Tiger: Now I’m Annoyed
on 04.12.05, 07:30am in mac • comments (26)
A few weeks back, I asked about what the Tiger upgrade would be for my new Mac Mini that I purchased at the beginning of March.
Apparently (unless I’m missing something), the only ‘upgrade’ program Apple is offering is that if you purchase a Mac after April 12th (today), the upgrade to Tiger is free. Otherwise it’s $129.
Here comes my rant: I certainly wouldn’t mind paying $25 or so for the upgrade, considering I just bought a $700 machine from them 4 weeks ago. However, $129 is freaking ridiculous.
JeffMc (April 12, 2005 @ 7:50 am)
Oh Well, I get one with my developer connection. And farming out $129 doesn’t seem all that bad, considering what XP Pro costs. (Some of us do not work for monopolies, therefore must pay full price
).
Steve (April 12, 2005 @ 7:57 am)
It is bad, when I have to buy an upgrade that costs $129 when I just plopped down $700 4 weeks ago.
RandyRants.com (April 12, 2005 @ 8:50 am)
Sour Apple?
Tiger
Randy (April 12, 2005 @ 8:51 am)
Farming out $129 doesn’t seem that BAD? 10.x will have cost you $516 over the same time period that XP has been out, if you bought ever dot-release. Do the math, then justify your comment.
Beau (April 12, 2005 @ 9:02 am)
They did the same BS with Panther, if you recall (http://bmonday.com/archive/2003/10/29/319.aspx ).
If Microsoft charged for point releases there’d be riots in Redmond. Why can Apple get away with this?
Beau
Steve (April 12, 2005 @ 9:45 am)
I guess that’s my point - If MS charged for XPSP2, there would of been an endless barrage of bashings. I would totally support it if it was an upgrade to OS 11 or something, but this is a freaking point release.
JeffMc (April 12, 2005 @ 9:45 am)
Listen, you know as well as anyone that if Redmond could figure how to release an OS every 18 months, they would charge you up the wazoo. Microsoft isn’t stupid enough to leave money on the table. They just can’t ship an OS
Beau, as I recall, you cringed when I said my company was all Apple based, so i assume that you are anti-Apple, so your “How can Apple get away with this?” comment is very subjective.
Stev e on the other hand has (or has had) two Macs. Now I have to agree with him on the April 12th date. I have two G5’s, an iMac G4 and a Mini and a Powerbook to upgrade. I get one copy with my Dev thing, so I would have to pay $199 for a 5 seat copy of Tiger to populate my home machines. My work machine is covered, so no big deal there. And for what it is worth. I have spent more money on MS software for my Macs that I have on Apple OSes for my Macs. Office Pro for Mac is not cheap.
Ok enough, we can agree to disagree. You guys are WinHeads, I am a MacHead. Everyone has an opinion. You charge what the market bears. That is the capitalism and marketing. Any anyone who suggests that it is wrong, move to a socialist country.
Let the flames begin.
JeffMc (April 12, 2005 @ 10:26 am)
What I left out on my previous comment, when agreeing with Steve on the April 12th date, is that 10 days ago I bought a new G5, so I do not get the upgrade, either and that makes me sad.
Steve (April 12, 2005 @ 10:43 am)
Actually, it has nothing to do with being a ‘winhead’ — I’ve been VERY supportive of apple as of late.
I just find it BS to have to pay $129 for a computer I just bought, for a MINOR os upgrade. I would have been FINE with Apple emailing me, saying ‘hey, you just bought a mini, here’s a coupon for half off’ or something.
JeffMc (April 12, 2005 @ 11:03 am)
Microsoft did the same thing between NT 3.1 , NT 3.5 and NT 3.51. And Microsoft really doesn’t do point revs anymore, do they? They call them service packs. Apple’s point releases are major releases. OS X 10.x is a OS platform. Linux does point releases and does major overhauls (2.4 to 2.6 kernel). I know you have been supportive of Apple, Steve. My winhead was not directed at you. And you keep missing the point, that I agree with you on the upgrade for a new piece of hardware. Anyway, like I said, we can agree to disagree. I believe Microsoft should have given me a $29 upgrade to Virtual PC from 6 to 7, instead of charging me $99, but I paid the $99, because I am sure alot of hard work was put into it, and I find value in it. As far as $129 for Tiger, I find value in it. AM I upset over paying $129 for a machine I bought last week? You bet! And again, your point is valid of buying a machine 4 weeks ago. Maybe if Apple had called Tiger OS X 11.0, or OS X 2005 Professional Edition, you would not have been so upset?
I know, no matter what I say, I am wrong. Been there before…
Randy (April 12, 2005 @ 11:12 am)
Sorry Jeff - you’re being blind and one sided.
XP/SP1 IS a point release. So is SP2. Minor features added and bug fixes. Microsoft used to sell point releases (Win 3.0 to 3.1 to 3.11 comes to mind) but that was about 15 years ago - business has moved on to NOT charging for minor releases. Apple still does it and they charge full price for it with no path for upgrades.
The complaint here - as I see it anyway - is that anyone that bought a Mac mini before today is screwed. Anyone that bought a G5 YESTERDAY gets screwed because there’s no forewarning from Apple and what’s worse is no support for early adopters. For that alone Apple should be slapped with a class action law suit… in good faith, they should at least offer a free upgrade or pay-for-shipping for people that bought new back through April and March.
Beyond that, 10.1 through 10.4 should either have had more major features for the cash or been rolled into two major releases… if they keep charging 129 for point releases, I’d rather NOT have them ever 18 months and save more money.
Steve (April 12, 2005 @ 11:12 am)
Dont get me wrong, I like Tiger. If it was OS X 11 (and had enough ‘new’ features to warrent it), then I’d be fine.
We can choose to disagree, I just see Apple not doing themselves any favors with the fans that support their 3% market share.
Andrew (April 12, 2005 @ 11:20 am)
I am just wondering how this would apply to someone like me who ordered a mini from the apple store online March 30th? The shipment date isn’t until the 21st of this month and I have yet to be billed for / pay for the mini; am i in the same boat as everyone else or do you think they will charge me full price for the upgrade/ I havent even got the machine yet and the OS has been updated, what a great first impression of apple.
JeffMc (April 12, 2005 @ 11:39 am)
Blind and one sided: Your opinion Randy.
Apple is not perfect, it has its flaws.
So does MS
Andrew,
I believe if you have not been charged yet and it ships on the 23rd, you will get Tiger. That is what happened when I got my Powerbook. I ordered it, and panther was announced, and it did not ship, nor was I charged. When it came, it had Panther on it, but when I entered my serial number on the upgrade web page, it said i was qual’d for an upgrade and I got one. Of course, Apple might change that just so that Randy can have a basis to call me blind and one-sided again.
Ah to keep up with the Jones. I am happy in with my machines. I may not be cool like all of you, but I am happy in my life.
Let the chips fall for Apple the way they are. Having bought a shitload of stock at $17 a couple of years back, I am quite happy.
Macuser (April 12, 2005 @ 12:27 pm)
Well Steve be happy that your only paying $129. I will have to fork out €129 ($167). i do agree with you it wrong of Apple not to offier you money off Tiger
but come look at Microsoft. Windows XP . Is the biggest Piece of crap compared to Mac OS X or Windows Server 2003 (best version of windows ever, but it also has the biggest price tag)
and still Microsoft gets away with selling WinXP. let hope Longhorn Pro/Home is as good Longhorn Server (I Think not…)
Also Mac OS X(& all other Unix OS and Linux) save users money there no need for Anti-Virus software and/or Anti-Spyware software.
BUT WAIT!!! Microsoft is thinking of it users you only have to upgrade your OS every 5 YEARS or is it every 6 YEARS then again it could be every 7 YEARS??? ;-0
for the record i own 2 computers
Dell Poweredge with Windows Server 2003/Redhat
G5 with Mac OS X
JeffMc (April 12, 2005 @ 12:44 pm)
re: My last comment, when i got the Powerbook, it had Jaguar on it, not Panther, and the website qual’d me for the upgrade..
J (April 12, 2005 @ 1:19 pm)
This is why I waited for Tiger to come out before buying a mac Mini. It doesn’t make sense to pay a 25% premium for an OS upgrade I can get included if I just waited a few months. The value for this upgrade may well be $129 in features, but the fact it’s included with new macs effectively makes it $0 for recent purchasers.
So I view $129 as the price you paid for having your toy a month early - knowing full well that Tiger was already announced and Apple doesn’t offer free upgrades outside a 2 week window. I agree that they should provide a discount, but you can’t really expect that they will.
Of course now that I’ve waited for Tiger to buy a mini - I’m waiting for a graphics update to the mini that will enable the full hardware UI acceleration. I can play that waiting game, Apple. You’re just a toy to me anyway
http://www.nullstream.com/archives/000081.html
Steve (April 12, 2005 @ 2:18 pm)
I’m over it now, I’ve ordered my copy.
Here’s my bigger question: Why does this ALWAYS turn into an Apple vs Microsoft conversation?
l.m.orchard (April 12, 2005 @ 2:42 pm)
Why does it always turn into an Apple vs Microsoft conversation?
Well, I’d guess maybe because you’ve been known to talk about MS things around here– and so, some Mac addicts assume that if you grouse about Apple, it’s automatically a pro-MS rant in disguise? Just a guess and not implying anything toward you, just a defensive behavior that seems to crop up everywhere.
Problem with the comparison is, though, MS doesn’t control hardware release cycles– the whole Apple experience is that they’ve got hardware and OS sold as a package. Personally, I think the upgrade policy is kinda rotten, though I’ve yet to have been bitten by it.
Seems like it’d be smart / nice to include a voucher for one free major OS upgrade with all new hardware, just to cover this annoyance. I mean, it’s not like you don’t spend enough money on the hardware. Hell… offer 1/4-1/2 off OS upgrade for the “consumer” level gear, and 1/2-full off with the “professional” level gear
Randy (April 12, 2005 @ 3:16 pm)
It’s not opinion that Apple is screwing the first adopters of the Mac mini. It’s not opinion that there’s only a handful of features for $129. Nor that there’s a very crappy upgrade path, if they’re charging the same price.
And I’m actually pro-Apple for the most part. This just doesn’t make any business sense, aside from gorging on the newest batch of users: First time mini owners have spent $499 for the mini. Plus another $129 for Tiger + about $100 for the required bump in RAM and $30 to have an Expert install it… not that cheap anymore and it’s less than a month old, in most cases. Ugly.
Steve (April 12, 2005 @ 3:20 pm)
I can certainly see the point, but my original ‘rant’ comes as a consumer. I like your idea with the voucher - in fact, as I mentioned, the whole thing could have been easily avoided if they just emailed their mac-mini ‘adopters’, and said, “hey, we know you just bought a new box from us, here’s $25 off”.
Im not looking for a free ride here, I buy software regularly. It’s just depressing that some people feel the need to ‘go on the attack’ against MS, when frankly it has NOTHING to do with the current topic. If the post was “MS doesnt do this, why does apple”, then that’s a different story. Mac vs PC arguments are so 1992.
Sean (April 13, 2005 @ 3:19 am)
I called Apple about this, and they refused to do anything except register my complaint. They also told me that upgrades were the same thing as “promotions” and I wasn’t entitled to this promotion. The woman who took the complaint also told me I was the only person who’d come to her with this issue. I’m absolutely furious about this. I bought my “cheap” mac-min when they came out, and now I find I have to spend another $170 (UK price) in order to upgrade. I suggest that people who feel strongly about it post on the internet, and call Apple to complain. Who knows. If enough people make enough noise, maybe the “customer friendly” (ha) Apple will take notice. I’m not holding my breath though.
James Risto (April 13, 2005 @ 5:49 am)
My $0.02 is no matter if point release or not, the grace period should be longer than that.
Richard Day (April 13, 2005 @ 9:41 pm)
I’ve had my new G4 PowerBook for 3 weeks now. I had no knowledge of this upgrade policy. I have been out of the Apple world for 16 years and this is my first Apple since the Apple IIGS. I got screwed on that one also. I beginning to feel screwed again and starting to think I made a mistake in doing this yet again. It should be at least a month cycle.
Since so much BS has been spent on bashing MS…at least with the puchase of my last computer, a Dell, I received a certificate for a free upgrade to XP when it came out 3 months later!
Apple, same on you!
steve (April 22, 2005 @ 8:32 am)
I think that people are missing the most important point: this is not just bad timing.
It’s one thing to buy a product and have to upgrade a short time later. It’s a completely different thing to have that be Apple’s PLAN.
I’m sure that Apple was fully aware that the same people who would run out and buy the mini would be the same people who would pay for the upgrade. It’s like it’s a Zeolot tax.
Adam (December 30, 2005 @ 11:58 am)
Well, I stumbled onto this post, and I think you are missing a point here. Your mac mini is no less impressive a machine because it lacks tiger. 10.3 is a fine operating system, and I’m sure you were pleased with it when you bought the box. Tiger is not simply an update, it is a new OS, and as such is entirely optional. Opting not to spend the $129 to buy tiger will not make your machine vulnerable or comprimise your security in any way, so I don’t think Apple has any obligation to you. You got what you paid for, and are now upset because it is not the newest thing around. If being on the cutting edge means that much to you, stop complaining and pay the (reaasonable in my opinion) price to be there. If that cost is too much for you to bear, just be content with your purchase.