After Wired hosted a video tutorial on how to install OS X on an MSI Wind notebook, they received a cease-and-desist letter from Apple. The step-by-step instructions were apparently too explicit for Apple, who felt threatened enough to take legal action. Ultimately, Wired took the video down, though would-be hackers can still find the video hosted at Gizmodo.
We’re not sure what legal ground Apple has to demand that a tutorial video be taken offline, since the act of hacking a netbook isn’t illegal. While the receipt of a pirated, modified copy of OS X is questionable in the legal arena, it’s doubtful that Apple can enforce the distribution of a video tutorial. They’re not, after all, going after Pirate Bay here, which is a more genuine source for the warez required. Instead, Apple is going after knowledge, and for that, they should be ashamed.
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