[MickyUback]

I was (may go back) a PC user over 20 years. I bought a MacBook Pro in September with a Core Duo Chip, one month later Apple announces the much faster, Core 2 Duo with 800 firewire, 120 GB, etc. I had talked to an Apple rep before spending over $3000 to make the change, about the possibility of new technology. I was told that no one knew but this is the latest greatest chip so, no worries. 1 month later the Core 2 Duo comes out. I called the Apple people.. all I got was, "we are so sorry".. That’s it. Someone at Apple knew but to rip people off like me they don't tell down line employees about changes. It is totally deceiving to work like this. If you go to buy a car, you are told the new models are coming in a month, you can buy the older model at a reduced price, or you can wait to purchase the new one. NOT APPLE. If you are considering a MAC, think twice, there is an integrity issue with this company.. they are not on your side.

[outthere]

definitely they are not on your side.
anyway, feel bad for you

[abbaZaba]

gee thanks for warning all of us. we had no idea how evil they are!!1

[iomatic]

Oh, please.

Have you heard of the World Wide Web? It's this amazing place you can get tips on possible outcomes (i.e., rumors), and better yet…oh look at that, factual information: Intel chips are actually documented! I guess what you have doesn't work now?

All of a sudden one guy is Apple? Next thing he'll tell us is the Sun revolves around the Earth.

I give him:
Troll rating: -4
Cry-baby rating: -12

[Avanon]

The truth is the Mac specialist you were speaking to really did have no idea when that upgrade would happen. Specialists, and even some managers, are specifically kept in the dark because you can imagine the kind of hell raised with conjecture and misinformation. Speculation - hell, even mentioning Appleinsider or the like to a customer - is a fireable offense. No joke. It's a complicated issue, that. I'm sorry that you got caught on the wrong end of it.

Also, be aware that this upgrade fever is mostly a Mac phenomenon. Apple has such a powerful PR machine, and they are great at making incremental upgrades into a big deal. I, for instance, did not have this disease until I became a Mac user. Can't speak for everyone.

Also, good luck getting Dell or the like to replace a one-month-old machine for the upgraded model.

Be happy with your Mac. The new Macbook Pro, for all the press, is not *that* great of an upgrade and unless you are doing heavy, heavy lifting with it you will not notice a difference. It sucks, but think of the upside: your Mac is worth far more in resale value than any PC laptop.

-Martin

[analogika]

Dude, you bought a piece of digital equipment.

That is by definition obsolete the moment you cart it off the store premises. If it was worth the money you paid for it, it isn't somehow magically no longer worth the investment just because a new model comes out.

And guess what? - New models come out every few months.

Now, figure what that means if you buy a computer every three or four years: A couple of months before the new technology appears is ALWAYS "immediately after I bought it". Except that a couple of months is a whole generation.

Deal with it; that's no Apple problem or lack of integrity or whatever you want to paint it as: that's simply the way the computer market works.

If it does what you're willing to spend the money for at the time, it won't stop doing that until it breaks. Buy it and put on the blinders, and be happy.

[chrismear]

Originally Posted by Avanon 

The truth is the Mac specialist you were speaking to really did have no idea when that upgrade would happen. Specialists, and even some managers, are specifically kept in the dark because you can imagine the kind of hell raised with conjecture and misinformation. Speculation - hell, even mentioning Appleinsider or the like to a customer - is a fireable offense. No joke. It's a complicated issue, that. I'm sorry that you got caught on the wrong end of it.

That's all true, but again, it's a policy that's pretty unique to Apple, and that's what MickyUback is complaining about.

Most technology companies at least have a rough public roadmap of future products, and some even pre-announce new models and upgrades. Sure, it might cause sales of the previous model to wane as people wait for the new one, but it avoids people feeling cheated when they buy an old model the day before the new ones come out. Not to mention building up anticipation for the new products.

Also, when Apple upgrades a product line, they completely remove the old models and replace them with the new ones. Most other companies will introduce new models at the high end of the range, and will gradually reduce prices across the range. In the Apple world it feels more like there are sudden, unannounced 'cut-off dates', before which my $3000 dollars was worth this, and after which it's now worth a lot more, and the old models are apparently so obsolete they won't even sell them any more.

Of course, the practical results of either approach are roughly the same -- a given product will eventually depreciate in value, and you'll always have unfortunate people who bought just before a price drop -- but the Apple approach has a lot more potential for making people feel outright cheated.

[Millennium]

Although I feel your pain, Mickey, the specialist probably really didn't know about the models. Steve Jobs has this fetish for keeping people in the dark until the last possible second, both inside and outside the company. He calls it "surprises", but in truth it's probably more like you say.

Blame Steve, not the employee.

[Cold Warrior]

Oh man come on. Intel makes no secret of its releases. I knew Intel's release was right around the corner, and from that it was easy to estimate Apple's release.