Apple Stops PhotoFast's MacBook Air SSD Replacement?

[jimmyjoemccrow]

Tinhead is defending Apple because Apple have not stated the exact reason for asking Photofast to stop producing these hard drives, but the fact is Apple are NEVER going to give their reason for stopping Photofast. Have they even given the exact reasoning to Photofast? If there is a problem with the drives then why wouldn't Apple explain that?

This is not Apple being tight lipped for the sake of mystery over a new product line, this is Apple being tight lipped because they like to keep us in the dark. They don't think the people that this would affect are numerous enough to bother with, not enough to be worth giving an exact explanation.

It's too easy to sit back and say "We don't know the facts, let's not bash Apple" because it's for this reason Apple is so tight lipped. If people don't know the exact facts they can't make up their own minds, and people like Tinhead can go ahead and complain about Apple bashing.

 

[KnightWRX]

Tinhead is defending Apple because Apple have not stated the exact reason for asking Photofast to stop producing these hard drives, but the fact is Apple are NEVER going to give their reason for stopping Photofast. Have they even given the exact reasoning to Photofast? If there is a problem with the drives then why wouldn't Apple explain that?

This is not Apple being tight lipped for the sake of mystery over a new product line, this is Apple being tight lipped because they like to keep us in the dark. They don't think the people that this would affect are numerous enough to bother with, not enough to be worth giving an exact explanation.

It's too easy to sit back and say "We don't know the facts, let's not bash Apple" because it's for this reason Apple is so tight lipped. If people don't know the exact facts they can't make up their own minds, and people like Tinhead can go ahead and complain about Apple bashing.

We do have one fact though and that is that Photofast felt their MFi license was threatened if they shipped the product. Tinhead would rather insult than admit this.

 

[silentnite]

All I can is I hope apple has a good explanation for stopping it... because ssd drives are to damn high. I own one in my 13" Macbook pro but could never afford the amount of GB I actually needed.

 

[TinHead88]

We do have one fact though and that is that Photofast felt their MFi license was threatened if they shipped the product. Tinhead would rather insult than admit this.

You continue to make assumptions and state them as facts. And you really do have a comprehension problem. Now you're making assumptions about my comments which simply are not true. Remove your bias, try to be objective.

Feel free to re-read any of my posts and you will see that never once did I deny that PhotoFast felt that their MFi license might be in danger if they did not comply with Apple's request. But this does not mean Apple ever threatened them. Do you understand the difference???

It seems some people are reading the word threatened in the linked (biased) report and immediately jump to the conclusion Apple made threats. I'm just asking people to analyse the things they read a bit more carefully.

If I made a large chunk of my business by riding the Apple wave on the MFi license I would certainly pay attention to any requests from Apple. It would be a poor business decision to ignore such a request and I would not be surprised if my MFi license was in danger then.

Apple has a reputation for reliability to protect and if a third party is marketing something as an upgrade for a specific Apple product then it must comply with certain standards. As I have stated previously (have you looked into this?) sandforce SSDs are problematic with MacBook Pros. It is not so hard to imagine it might affect MBAs too.

 

[jimmyjoemccrow]

You continue to make assumptions and state them as facts. And you really do have a comprehension problem. Now you're making assumptions about my comments which simply are not true. Remove your bias, try to be objective.

Feel free to re-read any of my posts and you will see that never once did I deny that PhotoFast felt that their MFi license might be in danger if they did not comply with Apple's request. But this does not mean Apple ever threatened them. Do you understand the difference???

It seems some people are reading the word threatened in the linked (biased) report and immediately jump to the conclusion Apple made threats. I'm just asking people to analyse the things they read a bit more carefully.

If I made a large chunk of my business by riding the Apple wave on the MFi license I would certainly pay attention to any requests from Apple. It would be a poor business decision to ignore such a request and I would not be surprised if my MFi license was in danger then.

Apple has a reputation for reliability to protect and if a third party is marketing something as an upgrade for a specific Apple product then it must comply with certain standards. As I have stated previously (have you looked into this?) sandforce SSDs are problematic with MacBook Pros. It is not so hard to imagine it might affect MBAs too.

The point you are trying to make is semantics. Apple requested that Photofast stop their line of SSDs. Photofast complied because they feared for their MFi license. Photofast complied because they felt threatened, that is their explanation. Of course Apple won't call it a threat.

Apple's reputation for reliability is neither here nor there when you are talking about an SSD upgrade that only enthusiasts will consider. Their reputation for reliability hasn't stopped countless crappy iPod accessories.

Please provide links about these issues about Sandforce controllers on Macbook Pros, as I was unable to find any. Since you are the one making the point, it's not up to us to "look into this".

 

[TinHead88]

The point you are trying to make is semantics. Apple requested that Photofast stop their line of SSDs. Photofast complied because they feared for their MFi license. Photofast complied because they felt threatened, that is their explanation. Of course Apple won't call it a threat.

People are calling Apple a bully and all sorts of other negative stuff exactly because of the misleading wording.

Apple's reputation for reliability is neither here nor there when you are talking about an SSD upgrade that only enthusiasts will consider. Their reputation for reliability hasn't stopped countless crappy iPod accessories.

It's a little bit different when you're talking about a product marketed as an Apple upgrade that will invalidate the warranty and possibly does not even work correctly.

Please provide links about these issues about Sandforce controllers on Macbook Pros, as I was unable to find any. Since you are the one making the point, it's not up to us to "look into this".

here's one on our very forum:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1057025/
and
http://forums.mactalk.com.au/28/80949-new-generation-ssd-sandforce-controller.html

 

[jimmyjoemccrow]

People are calling Apple a bully and all sorts of other negative stuff exactly because of the misleading wording.



It's a little bit different when you're talking about a product marketed as an Apple upgrade that will invalidate the warranty and possibly does not even work correctly.



here's one on our very forum:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1057025/
and
http://forums.mactalk.com.au/28/80949-new-generation-ssd-sandforce-controller.html

At last some actual evidence, but hardly commonly reported since I read many tech sites daily and this is the first I've seen of it.

Your attitude seems to be "don't bash poor Apple, you don't have any evidence." We did have evidence, we had the word from Photofast, and no word from Apple. That is why people will call Apple a bully.

It is precisely because we can't prove anything one way or the other that Apple (and companies in general) remain so secretive. Your defence of them is unnecessary. I had one fan here describing his support of Apple as "a knight in shining armour riding to the defense of his beloved". You are sounding like that.

If the device invalidates the warranty then Apple have no business with it. Plain and simple voiding the warranty shows that the responsibility lies with the customer, not Apple. Can Apple prevent third parties from making upgrade hard drives for their Macbook Airs? From what I have read here and elsewhere they have no legal right, but they made a request and Photofast complied because they knew that if they didn't, Apple could remove their MFi license. That sounds like Apple using its weight to me. Unless you can show that they had a legal right to make the request?

 

[TinHead88]

At last some actual evidence, but hardly commonly reported since I read many tech sites daily and this is the first I've seen of it.

Your attitude seems to be "don't bash poor Apple, you don't have any evidence." We did have evidence, we had the word from Photofast, and no word from Apple. That is why people will call Apple a bully.

Poor is never a word I would associate with Apple.
People jump to conclusions based on their own bias and slander Apple. I just thought it was ugly and unreasonable behaviour and it irked me enough to post on this thread.

I suspected that no good will come of it, but didn't follow my better judgement.

You can't argue with the angry villagers. They have already made up their minds and they know they're right despite being presented with logical arguments to the contrary.

It is precisely because we can't prove anything one way or the other that Apple (and companies in general) remain so secretive. Your defence of them is unnecessary. I had one fan here describing his support of Apple as "a knight in shining armour riding to the defense of his beloved". You are sounding like that.

If the device invalidates the warranty then Apple have no business with it. Plain and simple voiding the warranty shows that the responsibility lies with the customer, not Apple. Can Apple prevent third parties from making upgrade hard drives for their Macbook Airs? From what I have read here and elsewhere they have no legal right, but they made a request and Photofast complied because they knew that if they didn't, Apple could remove their MFi license. That sounds like Apple using its weight to me. Unless you can show that they had a legal right to make the request?

Apple certainly does not need anyone's defence. They will do well despite a few angry villagers trying to get a mob together.

It's always the same bs with people wanting Apple to do exactly as they see fit (especially PC guys) and if Apple don't they just start bashing without any real foundation (most of the time). It was more a case of being sick of seeing this than defending Apple. If Apple does questionable things I have no problem in criticising them. Overall it seems they are trying to do the right thing by the consumer and this shows in customer satisfaction surveys and their success of late. No company could possible please all the people all the time, but at least Apple is going in the right direction (in my opinion).

When I buy a mac I expect a certain amount of reliability and service. I fully support them if they decide that a product that could cause problems with these expectations should be withdrawn. That's part of the Apple advantage. More reliable systems. The penalty for that is that you can't piece together any random assortment of the latest technology. It seems to be very hard for former PC guys to accept this. They want Apple to be what they think it should be. But they only ever think of the small picture, which is why can't I have what I want.

Your comment: "If the device invalidates the warranty then Apple have no business with it. " shows you have put very little thought into what might be Apple's responsibilities and obligations to its customers.

 

[KnightWRX]

Poor is never a word I would associate with Apple.
People jump to conclusions based on their own bias

And you pretend you're objective.

These 2 phrases show your own stance in all of this, you are not ready to admit Apple might have butted in where they didn't have to or actually used leverage they had with the MFi license to stop a vendor from shipping a product.

The facts remain, Photofast felt their license threatened by Apple's demand, whatever it was or however it was formulated and pulled the product.

And the only angry person here is you.

 

[TinHead88]

And you pretend you're objective.

These 2 phrases show your own stance in all of this, you are not ready to admit Apple might have butted in where they didn't have to or actually used leverage they had with the MFi license to stop a vendor from shipping a product.

The facts remain, Photofast felt their license threatened by Apple's demand, whatever it was or however it was formulated and pulled the product.

And the only angry person here is you.

Yes, of course you're right. You're so clever you saw right through me.
It's like you're not really reading these posts.
I personally can't see any correlation between your statement and the bits you quoted. It's probably because of your very "special" logic you utilise to create cyclic arguments leading nowhere.

 

[jimmyjoemccrow]

Poor is never a word I would associate with Apple.
People jump to conclusions based on their own bias and slander Apple. I just thought it was ugly and unreasonable behaviour and it irked me enough to post on this thread.

I suspected that no good will come of it, but didn't follow my better judgement.

You can't argue with the angry villagers. They have already made up their minds and they know they're right despite being presented with logical arguments to the contrary.



Apple certainly does not need anyone's defence. They will do well despite a few angry villagers trying to get a mob together.

It's always the same bs with people wanting Apple to do exactly as they see fit (especially PC guys) and if Apple don't they just start bashing without any real foundation (most of the time). It was more a case of being sick of seeing this than defending Apple. If Apple does questionable things I have no problem in criticising them. Overall it seems they are trying to do the right thing by the consumer and this shows in customer satisfaction surveys and their success of late. No company could possible please all the people all the time, but at least Apple is going in the right direction (in my opinion).

When I buy a mac I expect a certain amount of reliability and service. I fully support them if they decide that a product that could cause problems with these expectations should be withdrawn. That's part of the Apple advantage. More reliable systems. The penalty for that is that you can't piece together any random assortment of the latest technology. It seems to be very hard for former PC guys to accept this. They want Apple to be what they think it should be. But they only ever think of the small picture, which is why can't I have what I want.

Your comment: "If the device invalidates the warranty then Apple have no business with it. " shows you have put very little thought into what might be Apple's responsibilities and obligations to its customers.

This isn't about angry villagers, it's our conclusion based on the comments of the actual makers of the product and the absence of any comment from Apple.

Whether you admire Apple's reliability is neither here nor there. It's whether they had a legal right to ask Photofast to withdraw the product. If they did, we have made a mountain out of a molehill. Since I haven't seen any evidence that they have a legal right, we can only go with what Photofast has said, that they withdrew the product for fear of losing their MFi license. If you are supporting Apple's actions because you think they have your best interests at heart you are still supporting them for using strong arm tactics.

Apple's responsibilities to its customers do end with products that void the warranty. By saying "This will void your warranty" Apple are effectively handing responsibility to the customer. If the customer is aware that he is voiding his warranty then it's his own business whether he installs this hard drive or not. That is Apple's obligation to its customer fulfilled by saying "install this at your own risk".

I have seen reports that the product was reverse engineered, and other reports that it uses open standards. I have heard that Photofast have an agreement with Apple not to supply parts that void the warranty, and other reports that their agreement only applies to iPod parts. Apple haven't confirmed any of this, all we have is Photofast's account which suggests that they only complied because they were fearful of losing their license. Going by the account we do have, it sounds like Apple are bullying.