8800GT - Response from Steve Jobs

[cl0n3x]

Dugg

What is this? The flamewar that never ends? Now we have people who most likely don't even own macs (though they may pretend to) and are arguing about how awesome the email from Steve is, instead of the issue at hand. Thanks bro.

Also, these forums rock so much I think I'll even add a sig and start posting

 

[winterspan]

The email headers taken directly from Gmail (the only things I have removed are my own personal name and email address which I have marked as 'withheld'.)

Delivered-To: withheld@gmail.com
Received: by 10.115.108.3 with SMTP id k3cs150420wam;
Sat, 12 Jan 2008 17:37:19 -0800 (PST)
Received: by 10.140.251.1 with SMTP id y1mr2944284rvh.292.1200188238912;
Sat, 12 Jan 2008 17:37:18 -0800 (PST)
Return-Path: <sjobs@apple.com>
Received: from mail-out4.apple.com (mail-out4.apple.com [17.254.13.23])
by mx.google.com with ESMTP id b8si4866692rvf.31.2008.01.12.17.37.18;
Sat, 12 Jan 2008 17:37:18 -0800 (PST)
Received-SPF: pass (google.com: domain of sjobs@apple.com designates 17.254.13.23 as permitted sender) client-ip=17.254.13.23;
Authentication-Results: mx.google.com; spf=pass (google.com: domain of sjobs@apple.com designates 17.254.13.23 as permitted sender) smtp.mail=sjobs@apple.com
Received: from relay12.apple.com (relay12.apple.com [17.128.113.53])
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Message-id: <6CE8BD10-FF0A-4D74-9DF3-6A72CED6091B@apple.com>
From: Steve Jobs <sjobs@apple.com>
To: withheld <withheld@gmail.com>
In-reply-to: <7b342f3d0801111808m6890f42aof1a5d4439068abcb@mail.gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Do the right thing
Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2008 17:37:18 -0800
References: <7b342f3d0801111808m6890f42aof1a5d4439068abcb@mail.gmail.com>
X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.915)
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Now perhaps the people with no manners could please refrain from basically calling me a liar. I came here to try and reassure people, not to be insulted. As I stated, I have no knowledge of whether this is definitely Steve, however it is certainly someone who reads Steve's email, and signs themselves as Steve, so they have to have the authority to answer for him.

The main reason why I suspect it may actually be from Steve himself, would be that he's got Macworld 2 days away and this Mac Pro issue explodes in his face. He's already a busy guy, so he doesn't have a lot of time to deal with this kind of thing. I think a slightly terse response would be more likely to come from Jobs, rather than an assistant who would would answer in a less personal way and would likely give a more 'corporate' response.

I think your theory is correct. It seems very implausible that an assistant would answer a customers complaint email in that way no matter where it was addressed to, and even more so if they are responding as Steve himself. This sounds like Jobs comment! I haven't been reading this board for more than a year or so but I remember when someone else received a reply from sjobs@apple.com about the iPod touch can't-input-a-calendar-event issue and the response that time was very short and concise.

Anyways.... I apologize for the knee-jerk response you got from a few members here.

 

[gwimby]

Has anyone stopped to ask themselves this question:

Why should Apple be the only source of a GPU upgrade?
The obvious problems of this particular situation aside, shouldn't the collective base rally around the bigger vision of bringing back third party upgrade options?

Why not petition the companies nvidia and AMD/ATI as well as their partners such as EVGA, Leadtek, Sapphire, etc to create mac compatible cards? We can buy all the gigabytes we want of third party RAM and hard drives, why does the video card have to be any different? PC buyers don't typically go back to their OEM for upgrades, they go to a third party retailer.

In a perfect world it would be great to see ATi bring back their hybrid card from a few years ago - there was a Radeon 9600 Pro that was both MAc/PC compatible out of the box. At the very least, mac GPUs sold by third parties is the ultimate solution to the problem I believe.

 

[rodwever1]

amazing.

I wrote an email to sjobs@apple.com in June of this year expressing my concern about issues with multiple Macbooks that I had had. I left my phone number at the end of the email. The next day I got a phone call from one of steve's assistants. They were very helpful and did as much as they could, but unfortunately I had to go away and was in a situation where I couldn't send my laptop away for repair as they suggested I should. If I ever have another large issue, I won't hesitate to email steve. From what I have heard, it will make things happen for you.

sweet, you e-mailed sj in the future?
now that's time machine for yah!

 

[Blogger]

I think it's time to wind this thread up.

Yes indeed. But thanks for posting the email. I found it entirely believable.

 

[RenegadeCanuck]

I've read several cases where people have gotten responses to emails directed to Jobbs. Fact is, what other CEO/president would respond to user's emails? Whether his response is gentle as a baby's ass or colder than a witch's tit, at least we get responses.

To be fair, Rob Fife, the CEO of a New Zealand Airline and I actually had a semi-conversation going once about the laying off of Airline staff by replacing them with machines. He stopped replying once he realized I was from Canada and there was basically no way I'd ever be a customer of his (unless he starts an Air New Zealand Canada).

Also, Galen Weston, the CEO of Loblaw Companies Limited (owns a bunch of grocery stores including The Real Canadian Superstore) has actually replied to be a couple of times when I've asked him about stuff such as the reason for certain policies, working conditions, etc.

 

[ogee]

But more to the point, your giving witches a bad rap. Back in the 1500s I used to get with one on a regular basis.. her tits were actually quite nice.

I prefere

"Colder than an Eskimo's wife"

 

[Blogger]

To be fair, Rob Fife, the CEO of a New Zealand Airline and I actually had a semi-conversation going once about the laying off of Airline staff by replacing them with machines. He stopped replying once he realized I was from Canada and there was basically no way I'd ever be a customer of his (unless he starts an Air New Zealand Canada).

I have some New Zealand friends that would find that quite entertaining.

 

[chris.stone]

Strong Words ...!!

Strong words...it could have been stronger!

 

[timb]

To be fair, Rob Fife, the CEO of a New Zealand Airline and I actually had a semi-conversation going once about the laying off of Airline staff by replacing them with machines. He stopped replying once he realized I was from Canada and there was basically no way I'd ever be a customer of his (unless he starts an Air New Zealand Canada).

Also, Galen Weston, the CEO of Loblaw Companies Limited (owns a bunch of grocery stores including The Real Canadian Superstore) has actually replied to be a couple of times when I've asked him about stuff such as the reason for certain policies, working conditions, etc.

Bow Loblaw Lobs Law Bomb

 

[solvs]

Well, now that we know a model is coming out that will be compatible, now I want one. Yes, I'm perfectly happy with my X1900, don't play games and only do light video, mostly 2D. But if you guys are making such a big deal out of it, it must be good.

Ok, I'm partially kidding, but it's nice to know I might still have an option later on should I so decide, or if my Radeon blows up.

 

[Blogger]

Bow Loblaw Lobs Law Bomb

Strangely, this makes sense to me. I must be either drunk or Canadian, or both.

 

[rhpenguin]

As he should. Too many people are treating this too lightly as though its ok. Its not ok. Its not even near to being ok. Heck when the 8800GT option became available, if they couldnt make the 1 version handle both Mac Pros, they should have released an 'upgrade' version for the old Mac Pro and one for the new.

Possibly many that are upset have had PC machines in the past and are not used to forced obsolescence.

And that is why I have the machine in my signature. My 8800GTX has been working fine since November.

 

[ildondeigiocchi]

I recently sent a message to Steve Jobs at sjobs@mac.com Is this the right e-mail address to reach him at! Please help.. ITS URGENT

 

[Cleverboy]

I personally think its ridiculous that every time someone posts a response from the Jobs email address, a fleet of people come back with cynicism, like this is some amazingly improbably thing. This has occurred NUMEROUS TIMES. I realize most people don't know about mail headers, and after they're posted, others will super-analyze the result for plausible inconsistencies... but why must the same thread of useless banter play out... especially OVERLOOKING the most basic premise... the message itself has little reason to be a forgery. Why would it be?

SUGGESTION: Other than politely asking to see mail headers, once provided, it'd be nice to concentrate only on the significance of the message. These responses are usually innocuous... like the one that said the inability to edit calendar events on the iPod Touch was a bug, and would be "fixed". Great. Useful. The gobs of chatter over authenticity of the message... not so much. Now we know that the 8800GT problem is being looked at, and that too much angst is probably not warranted. Maybe it'd be good to focus on that.

~ CB

 

[cineapple]

I personally think its ridiculous that every time someone posts a response from the Jobs email address, a fleet of people come back with cynicism, like this is some amazingly improbably thing. This has occurred NUMEROUS TIMES. I realize most people don't know about mail headers, and after they're posted, others will super-analyze the result for plausible inconsistencies... but why must the same thread of useless banter play out... especially OVERLOOKING the most basic premise... the message itself has little reason to be a forgery. Why would it be?

SUGGESTION: Other than politely asking to see mail headers, once provided, it'd be nice to concentrate only on the significance of the message. These responses are usually innocuous... like the one that said the inability to edit calendar events on the iPod Touch was a bug, and would be "fixed". Great. Useful. The gobs of chatter over authenticity of the message... not so much. Now we know that the 8800GT problem is being looked at, and that too much angst is probably not warranted. Maybe it'd be good to focus on that.

~ CB

...and amen to that! You said it.

 

[THX1139]

I imagine Steve's inbox is rather full by now.

 

[Pressure]

Has anyone stopped to ask themselves this question:

Why should Apple be the only source of a GPU upgrade?
The obvious problems of this particular situation aside, shouldn't the collective base rally around the bigger vision of bringing back third party upgrade options?

Why not petition the companies nvidia and AMD/ATI as well as their partners such as EVGA, Leadtek, Sapphire, etc to create mac compatible cards? We can buy all the gigabytes we want of third party RAM and hard drives, why does the video card have to be any different? PC buyers don't typically go back to their OEM for upgrades, they go to a third party retailer.

In a perfect world it would be great to see ATi bring back their hybrid card from a few years ago - there was a Radeon 9600 Pro that was both MAc/PC compatible out of the box. At the very least, mac GPUs sold by third parties is the ultimate solution to the problem I believe.

Perhaps but the reason is quite simple. Apple holds a tight control of the software. Especially the software than speaks with the hardware.

 

[palexandridis]

In High School I sat next to the billionth iTunes user, who told me the coolest thing was getting a rather longish letter (at least more than 2 sentences) from Jobs, sent from his "personal" e-mail. I'm sure he has one that has nothing to do with his name, and that he would read and reply to more deliberately. I guess my point is that it's easy enough for him to delegate this stuff to his staff, as mentioned before. My other point is that reading FSJ can be good for your health. Neither Steve Jobs or Steve Ballmer are "good" people the way a doctor treating gunshot wounds or a homeless shelter volunteer are "good" people. He makes $645M a year in reduced-to-no-tax shady income. He definitely isn't as frugal as Bill Gates puts on, and the least you could do at that level is pretend to be frugal. All this RDF is killing me. This sounds like sour grapes, I guess, but I really don't see how a group of computer-obsessed people like ourselves get so caught up in defending/rationalizing the actions of the corporation behind it. We're hackers - we hate companies, right? We should be critical of them the way we should be critical of governments.

 

[Cleverboy]

All this RDF is killing me. This sounds like sour grapes, I guess, but I really don't see how a group of computer-obsessed people like ourselves get so caught up in defending/rationalizing the actions of the corporation behind it. We're hackers - we hate companies, right? We should be critical of them the way we should be critical of governments.

That's exactly the attitude I HATE. I like balance. I abhor the attitude of people who encourage being contrary and subversive just because they think that's their role. Apple does good. Microsoft does good. We need to support them when they do. When they do bad or make poor decisions, we need to all act in unison, so hard and so swift that their response is immediate. Apple values its consumer satisfaction and brand loyalty. Anything that threatens that earns a decidedly thorough response.

That reality is diminished when we whine endlessly about no end of minutia... or insist on Apple being so schizophrenic that it can't figure out whether its a business or a charity. Sometimes the worst reality distortion field, is the one between our ears, telling us that we need to check the teeth of every gift horse.

Right now, as a consumer, I'm not thrilled with Apple's goals on its margins. I'd rather a lower price "at the pump" as it were. Then again, maybe I should just buy stock.

~ CB

 

[Blogger]

Sometimes the worst reality distortion field, is the one between our ears, telling us that we need to check the teeth of every gift horse.

Personally, I think in this day and age, looking any gift horse in the mouth is the appropriate thing to do.

 

[Cleverboy]

Personally, I think in this day and age, looking any gift horse in the mouth is the appropriate thing to do.

We certainly have to trust our instincts, but "every" and "any" mean two entirely different things. I think track records should play into it, although everyone will have their own personal estimation of that. Human beings are cynical by nature and often times looking for something can create things that were never there. Being cautious to that is part of having a balanced opinion in my book.

~ CB

 

[Blogger]

We certainly have to trust our instincts, but "every" and "any" mean two entirely different things. I think track records should play into it, although everyone will have their own personal estimation of that. Human beings are cynical by nature and often times looking for something can create things that were never there. Being cautious to that is part of having a balanced opinion in my book.

~ CB

Well I'm not going to get into a discussion about semantics with you. However, I do think there is an equally valid perspective that humans are not naturally cynical, and in fact, only learn cynicism from experiencing disappointment.
Hence my previous post.

 

[Cleverboy]

Well I'm not going to get into a discussion about semantics with you. However, I do think there is an equally valid perspective that humans are not naturally cynical, and in fact, only learn cynicism from experiencing disappointment.

If you say so. Cynicism is as natural as gravity the longer you live on this planet. It's healthy, its good. Being positive is like firing up a hot air balloon. It lets you cover greater distance, but sometimes there's too much air and/or not enough sand bags. But, to each their own. Sometimes crying "semantics" is a way of implying the cynicism and skepticism mean the same thing, when they don't. Too much skepticism can be toxic. That's my only point.

~ CB

 

[Blogger]

If you say so. Cynicism is as natural as gravity the longer you live on this planet. It's healthy, its good. Being positive is like firing up a hot air balloon. It lets you cover greater distance, but sometimes there's too much air and/or not enough sand bags. But, to each their own. Sometimes crying "semantics" is a way of implying the cynicism and skepticism mean the same thing, when they don't. Too much skepticism can be toxic. That's my only point.

~ CB

CB, I don't really disagree with you. The longer we live on this planet, the more disappointments we experience. The semantics comment was about the difference between "every or any". Point taken on skepticism.

Cheers!