Microsoftesque Mistake

[stevesien]

All things considered I feel the .MAC "fiasco" is a "Microsoftian" blunder as in the new Windows XP forced registration nightmare plaguing the M$ hoardes(sp).
A blunder because what APPLE is gonna lose in goodwill, will far excede the savings of charging for .MAC. SJ even remarked that .MAC is .NET in flavor. Why couldn't he see that is exactly right and that makes it exactly wrong.
AAPL's most valuable asset is it's customer's loyalty. Cause without us AAPL will cease to exist. The APPLE brand is a large part mystique. We all know it is a lot more than machines. What it is, is people. People who want to believe they "think diifferent" and therefore follow AAPL because it is suppose to be "different". By becoming so balatanly "M$tifyied" can't "Jobba the Steve" see by penny pinching his loyal followers he is destroying his most valuable asset?
Sure AAPL has to make money we all understand that and we are all (I speak for everyone) willing to pay for quality, but when something we have come to rely on as a part of something we already paid for is pulled out from under us, it is a slap in the face. And it makes me......... sad really. Cause maybe the "Different" company doesn't really exist. It is just a bunch of BS or maybe MS is more appropriate.
STeve

 

[nuckinfutz]

Reality

We should have seen this coming. Computer sales are in a slump. Broadband prices have risen. Companies are fighting hard just to stay above water. How can we help? By supporting Apple as they've supported us.

Free software is nice but it's the last holdover from the harmful Dot.con days. We were told that profit didn't matter...we were lied to.

Apple has the opportunity now to offer enhanced Web Services. These services cost less than CallerID and Voicemail yet they just might save your bacon when the bleep hits the fan. This shouldn't be a principal arguement...we've all scaled back after 9/11 and companies have tightened the belts as well.

I think that we as paying .mac customers will send a message that Apple is leading the charge to Web Services. We are pioneers. And for this loyalty that we show Apple will continue to make it's products the best on the planet. I'm excited

 

[Mr. Anderson]

I agree the is a tinge of the darkside here. But Apple has to stay in business, it just sucks they have to do it this way. It was always so nice to point to Bill and then Steve and be able to show why one was so much better than the other. This blurs the line a little, I hope it doesn't get even more cloudy....

 

[Taft]

Re: Microsoftesque Mistake

Originally posted by stevesien

Sure AAPL has to make money we all understand that and we are all (I speak for everyone) willing to pay for quality, but when something we have come to rely on as a part of something we already paid for is pulled out from under us, it is a slap in the face. And it makes me......... sad really. Cause maybe the "Different" company doesn't really exist. It is just a bunch of BS or maybe MS is more appropriate.
STeve

I don't think the concept of pay-for-.Mac is a bad one. The services you get for paying around 9 bucks a month are pretty good.

What I objected to is not offering a free version of e-mail. A lot of people rely on the e-mail that Apple has provided for free.

Yet it seems that Apple has succeeded where MS fails: they actually listened to their customers. After the announcement of .Mac, a lot of people complained pretty hard. Shortly after, Apple seemed to switch their original position and allowed free e-mail use.

Because of this, I feel that Apple hendled the situation very well. Their plans to increase revenue by offering a suite of services will continue, but they won't inconvenience and alienate their customers in the process.

I say, Kudos to Apple. They listened. They changed. I can't ask for anything more.

Taft

 

[Mr. Anderson]

Re: Re: Microsoftesque Mistake

Originally posted by Taft

I say, Kudos to Apple. They listened. They changed. I can't ask for anything more.

Taft

I have to agree with this, Apple has back tracked before under pressure from the users. Its nice to see that they listen - but its also curious to know if they're marketing people are so out of it that they didn't see it coming or they just tried to get away with it and let it play itself out. I'd love to know that....

 

[MacCoaster]

Forced registration on Windows XP?

NO! Windows XP *does* not force you to register. That is absolutely optional. Smart people do not register.

All you have to do is 'activate' it. No personal information is sent.

Retards see it just as a way to 'support' their opinion on Microsoft's privacy ****. *A smack in face* gains them the understanding is that it is just there to curb *casual* piracy--the source of like the majority of piracy. Only real crackers and people with brains would not need to activate it.

But really, all it does is send like a checksum of the system components and bundle it with the serial number.

And for you guys, if you whine about activation... grow up. It takes only one second. It's not like they're invading your house and force you to use all Microsoft products.

 

[mac15]

I have winxp, and I never activated it, I haven't had it that long to do it


but If apple ever made registration, I don't know what I would do

 

[748s]

Re: Re: Microsoftesque Mistake

Originally posted by Taft

After the announcement of .Mac, a lot of people complained pretty hard. Shortly after, Apple seemed to switch their original position and allowed free e-mail use.
Taft

when did apple change their postion on free e-mail?

 

[mozez]

one thing you have to realize is though, this will not be a temporary thing, people are like, support apple, support apple, they are in a slump, so you think when they get out of the slump they are gonna say, for all those that supported us in the rough times everything is now free or $20, no!!! they are going to continue to charge more and more and seperate all their software, just like microsoft sells alot of software seperatly for wicked high prices, so will apple, how far does it go before itunes is a charge, and all other iapps for that matter. i'm getting more and more angry at the fact that i continue to support apple and it's just taking all my money and not stopping. i'm losing sight of what my benifits are.

 

[awrc]

Re: Forced registration on Windows XP?

Originally posted by MacCoaster
All you have to do is 'activate' it. No personal information is sent.

...

But really, all it does is send like a checksum of the system components and bundle it with the serial number.

Ever had to *re*-activate XP after changing a lot of hardware? During the 2-3 months before I got my Mac I was having a helluva lot of stability problems with my PC (the eventual reason I decided to buy a Mac), and went through several different motherboards. Two of these motherboards had built-in networking, and a change in the MAC address of your network card is a "one strike and you're out" thing as far as XP activation is concerned. So for a month or two I was a fairly regular caller to Microsoft's XP activation hotline.

The experience certainly wasn't unpleasant but they did required an explanation of why I was reactivating for the fifth weekend in a row and my name and address, so that they could verify that this was me re-installing rather than half a dozen different people installing the same copy of XP.

 

[Pin-Fisher]

Ugh...sounds like thier marketing dept. needs to be fired..

 

[nuckinfutz]

XP

And for you guys, if you whine about activation... grow up. It takes only one second. It's not like they're invading your house and force you to use all Microsoft products.

Wake up man. Apple doesn't make you "Activate" anything. Activation ...Registration..same thing pal no need to get into the semantics of it.

AWRC- That's an interesting story. One that can easily happen..especially with the trend in Integrated Motherboards. Yet another hassle that Microsoft has added in the name of protecting THEIR profits over your convenience.

 

[Stike]

Re: Re: Re: Microsoftesque Mistake

Originally posted by dukestreet


I have to agree with this, Apple has back tracked before under pressure from the users. Its nice to see that they listen - but its also curious to know if they're marketing people are so out of it that they didn't see it coming or they just tried to get away with it and let it play itself out. I'd love to know that....

.mac has no free eMail. Only that 60 day trial. Goto mac.com and try to find a possibility to log in on a free eMail Account! It´s not there!

I wonder what will happen to my current mac.com eMail Adress...?

They have not listened... yet.

 

[MacCoaster]

Re: Re: Forced registration on Windows XP?

Originally posted by awrc
Ever had to *re*-activate XP after changing a lot of hardware? During the 2-3 months before I got my Mac I was having a helluva lot of stability problems with my PC (the eventual reason I decided to buy a Mac), and went through several different motherboards. Two of these motherboards had built-in networking, and a change in the MAC address of your network card is a "one strike and you're out" thing as far as XP activation is concerned. So for a month or two I was a fairly regular caller to Microsoft's XP activation hotline.

The experience certainly wasn't unpleasant but they did required an explanation of why I was reactivating for the fifth weekend in a row and my name and address, so that they could verify that this was me re-installing rather than half a dozen different people installing the same copy of XP.

Let me guess, cheap ****ty components? Nope, I only had to activate once, I even changed my ethernet card at one point, even switched from IBM Deathstar to Seagate Barracuda ATA IV. I didn't register (the step after activating it). Works like a dream. Of course, it's a bit pricey for a PC (~$1,500). And guess what, Windows XP is stable as hell--I absolutely can't crash it myself and I do stress it a lot. You just had a bad experience.

Originally posted by nuckinfutz
Wake up man. Apple doesn't make you "Activate" anything. Activation ...Registration..same thing pal no need to get into the semantics of it.

Wrong. Go install Windows XP. You'll see that activation is one click, and registration is after that [registering is WHERE you send _personally identifying information to Microsoft], and they don't require it.

Originally posted by nuckinfutz
AWRC- That's an interesting story. One that can easily happen..especially with the trend in Integrated Motherboards. Yet another hassle that Microsoft has added in the name of protecting THEIR profits over your convenience.

Not Microsoft. You mean those motherboard manufacturers--they might take advantage of that fact and screw over customers for upgrades? You can simply call Microsoft, it's not that much of a big deal if it's one time.

Sigh. Macs are great, but only when they hit DDR will I finally get a Power Mac. Apple should screw Motorola and go IBM already, god damn it.

 

[mnkeybsness]

haven't we all complained enough about .Mac?