Keep on whining!!!
Just because you've ordered a PB doesn't mean you have to stop. If not for a very good edu price I might not have ordered the book. Apple needs to get to the point where their customers don't have to go through all sorts of contortions to get a decent price or warrantee (thank-you Amex).
But just to prove that whining DOES work, and that the rumor community is still the best part of the mac platform here's a little linky that no one has brought up yet despite being a few days old:
From the loveable folks at <a href="http://www.appleturns.com"; target="_blank">AtAT</a>:
<strong>
Say, remember all that pre-Expo rumbling about how Apple was planning to start charging for iDVD 3, iPhoto 2, and iMovie 3? Well, as you know, those three products were unveiled during last week's Stevenote, and the only one that'll actually cost anything is iDVD 3; both iPhoto 2 and iMovie 3 will be available as free downloads once the software is released in a couple of weeks, and the main reason why iDVD 3 won't be downloadable right alongside them is because it's just so frickin' huge. iDVD 3-- along with the other two products and the previously-released iTunes 3-- will be available for $49 as the boxed "iLife" suite later this month.
You may recall that the hint that Apple might start charging for its iApps the same way it started charging for its previously-free iTools service sent some Mac fans into fits of apoplexy. So was it a whole lot of teeth-gnashing over nothing? Well, yeah, but only barely; according to Think Secret, Apple really was planning to charge for the latest and greatest versions of its digital hub applications, and there's some pretty compelling evidence that Steve only changed his mind at the last minute. Author Jim Heid was granted prerelease access to the software in order to work on his forthcoming book, The Macintosh iLife; a preview of the book (one that was distributed by Apple itself on the show floor) notes clearly that "iTunes 3 is included with iLife, and remains freely downloadable from Apple's web site... iPhoto 2, iMovie 3, and iDVD 3 will not be downloadable." Verrrry interesting.
Indeed, if Think Secret's sources can be believed, it was that very moaning and wailing about the rumored charge for iMovie and iPhoto upgrades that prevented it from becoming reality. Reportedly El Steve-o was "surprised" by the "overwhelmingly negative" response to reports that users would have to fork over yet more cash to stay current; from this we can only deduce that Jobs has a certain blind spot when it comes to pattern-matching skills, unless Apple somehow received "overwhelmingly positive" feedback when it decided to charge for .Mac, when it made existing Mac OS X users buy the whole product again at full price just to upgrade to 10.2, etc. Whatever. The point is that Steve reportedly decided just four days before the keynote that he would make iPhoto 2 and iMovie 3 freely downloadable, and that his decision came due to a whole lot of complaining among the faithful. Who says whining never gets you anywhere?</strong>
We know Steve secretly wishes a horrible death on all of us, but I can't see how the rumor community has done anything but help Apple avoid a huge PR fiasco. iApps need to be free AND macs need o be cheaper, it isn't a one or the other proposition.
But just to prove that whining DOES work, and that the rumor community is still the best part of the mac platform here's a little linky that no one has brought up yet despite being a few days old:
From the loveable folks at <a href="http://www.appleturns.com"; target="_blank">AtAT</a>:
<strong>
Say, remember all that pre-Expo rumbling about how Apple was planning to start charging for iDVD 3, iPhoto 2, and iMovie 3? Well, as you know, those three products were unveiled during last week's Stevenote, and the only one that'll actually cost anything is iDVD 3; both iPhoto 2 and iMovie 3 will be available as free downloads once the software is released in a couple of weeks, and the main reason why iDVD 3 won't be downloadable right alongside them is because it's just so frickin' huge. iDVD 3-- along with the other two products and the previously-released iTunes 3-- will be available for $49 as the boxed "iLife" suite later this month.
You may recall that the hint that Apple might start charging for its iApps the same way it started charging for its previously-free iTools service sent some Mac fans into fits of apoplexy. So was it a whole lot of teeth-gnashing over nothing? Well, yeah, but only barely; according to Think Secret, Apple really was planning to charge for the latest and greatest versions of its digital hub applications, and there's some pretty compelling evidence that Steve only changed his mind at the last minute. Author Jim Heid was granted prerelease access to the software in order to work on his forthcoming book, The Macintosh iLife; a preview of the book (one that was distributed by Apple itself on the show floor) notes clearly that "iTunes 3 is included with iLife, and remains freely downloadable from Apple's web site... iPhoto 2, iMovie 3, and iDVD 3 will not be downloadable." Verrrry interesting.
Indeed, if Think Secret's sources can be believed, it was that very moaning and wailing about the rumored charge for iMovie and iPhoto upgrades that prevented it from becoming reality. Reportedly El Steve-o was "surprised" by the "overwhelmingly negative" response to reports that users would have to fork over yet more cash to stay current; from this we can only deduce that Jobs has a certain blind spot when it comes to pattern-matching skills, unless Apple somehow received "overwhelmingly positive" feedback when it decided to charge for .Mac, when it made existing Mac OS X users buy the whole product again at full price just to upgrade to 10.2, etc. Whatever. The point is that Steve reportedly decided just four days before the keynote that he would make iPhoto 2 and iMovie 3 freely downloadable, and that his decision came due to a whole lot of complaining among the faithful. Who says whining never gets you anywhere?</strong>
We know Steve secretly wishes a horrible death on all of us, but I can't see how the rumor community has done anything but help Apple avoid a huge PR fiasco. iApps need to be free AND macs need o be cheaper, it isn't a one or the other proposition.
Comments
the funny part is so many people were worked up over having to pay for them, that by making them free it really shut up the bitching, and everyone (for the most part) walked away happy and impressed with the show.
it's strange, but i really believe that a $49 charge for iApps would have outweighed the coolness of the new PB's, and focused all of the attention on the MW away from the new hardware, and squarely on Apple's new found love for charging people for formally free apps.
smart move on steve's part if this story is true.
Okay... so...
Goddammit, Apple is NEVER going to release a low cost tower EVER! For $999, with PCI and AGP slots, and single G4 processors, no WAY! Same with updated 1.2 GHz iMacs and eMacs with 15"-19" displays, starting at $599 and available in two weeks. And there will never be a 50% discount to anyone who orders Apple products from their online store or by phone or at their store, ever. Nope, AppleInsider is a rumor site, and this rumor site is saying that it'll never happen. Furthermore, Steve Jobs can suck it, because I'm right about this and he's wrong.
For some reason Apple really really hates rumor sites. They've tried to villanize and criminalize "insiders" and they routinely produce frivolous legal harrasment when a site "publishes" news. Jobs himself mentions rumor sites during keynotes as if to discredit them. But think about it, rumor sites were dead accurate this time around. We said Apple would try to chintz out and charge for iApps, and we now know they only decided not to at the very last moment, and 12 and 17" PB rumors were already in full effect before Jobs ever mentioned the Aluminium powerbooks.