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Apple Stops PhotoFast's MacBook Air SSD Replacement?

gnasher729 said:
That's the thing with evidence. People shouldn't judge _before_ they have evidence, which everyone before your post very clearly did. Now we would want to know _why_ Apple asked them to stop (which Engadget didn't say), maybe someone will find out as well.
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Hum... let's see.. Photofast was going to offer their "MacBook Air™ SSD Upgrade Kit" along with the necessary tools to open the bottom case (5 point Torx security screwdriver that people are having problems locating) while also being part of Apple's MFi program, making the whole operation sound too legitimate ?

And we wonder why Apple asked them to stop ? I bet Toshiba won't be getting into the screwdriver business.

leroypants said:
I am curious how blackmailing a company into not selling a product is remotly legal.
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It's not blackmail and it's legitimate in all probabilities or Apple wouldn't have asked them to stop. There's probably text in the MFi partner agreement that prevents Photofast from distributing such a product and Apple is using it.

Of course, being legal and being ethical can be worlds apart.
 
leroypants said:
I am curious how blackmailing a company into not selling a product is remotly legal.
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Large supermarkets do this all the time.

Say you supply me with Wheat Flakes cereal, and you sell 80% of your stock through me. You're whole survival is based upon my massive orders with you.

Then I find out you are selling the popular Wheat Flakes to someone else.

I don't like that, as it means customers can get their tasty Wheat Flakes from someone else who may be undercutting me.

I can then go to you and give you two choices.

Either you do as I tell you, and stop selling Wheat Flakes to this other retailer, or I will cancel my order with you and you will go bust.

Your choice.
 
I bought the tool to remove the screws from the bottom of the late 2010 Airs. It is a custom made bit from Apple and is expensive. The driver also comes with plastic panels to cover the batteries. Why??

The batteries are encased in plastic so thin it is possible for trained repair personnel to puncture them. It is good to avoid exposing the insides of these batteries to the air we so love. So how well would the unexperienced do?

This may explain why Apple went through so much trouble making a custom screw head. They could have just used a T3 or some security bit or even a tri-wing like the firs Airs used with the battery. Apple really really wants us to stay out for our own safety. 3rd parties encouraging you to take the Air apart is bad for you and Apple Legal.

/k
 
GilsMethod said:
It may be less, but what if supplies are tight due to the MBA's success this past weekend and Apple is just being cautious, just offering another possibility here.
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You do realize photofast's prototypes used Sandforce controllers and Intel flash memory? None of which are used in OEM Air SSDs... they use Toshiba controllers and Toshiba memory!

Also as it seems phtofast was involved in developing these SSD's, they already had much of the R&D done to produce these ssds, making it cost-effective for them to make these for a niche product. Unless the next gen MBP's also use the same form factor, I doubt we'll be seeing third party ssds for airs anytime soon. Get your applecare while you can as if your air's ssd goes bad outside warranty, you're going to be forced to buy from the "company store!"
 
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gnasher729 said:
CplBadboy said:
Apple are acting illegally here i reckon. You cant just bully your way through this just because someone offers a superior product at a more respectable price.

Photofast has only to simply remove the marketing as a MBA upgrade and market it as an external drive as it comes with a caddy does it not? Put that in your pipe Apple and smoke it. Its called competition and if Apple dont like it they can do one. In reality there is absolutely nothing they can do. How about your stop ripping us off for upgrades you greedy ****s?? Im all for the little guy here. Screw you SJ.
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You have very strong opinions based on very, very little evidence. All that you have is a rumor that "sources close to the company said". Have you actually ever seen this product for sale? All that I know is that one month ago, it was not ready, and there was no pricing available, so this may just be a lame excuse for not being able to ship products. So I would suggest you wait with your judgement until the company itself says something officially (something that would make them liable if it is not the truth, not some rumors being spread out), and until Apple replies.


CplBadboy said:
It would be like Coca Cola trying to shut down every other cola company in the world just because they make a similar product. And what is its a mixture of vegetable extracts available to everyone on the planet so unfortunately they cant! Apple cannot have the monopoly on this tech. It merely shows that Apple are ripping people off with standard components during the upgrade.
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No, it would be like some company announcing that they will produce straws that make Coke taste a lot better, but they are not ready yet and don't know how much they are going to sell for, and a month later when no product is there, "sources close to the company" claim that Coca Cola ordered them to stop making those straws. And since Coca Cola can't do that, reasonable people would then ask themselves if maybe something else is going on that has nothing to do with Coca Cola.
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Voice. Of. Reason.
 
Piggie said:
Large supermarkets do this all the time.

Say you supply me with Wheat Flakes cereal, and you sell 80% of your stock through me. You're whole survival is based upon my massive orders with you.

Then I find out you are selling the popular Wheat Flakes to someone else.

I don't like that, as it means customers can get their tasty Wheat Flakes from someone else who may be undercutting me.

I can then go to you and give you two choices.

Either you do as I tell you, and stop selling Wheat Flakes to this other retailer, or I will cancel my order with you and you will go bust.

Your choice.
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it's not that easy since even with the hippie crap you find in Whole Foods, it's made by a few giant megacorps that sell dozens or hundreds of brands. you pull the wheaty flakes and the mega corp sends a shipment late to your stores and on time to the competition so that your shelves are empty
 
Ugh!

It's funny how people instantly jump down the "Apple's nothing but a greedy company"!

You do realize that Apple has an agreement with PhotoFast to make these for them. It very well could be in their contract that they are not to sell direct. Usually if you're an OEM vendor, you can't resell direct. That is normal OEM business. ALso, we don't know, but maybe Toshiba has a deal with Apple to be the exclusive 3rd party supplier??? We don't know.

The point being... think. Business is more complex behind the scenes than everything is a free for all. So I'm sure there are contracts behind this move and not just Apple being greedy.
 
Totally unsat, Apple.

They are obviously doing this because they don't want people swapping out Apple's inferior SSD's in their MBA's and replacing them with something that is either faster, cheaper, or has higher storage (or some combination of the three).

Apple would rather have its customers be content with paying more for inferior SSD speeds in their MBA's.
 
Popeye206 said:
It's funny how people instantly jump down the "Apple's nothing but a greedy company"!
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Except those people are right.

Popeye206 said:
You do realize that Apple has an agreement with PhotoFast to make these for them. It very well could be in their contract that they are not to sell direct. Usually if you're an OEM vendor, you can't resell direct. That is normal OEM business. ALso, we don't know, but maybe Toshiba has a deal with Apple to be the exclusive 3rd party supplier??? We don't know.
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Except you are wrong. Photofast is not an OEM for Apple in this case, their product uses Intel memory chips and a Sandforce controller, Apple uses Toshiba parts for their MacBook Air SSD.

Popeye206 said:
The point being... think. Business is more complex behind the scenes than everything is a free for all. So I'm sure there are contracts behind this move and not just Apple being greedy.
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And using their MFi partner agreement (Made for iPod) to stop production of a Mac part, while it might be completely within their contractual rights, is greedy and unethical. Open your eyes.
 
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You must have tourettes.
I lov Apple's stuff and I'm in the city bus typing this comment on my iPhone 4. Yeah Apple does its nasty but as long as I am satisfied as a consumer I really don't care about other stuff.
Hey, when is the last time you saw a Dell preinstalled with two competing OSes? MS wouldn't allow it. On the retail floor you never see dual boot pcs MS/Linux do you?Go write a letter to Steve Balmer about that and see what you get.
 
Wild-Bill said:
Totally unsat, Apple.

They are obviously doing this because they don't want people swapping out Apple's inferior SSD's in their MBA's and replacing them with something that is either faster, cheaper, or has higher storage (or some combination of the three).

Apple would rather have its customers be content with paying more for inferior SSD speeds in their MBA's.
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+1 and what is worse your typical apple fanboy is happy to have an inferior product as long as it's from apple.
 
carmenodie said:
Hey, when is the last time you saw a Dell preinstalled with two competing OSes? MS wouldn't allow it. On the retail floor you never see dual boot pcs MS/Linux do you?Go write a letter to Steve Balmer about that and see what you get.
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I am sure if I asked you for a link proving that you would be able to provide one right.
 
$100 billion in the bank. More, more, more....obey.
Double plus win. Stay tuned. Magic.

5174900364_fee4faf5b5.jpg
 
carmenodie said:
You must have tourettes.
I lov Apple's stuff and I'm in the city bus typing this comment on my iPhone 4. Yeah Apple does its nasty but as long as I am satisfied as a consumer I really don't care about other stuff.
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I didn't know owning Apple's products required accepting everything they do. And you do know that if you never critique them because "as long as they satisfy your needs", you won't get much sympathy the day they will decide to "not satisfy" you anymore. 🙄

carmenodie said:
Hey, when is the last time you saw a Dell preinstalled with two competing OSes? MS wouldn't allow it. On the retail floor you never see dual boot pcs MS/Linux do you?Go write a letter to Steve Balmer about that and see what you get.
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This has what exactly to do with the current situation ? MS got dragged into court for their anti-competitive practices, which included forcing OEMs not bundle competing products to their own. In Microsoft's case, not only was it unethical, it was also illegal.
 
awful lot of speculation here... Even if it's completely true and everything it seems, Apple has never treated me wrong. In fact they have repeatedly gone above and beyond what Dell or Sony would ever do to make it right whenever I've been upset with anything.

If you feel Apple is "nothing but a greedy company" please, please stop buying Apple products. Personally, it would make me dirty to buy from a company I felt that negatively about if I had any other choice. I avoid buying Dell, Oracle, and MS as much as I can for this very reason.
 
logandzwon said:
If you feel Apple is "nothing but a greedy company" please, please stop buying Apple products. Personally, it would make me dirty to buy from a company I felt that negatively about if I had any other choice. I avoid buying Dell, Oracle, and MS as much as I can for this very reason.
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What makes you think we feel "that negatively" about Apple ? 🙄

Seriously guys, every vendor is dirty and greedy. That's what capitalism is all about.
 
I get it.

It's actually quite simple. Apple can only stop the sales when a company acts like they are selling genuine Apple products. PhotoFast claimed to sell Apple's MacBook Air SSD-cards, which is a violation by law. Apple didn't invent SSD, but they did however invent the MacBook Air.

duh
 
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