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And on the CLONE front, in what appears to be a tag team match, another contender enters the ring, hoping to beat Apple in the legal arena...

Quo Computer Opens Mac Clone Retail Store

posted by Thom Holwerda on Thu 9th Jul 2009 21:43 UTC
The number of Mac clone makers is growing by the week, so it seems. We have Psystar in the United States, a clone maker in Russia, another one in the UK, and PearC who now cover Germany, The Netherlands, France, Belgium, and Luxembourg. We can add a new one to the list, one that I personally thought was a fake, but is apparently very real. One that has a retail store. In California. Quo Computer (in case you're wondering, you use that thing on the right to navigate - it's weird).
Other websites have reported on Quo Computer as early as late May, but I decided not to since we had no way to confirm the store's existence (it opened on June 1), and their website wasn't up (placeholder only) for a long time after that. I kept trying to reach their website a week or so into June, and then stopped caring.
However, I just got an email from Quo Computer's founder, Rashantha De Silva, pointing me to their website, which is now up and running. Apparently, they don't do online sales - real-world retail only. This appears to be the next step for clone makers, a move forward from selling Mac clones online.
Just like the guys and girls behind PearC, they claim to be enthusiastic fans of Apple's software, but not of the company's hardware. They even detail the Mac history of the company's founder. Apparently, he bought the first Macintosh in 1984, went on to follow NEXT, and came back to Apple as Steve Jobs returned to Cupertino.
They have three machines on offer with varying configurations, and offer 1 year warranty with 3 month phone support. You can find Quo Computer at 2401 West Main Street, Alhambra, CA 91801. If any OSNews readers live close to this location, and would like to help us out, feel free to take a look around the store, maybe take a few photos, and send us in your impressions. I'll also try and see if I can get an interview with Rashantha De Silva.—OS News