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Psystar adds Blu-ray, Mac users yawn

Psystar doesn't agree with Apple CEO Steve Jobs that Blu-ray is "a bag of hurt," but decision to offer Blu-ray drives on Mac OS Open Computers doesn't accomplish much.

Tom Krazit
Tom Krazit Former Staff writer, CNET News
Tom Krazit writes about the ever-expanding world of Google, as the most prominent company on the Internet defends its search juggernaut while expanding into nearly anything it thinks possible. He has previously written about Apple, the traditional PC industry, and chip companies. E-mail Tom.
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Psystar's Open Computer now has an option for a Blu-ray drive, which is not available on a Mac. Psystar

Psystar's Mac clones now come with a Blu-ray drive, but they still can't do much more with the technology than is already possible on a Mac.

Go ahead, order an Open Computer or Open Pro with a $310 Blu-ray drive if you're a Mac OS X fan chafing at Apple CEO Steve Jobs' decision that Blu-ray is "a bag of hurt." But don't expect to be able to pop in a Blu-ray movie and watch a high-definition movie on the display attached to that system.

Without Mac OS support for a Blu-Ray player, all you can really do with a Blu-ray drive on an Open Computer is burn Blu-ray discs using Roxio's Toast 9 software, as Ars Technica points out. Apple doesn't appear close to licensing the Blu-ray technology to make a player compatible with Mac OS X, and Psystar isn't exactly in a position to add it on itself.

And you could already burn files or home movies with Toast 9 if you had a third-party Blu-ray disc drive hooked up to a Mac, or installed in a Mac Pro. I guess if you need the storage requirements of the Blu-ray format for files on a cheap computer this might be a palatable option, but otherwise, Psystar really isn't bringing much to the table with this move.