My wife got me a 5GB iPod on Friday. After hearing the prediction for upgrades, I took it back to the Apple Store.
When I told the employee why I was returning it...."because there is going to be an upgrade on Wednesday"...I got total silence. No repsonse from any of the employees standing there. No denials. Granted this isn;t too surprising since any response would cause Steve to materialize there on the spot and fire everyone in the store and several stores to either side of it. But.....
When he was processing my refund, he asked, "Would you like this as a gift card? You know, you could just use it when you come back on Wednesday."
Why would he assume I was coming back unless there was going to be a new iPod for me to come back to?
OK, pretty flimsy, but it's my story, and I'm sticking with it.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Yes, there is a serious fault with this "locking" a new iPod. The assumption could just as easily be that on Wednesday, when you find out that there is NOT a new iPod, you'll come back to pick up the original one. I mean the fact that you had one, indicates that you'd be willing to buy the original one, if a new one didn't exist.
With two days till MWNY there is clear that nobody has any real idea of what is going to happen Wenesday morning.I hope that this is sign that Steve is keeping everything tightly underwraps. I think Steve is furious every time he has a some to show off the press...it leaked. ATI did it a few years back, the photo of the new powermac enclosures (even though most of us thought they were fakes) and most recently TIME with the photo and article about the LCD iMac. Apple knows that they get the most press out of MWNY & MWSF, they want to maximize thier exposure of update MacOS features, new hardware and new iApplications. Now a company like Apple is always going to do releases and update during the year (iPod event), but there bread and butter PR comes from Macworld..this includes related feature in magazines like Time and Business Week. All the major papers (Wallstreet Journal, NY Times, Boston Globe, etc...) will run stories on apple. You will see Steve doing interviews on CNN...So this is big for apple.
I hoping steve really wants to WOW us.
By the way....WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME STEVE SAID "OH AND ONE MORE THING"?
<strong>The most immediate economic concern for Apple it seems to me is the fact that they *are* going to introduce the G5 and completely leave G4 users in the dust like they did with G3 when the G4 came out so shortly later (I believe B&W G3 came out in January 99, G4s came just a few months later in September of that same year).
In other words, looking at Apple's past schemes to rip us off, they just might announce a new G4 *enclosure* at this Macworld and then wait until a special event next January or February to drop a completely new processor and motherboard in it, enraging a lot of us again -- those of us who can't drop $3k at every wink of a new piece of complex machinery, which is all they are, as much as Steve Jobs would dispute that.
It's probably just that I'm mad about still having a B&W G3 350 and the fact that my iBook runs slow as mud in OSX (which, hopefully, will be alleviated in 10.2, but probably not because I do not believe this first-generation dual-USB iBook is compatabile with Quartz).
I wish Apple would listen at least offer owner-loyalty discounts for their new hardware--something. I could build a wonderful Wintel for less than a grand, but I won't because there's no direct control over what's happening inside the confines of my operating system. -- but wait, is this not the evolutionary path of the Mac OS, seeing as X is allowing users less and less direct interface with the brain of the OS? Shudder.
We should all go Linux to see what Apple'd do.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Why do you consider this "ripping us off"? 9 months, while not long in Apple's world, is an eternity in the computer world. The g3 had been around quite a while at this point.
Owner-loyalty discounts would bankrupt Apple just like any other computer manufacturer. I mean, there's law-suits to consider as well.....this guy bought his six months ago and got a discount, my 1 1/2 year old machine is slow now, why can't I get a discount too.....I'm gonna sue. Think this is silly, look at the Wallstreet/graphics/OSX class action that was recently going on
C'mon, buying a computer and having it out-of-date in 6 months is simply part of the market. You accept that and recycle every few years.
As a side note, why does OSX run so slowly on your B&W? I'm presently running it on a TiBook550 and a 9600/350(no upgrade - thank you XPostFacto ) and there's not much difference between them. That's probably due to other considerations (ATA/66 4500rpm Ti vs U2W cheetah raid in 9600, 256meg vs 768meg, mobility Radeon vs RadeonPCI 32meg, etc), but there's no reason you can't max out (or even upgrade) your B&W as I've done with the 9600. I'd be willing to bet that just a drive upgrade (to better ie U2W or U160 SCSI, not a new ATA) would make a huge difference.
As I couldn't sleep tonight, I found myself scouring the Internet looking for the latest conjecture, gossip, speculation, news, and rumors on what the next few days will bring in the Mac World...
I was struck by something after reading someone say how amazed they were from the lack of "hype" that Apple put out. I'm actually glad they DID NOT give any hollywood '4 days till..' type messages on their website.
However, I also couldn't help but wonder...anyone check TimeCanda lately?? Hahahahah..
In all seriousness..I'm eagerly hoping good news as for upgrades to iTunes, iMovie and that new iApp for video. I wouldn't mind a bigger iPod (although my 10 gig is fine)..
I would have hoped for a 17" iMac FlatPanel to be released NEXT year..but understand why Apple might and probably will...I'll just have to enjoy the smaller screen for a while..
Again, I'm really hoping for an iMovie update!! It seems to be the forgotten iApp for some reason.
I think the fact that they released QT6 yesterday suggests that Steve will have plenty to talk about tomorrow morning.
I think they are really going to focus on Jaguar. It seems like a pretty amazing upgrade (bigger than the 10.0->10.1 change.)
The downside to this is that it's pretty remeniscent of last year. I've been to 3 or 4 MWNYs and last year was really awful. No new product announcements and underwhelming speed bumps. I can remember the horrible dissapointment of everyone around me when he announced the Dual 800 G4s. But 10.1 was cool.
[quote]In all seriousness..I'm eagerly hoping good news as for upgrades to iTunes, iMovie and that new iApp for video. I wouldn't mind a bigger iPod (although my 10 gig is fine)..<hr></blockquote>
I'm confused. We have iMovie and iDVD. What are you referring to? Please don't say iShake.
RE: powermacs. I have an aging g3 400. But to be honest, i do most of my work AT work and I have a dual 533, which is fine, and could always be faster, but i do video editing, web design and graphic design and for all three of these, it really does the job well under osx. Final Cut 3 is a dream (minus a couple of stability issues). It's super fast . Photoshop 7 is solid and fast.
I guess all i'm trying to say is, I can wait for the next generation. And once Apple finally gets into the groove and releases a serious powermac (beyond g4), I will personally buy one for home and have work buy at least three to upgrade the machines we use here.
Money isn't the issue: performance and longevity is.
Comments
<strong>The new iPod is a lock.....
My wife got me a 5GB iPod on Friday. After hearing the prediction for upgrades, I took it back to the Apple Store.
When I told the employee why I was returning it...."because there is going to be an upgrade on Wednesday"...I got total silence. No repsonse from any of the employees standing there. No denials. Granted this isn;t too surprising since any response would cause Steve to materialize there on the spot and fire everyone in the store and several stores to either side of it. But.....
When he was processing my refund, he asked, "Would you like this as a gift card? You know, you could just use it when you come back on Wednesday."
Why would he assume I was coming back unless there was going to be a new iPod for me to come back to?
OK, pretty flimsy, but it's my story, and I'm sticking with it.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Yes, there is a serious fault with this "locking" a new iPod. The assumption could just as easily be that on Wednesday, when you find out that there is NOT a new iPod, you'll come back to pick up the original one. I mean the fact that you had one, indicates that you'd be willing to buy the original one, if a new one didn't exist.
I hoping steve really wants to WOW us.
By the way....WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME STEVE SAID "OH AND ONE MORE THING"?
<strong>The most immediate economic concern for Apple it seems to me is the fact that they *are* going to introduce the G5 and completely leave G4 users in the dust like they did with G3 when the G4 came out so shortly later (I believe B&W G3 came out in January 99, G4s came just a few months later in September of that same year).
In other words, looking at Apple's past schemes to rip us off, they just might announce a new G4 *enclosure* at this Macworld and then wait until a special event next January or February to drop a completely new processor and motherboard in it, enraging a lot of us again -- those of us who can't drop $3k at every wink of a new piece of complex machinery, which is all they are, as much as Steve Jobs would dispute that.
It's probably just that I'm mad about still having a B&W G3 350 and the fact that my iBook runs slow as mud in OSX (which, hopefully, will be alleviated in 10.2, but probably not because I do not believe this first-generation dual-USB iBook is compatabile with Quartz).
I wish Apple would listen at least offer owner-loyalty discounts for their new hardware--something. I could build a wonderful Wintel for less than a grand, but I won't because there's no direct control over what's happening inside the confines of my operating system. -- but wait, is this not the evolutionary path of the Mac OS, seeing as X is allowing users less and less direct interface with the brain of the OS? Shudder.
We should all go Linux to see what Apple'd do.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Why do you consider this "ripping us off"? 9 months, while not long in Apple's world, is an eternity in the computer world. The g3 had been around quite a while at this point.
Owner-loyalty discounts would bankrupt Apple just like any other computer manufacturer. I mean, there's law-suits to consider as well.....this guy bought his six months ago and got a discount, my 1 1/2 year old machine is slow now, why can't I get a discount too.....I'm gonna sue. Think this is silly, look at the Wallstreet/graphics/OSX class action that was recently going on
C'mon, buying a computer and having it out-of-date in 6 months is simply part of the market. You accept that and recycle every few years.
As a side note, why does OSX run so slowly on your B&W? I'm presently running it on a TiBook550 and a 9600/350(no upgrade - thank you XPostFacto
I was struck by something after reading someone say how amazed they were from the lack of "hype" that Apple put out. I'm actually glad they DID NOT give any hollywood '4 days till..' type messages on their website.
However, I also couldn't help but wonder...anyone check TimeCanda lately?? Hahahahah..
In all seriousness..I'm eagerly hoping good news as for upgrades to iTunes, iMovie and that new iApp for video. I wouldn't mind a bigger iPod (although my 10 gig is fine)..
I would have hoped for a 17" iMac FlatPanel to be released NEXT year..but understand why Apple might and probably will...I'll just have to enjoy the smaller screen for a while..
Again, I'm really hoping for an iMovie update!! It seems to be the forgotten iApp for some reason.
Christopher
I think they are really going to focus on Jaguar. It seems like a pretty amazing upgrade (bigger than the 10.0->10.1 change.)
The downside to this is that it's pretty remeniscent of last year. I've been to 3 or 4 MWNYs and last year was really awful. No new product announcements and underwhelming speed bumps. I can remember the horrible dissapointment of everyone around me when he announced the Dual 800 G4s. But 10.1 was cool.
I'm confused. We have iMovie and iDVD. What are you referring to? Please don't say iShake.
[ 07-16-2002: Message edited by: MrSparkle ]</p>
I guess all i'm trying to say is, I can wait for the next generation. And once Apple finally gets into the groove and releases a serious powermac (beyond g4), I will personally buy one for home and have work buy at least three to upgrade the machines we use here.
Money isn't the issue: performance and longevity is.