There is an interesting article on Wired about plans for a pizza box shaped Apple clone. Apparently, a Minnesota engineer named John Fraser is trying to get Apple to support his plans to build customized Mac clones that would run OS X. Apple shutdown the thriving clone market in 1997 on the grounds that the clones were a violation of the company’s copyrights and patents.

Today, OS X continues to woo computer users of all ilks - from hardcore Unix gurus to novice Windows users, everyone seems to love the simple elegance of Apple’s breakthrough operating system. The most oft-heard complaint, however, is that Apple computers are significantly more expensive than their Wintel cousins. Even the entry-level iMacs and eMacs are by no means cheap, and they leave much to be desired in terms of both power and upgradeability. Rumors have been swirling that Apple is going to make the switch to Intel in the next 12 to 18 months, but others doubt the likelihood of such a high-risk move. Regardless of which side of the Do Switch/Don’t Switch fence you’re on, few people would disagree with the fact that Apple needs to lower the cost of at least some of its systems. Doing so will attract new customers and will allow those who want an OS X machine but can’t afford it to finally make the switch.

Anyway, back to the pizza box: if Apple gives the official “okay” to Fraser and production of these clones gets underway, it will be interesting to see what impact they have on the marketplace. In my opinion, the availability of clones will actually increase the sales of Apple’s own computers. The common Mac addict credo is that “once you go Mac, you never go back.” And with OS X, that rings particularly true. If lower-cost clones allow more people to make the initial switch to the Mac platform, it is inevitable that at least some of the converts will purchase Apple products… and chances are, they will purchase a lot of them. The best thing Apple can do is allow this type of innovation to thrive. So long as the company can maintain strong control over its platform in terms of standards and component support, the clone business will only be good for Apple.

One of the interesting tidbits in the article is the sidenote about the boxes’ design. The distinctive design was done by none other than Milwaukee’s own Mario Micheli of New Rail Creative. It will be interesting to see where the project goes, but I hope that Fraser succeeds in his quest to provide a low-cost, customizable Mac clone. We’d all be better off because of it.