Apple adds support for new cameras and video cameras and/or video/RAW formats to iPhoto, iMovie, Final Cut and Aperture. those are NEW FEATURES...not bug fixes...
hell, just last week, there was an update for iPhoto that added more templates and book/card features...that was a FREE update...
That's all software enhancements. None of those updates did anything to the hardware. Did it suddenly make your USB1.1 port into a USB2 port? Firewire 400 into a Firewire 800? Or, perhaps, a 100Base-TX ethernet port into a Gigabit? A CD-RW drive into a DVD-RW drive? An XGA monitor into a UXGA monitor?
Those are the parallels you should be drawing. You bought a machine that does 802.11g, and suddenly you're going to have 802.11n.
Um, yes there is. If they were to charge for these fixes, you could sue for exactly the same thing. They sold you something that was less than the specification. Most of these are bug fixes which means the software does not behave in a way that was suggested at the time of sale.
You're talking about bug fixes. I'm talking about "enhancements" that are introduced in .1 updates. Completely different.
Unless you're trying to argue that this patch that will make your wireless card 802.11n is actually a bug-fix
That's all software enhancements. None of those updates did anything to the hardware. Did it suddenly make your USB1.1 port into a USB2 port? Firewire 400 into a Firewire 800? Or, perhaps, a 100Base-TX ethernet port into a Gigabit? A CD-RW drive into a DVD-RW drive? An XGA monitor into a UXGA monitor?
Those are the parallels you should be drawing. You bought a machine that does 802.11g, and suddenly you're going to have 802.11n.
As I have said, there have been free BIOS updates to enact such things as hyper threading or compatibility with new hardware.
You're talking about bug fixes. I'm talking about "enhancements" that are introduced in .1 updates. Completely different.
So you are agreeing with me that there are 'enhancments' that we don't have to payfor with in the OS system updates? But that is what you were saying didn't exist and would have to be paid for if they did?
As I have said, there have been free BIOS updates to enact such things as hyper threading or compatibility with new hardware.
OK, it's not that I don't believe you, but what I want to see is a clear-cut example of a (in this case) motherboard that shipped without any indication that it can or will be able to in the future (through a BIOS update) allow HT to be turned on or become compatible with future hardware, and later provided that to you for free.
As far as I'm concerned, I'm always buying M/Bs under the premise that BIOS updates will be provided in the future for compatibility with future hardware.
In this case, NOBODY bought a late 2006 iMac (or whatever) under the premise that there was an 802.11n (draft) chip in it that will become activated. Some people (e.g., ppl who frequent these boards) may have known about that chip, but nobody SHOULD HAVE expected Apple to switch it on. So if they never did, none of us would have had the right to complain.
And Apple could have done that, if they wanted to make more dough through selling 802.11n cards. They simply would not have provided us with that patch. But they decided to, and suddenly people start bitching. I really don't get it.
I'll bet Apple will charge big $$ to update their 2.5G iPhone to a true 3G phone 1 hour after Cingular rolls out their larger 3G network.
This is brilliant - they can turn a $600 phone into a $700 phone with zero effort.... That is BS.
You know what? As someone who's already made up my mind to buy the iPhone as soon as it comes out, I will be ECSTATIC to pay Apple $100 to make it a 3G phone in the future -- if that's even possible, which it most certainly is NOT.
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So you are agreeing with me that there are 'enhancments' that we don't have to payfor with in the OS system updates?
Of course there are. And those "enhancements" are nothing like what this patch will do.
I'll bet Apple will charge big $$ to update their 2.5G iPhone to a true 3G phone 1 hour after Cingular rolls out their larger 3G network.
This is brilliant - they can turn a $600 phone into a $700 phone with zero effort.... That is BS.
I believe that HSDPA is a hardware upgrade over EDGE, not just a software update.
As for your "sky is falling" scenario, chances are that Apple will add features like HSDPA, a 2nd, face mounted camera for iChat video conferencing, and double the NAND of the iPhone while keeping the same price point, if not making it slightly lower, when it "refreshes" it's iPhone product line.
Another, less certain possibility, is that Apple's iPhone's price will fall faster than the iPod originally did as the market is much more competitive. I foresee manufactures and carriers scrambling to add future forward services, like Visual Voicemail and a redesigned UI to their higher end lineup. Just like with it's Mac line, Apple doesn't need to have a majority marketshare to take a big chuck of the profits away from PC manufactures and, indirectly, the cell carriers.
I'd also like to see Apple allow other manufactures to use its patents on the multi-touch tecbology. They could make a killing off the royalties, and yet without Leopard's frameworks in place the UI of these 3rd-party phones would still suffer. A win win for Apple.
I work in the financial services sector and I'll say one thing...the SOX (Sarbannes-Oxley) law, while originally had good intent, is a pain in the ass and a typical federal government attempt to "protect us" (thanks to Enron). It is very vague and subject to great variation in interpreting what must be done to avoid very significant fines. Most companies I am aware go far and above what was probably intended by the law in order to ensure compliance. (It also provides great job justification for all those high-priced consultants who help us interpret SOX and then ask for even more money to help make sure we are in compliance).
SOX is a relatively new law, which is why many of the examples given above may not apply because they happened pre-SOX, and also why companies are still trying to figure out how to implement the regulation in a reasonable manner.
Finally, given Apple's recent legal issues around stock options grants, I'm not surprised they are trying to be squeaky-clean in all their accounting. Heck, it's probably costing them more than $1.99 just to administer the program.
Apple adds support for new cameras and video cameras and/or video/RAW formats to iPhoto, iMovie, Final Cut and Aperture. those are NEW FEATURES...not bug fixes...
hell, just last week, there was an update for iPhoto that added more templates and book/card features...that was a FREE update...
Bah! they can just add another 'o' to their name. It would go well with the typical storage location of their product.
I think this one is is really inappropriate of Apple. In the Uk, no one is going to see the name as 'secur' 'ipod' they will read it as 'securi' 'pod' because there is a large and well known security firm called Securicor and the products intended function is obviously more closely related to a security function than an audio one.
That's all software enhancements. None of those updates did anything to the hardware. Did it suddenly make your USB1.1 port into a USB2 port? Firewire 400 into a Firewire 800? Or, perhaps, a 100Base-TX ethernet port into a Gigabit? A CD-RW drive into a DVD-RW drive? An XGA monitor into a UXGA monitor?
Those are the parallels you should be drawing. You bought a machine that does 802.11g, and suddenly you're going to have 802.11n.
Irrelevant.
If you just want to talk networking firmware, in the past Apple have also added WPA2 support and not charged for it. IMHO that's a more direct parallel.
If the SOX law is basically saying that you can't now add extra features to a product post sale without having to recognise some of the revenue in the quarter the new feature shipped then I can't see how anyone can ship new features in a software update rather than just corrective bug fixes to already advertised capabilities. If so, this is a stupid law but IANAL.
If that's the gist of it, then I'm so glad my router is from Taiwan as it's had regular free updates with new features in the last six months including adding WDS and a really nice Multi-NAT page.
As I have said, there have been free BIOS updates to enact such things as hyper threading or compatibility with new hardware.
Apples don't have BIOSes, and none of the Intel chips shipped in any commercially-available Intel Mac have Hyper Threading capability. (The P4 in the "developer preview" box had HT).
Perhaps you mean the firmware update that fixed the bug in some Mac Minis that prevented virtualisation from working.
As far as iLife updates to support new cameras: that is providing already-advertised features. Apple market Macs, OS X and iLife as coming with all the latest drivers necessary to use the latest cameras etc., so these updates ensure that the advertised capability of your Mac and software is maintained.
Comments
Apple adds support for new cameras and video cameras and/or video/RAW formats to iPhoto, iMovie, Final Cut and Aperture. those are NEW FEATURES...not bug fixes...
hell, just last week, there was an update for iPhoto that added more templates and book/card features...that was a FREE update...
That's all software enhancements. None of those updates did anything to the hardware. Did it suddenly make your USB1.1 port into a USB2 port? Firewire 400 into a Firewire 800? Or, perhaps, a 100Base-TX ethernet port into a Gigabit? A CD-RW drive into a DVD-RW drive? An XGA monitor into a UXGA monitor?
Those are the parallels you should be drawing. You bought a machine that does 802.11g, and suddenly you're going to have 802.11n.
Um, yes there is. If they were to charge for these fixes, you could sue for exactly the same thing. They sold you something that was less than the specification. Most of these are bug fixes which means the software does not behave in a way that was suggested at the time of sale.
You're talking about bug fixes. I'm talking about "enhancements" that are introduced in .1 updates. Completely different.
Unless you're trying to argue that this patch that will make your wireless card 802.11n is actually a bug-fix
That's all software enhancements. None of those updates did anything to the hardware. Did it suddenly make your USB1.1 port into a USB2 port? Firewire 400 into a Firewire 800? Or, perhaps, a 100Base-TX ethernet port into a Gigabit? A CD-RW drive into a DVD-RW drive? An XGA monitor into a UXGA monitor?
Those are the parallels you should be drawing. You bought a machine that does 802.11g, and suddenly you're going to have 802.11n.
As I have said, there have been free BIOS updates to enact such things as hyper threading or compatibility with new hardware.
Those are the parallels you should be drawing. You bought a machine that does 802.11g, and suddenly you're going to have 802.11n.
I'll bet Apple will charge big $$ to update their 2.5G iPhone to a true 3G phone 1 hour after Cingular rolls out their larger 3G network.
This is brilliant - they can turn a $600 phone into a $700 phone with zero effort.... That is BS.
You're talking about bug fixes. I'm talking about "enhancements" that are introduced in .1 updates. Completely different.
So you are agreeing with me that there are 'enhancments' that we don't have to payfor with in the OS system updates? But that is what you were saying didn't exist and would have to be paid for if they did?
You rest my case.
I'll bet Apple will charge big $$ to update their 2.5G iPhone to a true 3G phone 1 hour after Cingular rolls out their larger 3G network.
This is brilliant - they can turn a $600 phone into a $700 phone with zero effort.... That is BS.
Why are you getting upset about something that hasn't happened to a product that hasn't even been released?
As I have said, there have been free BIOS updates to enact such things as hyper threading or compatibility with new hardware.
OK, it's not that I don't believe you, but what I want to see is a clear-cut example of a (in this case) motherboard that shipped without any indication that it can or will be able to in the future (through a BIOS update) allow HT to be turned on or become compatible with future hardware, and later provided that to you for free.
As far as I'm concerned, I'm always buying M/Bs under the premise that BIOS updates will be provided in the future for compatibility with future hardware.
In this case, NOBODY bought a late 2006 iMac (or whatever) under the premise that there was an 802.11n (draft) chip in it that will become activated. Some people (e.g., ppl who frequent these boards) may have known about that chip, but nobody SHOULD HAVE expected Apple to switch it on. So if they never did, none of us would have had the right to complain.
And Apple could have done that, if they wanted to make more dough through selling 802.11n cards. They simply would not have provided us with that patch. But they decided to, and suddenly people start bitching. I really don't get it.
Bah! they can just add another 'o' to their name. It would go well with the typical storage location of their product.
Yeah!!!!1!! Then it would be like PoooOO!!22!
I'll bet Apple will charge big $$ to update their 2.5G iPhone to a true 3G phone 1 hour after Cingular rolls out their larger 3G network.
This is brilliant - they can turn a $600 phone into a $700 phone with zero effort.... That is BS.
You know what? As someone who's already made up my mind to buy the iPhone as soon as it comes out, I will be ECSTATIC to pay Apple $100 to make it a 3G phone in the future -- if that's even possible, which it most certainly is NOT.
So you are agreeing with me that there are 'enhancments' that we don't have to payfor with in the OS system updates?
Of course there are. And those "enhancements" are nothing like what this patch will do.
I'll bet Apple will charge big $$ to update their 2.5G iPhone to a true 3G phone 1 hour after Cingular rolls out their larger 3G network.
This is brilliant - they can turn a $600 phone into a $700 phone with zero effort.... That is BS.
I believe that HSDPA is a hardware upgrade over EDGE, not just a software update.
As for your "sky is falling" scenario, chances are that Apple will add features like HSDPA, a 2nd, face mounted camera for iChat video conferencing, and double the NAND of the iPhone while keeping the same price point, if not making it slightly lower, when it "refreshes" it's iPhone product line.
Another, less certain possibility, is that Apple's iPhone's price will fall faster than the iPod originally did as the market is much more competitive. I foresee manufactures and carriers scrambling to add future forward services, like Visual Voicemail and a redesigned UI to their higher end lineup. Just like with it's Mac line, Apple doesn't need to have a majority marketshare to take a big chuck of the profits away from PC manufactures and, indirectly, the cell carriers.
I'd also like to see Apple allow other manufactures to use its patents on the multi-touch tecbology. They could make a killing off the royalties, and yet without Leopard's frameworks in place the UI of these 3rd-party phones would still suffer. A win win for Apple.
http://www.apple.com/imac/specs.html
SOX is a relatively new law, which is why many of the examples given above may not apply because they happened pre-SOX, and also why companies are still trying to figure out how to implement the regulation in a reasonable manner.
Finally, given Apple's recent legal issues around stock options grants, I'm not surprised they are trying to be squeaky-clean in all their accounting. Heck, it's probably costing them more than $1.99 just to administer the program.
How cute.
In Europe we wouldn't exactly consider a building dated 1926 "heritage".
If you would like to waste a 1626-1726 building you *might* get a reaction though.
Apple adds support for new cameras and video cameras and/or video/RAW formats to iPhoto, iMovie, Final Cut and Aperture. those are NEW FEATURES...not bug fixes...
hell, just last week, there was an update for iPhoto that added more templates and book/card features...that was a FREE update...
there was an iphoto update?
"1926 building" ... "Uphold Our Heritage"
How cute.
In Europe we wouldn't exactly consider a building dated 1926 "heritage".
If you would like to waste a 1626-1726 building you *might* get a reaction though.
That is reasonable.
Bah! they can just add another 'o' to their name. It would go well with the typical storage location of their product.
I think this one is is really inappropriate of Apple. In the Uk, no one is going to see the name as 'secur' 'ipod' they will read it as 'securi' 'pod' because there is a large and well known security firm called Securicor and the products intended function is obviously more closely related to a security function than an audio one.
"1926 building" ... "Uphold Our Heritage"
How cute.
In Europe we wouldn't exactly consider a building dated 1926 "heritage".
If you would like to waste a 1626-1726 building you *might* get a reaction though.
Steve's mansion isn't considered historic due to its age but because it was designed by famed architect George Washington Smith.
That's all software enhancements. None of those updates did anything to the hardware. Did it suddenly make your USB1.1 port into a USB2 port? Firewire 400 into a Firewire 800? Or, perhaps, a 100Base-TX ethernet port into a Gigabit? A CD-RW drive into a DVD-RW drive? An XGA monitor into a UXGA monitor?
Those are the parallels you should be drawing. You bought a machine that does 802.11g, and suddenly you're going to have 802.11n.
Irrelevant.
If you just want to talk networking firmware, in the past Apple have also added WPA2 support and not charged for it. IMHO that's a more direct parallel.
If the SOX law is basically saying that you can't now add extra features to a product post sale without having to recognise some of the revenue in the quarter the new feature shipped then I can't see how anyone can ship new features in a software update rather than just corrective bug fixes to already advertised capabilities. If so, this is a stupid law but IANAL.
If that's the gist of it, then I'm so glad my router is from Taiwan as it's had regular free updates with new features in the last six months including adding WDS and a really nice Multi-NAT page.
As I have said, there have been free BIOS updates to enact such things as hyper threading or compatibility with new hardware.
Apples don't have BIOSes, and none of the Intel chips shipped in any commercially-available Intel Mac have Hyper Threading capability. (The P4 in the "developer preview" box had HT).
Perhaps you mean the firmware update that fixed the bug in some Mac Minis that prevented virtualisation from working.
As far as iLife updates to support new cameras: that is providing already-advertised features. Apple market Macs, OS X and iLife as coming with all the latest drivers necessary to use the latest cameras etc., so these updates ensure that the advertised capability of your Mac and software is maintained.