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Apple puts Mac second???!!!

H

Harry K.

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 1, 2003
62
0
North Carolina
Take a look at this:

Already mentioned in articles on MacBytes, Apple has left out the firewire on the newest iPods and will be deleting it from upcoming iPods. FW is superior to USB and Apple is just using USB to cater to the majority of iPod owners: PC users. They're putting Mac owners second.

Another example, more literally... When I look at my Airport Express box or iPod photo box, I see bold writing that says: Mac + PC.

I've now noticed that with the iPod shuffle and the new minis, that has been changed to PC + Mac.

Small changes, but still- it IS putting the Macintosh second.
 
I don't know why this is so surprising... if you think about it, 95% of potential iPod customers don't own Macs, they own PCs. The marketing change ("Mac + PC" is now "PC + Mac") and the technical change (USB 2.0 is the default now, not Firewire) are reflections of the realities of the marketplace.
 
Harry K. said:
Apple has left out the firewire on the newest iPods and will be deleting it from upcoming iPods.
Click to expand...

Whoah. It's not like Apple is discontinuing support for FireWire with the new iPods. They are just making the cable an optional purchase. Trust me. If Apple were to no longer allow FireWire connections with the iPods, you'd really start to see the sh*t hit the fan.
 
Despite that fact, I think they should include BOTH cables with the iPod. Seriously, I'm going to be VERY disappointed if Apple starts catering to their Windows customers and ignoring their Mac customers.

As an Apple loyalist and a stock holder, I am EXTREMELY annoyed that they aren't including BOTH cables. I shouldn't have to pay more than a PC user for an Apple product to work with my computer (I know USB will work but still)!
 
Harry K. said:
Take a look at this:

Already mentioned in articles on MacBytes, Apple has left out the firewire on the newest iPods and will be deleting it from upcoming iPods. FW is superior to USB and Apple is just using USB to cater to the majority of iPod owners: PC users. They're putting Mac owners second.

Another example, more literally... When I look at my Airport Express box or iPod photo box, I see bold writing that says: Mac + PC.

I've now noticed that with the iPod shuffle and the new minis, that has been changed to PC + Mac.

Small changes, but still- it IS putting the Macintosh second.
Click to expand...
Not really the new Macs should all have USB 2.0 now, so the iPods should work with all Macs currently on the market.

It's also a subtle kick in the butt to upgrade your machine.
 
Harry K. said:
Another example, more literally... When I look at my Airport Express box or iPod photo box, I see bold writing that says: Mac + PC.
Click to expand...

Both of my AirPort Express boxes say "Mac + PC"
My iPod photo and iPod mini boxes say "Mac + PC"
 
Sun Baked said:
Not really the new Macs should all have USB 2.0 now, so the iPods should work with all Macs currently on the market.

It's also a subtle kick in the butt to upgrade your machine.
Click to expand...

I don't want to use USB 2.0 though. USB has always had too much CPU overhead compared to Firewire.
 
dejo said:
Whoah. It's not like Apple is discontinuing support for FireWire with the new iPods. They are just making the cable an optional purchase. Trust me. If Apple were to no longer allow FireWire connections with the iPods, you'd really start to see the sh*t hit the fan.
Click to expand...

Here is where I give HP props. With their packaging of iPods, they come with both USB and Firewire. My dad was given an HP iPod for Christmas (and he loves it) and I went out before then and bought him a Firewire Card (expecting only firewire in the box) When he opened it, both were in there, complete with the little plastic Apple covers on the ends of the cables. We still used the firewire, (He has USB 1.1, and the ports are fried) and think Apple should take a hint from HP and include both.

Griffin Tech does seem to have the right idea. They are making Dock to FW400 and Dock to FW800.

TEG
 
stop complaining.. you cant blame apple, they are a bussiness.. its just plain and simple- more money is to be made from pc users. Period.
 
This doesn't bother me much at all. But what baffles me is the fact that those firwire cables cost them $2/unit...if that. So it's not like there saving a bundle of money by removing it. I realize on a global scale 2 X (x) million number of units sold its alot, but still, it just seems a little ridiculous.

I guess they'll see some "attachment" sales of people that want/need the firewire port. Which could result in some nice bank @ $19.95/cable
 
TEG said:
Here is where I give HP props. With their packaging of iPods, they come with both USB and Firewire.
Click to expand...

Apple was including firewire and USB cables with iPods up until this very latest update (yesterday), so HP wasn't any different. I would imagine that future HP iPods (if there are any...) will be packaged exactly the same as the Apple iPods, that is, without a firewire cable.

Anyway, I'm kind of annoyed that Apple isn't including firewire with the newest iPods, but I suppose it does make good business sense. They should lower the cost of the optional firewire cables though. IMO, $20 is too much to pay for a cable.
 
Harry K. said:
...
Small changes, but still- it IS putting the Macintosh second.
Click to expand...
Nitpicking... ;)

Doesn't relly matter what's first on the box as long as both are there... and the PC + Mac is what people are used to seeing on games, multimedia work etc that are for both platforms... so the wast (and slightly stupid) PC using masses may be confused when the Mac is placed first... :rolleyes:
 
Given we sell 800,000 PowerMacs alone a year, It proves how false the "Mac is being put second" statement really is. If Apple was really ignoring there OWN company... Then sales would obviously dwindle.

They need to have an option... Firewire OR USB


kyle
 
Harry K. said:
Take a look at this:

Already mentioned in articles on MacBytes, Apple has left out the firewire on the newest iPods and will be deleting it from upcoming iPods. FW is superior to USB and Apple is just using USB to cater to the majority of iPod owners: PC users. They're putting Mac owners second.

Another example, more literally... When I look at my Airport Express box or iPod photo box, I see bold writing that says: Mac + PC.

I've now noticed that with the iPod shuffle and the new minis, that has been changed to PC + Mac.

Small changes, but still- it IS putting the Macintosh second.
Click to expand...
You are reading wa-a-ay more into this move than is there. Apple removed the FireWire cable from the box as part of its price cutting move this week. Windows iPod users don't use FireWire, but they would have been forced to buy it in the new unified packaging. For Mac users, FireWire is now BYOC (Bring Your Own Cable). FireWire is supported on all iPods except the iPod Shuffle.
 
THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING!!!

Windows users won't understand, but this is truly messed up. My ex-girlfriend called me a little bit ago, all happy that she just bought her first iPod from the semi local Apple store, and wanted to call me while she was opening/setting up the device. Boy was she in for a shock! She has a 1.5 year old ibook that she got for graduation from college and just expected the iPod to work out of the box. I had to explain to her that Mac users need to spend an extra $20 now for a cable to connect to her Mac. She has no usb2. We just got back from the store, where I complained to the manager that she needs to instruct her sales people to begin ASKING customers if they use a Mac or not, so they can advise them to get the cable. There was no indication on the box! So it looks like we all have to suffer through evermore BULL$^!T with a new iPod Tax. They could at least sell the cable for a realistic $10, instead of making us feel left out once again. I understand that this makes bussiness sense, but come on Apple!!!!
 
AdamZ said:
Windows users won't understand, but this is truly messed up. My ex-girlfriend called me a little bit ago, all happy that she just bought her first iPod from the semi local Apple store, and wanted to call me while she was opening/setting up the device. Boy was she in for a shock! She has a 1.5 year old ibook that she got for graduation from college and just expected the iPod to work out of the box. I had to explain to her that Mac users need to spend an extra $20 now for a cable to connect to her Mac. She has no usb2. We just got back from the store, where I complained to the manager that she needs to instruct her sales people to begin ASKING customers if they use a Mac or not, so they can advise them to get the cable. There was no indication on the box! So it looks like we all have to suffer through evermore BULL$^!T with a new iPod Tax. They could at least sell the cable for a realistic $10, instead of making us feel left out once again. I understand that this makes bussiness sense, but come on Apple!!!!
Click to expand...

Actually, USB 2.0 is backwards compatible. So it still does work out of the box. Just not as fast as expected. :)
 
Apple was just trying to get the ipod cost down. One of those ways to do that is to delete the case, like the did with the forth gen. Also, deleting the dock from the package saves money also. They got the ipod down to a price with the minimum things that are necessary to get the majority of people who buy the ipod what they need to get going. It just so happens that at this time it is the PC user. The competition is growing and apple is trying to stay ahead. Being a mac user I understand. And if I have to go and buy a 20 dollar cable so I can use firewire, then so be it.
 
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