~Shard~ said:
Well, there are lots of people who need or want a dual-core PowerMac right now - they don't even have an option! You can't have your cake and eat it too - how many people truly absolutely need an updated Mini right this very second and would say so if they didn't even know that this whole situation was going on? They can't wait a week? And the current Mini is just completely unacceptable for their needs? I doubt it...
Sure, it's doubtful for the current situation with the mini, but even then it's more than just a CPU speed bump. Several components have been improved in the new ones.
You mention Power Macs. Imagine they did this with the Power Mac - ordering a current dual-2.7 GHz Power Mac might get you that machine, but it also might get you a hypothetical dual-CPU dual-core 2.5 GHz machine (4 full cores). That's a huge difference for many people, like my group at work, where every extra CPU cycle means we can do more analysis and have results quicker. If Apple pulled this stunt with the Power Mac, they'd be asking us to gamble on getting the better (much more valuable) machine. Time is money, and many businesses can't afford to wait to purchase. That stinks no matter how you look at it.
Then don't gamble. Wait a bit longer. Again, it's that simple. If getting an updated machine is that important to someone they shouldn't be gambling, and they can afford to wait a little longer - it is a sacrifice they should be willing to make. Again, think about the people wanting new PowerBooks and PowerMacs. If they absolutely need a new one, they'll wait, as many are doing right now. The Mini customers have been given a bonus in a way since they actually know that their machines are being updated right away, so it's their choice whether they want to gamble during this little transition or wait.
Continuing my previous thought, look at this from the perspective of someone who needs a machine for business purposes. Normally when you have the cash to buy, you weigh the tradeoffs between buying now and getting what's currently available, or waiting for a new model that may or may not come out soon. You know what's at stake: if you buy now, your work output increases by some percentage, helping you increase profits. Every day that you wait, you lose that increase in profit, but you gain the chance to buy something better for the same money, enabling an even greater increase in profit down the line. Everyone must make this choice when purchasing a new system.
In this situation you have some control over your destiny as compared to your competitors. If you judge the "right" time to buy better than your competitor does, you get more value out of your business. You can either apply skill (educated guess, MR buyer's guide) or luck to the problem of deciding the right time to buy, but it's your choice.
With the Mac mini situation, your opportunity to compete based on skill is greatly diminished. You and your competitor can place orders at the same time, investing the same capital into the same product, and get different returns on that investment. It's just as if we both bought the same amount of shares of Apple stock at the same time, sold at the same time, but Apple gave one of us an extra bonus by random chance. No way in hell the SEC would let that fly.
Definitely a lottery/gambling situation.
Yep - exactly - it's a "win-win" scenario. Win the promised specs at the promised price, or win a specs which exceed the promised specs, still for the same price. What a rip off.
If you look at it from the business competition angle, it's not so clearly win-win when your competitor gets a better machine for the same investment, and is able to operate more efficiently as a result.
What a silly statement. Yes, Apple has a secret plot to addict people to gambling.
It's not about addicting people to gambling, it's about giving people the opportunity to gamble and profiting from it. Again, if it's deliberate, I think it's very shady and quite possibly would be illegal if they advertised it this way. Imagine if the Apple Store said "1 in 3 gets upgraded specs!". Now it's a contest with an element of chance, and by law there must be a way to enter free of charge. That's why those Pepsi iTunes promotions all say "No purchase necessary..." in the fine print, telling a way to get a free game piece. Problem is, you can't "win" an extra 80 MHz of CPU, 32 MB vram, etc, without buying something. Those aren't tangible prizes by themselves. Shady, shady.
They don't advertise it as a contest, but to me, since the cat's out of the bag, it is one now anyway. Again, if this is deliberate on their part, they are getting out of illegalities by simply not officially mentioning its existence.
Think about it this way: if there's a bunch of old stock sitting around, but they only ever mention the old specs on their site, then why the heck are they randomly inserting new stock into the current order queue? Why don't they just deplete the old stock as they normally do, if not to entice people in the know to buy now for a "chance" at a better machine early? Again, if it wasn't just some major screwup, then this has to be the reason.
I agree with this. I never said I agreed with how Apple handled this whole scenario. I just find the amount of complaining completely absurd.
To some extent, I agree. The position that you "get what you pay for, and possibly more as a nice surprise", is pretty reasonable. In fact, that was my initial reaction to all of this. But then I began thinking about it more and realizing I wouldn't like it at all if I were in the market for a Mac mini right now. I'd be pretty darn upset.
I appreciate your well thought out comments and am trying to respond in kind. I think we can have a decent discussion about these issues without needing to get out of hand. I appreciate your comments, I hope you appreciate mine.
Yup.
