Psystar requires Acknowledgement of Sale letter to receive restore media (updated 3x)
The email says, in part:
Thank you for purchasing one of our Open Computing products. We at Psystar are dedicated to offering our customers the best computing experience possible and with that in mind have developed a set of helpful utilities for our users, that we are offering at no extra cost. All we ask is that you fill out the attached form and return it to us so that we may process the shipment of your utility media. If you wish to return the form via fax you can send it to us at ... (deletia)
For customers who purchased an Open Computing product with Apple's OS X Leopard we have developed a revolutionary utility that will allow you to reinstall your operating system directly from your original Leopard installation DVD. This utility will also allow you to boot into the Leopard Installation DVD's service console to perform advanced functions.
(Emphasis mine)
More details are posted on the Psystar Web site:
Customers who purchased Open Computing products with Apple's OS X Leopard will receive a disc that will allow them to reinstall their OS should something go drastically wrong or if they feel like getting a new start on their Open Computing. This utility will allow your Open Computer to boot from the native Leopard installation DVD.You can also boot into the service console with the restore disc as the service console lives in the installer from the OS X DVD. It's a very straightforward procedure that will bring more functionality to our Open Computing products.
Sounds simple enough, right?
The funny part is that in addition to requiring credit card information, the machine's serial number and Psystar tracking number the Psystar letter is called an Acknowledgment of Sale and includes the following statements "I am satisfied with my product, my 7-day return period is over" and "I do not intend to dispute the purchase of my Open Computer product."
The letter looks suspiciously like a legal document that Psystar may be using in their defense against Apple's lawsuit filed on 3 July.
"See Apple, we have n customers that have acknowledged the sale of their machines and have agreed not to dispute its purchase."
What are your thoughts on the letter? Should I send it in? Any legal begals care to chime in?
Read more about my experience with the Psystar Open Computer here.
Update: Although the letter requires credit card information, there is no charge for the restore media. Psystar replied to my query about the credit card information this way:
There is no charge for the restore media or for the shipping thereof. The purpose of the form is to verify that you are the original purchaser and owner of the Open Computing product you have ordered. All of the information required on the form is the information that is relevant to the original purchase of your Open Computing product and will not be used in any way to charge your credit card. We require that all fields be filled in including the field which requires the tracking number of your Open Computer so that it can be verified that you are the purchaser and that you did, in fact, receive your product. Our customers automatically receive tracking information to the e-mail they've used to order so the tracking number should be in any e-mail kept from the period of time when your product shipped.