In the world of hardware the name Apple is usually in amongst the top news, this is the case recently however it is for reasons that Apple might not like as much as usual. Apple have been synonymous with the Mac and anyone who works in any creative industry which requires serious hardware will tell you that there is only the Mac.

Apple have started legal proceedings against a company called Psystar as they claim that a product called OpenComputer is a direct, unadulterated replication of Mac OS X which they have simply manipulated open source-license code to enable any PC to run the Mac operating system. Psystar were served with legal papers earlier this year have now filed their own counteraction against Apple.

Psystar is taking the somewhat shaky legal ground that Apple has breached monopoly regulations by loading the Mac software exclusively for their own hardware, as they have to prove that this has adversely affected consumers and competitors. Legal experts think that Psystar are up against the wall however the counter plaintiffs insist that they provide a product which is essentially generic hardware.

When Psystar launched the OpenComputer the demand on their website crashed it and the payment processing service pulled out from the site. They eventually found another provider for taking payment and went back online however they did report a drop in sales when they were served with their legal papers in July this year however they continue to trade.

Other controversy in the world of hardware is the revelations by Amazon Germany of the supposedly top secret Microsoft new technology. The hints from Microsoft were, you can say goodbye to laser and Deutsch Amazon exposed the new Microsoft Blue Track which is a mouse technology which uses blue LED over the standard optical laser. The five button mouse was intended to be a secret until early September however it was not to be as the Explore Mini Mouse with Blue Track has been ousted.

The IFA is currently running in Berlin at the moment and although it is mainly for consumer gadgets there is a range of generational advancements in hardware. As we have seen the launch of products is meant to be kept top secret, not only to build some mystery around the product being launched, but also as we see by the recent revelations with Psystar and Apple, to keep the edge on the competition.