Is Apple too secretive?

Short answer, no.

Long answer, no.

Apple can stay secretive and will because they are a public company. The announcement of the 3Ghz G5 was simply to help give faith to Mac users that everything would be fine from now on in clockspeed.

I like the secretness, without would be we have the plethora of mac rumor sites we do now? It keep things fun, unlike M$ who promie things but never deliver. Apple wouldn't want that

Yeah. It's part of what makes being a Mac user so great

I think Apple has to be secretive. Since it supplies both the hardware and software of a computer sales would be seriously hit if Apple were to say the next upgrade is around the corner. Rumour sites will affect sales, announcements from Apple would kill them.

Microsoft are in a totally different situation. People care less about software updates than they do about processor/product updates. You can always upgrade software, it is a pig to upgrade Apple hardware.

I think that they have to be secretive since their marketshare is so small. It is hard enough for them when rumor sites mention something like a bump in speeds on the 15 and 17 PB. Because they have to manage their inventories much more closely.

i like the mystery, it gives you something to look forward to and talk about with other mac users. as well as it pushes the envelope for other developes who start scrambling to copy macs products, notice how many companies are make 17 inch laptops now

True, but they were burning because of leaks, back in the 90s. If you are so worried about the release of an updated proc than just wait for an announcement. Dell and other companies do the same thing. They just don't have zealots, like Apple does.

Dan

Originally posted by alset
If you are so worried about the release of an updated proc than just wait for an announcement. Dell and other companies do the same thing. They just don't have zealots, like Apple does.

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Spot on, Apple are no different then any other company with regards to new products.

No,

In fact as much as I love rumor sites, the PowerBook fiasco of last year shows the problem. Every month there was a "PowerBooks" are coming rumor and sales really were hurt. If Apple said, G5 PowerBooks are coming this summer imagine how many G4 PowerBooks would not be bought. As it is as soon as we hear a rumor we don't buy. This hurts Apple and us actually, I firmly believe that there have been times when a product was ready to roll but was delayed because of Inventory surplus.

Although we all love Apple and are "zealots" about their products, there are still a business first and must make business decisions.

Give this a thought, if there were no rumor sites, would you even have been able to ask that question?

macboyX
check out http://www.macboyx.com

Rumors top Google

Personally, I think Apple is too secretive, but I understand that they need to keep some things private. For example, there have been several times that I said to myself that I would get a new powerbook now if the wait for a g5 is a year or more. Since I'm not fully convinced that the wait will be more than a year, Apple loses my sale.

Anyhow, it's funny that even though we make up a tiny niche in the computer market, try typing "Rumors" (with the "s") into Google. We have the top two links!

Apple needs to be secretive because so much of its business depends on innovation- innovation that is constantly being copied by the competition. However, I feel for the people who, for example, are presently in the market for a PowerMac. I have the luxury of holding off until I hear the announcement before diving in. Some people need computers and such right away.

Squire

Originally posted by Squire
Apple needs to be secretive because so much of its business depends on innovation- innovation that is constantly being copied by the competition. However, I feel for the people who, for example, are presently in the market for a PowerMac. I have the luxury of holding off until I hear the announcement before diving in. Some people need computers and such right away.

Squire

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Well, There is no reason why Apple can't at least give a roadmap of where they are planning to go with the their various products. This doesn't mean that they have to give specific details but they could, for example, say. OS X Puma in 2004, OS X Tiger in fall of 2006. This doesn't really give anything away but gives users at least an idea of what to expect.

I was thinking about this the other day. I would love it if Apple had a particular day each quarter where they would release any new products (if there were any) - say 1st Tue in Jan, Apr, Jul, Oct. You would still have rumors as to what might come out next quarter, but people in Feb would know that it would be 2 months before the next thing comes out. This month has been terrible when waiting to buy a new Mac. First it was the 20th, then it was the 24th but that was a Sat so then it was the 27th, now it is after the Superbowl. I finally bit the bullet and bought my eMac - sure would have been easier had I known that nothing new would be introduced before April.

Re: Is Apple too secretive?

Is Apple too secretive?

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You can be killed for asking such questions. shhhhhhhhh
i could be taken away just for posting here.
*booom booom booom*
"Open up!!!!!"
gotta go...apple gastapo.

I think less secrecy make sense if you're serious about getting people to switch.
Switching over from the Intel processor increases to Apple increase is a huge change (as I'm finding out). Intel releases a new processor every couple of months (slower lately), and the old processors all move down one notch. With Intel I could buy the second fastest processor and know that for the next several months it would be one of the fastest. With apple, an entirely new product line could come from nowhere or every processor speed could suddenly be replaced.
Personally, I would like a road map: PM upgrades in the summer, Imac upgrades in the Fall, Xserve upgraded in the winter, etc. I'm not asking for detailed product info and release dates, I would just like more direction than this, especially if Apple is trying to get people to Switch!
W

personally i think it was a mistake for Jobs to have his 3Ghz in a year comment. because we are about a year later from the G5's unvailing. if apple doesnt get updated G5's out this month all the "harbinger's of doom" will start showing up again. "apple's going under...yadda yadda". makes me ill. its good to know something faster is coming...but that is always going to be the case.
i think apple should keep doing as they are doing now, but offer more kind of discounts or buy backs for people that get "shafted" on recent purchases before an upgrade. apple does do this sort of thing. i remember getting my first G3. i ordered a beige G3. they held my order and held my order until i was frothing at the mouth. they wouldnt tell me why they wouldnt ship it. low and behold it was because the B&W G3 came out. i forgot how mad i was and just enjoyed my computer. thats what everyone should do. buy the best you can when you can. enjoy your purchase. dont worry so darn much.

Yet at the same time it seems that there are plenty of people out there (or at least in these forums) who are interested in buying a PM, but are willing to wait for faster processors. We're all assuming that there will be an intermediary step between 2.0 and 3.0, but if Apple would just say next PM revision this summer, a bunch of us would go ahead and buy.
I'm going to graduate from College in May, so I can't wait till this summer because I want to use my Education discount. I'm assuming that a 50% performance increase is too much and one year is too long to wait, so I'm waiting for an upgrade before I buy.
W

Originally posted by dwishbone
buy the best you can when you can. enjoy your purchase. dont worry so darn much.

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Quote of the day.... Beautifully put!

Originally posted by dwishbone
personally i think it was a mistake for Jobs to have his 3Ghz in a year comment. because we are about a year later from the G5's unvailing. if apple doesnt get updated G5's out this month all the "harbinger's of doom" will start showing up again.
...

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PowerMac G5s unveiled at WWDC, June 23, 2003 [link]

Today's date is January 28. That's just under 5 months 'til the 1 year is up.

Apple has plenty of time to get to 3GHz.

Originally posted by SiliconAddict
Well, There is no reason why Apple can't at least give a roadmap of where they are planning to go with the their various products. This doesn't mean that they have to give specific details but they could, for example, say. OS X Puma in 2004, OS X Tiger in fall of 2006. This doesn't really give anything away but gives users at least an idea of what to expect.

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True.


However, I think a lot of it is not so much a matter of Apple being secretive rather than us being nosy/curious.

I remember before I bought my Canon Powershot G2, I did Net searches for "G3" hoping I would know when the updated model was coming. Nothing. Three weeks after I got it...Boom...G3 released. I haven't checked, but I doubt there's a Powershotrumors.com site.

Squire

5 months is plenty of time, especially if Steve was confident enough to promise 3GHz in June. However, 7 months without an upgrade is a little unsettling to a switchers.
Also, 5 months isn't much time for 2 upgrades - first to a midlevel then to 3.0 GHZ. I guess as long as the dual 2.0s are selling well there isn't much reason to rock the boat.

And after thinking about it a little, I also realized that a lot of intel's performance jumps weren't that big. Intel would jump 10% in Ghz but only 3% in performance. So I guess switchers are trading constant, meaningless increases for irregular, significant jumps.

Oh well, I'm still going to switch, but I'm also still waiting a month or so.

W

PS: As for best you can, when you can - certainly true, but I'm a college student, this will be my BIG purchase for a while, and because I'm in video editing, it will make a difference in my performance in the real world. Every little bit helps alot.

Originally posted by Downdivx
PS: As for best you can, when you can - certainly true, but I'm a college student, this will be my BIG purchase for a while,

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Exactly. Before my PB, my "BIG purchase" was my Schwinn Moab in the spring of '01. It just sits at home in garage collecting dust now, I need to ride much more this summer.

Originally posted by Downdivx
5 months is plenty of time, especially if Steve was confident enough to promise 3GHz in June. However, 7 months without an upgrade is a little unsettling to a switchers.
Also, 5 months isn't much time for 2 upgrades - first to a midlevel then to 3.0 GHZ. I guess as long as the dual 2.0s are selling well there isn't much reason to rock the boat.

And after thinking about it a little, I also realized that a lot of intel's performance jumps weren't that big. Intel would jump 10% in Ghz but only 3% in performance. So I guess switchers are trading constant, meaningless increases for irregular, significant jumps.

Oh well, I'm still going to switch, but I'm also still waiting a month or so.

W

PS: As for best you can, when you can - certainly true, but I'm a college student, this will be my BIG purchase for a while, and because I'm in video editing, it will make a difference in my performance in the real world. Every little bit helps alot.

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Umm...ok I see where you're coming from but just because you buy a 2.0GHz Dual G5 and next month a dual 3.0GHz comes out , your 2.0GHz dualie is not outdated, or a crappy machine. I really think this is a major stumbling block in the switch of Wintel people (I know, I am one). When I used PCs I never sat and worried that the PC i bought was going to JUMP MHz or GHz, I just bought when I needed to buy.

I have 2.0GHz G5 and I am not gonna throw it away when the 3.0GHz G5s come out, it will still be a kick ass machine. I can see not wanting to buy a PM G4 when the G5 was around the corner (and we did know abt that via rumor sites) but this is just like finding out that the Accord you bought in 2003 had a 200HP V6 and the 2004 has 240HP. Your Accord isn't trash, it still gets you to work and pretty damn quickly.

Just buy, and don't worry. It's a fact, as soon as you buy, things will change. The machine you bought will still do what you need.

Also I think since I switched, I stopped worrying about having the "FASTEST, GREATEST, and NEWEST" and started worrying about having a machine that does what I ask.

Just my opinion.

macboyx