You’re right, it’s not illegal (so far, I suppose.)
But perhaps they should use their talents to build a legal OS for the Mac. OS X is based on open source, if I recall correctly.
I fall on the side of Apple here. Apple’s development costs would sky rocket, and the reputation of the operating system would suffer, if they had to supply drivers that worked on all the bits of hardware in existence in the PC world (and we aren’t even talking about the special hardware like webcams, but just “simple” stuff like SATA controllers and accelerators). Ie., they’d be like MS.
Ie., if the court makes Apple sell their OS to work on any HW, then court must provide some mechanism for Apple to protect its reputation from the damage that will be incurred by forcing Apple to support machines they don’t have the resources to support. Honestly, I don’t see how it is possible.
It’s like telling Chrysler that their engine control software for a turbo 2.5L engine must be 100% compatible, 100% emissions compliant, and 100% reliable if a user happens to want to install said software on a GM Chevrolet Corvette engine management computer. It’s ridiculous.
But I also wanted to note that I don’t think Psystar making a legal OS for Mac is really worth it. They are currently selling machines because they are selling a cheaper Macintosh. A outside-of-Apple sourced operating system for high dollar Apple hardware is not even in the realm of reasonable. Apple will always support their own hardware the best, and they will always have the most innovative interface (unless you fall into the MS fanboy camp :)).