[Taloston Man]

I've been at the cottage for a few weeks, and the whole time was dilligently and obsessively reading the latest issue of Macworld, the issue detailing the iBook.
On Friday morning (the 6th of July) I broke down and called my local reseller to order an iBook 500/DVD/128/20. The order was sealed, and it occured to me that I never actually checked out a shipping date. My cellphone was out of batteries however, so I waited until I got home this morning to check out the date at the Apple Store Canada (I'm from Toronto). Much to my unfortunate surprise, ALL ORDERS, BTO or not, from the Apple Store US OR CANADA are showing a 20 business day shipping time!
Since I'm not willing to upgrade the hard drive myself, the only option I have is to go through the Apple Store. But is it just me or were the shipping dates fixed at 8 or 9 days for ALL models only a week and a bit ago!?!?
What happened, Apple!?!
Does anybody know anything about this? I'm guessing that they must be fulfilling any large education orders for next year, but a month wait for a computer that's been out for two months is a bit ridiculous I think.
Any info or help would be appreciated.

Thanks
Trevor Haldenby

iMac DVSE 400/192/13 ---

[vinkint]

this is what ive heard:
apple closes their money year july first, and the only stock that they count for their inventory is actually complete, ready to ship computers. so they have hundreds and hundreds of computers that need like one screw or something so that they're not complete and counted for inventory.

[vinkint]

oh yea - as of yesterday ive been waiting six weeks for mine. its a combo/28/10

[iBook2]

I wouldn't complain. Your wait is still shorter than the majority. I waited over 30 days for my 20GB/256MB Combo. It was worth the wait too! Just be patient. When you get it you'll forget about the wait.

I ordered mine (500/DVD/128/10 - i.e. stock DVD) on June 14 through the education store, at which time the website said "8 days." A few days later the website said "15 days," and now says "20 days." I called Apple in the middle of all this, and they said there was a "constraint" on the iBooks, but didn't give any more info.

I got a little restless and called Thursday - the Ed Div folks said that mine was due to ship over the weekend -- still no change in the order status however.

Has ANYONE out there received a DVD model or even had one shipped over the past two weeks? How many of you still have one on order?

[spicyjeff]

There are two major issues working against anyone ordering a computer from Apple this time of year. The first is that it is close to the end of the finacial year for them so they try to bring down inventory to the ulitmately lowest level they can. And second is that MacWorld is less than two weeks away and this means they are busy preping new machines that will be introduced so macufacturing lines for some models might be switched over so less new inventory of shipping machines. this is particularly true if they know a mchine is going to be upgraded...at which point they will give you a date after they new models will be introduced since they don't want to have to make a few old models no to fill orders, they would rather make alot of new modesl and just give you they newer one when its ready.

[Taloston Man]

I suppose that the Financial Year-End thing is quite a reality, even if it is a bit of an aggravating move on Apple's part. But as for the production rampup for Macworld models, I would think they'd pick something other than the iBook....
I mean, judging from what forum-folk have been saying, as well as just the overall widespread popularity of these things, wouldn't it make sense to steal a production line away from something that wasn't their top selling product that needs to get out into the channels? We know that Apple hasn't been making Cubes for a while now, and iMacs probably haven't been scorching out the factory doors.
I just have a bad feeling that I'm not seeing this computer until the third week of August, and that's incredibly annoying.

Trevor Haldenby

[vinkint]

Originally posted by iBook2:
<STRONG>I wouldn't complain. Your wait is still shorter than the majority. I waited over 30 days for my 20GB/256MB Combo. It was worth the wait too! Just be patient. When you get it you'll forget about the wait. </STRONG>

youi sure hope that this isnt pointed at me.. gah.. SIX weeks. SIX!!!

[Circa]

Don't worry man it will come, be glad your getting one.[/LIST][/LIST]

[milhaus]

I walked into the University of Toronto Computer Shop and laid down $2139.00 CDN for a DVD iBook one month ago - no calling ahead, no waiting, nothing. I understand that BTOs will take longer, but if you want the iBook now, they're not *that* hard to find in major centers. In Toronto, lots of stores have them hanging around. If you're in cottage country out here, make a few calls, drop in and pick yourself one up.

Instead of paying the ridiculous amout Apple charges for 10 gig upgrade - a ridiculous $306 Canadian, why not invest in a pocket firewire Hard Drive? Order from various places an oxford chip enabled, bus powered 20 Gig firewire hard drive for about the same amount, meaning that you will have 30 gigs, not 20 of storage, more flexibility. You can fit bascially all the apps you have for both OSes on the 10 gig drive (well, all the ones you've paid for ;-)).

[Taloston Man]

I've never seen a bus-powered 20 gig Firewire HD for 300 dollars Canadian.....
The 20 gigs all at once is important, as I'd like to be editing some pseudo-lengthy video on the one hard drive as well....

Trevor Haldenby

[jules]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by milhaus:
[QB]I walked into the University of Toronto Computer Shop and laid down $2139.00

I assume that did not include GST and PST?

[milhaus]

$2139 is the price without taxes - an educational savings of about sixty dollars over regular (then add taxes of course).

As for a $300 Canadian bus-powered drive, you won't find one in Canada. But you can buil yourself one, as drive kits are falling to below $100, and there are reports of 20 Travelstars at about $100 - of course, we're talking US dollars and US mail order companies, so shipping might bump it up. So it'd cost a bit more than $306 C, but this would also give you 50% more capacity. (20 with the BTO, 30 with the FW drive).

By the way, when the portable drives get the Oxford 911 chip - already available at electricdeal.com - they'll be faster than the internal drive, so another thing to consider for DV editing. Don't try buying things like FW drives in Canada - anywhere - that'd be as bad as buying from Apple direct.

[dennett]

I placed an order for 2 iBooks, combo drives, 128mg, 10gb, and Airport cards on June 26, and got them both on July 5!!!!!! Less than 2 weeks, I tracked them via Fed Ex and they got to San Diego in 3 days. I couldn't be happier with the whole process, I'm typing on one of them now, I haven't opened the other box yet. These were ordered through Apple Education department not the standard Apple Store. Good luck to those still waiting!!!

[funkboy]

I ordered mine last Monday, and was told then that the mail-order catalog was told the next shipment would be July 13th. I wasn't too happy with this, but I thought I might as well get in the queue... and now, look, I only have ... ick, 4 more days before it may even ship out.

I also saw the 20 day wait at the Apple Store... I sure hope that Apple isn't prepping a newer iBook that will in some way knock the socks off the current offering... I just want to start enjoying my iBook! I'd think two months after the introduction of a "hot new computer" they'd be easy to get ahold of... sigh...

[2far]

OK, calm down, guys. I ordered mine directly from one of the two Apple distributors in Switzerland on May 2 (DVD version). My iBook was number thirteen. Now--over two months later--it seems to have advanced to number eleven, but the distributor has no date at all for the next delivery from Apple. All Apple has told them, was that "85 % of the backlog will be delivered in July", which could mean another 20 days (if Apple tells the truth ...). All this makes me think that Apple has huge logistic problems.

[Taloston Man]

Ech.
I went to an Apple OSX seminar today (which was great by the way) and this gave me the opportunity to ask an Apple Marketing person face to face what they knew about these sudden shipping date jumps.
His reply was "Well....maybe it would be....uh...can't really say anything....WORTH YOUR WHILE to wait that extra little time until after the middle of next week maybe....".
This is aggravating. He was a really nice guy, but with a comment like this he's either yanking my chain like a bit of an ass, or instead correctly inferring that a probably minor change will be made to the Dual USB iBook at Macworld next week. All I can imagine Apple adding is 128 megs of RAM to the base configuration, which really isn't worth waiting like this for....
But I got my hands on one for the first time, and it's a really nice machine, so small that I almost didn't see it and that's one helluva screen, especially under OSX. My only bizarre qualm was that I couldn't get the machine to sleep by shutting the lid. I'd shut it, then it was only when I reopened it again to see how fast that it would wake up that the LCD would actually turn OFF and the pulsing white light come on.....
Is this feature supported on the iBook, or do I have to sleep it from the menu before closing the lid (cool hinge too, not nearly as obnoxious as the pictures and movies would make it out to be).
Cool though....
I also got my first chance to play with OSX and found it to be much more....friendly than most people had been inferring. Classic is much more useful than I thought it would be, and the speed of it, while certainly not fast, even on the iBook with 128 RAM really didn't bother me too much.

Anyways, this is a bit rambly, but in summary: the journey goes on....

Trevor Haldenby