I may need many things, but one thing none of us need are deep philosophical lessons on life from you. This is a discussion board dedicated to Apple products, and a thread dedicated to the problems involved with Apple delivering the UpToDate OS upgrade. So naturally, those of us posting here are focused on that topic. If you want to wax philosophical that's your prerogative, but don't presume to deliver lessons on life to anyone here. I'm actually exercising considerable restraint in this response. I'd prefer not to have that tested further.
What's more, the anger isn't about the delay. Yeah, the delay is irritating, but in the bigger picture, it is meaningless. What my anger comes from is the process, and the principles involved, and the way Apple's methods seem to indicate a major shift in their attitudes toward their customers, and a more direct focus on prioritizing short term bottom line profits over long term customer satisfaction and loyalty.
All of the barriers being thrown up to block us from getting the upgrades we've been promised are designed to accomplish two things: To prioritize early sales deliveries over what amount to pre-paid sales deliveries, and to prevent individual theft of or inadvertent conveyance of benefits to customers who are not owed them. These measures have been taken with maximum dedication to these goals and with complete disregard for the experience of the established and heretofore loyal customer. They seem to represent a fundamental and disturbing shift in Apple's philosophy with a focus more directly on short term performance and almost no attention to the dedication to service and quality that got them where they are today.
I've called and written them to complain about this. Their service people have been very courteous. The strength of a customer-centric culture is not destroyed overnight. But make no mistake, this is a very disturbing development, and it rightfully makes a lot of people angry. Less the delay than the process that is producing the delay, and the agenda betrayed by that process.
