Exclusive: Pictures of Psystar's corporate home; Clone maker's store is open
As this Psystar saga turns--the alleged Mac clone maker is either an overwhelmed legitimate business, a scam or something in between--it's helpful to have some feet on the street. A reader--an local IT guy in Miami--visited the last address for Psystar and verified two things: There's activity and inventory on the scene. There is a business there and he noted headquarters "isn't located in a shady part of town." But a lack of signage and the fact he couldn't get in doesn't provide a confirmation that Psystar is actually at the address.
But if Psystar (all coverage) isn't there it's quite a ruse. I just had a good chat with this technology manager--who doesn't want to be named right now because he doesn't want to be bombarded and actually wants to chat with Psystar in person to buy one of these Mac clones for his company--and he's a quality source. In fact, he's known in his industry in Miami. However, he's not much of a photographer, but we'll be getting more in as he investigates. However, he's officially at Between the Lines deputy now though.
Without further ado, here's Psystar's (latest) facility at:
PsyStar Corporation
10475 NW 28th St
Doral, FL 33172
So what does this prove? Something is going on at the place Psystar calls home and it's possible that the company just hasn't put up its signage. Whether Psystar is building computers there or not remains to be seen next week. And it may be slightly comforting that Psystar's chief is a real person. As I previously noted I wouldn't be a hero here when it comes to buying one of these Mac clones.
The technology manager that contacted us said he's going to show up in person next week and let us know how it goes. He wants to buy one in person for a few reasons. First, like the rest of you he wants to make sure these guys are legitimate. Second, he's leery of the payment processor go round this week. And finally, he has questions that will dictate whether he buys Psystar's Mac clones for his organization. Among the key items: Are Apple software updates possible with these systems? And who supports them once they are purchased? Apple surely won't.
Those questions are critical for this person because he's not some hobbyist. He's at an organization that would love Macs, but can't get the budget approval for them. Psystar may be his best chance--he reckons he's save half of what he'd spend on a Mac. That chunk of change--he's looking to buy three or so--is the difference between picking a PC or an Apple. That's the budget reality.
Separately, Psystar opened its online store again and appears to have a new payment processor. In a post, Psystar said:
It is our pleasure to inform you that our store is up and running thanks to our new high volume payment processor. To all, we challenge you, let's see if we can max this one out. Regarding shipping, orders placed the week of April 7th are currently being shipped. We will be shipping units out of our new facility starting Monday, April 21st, including those orders placed the week of April 14th. Orders are being shipped in the order that they were received, don't worry, you'll get yours soon. Upon shipment an email notification including tracking information will be sent to you automatically.
I went through the checkout process and everything appears to be in order. I still didn't pull the trigger though, but will if Psystar is on the up and up.
Update: There was a question about whether this was exclusive in the Talkbacks. Gizmodo had pictures of Psystar's earlier addresses as I understand it. But honestly who knows Psystar has moved almost every day of the last week. At least the company has stuck at this address for a few days.