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Author Topic: ModBook Pro Finally Available!?!?  (Read 4077 times)

lfeagan

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ModBook Pro Finally Available!?!?
« on: October 01, 2012, 12:14:00 pm »

The long-overdue ModBook Pro is finally coming out. Apparently orders can be placed on Wednesday, October 3rd.

I am as excited about this product as I was two years ago. Hopefully it won't disappoint.
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Lance

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mac_paolo

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Re: ModBook Pro Finally Available!?!?
« Reply #1 on: October 01, 2012, 12:24:30 pm »

The long-overdue ModBook Pro is finally coming out. Apparently orders can be placed on Wednesday, October 3rd.

I am as excited about this product as I was two years ago. Hopefully it won't disappoint.

Would you be happy to spend more than 50 bucks on a product whose manufacturer may shut down in less than a year?  ???
You know well before-hand that this whole concept brakes the Apple's eula.  ::)
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lfeagan

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Re: ModBook Pro Finally Available!?!?
« Reply #2 on: October 01, 2012, 12:36:10 pm »

Would you be happy to spend more than 50 bucks on a product whose manufacturer may shut down in less than a year?  ???
You know well before-hand that this whole concept brakes the Apple's eula.  ::)

A) If it meets my needs, I don't really care. I have knowingly done this before and been happy to do so.
B) I think you are incorrect. A ModBook Pro is a re-cased genuine Apple MacBook Pro 13", stripped of its original case and keyboard, and placed in a custom housing. A ModBook Pro is not a hackintosh.

Aside: It is as though you didn't read the linked pages before posting. The LuLa forums aren't a competition to respond quickly with irrelevant and emotional comments.
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Lance

Nikon: D700, D800E, PC-E 24mm f/3.5D ED, PC-E 45mm f/2.8D ED, PC-E 85mm f/2.8D, 50mm f/1.4G, 14-24 f/2.8G ED, 24-70 f/2.8G ED, 70-200 f/2.8G ED VR II, 400mm f/2.8G ED VR
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mac_paolo

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Re: ModBook Pro Finally Available!?!?
« Reply #3 on: October 01, 2012, 12:49:49 pm »

A) If it meets my needs, I don't really care. I have knowingly done this before and been happy to do so.
B) I think you are incorrect. A ModBook Pro is a re-cased genuine Apple MacBook Pro 13", stripped of its original case and keyboard, and placed in a custom housing. A ModBook Pro is not a hackintosh.

Aside: It is as though you didn't read the linked pages before posting. The LuLa forums aren't a competition to respond quickly with irrelevant and emotional comments.
A) Good for you. Hope not to get any in trouble with a brand new machine. Who will you ask support to when the maker doesn't exist anymore?
B) Come on. It's not a "DIY kit", it a whole new computer, made with some parts from an original Apple machine and sold on a different brand. It sounds totally like an illegal move to me.

Aside: I read the page before replying, even those tiny foot notes which made me laugh. The whole concept screams "Let's hope to sell as many as we can before Apple sues us.", IMHO.
As my nickname may suggest, I know the whole Apple world quite well and this is not the first manufacturer to try this move.
LuLa forum is getting full of rude people, instead. ::)

 I won't reply your offense. Not worth it. Peace :)
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lfeagan

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Re: ModBook Pro Finally Available!?!?
« Reply #4 on: October 01, 2012, 01:32:29 pm »

A) Good for you. Hope not to get any in trouble with a brand new machine. Who will you ask support to when the maker doesn't exist anymore?
B) Come on. It's not a "DIY kit", it a whole new computer, made with some parts from an original Apple machine and sold on a different brand. It sounds totally like an illegal move to me.

Aside: I read the page before replying, even those tiny foot notes which made me laugh. The whole concept screams "Let's hope to sell as many as we can before Apple sues us.", IMHO.
As my nickname may suggest, I know the whole Apple world quite well and this is not the first manufacturer to try this move.
LuLa forum is getting full of rude people, instead. ::)

 I won't reply your offense. Not worth it. Peace :)

B) This isn't illegal in my country. It may be in yours. Modbook's have been around since 2008. Apple has not sued them in the past. I can't see why they would start now. The charge would likely be something like dilution of trademark. I don't think they will have a problem.

Name one other manufacturer, other than Axiotron, that has done this in the past. I have wanted a Macbook Pro slate for years and these folks are the only game in town. This isn't an EFI firmware hack to run OS X on non-Apple hardware, which violates the EULA.
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Lance

Nikon: D700, D800E, PC-E 24mm f/3.5D ED, PC-E 45mm f/2.8D ED, PC-E 85mm f/2.8D, 50mm f/1.4G, 14-24 f/2.8G ED, 24-70 f/2.8G ED, 70-200 f/2.8G ED VR II, 400mm f/2.8G ED VR
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PierreVandevenne

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Re: ModBook Pro Finally Available!?!?
« Reply #5 on: October 01, 2012, 01:35:23 pm »

Apparently, it includes a complete MacBook Pro, which means the software does run on Apple hardware. That was one of the reasons "cloners" ran in trouble in the past. Seems the screen is replaced by a Wacom tablet. Doesn't seem fundamentally different, from a legal point of view, from running the laptop with an external screen while having the original screen turned off. While I have no doubt Apple, if it wants to do so, will find any reason to fire its legal gun, I don't believe Apple has a basis to prevent people from buying a MacBook, putting it in another enclosure and adding another screen.

Any specific part of the EULA you are referring to?
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mac_paolo

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Re: ModBook Pro Finally Available!?!?
« Reply #6 on: October 01, 2012, 01:51:00 pm »

This isn't an EFI firmware hack to run OS X on non-Apple hardware, which violates the EULA.

Apparently, it includes a complete MacBook Pro, which means the software does run on Apple hardware. That was one of the reasons "cloners" ran in trouble in the past. Seems the screen is replaced by a Wacom tablet. Doesn't seem fundamentally different, from a legal point of view, from running the laptop with an external screen while having the original screen turned off. While I have no doubt Apple, if it wants to do so, will find any reason to fire its legal gun, I don't believe Apple has a basis to prevent people from buying a MacBook, putting it in another enclosure and adding another screen.

Any specific part of the EULA you are referring to?

Come on guys, are you serious?
Have you actually read the Apple EULA at least once in your life?

4th line:
For use on Apple-branded Systems

2nd page, point A:
[...] you are granted a limited, nonexclusive
license to install, use and run one (1) copy of the Apple Software on a single Applebranded
computer at any one time.

OS X SLA never refers to the hardware alone, as a lot of single components are assembled by Apple while built by others.

It's my opinion that Apple will and should sue that manufacturer. No need to agree. Even the name itself is an obvious refer to "MacBook Pro".
It's a fact that this product is breaking Apple's EULA.
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PierreVandevenne

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Re: ModBook Pro Finally Available!?!?
« Reply #7 on: October 01, 2012, 02:07:23 pm »

Seems Apple forgot to sue in 2007.

"the Modbook was introduced in the 2007 Macworld Conference & Expo. It won a Best in Show award at that same conference."

Yes, you are right, we don't even need to agree with you.
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mac_paolo

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Re: ModBook Pro Finally Available!?!?
« Reply #8 on: October 01, 2012, 02:14:53 pm »

"the Modbook was introduced in the 2007 Macworld Conference & Expo. It won a Best in Show award at that same conference."
You know that Apple has nothing to do with Macworld Conference, right?
Beside that, is it still to be marketed? Wait for it then :)
« Last Edit: October 01, 2012, 02:18:25 pm by mac_paolo »
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PierreVandevenne

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Re: ModBook Pro Finally Available!?!?
« Reply #9 on: October 01, 2012, 02:29:32 pm »

At the time, Apple was still present at Macworld.

It seems reasonable to assume they were, if not involved in the choices, at least fully aware of the existence of the products that were noticed, awarded and received press coverage.

It also appears that, since 2007, Apple has not sued on this issue (we know things change, so yes it could very well happen in the future).

Either they did not intend to sue, in which case, if the issue is so close to your heart, you should probably contact them to offer your legal services, or they did not notice the existence of the Modbook in which case you should probably contact them to offer technology watch services.

Using a board nickname as argumentum ad verecundiam seems a bit far fetched to me. While we are used to the unrelated PhD, we haven't had nicknames yet.
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mac_paolo

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Re: ModBook Pro Finally Available!?!?
« Reply #10 on: October 01, 2012, 03:03:58 pm »

Either they did not intend to sue, in which case, if the issue is so close to your heart, you should probably contact them to offer your legal services, or they did not notice the existence of the Modbook in which case you should probably contact them to offer technology watch services.
This is the full stop for the discussion. You're so funny.  :D

Using a board nickname as argumentum ad verecundiam seems a bit far fetched to me. While we are used to the unrelated PhD, we haven't had nicknames yet.
Who said that? I did not. My appreciation for—and knowledge of—the californian brand is the causa, while the nickname is the effectum. Not the other way around.
Sapiens, ut loquatur, multo prius consideret.

Peace :)
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lfeagan

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Re: ModBook Pro Finally Available!?!?
« Reply #11 on: October 01, 2012, 03:14:56 pm »

The license for the OS talks about three things being "Apple-branded": systems, computers, and hardware. In all three cases, Apple failed to provide a concrete definition of what constitutes a "system", "computer", or "hardware".

Looking at these, "hardware" is likely to be narrowly interpreted. The term "computer" is more broad, but I think is also narrow enough in scope to not be an issue.

However, if we interpret "system" with a regular meaning, it seems likely to include the display, keyboard, mouse, power cord, and any other peripherals necessary to be useful to a particular end user's needs. This interpretation brings up some issues, and is rarely found in the EULA for Mountain Lion 10.8.2. The issue specifically is that it prohibits attaching any non-Apple device in creating a system. So a non-Apple power cord, for example, would be an EULA violation for the operating system. While this is within Apple's rights in an EULA (just as they could demand you only use solar to power it), I can see a court removing the requirement that a system be composed entirely of Apple-branded components.

Companies selling Apple computers with non-Apple hardware installed are not hard to find. Modbook will likely do something very similar to OWC in how they handle sales. Just as with Axiotron, I suspect that the end-user buys the computer from Apple but has it shipped to Modbook's facility, where Modbook then strips out the motherboard, installs it in their case, and ships it to you. End users can do whatever they want to their systems, even if an EULA says otherwise. They just won't have a warranty anymore.
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Lance

Nikon: D700, D800E, PC-E 24mm f/3.5D ED, PC-E 45mm f/2.8D ED, PC-E 85mm f/2.8D, 50mm f/1.4G, 14-24 f/2.8G ED, 24-70 f/2.8G ED, 70-200 f/2.8G ED VR II, 400mm f/2.8G ED VR
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PierreVandevenne

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Re: ModBook Pro Finally Available!?!?
« Reply #12 on: October 01, 2012, 03:24:30 pm »

This is the full stop for the discussion. You're so funny.  :D

At least, I am not anonymous, and check facts

He says that he and Modbook have always had a healthy relationship with Apple, and that there were no legal issues involved in the company's two-year stumbling block. "As soon as the ModBook came out, Apple came to us and asked us to become a proprietary solution provider," he said. "That didn't end up working out, but we were moved to a developer contract. We are now an Apple 'developer' and we have a great working relationship."


http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/06/the-original-os-x-tablet-how-modbook-got-its-groove-back/
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