When is a Mac not a Mac? When it's a Psystar Open Computer.The Florida-based computer reseller looked to be reviving when it began selling a . Apple, just a wee bit concerned that installing OS X on someone else’s machine violated the OS’s user agreement, , eventually contending that other individuals were colluding with individuals and other companies to misappropriate Apple’s intellectual property. Psystar, which filed its own dismissed-and-then-amended lawsuit against Apple, . You don’t need a crystal ball to see the legal wrangling continuing into 2009.

A related trend this year: people using the standard PC parts that Apple uses in their Macs to assemble generic PCs, then installing Mac OS X on them. Even our own , creating his own "Frankenmac."

8. Apple pulls out of Expo

Speaking of news events that will be felt long after 2008 is just another memory, Apple announced that the 2009 Macworld Conference & Expo in San Francisco , as part of the company’s strategy to eliminate trade shows from its marketing efforts. While next week’s Expo will go off as planned—though with Apple executive Phil Schiller delivering the keynote instead of CEO Steve Jobs—all bets are off as to what form Macworld Expo will take in 2010. An early glimpse could be available next Wednesday, when Expo organizer IDG World Expo hosts a .

7. The MobileMe launch