone maker — escalates its challenge by announcing a Blu-ray-equipped desktop and teasing a notebook clone, directly targeting gaps in Apple's own lineup.
First-order effects
- Early MacBook Air customers receive their machines next week, closing out the launch cycle for Apple's thinnest notebook.
- Psystar gains a concrete product roadmap beyond its existing desktop clones: a Blu-ray-enabled Mac desktop and a planned Mac notebook that would compete head-on with Apple's portable line.
Second-order effects
- If Psystar's notebook materializes, it undercuts one of Apple's key differentiators — the exclusive MacBook form factor — forcing Apple to respond through legal or product means rather than ignoring the clone market.
- Psystar's Blu-ray push highlights Apple's lag on the format, pressuring Apple to accelerate optical-drive upgrades across the Mac line or cede the high-definition disc market to clonemakers.
Third-order effects
- A sustained clone ecosystem would test whether Apple's tightly controlled hardware-software model can survive third-party Mac hardware, a structural question that could ultimately be settled in court or by licensing policy.
- The pattern suggests format transitions (like Blu-ray adoption) increasingly arrive via the gray market first, shifting pressure onto platform owners to match unofficial offerings before they normalize.
The trend: Unofficial Mac cloning is evolving from cheap desktop knockoffs into full-lineup competition, probing whether Apple's closed-hardware strategy can hold as formats like Blu-ray mature faster outside its control.