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I think they should start selling apple computers with microsoft vista installed or as an option to pre-install before shipment. That should add a bump to their market share. =)

It would probably count as a Vista license sold, making Microsoft tout it even more.
 
Just send the C&D to all sites, though Apple can probably save money on lawyers by only chasing the problematic articles.

If I had any say in it I would pick one of the most insane unusual rumors I could possibly find and that would be the one I sent a C&D against. I can't claim I'd have a strategy. It would just be funny to see the community burn with speculation after the C&D delivery was announced.

Maybe this is why I don't work for Apple. :D



That would be highly illegal. You can't send someone a cease and desist order unless they're publishing something that you have a legal claim over.
 
Apple Way or the Highway!

:(
It would probably count as a Vista license sold, making Microsoft tout it even more.

What's the difference these days. One big company VS. another big company.

Apple is Microsoft with the same Agenda, rule the world with phones or OS's.

Poor outlook, yes. I've seen this before.

Steve Jobs doing commercials with Britney in about 5 years.
The difference is Steve is the about the same age as Bill and it would be even more pathetic than Bill doing commercials with Seinfield.
 
2009 will introduce a whole new realm of confidentiality for apple. they let this year slide, it increases hype. they wanted that this year.
 
It's kind of sad, if Apple, experts at this, can't keep secrets anymore then no high profile company can. The days of being blown away by "one more thing" are probably over.

When was the last time he said "one more thing" anyways?
 
When was the last time he said "one more thing" anyways?

If memory serves that would be the original nano, so some time ago. I think "one more thing" is good with new category purchases like the nano was since no one owns one, no "I bought one last month" customers to piss off with a new model. That is also why its smart for Apple to let rumors leak. It may ruin the total surprise but at least it gives customers fair warning that something is up when they hear about the rumor on the local news or radio.
 
Apple's doing pretty well at containing leaks considering that only one week out from a rumored notebook introduction we have neither product photos or even specifications on the alleged new models.

They may be doing well because there is nothing to leak. No one even knows if there is going to be updates soon. Spo don't give them too much credit..until they are released!

AnDy
 
PC's just do not have the hardcore fan base that apple has, which just adds to the rumorville.

Cannot agree with that comment at all. PC's probably have a much larger hardcore fanbase due to the amount they sell. Look at all the hardcore gaming and modding forums..

AnDy
 
Sure, since we've already missed the back-to-school season, I'm thinking January 2009 before any new notebooks.

They may be doing well because there is nothing to leak. No one even knows if there is going to be updates soon. Spo don't give them too much credit..until they are released!

AnDy
 
Just because Apple isn’t sending cease and desist letters to every website that hosts pictures / information on an unreleased product doesn’t automatically mean that Apple has become a leaky sieve of information. Some secrets are better kept than others, and im certain that apple is privately pursuing any leaks as diligently as they can. (plus they get an awful lot of bad press from strong arming websites.)

I agree with some other people here though, if Apple don’t publically react to any leaks, it leaves people much more dubious about its legitimacy, remember the vehement denial that the leaked iPhone 3G case was real? Also the creation is ‘apple fakes’ is just as popular as the genuine leaks themselves.
 
Sure, since we've already missed the back-to-school season, I'm thinking January 2009 before any new notebooks.

I think people are overestimating the importance of the back-to-school season. There was a promo on the still-current laptops (iPod, printer, what was it again?) so that was meant to encourage students to get a mac before going back to school.

Regardless though, two years ago Apple released new Macbooks and Macbook Pros in October/November. So precedence suggests they can still be released this month or the next.
 
I think people are overestimating the importance of the back-to-school season. There was a promo on the still-current laptops (iPod, printer, what was it again?) so that was meant to encourage students to get a mac before going back to school.

Regardless though, two years ago Apple released new Macbooks and Macbook Pros in October/November. So precedence suggests they can still be released this month or the next.

Agreed. Back to school season is really August in our house anyway. I'm not scrambling around September 1 trying to figure out what I need to get for school in a couple of days. November is the start of the Christmas buying season, so announce your product in Oct, get into the sales channels in early November, and you'll be primed and ready to go.

Oh, except for this year there will be a lot less spending going on, so your product better be inexpensive or it won't move anyway.
 
Agreed. Back to school season is really August in our house anyway. I'm not scrambling around September 1 trying to figure out what I need to get for school in a couple of days. November is the start of the Christmas buying season, so announce your product in Oct, get into the sales channels in early November, and you'll be primed and ready to go.

Oh, except for this year there will be a lot less spending going on, so your product better be inexpensive or it won't move anyway.


If apple really wanted to move some products they would both offer big discounts on prior model computers and release a new computer during the month of august, when most states have their tax-free days. Saving $80 (using my states sales tax rate) or so in taxes would allow me to buy something more. Then for Christmas, release the toys (ipods - well, can't necessarily call the ipod touch a toy - but you get the picture).

Give the people an option - Do I want to save $200 plus save sales tax (save $280) and buy the prior model, which will probably get me by for school? or do I just want to save the $80 and get the new model. I could see college students and maybe some high-school students buying the new model. since elementary school and middle students also need a computer - chances are , they do not need the greatest of models.
 
Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5F136 Safari/525.20)

I think that maybe Apple is just beginning to pick its battles as opposed to going after everyone. People knew that there would have to be a 3G iPhone in order to compete in the global market. Apple didn't care too much when rumors started to float about it. The MacBook, however, seems to be in tight lockdown we don't have a whole lot of information about it.
 
I like to read the rumours, but there comes a time when it can spoil the unveiling (iPod: Let's Rock Event)

Too much information and it dulls the event, and too little will fail to generate enough buzz.

If I were in charge of the legal side of Apple I'd go after the insiders who are leaking the pictures / techinical spec manuals. etc, moreso than the ones who let slip some details on internet forums. That said, if the information is leaked months in advance then it could be just as damaging.

The iPod event was (again) a great example of this.. if they'd kept the design a secret it would have been much much better, even if we already knew about the Genius and iTunes additions. Not because everyone wanted a Nano, but at least it would have given Steve something to "unveil" without the "oh, that.. already seen it from 5 angles 2 weeks ago" sort of unveiling.

As someone said, it's a double edged sword.. if they leaked all the information about the next MacBook I bet that most people on here would moan about x, y and z and rush back on here to start a for "waiting for xxxxx" thread. I personally think that if the new brick rumours are true then it shouldn't matter about leaked pics.. it's going to look HOT!

The buyer's guide does a pretty good job at predicting the next releases (based on trends) but there are always going to be exceptions. Most of the time you could look at the trend, use some common sense and base your guess on if there's a relevant event nearby. For example, if a desktop update falls in June then you'd be wise to wait for a WWDC announcement before buying, but if it's just a random month and no media event is announced you're flying blind and may as well take a gamble based on your needs.
 
It's probably somewhat of a double-edged sword.

On the one hand, it keeps Apple's name in the news and froths much of the fanbase into a frenzy.

On the other hand, it no doubt hurts product launches (see the latest iPod event). It also likely hurts existing product lines - how many of us are holding out on the current Mac line for the new models?

I agree but let's face it. You call the press (personally?) for a do-not-miss event that is called "Let's Rock". You haven't updated your iPod lineup for months and are used to do so in the Fall season. Even without any rumors sites around, would your new lineup launch be such a surprise?

Plus, I think that a lot of Apple customers get less and less excited by product revisions. I mean, a new bran new product yes but maybe not a product revision. People already know what an iPod is. Of course, whenever you'll need one, you'll want the latest model out there but for most people, you'll buy whatever is available when you need one.

Except for us, Apple-fans, who cares that the MB will get revisited (;)). Of course it *will* be one day. At some point, the form factor *will* change. Twice a year the specs *will* get upgraded. When you'll buy a computer, it *will* be outdated the day after you bought it. You *will* still be very pleased with your purchase for the next 3/4 years.

Bottom line is I think rumors play a bigger role in stock markets and for financial analysts than for the average consumer.
 
But this also stops people from buying the current products. Getting rid of the old inventory is why they never announce products ahead of time. They make more money of people buy up the products, ignorant of when updated ones are released, then even more people become interested when there is something new and some even sell their old products to get the new product.

It stops people like YOU and ME, who follow every Apple rumor, and obsess about which Tuesday the next MacPoo is coming out. As Apple gains market share, we move into the minority. There are enough people around now who want Macs but are not hyperfans, and who will just walk into the mall and buy whatever is in stock there.
 
It stops people like YOU and ME, who follow every Apple rumor, and obsess about which Tuesday the next MacPoo is coming out. As Apple gains market share, we move into the minority. There are enough people around now who want Macs but are not hyperfans, and who will just walk into the mall and buy whatever is in stock there.

I have to say, yes we are fans. but today with the internet, when people buy something most are often doing research before they buy. Be this a macbook, car, bed, ect... it only takes a google search to find out that the product you want is just about to be outdated.

plus the media loves apple. if they new something great was coming out they wouldnt stop talking about it. ( especially when its going 'green'. it would cost apple a lot of money in older models.
 
Speaking of rumors...

Well, rumors are nice but what about the new macs?
October 14th is just a week away and still no event announcement :-S
I don't believe Apple would launch the macbooks with redesign layout, new hardware (including different chipsets) and the so called brick technology without an event...
I'm starting to think that we wont see the new MB's nor MBP's next week :(
 
You just hit the 2 big points .....

The rumor sites act as forums for Mac enthusiasts to congregate, and talk each other into making new Apple product purchases. The "typical customer" of Apple's isn't going to spend time reading Mac rumor-related web sites. He or she is just going to walk in the local Apple store and try to determine what they have in stock that fits their immediate needs. So that provides Apple with plenty of opportunity to sell off products that are soon to be upgraded or replaced. The enthusiasts (all of us here!) are the exceptions to the rule, who tend to only pounce on the latest and greatest product releases anyway. If a bunch of rumor hype gets us all worked up to pull out those credit cards - then it's a net win for Apple.

The only REAL reason Apple dislikes the rumors? You nailed it. It makes Keynotes and other press conferences far less exciting. It's a LOT of work putting a presentation like a Keynote together, and you have to pay a fair bit of money to even go see one, live (unless you're a member of the press or something). If they get too "ho hum" because they can't ever announce anything people had NO idea was coming, they'll die out.


Apple has learned to love all the free marketing we're drumming up for them.
I still think Steve's a little bothered though. He obviously likes as much "wow!" as possible for his keynotes.
 
If there is to be new notebook unveilings next week (10/14), shouldn't press invitations be on their way by now?
 
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