Product Inventory Delays?

[Bear]

We have a couple of thousand "Dulls" at work (as well as another few thousand HP/Compaq). We have very few problems with Windows (XP Pro), our main support issues are application specific, and we have very few hardware failures.

Good for you. My last experience with Winblows was Win2K. Due to the inability of device drivers to work well together (yes, both were certified drivers - they were never apparently tested on the same system at the same time) I had to restart the Win2K system at least once a day, if not twice. I also have more stuff hanging off my Powermac than I had on the Winblows box.

Between that and the security and design flaws in windows, it's enough to make someone stay well away from Micro$oft products.

Since I switched to Macs (Started with OS 10.1) I have had maybe two OS crashes, and plenty of uptime. Also, for what I'm doing, a PC (desktop or laptop) would have cost about the same as a Powermac or a Powerbook.
PCs are only cheaper when you strip them down. I also haven't had to buy as many third party applications or shareware as I would have to get to make a Winblows box usable for me.

So in summary, the costs for the machines also depends on what software you need for them. It also depends on how well required hardware and software interact with each other.

 

[Bear]

Apple will sell them no matter what they charge, hell, people were still paying top $$$ for the G4 iMac (old, expensive piece of stupidly out dated technology) up until a couple of months ago. Some people are just so in love with the Apple brand that they can't see past it, and will buy no matter what they are actually going to get for their money.

And some people see exactly what they will be getting and like what they see.

Also, as it has been stated elsewhere, compare the real price of a similarly configured Winblows box to a Mac and you'll see how close the pricing becomes. And when comparing some laptop to apple's Powerbooks, remember to compare the weight as well. It does cost money to get the lighter laptops.

And remember when Apple dropped the price on the 23" HD Cinema Display to $2000 (US)? I believe at that point, they were very much on the low end of the price scale for a screen of that size, resolution and quality.

I will agree with you on one thing: People can become blind to things when they don't want to see something.

Oh, in another thing related to prices, what costs more, buying a machine that all your software runs on? Or buying a machine where you have to buy all new software? For me, it wasn't a big deal when I switched to Macs, as a lot of what I had to pay for on Winblows was already included and the couple of pieces of software I had to upgrade had new versions available and it was a reasonable charge to do it as a cross platform upgrade. At this point, It would cost me a lot more in software costs to switch back to Winblows.

Remember, hardware cost isn't everything.

 

[wdlove]

I ordered from the Apple site last Friday in the midst of our state sales tax holiday and Apple initially charged me sales tax, then refunded it back to me--thus no sales tax for me.

If they'd not honored our tax holiday, I'd have just driven up to Charlotte, NC to the Apple store there and partaken of their sales tax holiday.

On a side note, my Studio Display arrived today, but still no G5. The Apple site still says it'll be shipping on Tuesday, 8/17 so I'm hoping I'll have it by next Thursday.

Did you state have a limit on your purchase to qualify? Here in Massachusetts it's $2500. Apple sent a message to let us know that they are participating.

 

[tigers]

Did you state have a limit on your purchase to qualify? Here in Massachusetts it's $2500. Apple sent a message to let us know that they are participating.

Nope, none that I know of.

 

[stockscalper]

Anybody who says Windoz machines are stable is trolling for Microsoft.

 

[tigers]

Just got an email from Apple today that my new G5 2.0 shipped today. Exactly one week from order to shipment.

Overall, that seems pretty good given what I've read in this thread and elsewhere about Apple's woes meeting demand.

 

[JPigford]

I've been a PC user for 15 years and finally decided to switch to mac. I spent $5000 buying a new mac and buying new mac versions of all my software. I ordered the computer on 8/4 and Apple tells me it will take 5-7 business days to build and then ship it by 8/13. Then today (the 14th) I get an e-mail saying my order has been pushed back to 8/31 due to supply delays. Here's the spec's of my system:

Dual 2.0GHz PowerPC G5
512mb RAM
250GB Harddrive
NVIDIA Geforce 6800

Is there a particular item there that could be setting things back?

Just got an email from Apple today that my new G5 2.0 shipped today. Exactly one week from order to shipment.

I'm just wondering b/c if he got what I got...how come his order got shipped before mine?

 

[numark]

I'm just wondering b/c if he got what I got...how come his order got shipped before mine?

The Geforce 6800 card isn't readily available currently. They'll probably trickle out slowly and randomly at first as Apple gets the first few batches in. Soon they should be getting enough in that there won't be too many delays for the 6800, but until then we'll just have to wait.

I'm in the same boat too...I ordered a DP2.0 w/ Geforce 6800 a few days ago. However, my shipping date has always been quoted as Aug. 31. Hopefully, though, Apple will get around to building the computers faster and ship them out earlier. A long shot, but it may yet happen.

 

[JPigford]

The Geforce 6800 card isn't readily available currently. They'll probably trickle out slowly and randomly at first as Apple gets the first few batches in. Soon they should be getting enough in that there won't be too many delays for the 6800, but until then we'll just have to wait.

I'm in the same boat too...I ordered a DP2.0 w/ Geforce 6800 a few days ago. However, my shipping date has always been quoted as Aug. 31. Hopefully, though, Apple will get around to building the computers faster and ship them out earlier. A long shot, but it may yet happen.

I called Apple and asked if they could tell me what part was holding things up but they never would tell me. I then asked if I could downgrade video cards and then when the new one was ready if they could ship it to me and she said it wouldn't speed up my order any. Hopefully they'll be able to ship it by the 31st.

 

[wdlove]

Just got an email from Apple today that my new G5 2.0 shipped today. Exactly one week from order to shipment.

Overall, that seems pretty good given what I've read in this thread and elsewhere about Apple's woes meeting demand.

That is quite an amazing story. You must have ordered a stock 2.0 G5. Most are having to wait 4 - 6 weeks. In your case you won't have time to be impatient.

 

[tigers]

That is quite an amazing story. You must have ordered a stock 2.0 G5. Most are having to wait 4 - 6 weeks. In your case you won't have time to be impatient.

Here's what I got (already received my monitor this past Thursday). It was a custom order:


Processor 065-4931 2.0GHz PowerPC G5
Memory 065-4976 1GB MB DDR400 (PC3200)-2X512
Hard Drive 065-4925 160GB Serial ATA-7200rpm
Optical Drive 065-4928 8x Super Drive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
Graphic Support 065-4892 ATI Rad9600 XT x/128MB DDR
Gigabit Ethernet PCI 065-5080 None
Fibre Chl PCI 065-4491 None
Modem 065-4650 None
BlueTooth 065-4142 None
Airport 065-1899 None
Keyboard Language 065-4923 Apple Keyboard & Mouse
Mac OS Language 065-4896 Mac OS X
Server Mac OS Language 065-4494 None
Custom SW I 065-4683 None
Custom SW II 065-4909 Final Cut Express
Country Kit 065-4894 Country Kit

 

[JPigford]

That is quite an amazing story. You must have ordered a stock 2.0 G5. Most are having to wait 4 - 6 weeks. In your case you won't have time to be impatient.

I really think a lot of people's lenghty wait times (including mine) is due to the NVIDIA video card. Apple was just doing what they do best...which is sell products they don't actually have possession of yet. If I had known that the NVIDIA cards weren't shipping until September I would have gladly picked a different card.

 

[seamuskrat]

New(er) iSights

 

[seamuskrat]

New(er) iSights

I just got my new iSight after a 4 week delay.

It has a magnetic clip for the aluminum displays, but other than a manual with directions and this clip, it looks the same to the ones I have seen before, although it MAY be smaller, I do not have one to compare it to.

 

[rog]

I just don't think that we can blame Apple for all of these delays. Definitely we shouldn't go after Steve, who is recovering from serious cancer surgery. From what I have heard it's suppliers like IBM that are having difficulty filling demand. It seems that some of the other chips are also not able to fill demand.

Well who do we blame, al Queda? Seriously the buck has to stop somewhere. The larger problem is they routinely announce things months before they believe they will ship, pretty much guaranteeing 3 months of dead sales for that product or the one it replaces. Then things trickle in not necessarily due to overwhelming demand, but because they simply don't have the ability to meet even a small demand. The 2.5s for example are barely trickling in weeks after they were due to ship in volume. What ever happened to waiting to announce things only after you've built up a healthy supply. Then you keep customers happy and have product to sell. Do you really think potential wintel converts who need a new computer say, well I am interested in an iMac so I'll just wait 4 months for something that may or may not be released? No, they say, forget this, and buy another PC any number of which they can get that day for much cheaper--result: another lost sale and potential revenue stream for years to come.

 

[JPigford]

Do you really think potential wintel converts who need a new computer say, well I am interested in an iMac so I'll just wait 4 months for something that may or may not be released? No, they say, forget this, and buy another PC any number of which they can get that day for much cheaper--result: another lost sale and potential revenue stream for years to come.

Exactly. I've been using PC's for 15 years and a couple weeks ago finally decided I'd convert to mac...including buying all new "mac" versions of tons of software. I spent over $5000 buying a new PowerMac G5 and new software and I was told it would take 5-7 business days to build my mac and then ship it. Then the day after it was supposed to ship they e-mail telling me they've pushed back the ship date 2 more weeks. Do I feel confident that I made the decisions to switch to mac? Not at all. I didn't pay $5000 to be sold something they don't even have (the GeForce 6800). If it keeps getting pushed back I won't hesitate to cancel my order.

 

[wdlove]

Exactly. I've been using PC's for 15 years and a couple weeks ago finally decided I'd convert to mac...including buying all new "mac" versions of tons of software. I spent over $5000 buying a new PowerMac G5 and new software and I was told it would take 5-7 business days to build my mac and then ship it. Then the day after it was supposed to ship they e-mail telling me they've pushed back the ship date 2 more weeks. Do I feel confident that I made the decisions to switch to mac? Not at all. I didn't pay $5000 to be sold something they don't even have (the GeForce 6800). If it keeps getting pushed back I won't hesitate to cancel my order.

I hope that you will try to be patient. Apple is known for announcing products prior to being ready to ship. I have no doubt that you will be very pleased. When you Mac arrives, the long wait will surely be forgot.

 

[macsrus]

I hope that you will try to be patient. Apple is known for announcing products prior to being ready to ship. I have no doubt that you will be very pleased. When you Mac arrives, the long wait will surely be forgot.

Apples problem about shipping is....
They dont even start producing the products unil they have sufficent orders

So they will announce a new product then wait until they get a certain level of orders...
Then they send the orders to manufacturing....
Annoying yes... but what can we do about it?

 

[tigers]

My dual 2.0 G5 arrived today. Ordered 8/7/04 and arrived today, 8/16/04.

Not bad I suppose given some of the problems I've been reading about. Haven't had a chance to set it up yet as I'm still at work, but I should have a fun filled evening of getting to know my new G5 and OS X.

 

[wdlove]

My dual 2.0 G5 arrived today. Ordered 8/7/04 and arrived today, 8/16/04.

Not bad I suppose given some of the problems I've been reading about. Haven't had a chance to set it up yet as I'm still at work, but I should have a fun filled evening of getting to know my new G5 and OS X.

At least you have less than an hour till you leave now. I can hardly imagine what your evening will be like. Very sure that you will enjoy Mac OS X, icing on the cake to your G5. If you have a chance please post pictures?

 

[tigers]

At least you have less than an hour till you leave now. I can hardly imagine what your evening will be like. Very sure that you will enjoy Mac OS X, icing on the cake to your G5. If you have a chance please post pictures?

I'll do my best to post some Mac pr0n on here--although my wife has indicated I have to help her out tonight with some painting in the dining room, so we'll see. LOL

 

[MrRN]

23" monitor wait list

uggghh.. well my monitor oder has again been pushed back another 10 days. STOP THE MADNESS!!! I'm so jelous of you who have gotten yours Shazam

 

[wdlove]

I'll do my best to post some Mac pr0n on here--although my wife has indicated I have to help her out tonight with some painting in the dining room, so we'll see. LOL

I understand, it's best to keep peace in the family and help the wife paint. Then maybe the next night she will take the pictures of you are your new G5.

 

[kenaustus]

uggghh.. well my monitor oder has again been pushed back another 10 days. STOP THE MADNESS!!! I'm so jelous of you who have gotten yours Shazam

Looks like the current inventory was wiped out. I ordered a 23" last Wed and got mine Friday - but I did put in for overnight on the order because of a rush project. It might ship faster than you think - keep hoping.

Oh, and by the way - the 23" is glorious!

 

[tigers]

Pics as promised



Click the image for a larger pic...

Off to the other forums to try and learn how to use this thing...