July 8, 2005
Mr. Steve Jobs
CEO, Apple Computers
1 Infinite Loop
Cupertino, CA 95014
Dear Mr. Jobs:
Some decades ago, I fell in love with Apple Computers. Since then, I’ve evanglized, prostelytized, and bit my lower lip in times of seeming dispair as your organization floundered, then flourished to its present state of popularity. I’ve purchased stock in Apple Computers against all odds, even as the critics decried Apple’s solubility. In short, I’ve been a long-time advocate and disciple of your organization. I’ve fought against the prevailing trends in the computer industry since 1980 in order to be part of the “think different” generation. I was an avid enthusiast of your company and have chosen your product over the competition despite the urging of the vast majority of computer users. It came as a shock to me, therefore, when my recent post to the Apple User Forums was deleted, and I was notified to “shut up and sit down” regarding my expression of concern about how to resolve an issue of growing concern to a number of Mac users. This singular act on the part of your associates has clearly shown to me the hypocrisy of your organization’s “Think Different” philosophy and the futility of buying into your organization’s product offerings:
“What We Stand For”
Here's to the crazy ones.
The misfits.
The rebels.
The troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently.
They're not fond of rules.
And they have no respect for the status quo.
You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them,
disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can't do is ignore them.
Because they change things.
They invent. They imagine. They heal.
They explore. They create. They inspire.
They push the human race forward.
Maybe they have to be crazy.
How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art?
Or sit in silence and hear a song that's never been written?
Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?
We make tools for these kinds of people.
While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think
they can change the world, are the ones who do.
In response to a growing number of Mac users who report that their “Superdrives” have suddenly and unexpectedly “died,” I suggested in the Apple User Forums that they contact the online technical support department to notify them of the situation and in doing so, force the issue to a resolution. I’ve always adhered to the proposition that “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.” Apparently, by urging those user who have experienced this issue to take advantage of the purported service offered by your Technical Support Department to bring this issue to a higher priority, I somehow “trangressed” the terms of usage for the User Forums. I’m confused. Perhaps you might be able to enlighten me. If I understand it correctly, your organization offers 24-7 online Technical support. From what I can tell in reading dozens of posts within the User Forums, there seems to be a growing number of users who have experienced sudden, inexplicable loss of functionality with their OEM Superdrives. Many “fixes” have been offered to resolve this problem. I attempted to resolve this issue by following the various suggestions in a number of posts in the User website. When all those suggestions failed, I personally contacted an online associate to see if your organization was aware of the problem and working on a solution. In short, I was dismayed to find that your associates seemed unwilling or unable to address the issue at point. Their suggestions and avenues of exploration were nothing more than a recitation of the fixes offered in the User Forums. At that point, it became clear to me that your organization was unwilling or unable to address the issue in question.
I read a posting that asked “what can we do to resolve this issue...” I chose to share my experience with Technical Support online with the Mac Community and urged anyone with this issue to contact the online Tech Support with queries about the subject in order to bring this issue to the attention of someone within your organization and, hopefully, to bring to a resolution this pressing issue. For my efforts, I was notified that my posting was “inappropriate” and ran contrary to the Terms of Usage as defined by your organization. My posting was deleted and I was notifed that I had been censored. Apparently, “thinking different” is no longer politically acceptable within your user forums. I am deeply disappointed, and feel betrayed by your associates taking a heavyhanded approach to answering my call to activism. If your organization doesn’t subscribe to the “think different” philosophy any more, I’d appreciate it if you would say so. Nothing in my post seems to be hostile, “inappropriate,” or otherwise controversial to me. So why did your representatives seem so eager to censor my comments?
Needless to say, the course of action taken by your associates in response to my comments have had a chilling effect upon my willingness to share my Mac experience with other users. I’ve sold my stock in Apple, have renounced my “mac-o-philia” and don’t intend to purchase any Apple products in the future. Clearly, your organization has abandoned its early corporate philosophy to “think different” in deference to a philosophy based upon return on investment. Count me out. Just as the political system in this country has sold out its constituency, your organization has marginalized your loyal user base in favor of the almighty dollar. Good luck. You won’t be getting any more from me. I intend to contact as many people as I can to urge them to reconsider their subsidizing of your organization. Enough of the bells and whistles. Enough of the “dog and pony show.” From now on, I’m going to “think different.” That means looking beyond a duplicitous corporate entity with a marginal market share for my computing needs. I promise you that I won’t be posting any comments in your User Forums any more - God forbid that my comments should cause your corporate “suits” to examine their commitment to serving their user base. I’ll just “shut up and sit down,” as directed by the thought police who monitor the User Forums so your organization won’t be responsive to users who have issues that haven’t been addressed. Thanks for the surrealistic example of the infamous “1984” commercial. At least now I’m clear where I stand vis-a-vis Apple Computers.
Respectfully yours,
Daniel Bogdan
The following is the message from the "Forum Thought Police" regarding my suggestions... Am I off base with my response, or has the right to freedom of expression been shut down in favor of adherance to the "party line?"
___________
Daniel Bogdan,
We urge you to read our Terms of Use so that you may discover what constitutes an appropriate post to our service. Section two, "Submissions," is most germane.
Your post titled "G4 iMac w Tiger has stopped reading audio CDs" has been removed from Apple Discussions. A copy of this message can be found below. This area is intended to address technical issues about Apple products. Posts that do not conform to the Apple Discussions Terms of Use are inappropriate.
Please see the Terms of Use Agreement at
http://discussions.info.apple.com/help for more information on the proper use of Apple's Discussion forums. Each Discussion user is required to agree to these terms before gaining posting privileges. You reserve the right to not post on Apple Discussions should you disagree with these terms.
If you would like to send feedback to Apple about a product, please use the appropriate selection at
http://www.apple.com/feedback
Sometimes you have comments or concerns for which there is no technical response. If you need the kind of help that a troubleshooting expert can't provide, you can call Apple's Customer Relations group.
++++++++++
This message is sent from a send-only email account. Any replies sent to this address are deleted automatically by the system.
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A copy of your message for reference:
I suggest everyone with this problem do as I did last evening: I went on the live chat with a Technician and expressed my concern that this problem appears to be growing among the Mac community with no response or acknowledgment from Apple Computers. Of course, he went through the usual hoops with me: use a commercial cleaner, Update the Firmware from October 2002 (which I had indicated that I had already done), delete the various .plist files and reboot, zap PRAM, etc. When I indicated that I had done all those things with no apparent success, he said to bring it in to an authorized repair center. I told him "no way," as I am firmly convinced that the drive is not faulty. I don't think it's a hardware issue at all, since I'm reading scores of people who are experiencing the very same symptoms. Like others, it reads and writes "regular" CDs (700MB), as well a being able to read previously burned DVDs, but seems to balk at blank DVDs entirely. It plays audio CDs just fine.
Since Apple won't come to the masses, let's have the masses converge upon Apple via their Live Tech Support. Let's bombard them with our very real and very serious issue until they get the message... AND RESPOND APPROPRIATELY!!!
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