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My letter to Apple. . .

shecky

shecky

Guest
Original poster
May 24, 2003
2,580
5
Obviously you're not a golfer.
Just sent this to Apple. I am sure many of us feel the same way.


To Whom it May Concern;

I am beginning my Sophomore year’s fall semester at XXXX this coming September 10th. The way XXXX works is that I am, as a Graphic Design major, required to purchase an Apple PowerBook as part of my curriculum. Now, while XXXX does indeed offer a very good package price of hardware and software, as an older student who has years of experience with Apple I am choosing to spend my money on a better package of my own choosing.

There is, however, a MAJOR problem with this plan: your continued delay on the release of new 15” PowerBooks. Now, I know that an update is imminent; I know (OK, strongly suspect) that the update will bring the new 15” into line with the current 12” and 17” PowerBooks. Things like Airport Extreme, DDR memory, built-in Bluetooth, Aluminum enclosure, and the like are things that I want and need in my new laptop. These are things that I can reasonably assume will be in the next revision of the new PowerBook. I understand it takes time to transition to a new model, I understand that there are supply chain issues such as Motorola to be dealt with. What I do not understand is your complete disregard for your customers (both current and potential) in NOT releasing a new revision after more than 10 months. 10 months!! I am sorry, but that is a flat out unacceptable timeline for a revision to your “bread & butter” PowerBook. You already know that this is a “core” product for you, and, rather than making a new release, or at the very least ANNOUNCING a new release to be shipped later, you instead leave us in the dark. I think this is very unfair.

Will I buy the current rev 15” TiBook if nothing new is announced soon? Of course I will. I will not choose to NOT buy a PowerBook just because it is not the next revision, however, I will buy it with some slight resentment and discouragement. What I truly, genuinely hope and pray Apple is NOT doing is waiting until after the Fall back-to-school rush of PowerBook purchases to clean out inventory and then announcing something in October. Please, PLEASE tell me that kind of sneakiness is not what is happening. I love your company and its products too much to believe that you would ever do that. I feel that on occasion, people can “drop the ball”, even if they have the best intentions. In this particular case, I fell that Apple has dropped the ball on keeping its customers in the loop.

What do I want? All I want is an announcement that the new PowerBooks, with whatever revisions, will be available on XYZ day. I do not need to have my new 15” PowerBook today, I just need to know I can buy it hopefully before, or at least very soon after school starts. I just want to be kept abreast of what is happening. After 10 months, I think we all deserve that little bit of respect.

Best regards,
 
Re: My letter to Apple. . .

Originally posted by shecky
Just sent this to Apple. I am sure many of us feel the same way.


To Whom it May Concern;

I am beginning my Sophomore year’s fall semester at XXXX this coming September 10th. The way XXXX works is that I am, as a Graphic Design major, required to purchase an Apple PowerBook as part of my curriculum. Now, while XXXX does indeed offer a very good package price of hardware and software, as an older student who has years of experience with Apple I am choosing to spend my money on a better package of my own choosing.

There is, however, a MAJOR problem with this plan: your continued delay on the release of new 15” PowerBooks. Now, I know that an update is imminent; I know (OK, strongly suspect) that the update will bring the new 15” into line with the current 12” and 17” PowerBooks. Things like Airport Extreme, DDR memory, built-in Bluetooth, Aluminum enclosure, and the like are things that I want and need in my new laptop. These are things that I can reasonably assume will be in the next revision of the new PowerBook. I understand it takes time to transition to a new model, I understand that there are supply chain issues such as Motorola to be dealt with. What I do not understand is your complete disregard for your customers (both current and potential) in NOT releasing a new revision after more than 10 months. 10 months!! I am sorry, but that is a flat out unacceptable timeline for a revision to your “bread & butter” PowerBook. You already know that this is a “core” product for you, and, rather than making a new release, or at the very least ANNOUNCING a new release to be shipped later, you instead leave us in the dark. I think this is very unfair.

Will I buy the current rev 15” TiBook if nothing new is announced soon? Of course I will. I will not choose to NOT buy a PowerBook just because it is not the next revision, however, I will buy it with some slight resentment and discouragement. What I truly, genuinely hope and pray Apple is NOT doing is waiting until after the Fall back-to-school rush of PowerBook purchases to clean out inventory and then announcing something in October. Please, PLEASE tell me that kind of sneakiness is not what is happening. I love your company and its products too much to believe that you would ever do that. I feel that on occasion, people can “drop the ball”, even if they have the best intentions. In this particular case, I fell that Apple has dropped the ball on keeping its customers in the loop.

What do I want? All I want is an announcement that the new PowerBooks, with whatever revisions, will be available on XYZ day. I do not need to have my new 15” PowerBook today, I just need to know I can buy it hopefully before, or at least very soon after school starts. I just want to be kept abreast of what is happening. After 10 months, I think we all deserve that little bit of respect.

Best regards,
Click to expand...

Couldn't have said it better my self. I Agree!
 
isn't it 9 months?

nov6
dec6
jan6
feb6
mar6
apr6
may6
jun6
july6
aug6

August 6th, 2003 with be the ninth month since the tibooks wer revised. I understand that your one of the many people that wants/needs a new 15" but it appears as if apple is asimilating the powerbook update schedule which means that the 15" could be updated as late as 6-8 months since the 17" powerbooks started shipping...something to think about...open letter rarely serve any good except to vent.
 
this is not an open letter, this letter was sent directly to Apple. i posted it here after emailing to Apple because i think many people feel the same way and I wanted to show the community what, if any, action is or is not taken by Apple from this letter. I am not "venting", i am trying to make a clearly stated point directly to the company.

And you are right, i am off by 1 month. 9 months is still a long time for a rev, especially considering that the bookends of the line have new technologies that the 15 does not have. Again, i am not saying "give me a new powerbook tomorrow" i am saying "TELL me when a new powerbook is coming, that way I can make a decision regarding wether to wait for the new 15 and most likely pay more, or do it now with a current 15 and pay less."

The one place Apple has EVERY advantage over Wintel machines is in customer service & relationships with thier customer base (or at least they should if they do not). They have the power to keep thier customer base in the loop, and as such, i think they should.
 
You got into XXXX! Man, are you lucky. I applied there but they said I didn't have enough charisma. Oh well, have fun at XXXX.
 
Things like Airport Extreme, DDR memory, built-in Bluetooth, Aluminum enclosure, and the like are things that I want and need in my new laptop.
Click to expand...

You need those? The only thing that'd excite my update desires are DDR, but most ppl can live without AE, BT, and Al. I see the next revision getting Al (unless they have a just amount of left over titanium...) just to minimize Apple's metal sources. Not to take up Apple's side and say that those wouldn't be great, they would be. However, I knew that I didn't need those and purchased the current Ti instead (which I have had for about 4 months). Better to have it for 4 months than be without one. Just wondering if you're prioritizing enough. I am glad you sent it though, maybe it'll make Apple wake up (though you never know what is happening behind the scenes).

P.S. Should've mentioned the AP range in the current Ti's as well.
 
Aluminum enclosure and bluetooth fall into the "want" category. AE and DDR fall into the "need" category. DDR for the obvious reasons, and AE for the filesharing bandwidth increase. (i do a lot of filesharing at home and will be doing a lot at school - rumor has it "G" based wireless there next year.) I also have found that using G based wireless cards on a B network is still a bit faster than using a B card - thats just my own experience.

mgargan1, i am prepared to spend as much as $2600 for a new AlBook. if the new rev is not what i think it will be, i will save my $ and spend less on the current Ti. (i am referring to academic pricing)
 
You should mail the letter through regular mail (remember, regular mail? ;)) AND via email. I doubt that the widely known email address of Steve Jobs is going to work. I've seen people give it out to others but I wouldnt actually expect him to read it. ;)

Send him the hard copy.
 
well, if you can save up a couple more hundred dollars, you could get the 17". But i understand that there are financial reasons why people can only spend a certain amount of money. And i'm sure you thought about getting the 17", but just think about it more... it's really not that bad to carry around. I have one, and it looks like it'll be a pain, but it's really not. And it's not that heavy compared to a 17" PC. (10lbs) And i'm sure you're school gives you a huge discount on Office vX as well. I know mine did...
 
Originally posted by Abstract
You should mail the letter through regular mail (remember, regular mail? ;)) AND via email. I doubt that the widely known email address of Steve Jobs is going to work. I've seen people give it out to others but I wouldnt actually expect him to read it. ;)

Send him the hard copy.
Click to expand...

I would have thought that too but one night when I was really pissed after my iBook broke again I wrote an emotional email and a few days later an Apple Executive Liason contacted me to make sure applecare was sending out the box and continued to contact me and expedited the repair process I was quite happy to know my small voice was heard simpyl from emailing sjobs
 
Although I do not disagree (actually, I completely agree), I'm afraid there is nothing any of us can do about it. Even Apple. I would assume that they thought they'd have the new CPUs by now. Don't know why they counted on Moto, who of course blew it with their delays. Now they know the new 'Books will not be released until Sept. They can't announce them, because then no one would buy the current ones, which they actually are.

Not everyone reads rumor sites, but I do suspect most people who follow Apple realize the "new" 'Books are quite old (in computer terms).
 
shecky, i sure feel that way, but i think that Apple already knows how people feel about the TiBooks. and i don't think they'd do anything sneaky like wait for the back to school rush to clear out TiBook inventory. i'm sure that Apple wants to get the new PowerBooks out as soon as possible in time for the back to school buying spree of students. but you never know...
 
From the looks of it, delays at Motorola with the 7457 are forcing Apple to push the PB line to wait until mid-September for a revision.

If I were you, I'd stick it out. From the sound of it, you already have a Mac so you shouldn't worry a whole lot.
 
I think that you may be taking a rather short sited view of this. Apple has a lot more of a balancing act to perform than you might think. The 15"PB is the only Pro level machine that currently supports OS 9 booting. That may not matter much to you, but there are those out there that that does matter for.

Apple isn't going to continue to support it much longer, but they cannot (by any reasonable marketing strategy) offer information as to when their new products are going to be available.

I'd encourage you to trust Apple. It's in their interest to announce the new PBs before the school rush, if they can reasonably ship them in time for school. If, however, they can't ship them until October, they likely won't announce them until September at the earliest.
 
Originally posted by Snowy_River
Apple isn't going to continue to support it much longer, but they cannot (by any reasonable marketing strategy) offer information as to when their new products are going to be available.
Click to expand...

can you clarify this statement please? because it sounds like what you are saying is that Apple would be foolish to announce new product now and ship it later when there is still current product in the channel.

to which i reply: G5

i think the OS 9 thing, while important to some, is something that Apple is certainly been saying is going away. I find it highly unlikely that Apple is not revising the tibook because it can still boot into OS9. Steve & the boys have said pretty succinctly on a number of occassions over the past 2 years that OS X is the only real option going forward.
 
Re: My letter to Apple. . .

Originally posted by shecky
To Whom it May Concern;

I am beginning my Sophomore year’s fall semester at XXXX this coming September 10th. The way XXXX works is that I am, as a Graphic Design major, required to purchase an Apple PowerBook as part of my curriculum. Now, while XXXX does indeed offer a very good package price of hardware and software, as an older student who has years of experience with Apple I am choosing to spend my money on a better package of my own choosing.

[/B]
Click to expand...


XXXX = Community College.
 
Re: My letter to Apple. . .

Originally posted by shecky
Just sent this to Apple. I am sure many of us feel the same way.


To Whom it May Concern;

I am beginning my Sophomore year’s fall semester at XXXX this coming September 10th. The way XXXX works is that I am, as a Graphic Design major, required to purchase an Apple PowerBook as part of my curriculum. Now, while XXXX does indeed offer a very good package price of hardware and software, as an older student who has years of experience with Apple I am choosing to spend my money on a better package of my own choosing.

There is, however, a MAJOR problem with this plan: your continued delay on the release of new 15” PowerBooks. Now, I know that an update is imminent; I know (OK, strongly suspect) that the update will bring the new 15” into line with the current 12” and 17” PowerBooks. Things like Airport Extreme, DDR memory, built-in Bluetooth, Aluminum enclosure, and the like are things that I want and need in my new laptop. These are things that I can reasonably assume will be in the next revision of the new PowerBook. I understand it takes time to transition to a new model, I understand that there are supply chain issues such as Motorola to be dealt with. What I do not understand is your complete disregard for your customers (both current and potential) in NOT releasing a new revision after more than 10 months. 10 months!! I am sorry, but that is a flat out unacceptable timeline for a revision to your “bread & butter” PowerBook. You already know that this is a “core” product for you, and, rather than making a new release, or at the very least ANNOUNCING a new release to be shipped later, you instead leave us in the dark. I think this is very unfair.

Will I buy the current rev 15” TiBook if nothing new is announced soon? Of course I will. I will not choose to NOT buy a PowerBook just because it is not the next revision, however, I will buy it with some slight resentment and discouragement. What I truly, genuinely hope and pray Apple is NOT doing is waiting until after the Fall back-to-school rush of PowerBook purchases to clean out inventory and then announcing something in October. Please, PLEASE tell me that kind of sneakiness is not what is happening. I love your company and its products too much to believe that you would ever do that. I feel that on occasion, people can “drop the ball”, even if they have the best intentions. In this particular case, I fell that Apple has dropped the ball on keeping its customers in the loop.

What do I want? All I want is an announcement that the new PowerBooks, with whatever revisions, will be available on XYZ day. I do not need to have my new 15” PowerBook today, I just need to know I can buy it hopefully before, or at least very soon after school starts. I just want to be kept abreast of what is happening. After 10 months, I think we all deserve that little bit of respect.

Best regards,
Click to expand...


It may be a good letter but... It is written the way that you expect high management of apple will read it. But they won't.
This letter will get to some intern who is working there for 6 bucks an hour or a secretary who could really care less for anything and only has generic answers for common questions.

I don't expect for them to send anything back to you (or honestly even read it fully to that matter). But even if they do send you back a letter, it will look something like this:

"Dear Mr. XXXX,
Apple is working very hard on improving hardware and software for our customers. Unfortunatelly, we currently don't have any information regarding update of 15" powerbooks. Please, check out our website frequently, as any information available will be posted there as soon as we get it.

Sincerely,

XXXX.





-Cheers!
 
Re: Re: My letter to Apple. . .

Originally posted by Rezet
XXXX = Community College.
Click to expand...

whats funny is how you could not possibly be more wrong :)

hell, who knows who reads these letters, if anyone even DOES read these letters. But, it was worth 10 minutes. ya never know.
 
Originally posted by shecky
to which i reply: G5
Click to expand...

Almost everyone whos on the new powerbook bandwagon except for you would hate an announcement and delay..... Nearly everyone who orders a machine and has to deal with a month or two delay whines until they get their machine (17" powerbook)...the essence of america is I want it now.....Also the G5 is a whole new product and were not sure if tyhe powerbooks will even be a case redesign.
 
Originally posted by shecky
this is not an open letter, this letter was sent directly to Apple. i posted it here after emailing to Apple because i think many people feel the same way and I wanted to show the community what, if any, action is or is not taken by Apple from this letter. I am not "venting", i am trying to make a clearly stated point directly to the company.

And you are right, i am off by 1 month. 9 months is still a long time for a rev, especially considering that the bookends of the line have new technologies that the 15 does not have. Again, i am not saying "give me a new powerbook tomorrow" i am saying "TELL me when a new powerbook is coming, that way I can make a decision regarding wether to wait for the new 15 and most likely pay more, or do it now with a current 15 and pay less."

The one place Apple has EVERY advantage over Wintel machines is in customer service & relationships with thier customer base (or at least they should if they do not). They have the power to keep thier customer base in the loop, and as such, i think they should.
Click to expand...
Apple has shown in the last year or so, that they are losing their advantage wrt customer service related issues. I mean come on now, you can't return a BTO item? Give me a break. Apple buys in such small quntities, it is hard for the to give advance notice as to what will be released, when.
 
Sorry to say, but they wont give a flying s**t about your letter.

They have their reasons for not announcing or releasing a new 15 PB. Its about economics and their own timetable, not some whiny kid going to junior college without a bleeding-edge aluminum 15 inch powerbook. Get over it already.





BTW:I have the 1gHz 15" TiBook and its freakin' awesome. I use it for high end 3D animation, and it never misses a beat.
 
Originally posted by agreenster
BTW:I have the 1gHz 15" TiBook and its freakin' awesome. I use it for high end 3D animation, and it never misses a beat.
Click to expand...

As do I, too freakin' awesome
 
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