Pissed Off New Mac Owner at DVinfo.net

Paul Sedillo · July 26th, 2002, 09:56 AM

Ok. so I get my new macked out Mac and am happy beyond belief. As I am cruising throught the forums that I frequent, I noticed a thread talking about an OS upgrade. This sounds like great news to me with the tighter integration of FCP3 into the upgrade. Come to find out that if you purchased your Mac after July 17th, you will not be hit with an upgrade fee.

Well my Mac was billed on July freaking 16th. Now I have to come out of pocket with money for this upgrade. I am so hacked off that Apple is pulling this nonsense it is not even funny. To think that they are promoting an ad campaign based around PC converts. HA! That is such a joke considering what they are doing with this upgrade fee.

Any suggestions as to how to deal with Apple regarding this BS?

Jeff Donald · July 26th, 2002, 10:21 AM

Call the customer service number and plead your case with Apple. The cut off was midnight the 16th. They rarely give exceptions, but if your polite and persistent you might get granted the $20 upgrade. If you bought it from CompUSA or another vendor they may be a little more understanding and be able to get you a copy of 10.2 when it becomes available. This is a customer service issue and if your persistent and polite you'll get what you want. It's all in talking to the right person.

Jeff

Paul Sedillo · July 26th, 2002, 01:52 PM

I agree with the "being nice approach" -- as it is not the person's fault who is on the phone with you. I hope that they show mercy on me and my new Mac.

K. Forman · July 26th, 2002, 05:13 PM

Just say "No" to Apple. Back away from the OS...

B. Moore · July 26th, 2002, 09:08 PM

If you really want to get pissed, buy FCP2 and find out you missed a free upgrade to FCP3 because you bought it 1 week too early. Apple , you think would have warned a person but I'm very sure some one had to reach quota.

Bruce

Paul Sedillo · July 27th, 2002, 03:52 AM

<<<-- Originally posted by B. Moore : If you really want to get pissed, buy FCP2 and find out you missed a free upgrade to FCP3 because you bought it 1 week too early. Apple , you think would have warned a person but I'm very sure some one had to reach quota.

Bruce -->>>

Man that is rough!

I appreciate the feedback on this topic. It will be interesting to see how Apple responds to this request. I purchased the computer as a student, so if all else fails the OS upgrade can still be bought at a reduced rate.

Peter Wiley · July 27th, 2002, 11:33 AM

I just bought a new iBook -- a little too early to qualify for the new upgrade. It's annoyning, no doubt about it. But to be fair to Apple, they have provided me with a lot of good software for nothing (iTunes, for example) and there have been constant downloadable free tweaks to OSX via software update, and there will be new free software to go with the new system (iCal and iSync).

I do think it would be fair for Apple to offer the new system at a discount for previous users of OS X and recent purchasers of new mac who did not quite make the cut-off date. This is a standard good practice and Apple should follow it.

I've been working with Macs since 1984. I had my doubts about the new system, but I've been won over after a couple of months of using it. It's amazing, really.

This is still not going to be as expensive as "upgrading" to XP, which I did for my Windows machine last year -- that process orphaned hardware and software that were not inexpensive to replace/upgrade.

Jeff Donald · July 27th, 2002, 11:43 AM

The problem with cut off dates is someone is always on the wrong side of the date. It's unfortunate, but it has to happen to someone. Apple has been generous with not only free software (iTunes, iDVD, iMovie,) but the last upgrade was free (OS 10.1) unless you wanted a CD. The people lucky enough to live near an Apple Store could even get free CD. I don't feel bad spending $129 to get the upgrades, something like 150 improvements. So, it's kinda pay me now or pay me later, because I think the next version of FCP will require 10.2 for all it's improvements to work.

Jeff

Martin Munthe · July 27th, 2002, 12:01 PM

Wise words from Jeff.

Where would Apple be if they set the upgrade date of all software to the 4th of July 1889. They can't very well be giving away apps for free so a line have to be drawn. Apple is a business. They have to have incomes to stay alive. I can't imagine how tough it has to be to stand outside of the Wintel community like they do. Hopefully they keep using the money on great innovation as they have been since Steve Jobs stepped on board again. No other company shows the same commitment to the filmmaker community. NLEs, DV and FireWire would be nowhere without Apple.

Riley Florence · August 1st, 2002, 10:00 PM

you think your case is bad, i ordered my comp two weeks to soon, two weeks before the super drive came in em, so here i am with no dvd burning fun...

anyone know of a good burner and program so i can burn to dvd?

Jeff Donald · August 2nd, 2002, 05:40 AM

Sorry for you less than perfect luck. The Pioneer A04 is the same as the 104 which is the OEM burner in the iMacs. Macworld has reviews of FireWire DVD burners http://www.macworld.com/2001/12/reviews/dvburners.html So, you can buy a FireWire burner and some come with Toast. Toast is the best software for just plain burning. Your iMac has iDVD, an authoring program. It was free and I would start with it. The next step is DVD Studio Pro, $999, but a big, giant leap forward. So is its learning curve.

Jeff

Riley Florence · August 2nd, 2002, 10:09 AM

thanks, but i have a G4, and it didnt come with idvd, so i dont have any form of burning software, speakinbg of which, can you buy idvd or can you only get it with a computer?

Ken Tanaka · August 2nd, 2002, 10:55 AM

Unfortunately, you can't buy iDVD and make it all work. Although you can purchase and install the equivalent of an Apple "Super Drive", basically a Pioneer A04, downloading and installing iDVD may not let yoou burn DVD's either. Apparently there's something that Apple does to their Super Drive's firmware that iDVD looks for.

The only sure-fire solution, albeit and expensive one, is to get an A04 and DVD Studio Pro.

Unless you are planning to upgrade your Mac soon, you might want to go ahead and buy an internal Pioneer A04 and download iDVD (the 2.1 update) and take a crack at installing it. You have nothing to lose, since you probably want a DVD drive in your Mac anyway. If it doesn't work out you can always go for DVD-SP, still a less expensive option than a total system replacement.

Riley Florence · August 2nd, 2002, 06:11 PM

thanks, maybe i will... maybe i will...

Mark Sloan · August 2nd, 2002, 06:19 PM

The mac site www.xlr8yourmac.com has a review of the new Other World Computing EXTERNAL Firewire Superdrive that comes with an enabler that makes it work with iDVD2.1 I have bought tons of hardware from OWC and they have always come through. You can see the review at http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/firewire/owc_firewire_dvd_recorder/owc_firewire_dvd-r.html#storytop

It is currently listed at $399.97 and can be found at
http://eshop.macsales.com/Item_XLR8YourMac.cfm?ID=4750&Item=OWCMRFWD104

Personally, it being portable and usable with a Powerbook is just really too cool to pass up for an internal version. Again, they ship it with an enabler to get around the fact that iDVD normally does not recognize non-Apple shipped drives or external. You used to have to buy DVD Studio Pro to get those features.

July 26th, 2002, 09:56 AM	#1
Paul Sedillo Major Player Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 607	Pissed Off New Mac Owner Ok. so I get my new macked out Mac and am happy beyond belief. As I am cruising throught the forums that I frequent, I noticed a thread talking about an OS upgrade. This sounds like great news to me with the tighter integration of FCP3 into the upgrade. Come to find out that if you purchased your Mac after July 17th, you will not be hit with an upgrade fee. Well my Mac was billed on July freaking 16th. Now I have to come out of pocket with money for this upgrade. I am so hacked off that Apple is pulling this nonsense it is not even funny. To think that they are promoting an ad campaign based around PC converts. HA! That is such a joke considering what they are doing with this upgrade fee. Any suggestions as to how to deal with Apple regarding this BS? __________________ Paul Sedillo Image::Studio http://www.image-studio.com Houston, Texas

July 26th, 2002, 01:52 PM	#3
Paul Sedillo Major Player Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 607	I agree with the "being nice approach" -- as it is not the person's fault who is on the phone with you. I hope that they show mercy on me and my new Mac. __________________ Paul Sedillo Image::Studio http://www.image-studio.com Houston, Texas

July 27th, 2002, 03:52 AM	#6
Paul Sedillo Major Player Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 607	<<<-- Originally posted by B. Moore : If you really want to get pissed, buy FCP2 and find out you missed a free upgrade to FCP3 because you bought it 1 week too early. Apple , you think would have warned a person but I'm very sure some one had to reach quota. Bruce -->>> Man that is rough! I appreciate the feedback on this topic. It will be interesting to see how Apple responds to this request. I purchased the computer as a student, so if all else fails the OS upgrade can still be bought at a reduced rate. __________________ Paul Sedillo Image::Studio http://www.image-studio.com Houston, Texas

July 27th, 2002, 12:01 PM	#9
Martin Munthe Major Player Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Stockholm, Sweden Posts: 331	Wise words from Jeff. Where would Apple be if they set the upgrade date of all software to the 4th of July 1889. They can't very well be giving away apps for free so a line have to be drawn. Apple is a business. They have to have incomes to stay alive. I can't imagine how tough it has to be to stand outside of the Wintel community like they do. Hopefully they keep using the money on great innovation as they have been since Steve Jobs stepped on board again. No other company shows the same commitment to the filmmaker community. NLEs, DV and FireWire would be nowhere without Apple. __________________ Martin Munthe VFX Supervisor/DP/Director

August 1st, 2002, 10:00 PM	#10
Riley Florence Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Salt Lake City, Utah Posts: 61	ok ok you think your case is bad, i ordered my comp two weeks to soon, two weeks before the super drive came in em, so here i am with no dvd burning fun... anyone know of a good burner and program so i can burn to dvd? __________________ -------------------------- -Riley Florence SLC, Utah. http://www.secondsection.com

July 26th, 2002, 10:21 AM	#2
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	Call the customer service number and plead your case with Apple. The cut off was midnight the 16th. They rarely give exceptions, but if your polite and persistent you might get granted the $20 upgrade. If you bought it from CompUSA or another vendor they may be a little more understanding and be able to get you a copy of 10.2 when it becomes available. This is a customer service issue and if your persistent and polite you'll get what you want. It's all in talking to the right person. Jeff

July 26th, 2002, 05:13 PM	#4
K. Forman Capt. Quirk Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Middle of the woods in Georgia Posts: 3,596	Just say "No" to Apple. Back away from the OS...

July 26th, 2002, 09:08 PM	#5
B. Moore Major Player Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Glendale, AZ Posts: 181	If you really want to get pissed, buy FCP2 and find out you missed a free upgrade to FCP3 because you bought it 1 week too early. Apple , you think would have warned a person but I'm very sure some one had to reach quota. Bruce

July 27th, 2002, 11:33 AM	#7
Peter Wiley Major Player Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Lewisburg PA Posts: 752	I just bought a new iBook -- a little too early to qualify for the new upgrade. It's annoyning, no doubt about it. But to be fair to Apple, they have provided me with a lot of good software for nothing (iTunes, for example) and there have been constant downloadable free tweaks to OSX via software update, and there will be new free software to go with the new system (iCal and iSync). I do think it would be fair for Apple to offer the new system at a discount for previous users of OS X and recent purchasers of new mac who did not quite make the cut-off date. This is a standard good practice and Apple should follow it. I've been working with Macs since 1984. I had my doubts about the new system, but I've been won over after a couple of months of using it. It's amazing, really. This is still not going to be as expensive as "upgrading" to XP, which I did for my Windows machine last year -- that process orphaned hardware and software that were not inexpensive to replace/upgrade.

July 27th, 2002, 11:43 AM	#8
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	The problem with cut off dates is someone is always on the wrong side of the date. It's unfortunate, but it has to happen to someone. Apple has been generous with not only free software (iTunes, iDVD, iMovie,) but the last upgrade was free (OS 10.1) unless you wanted a CD. The people lucky enough to live near an Apple Store could even get free CD. I don't feel bad spending $129 to get the upgrades, something like 150 improvements. So, it's kinda pay me now or pay me later, because I think the next version of FCP will require 10.2 for all it's improvements to work. Jeff

August 2nd, 2002, 05:40 AM	#11
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	Sorry for you less than perfect luck. The Pioneer A04 is the same as the 104 which is the OEM burner in the iMacs. Macworld has reviews of FireWire DVD burners http://www.macworld.com/2001/12/reviews/dvburners.html So, you can buy a FireWire burner and some come with Toast. Toast is the best software for just plain burning. Your iMac has iDVD, an authoring program. It was free and I would start with it. The next step is DVD Studio Pro, $999, but a big, giant leap forward. So is its learning curve. Jeff

August 2nd, 2002, 10:09 AM	#12
Riley Florence Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Salt Lake City, Utah Posts: 61	thanks, but i have a G4, and it didnt come with idvd, so i dont have any form of burning software, speakinbg of which, can you buy idvd or can you only get it with a computer? __________________ -------------------------- -Riley Florence SLC, Utah. http://www.secondsection.com

August 2nd, 2002, 10:55 AM	#13
Ken Tanaka Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,943	Unfortunately, you can't buy iDVD and make it all work. Although you can purchase and install the equivalent of an Apple "Super Drive", basically a Pioneer A04, downloading and installing iDVD may not let yoou burn DVD's either. Apparently there's something that Apple does to their Super Drive's firmware that iDVD looks for. The only sure-fire solution, albeit and expensive one, is to get an A04 and DVD Studio Pro. Unless you are planning to upgrade your Mac soon, you might want to go ahead and buy an internal Pioneer A04 and download iDVD (the 2.1 update) and take a crack at installing it. You have nothing to lose, since you probably want a DVD drive in your Mac anyway. If it doesn't work out you can always go for DVD-SP, still a less expensive option than a total system replacement. __________________ Lady X Films: A lady with a boring wardrobe...and a global mission. Hey, you don't have enough stuff! Buy with confidence from our sponsors. Hand-picked as the best in the business...Really! See some of my work one frame at a time: www.KenTanaka.com

August 2nd, 2002, 06:11 PM	#14
Riley Florence Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Salt Lake City, Utah Posts: 61	thanks, maybe i will... maybe i will... __________________ -------------------------- -Riley Florence SLC, Utah. http://www.secondsection.com

August 2nd, 2002, 06:19 PM	#15
Mark Sloan Major Player Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Venice, CA Posts: 346	External Firewire DVD-R/RW Superdrive The mac site www.xlr8yourmac.com has a review of the new Other World Computing EXTERNAL Firewire Superdrive that comes with an enabler that makes it work with iDVD2.1 I have bought tons of hardware from OWC and they have always come through. You can see the review at http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/firewire/owc_firewire_dvd_recorder/owc_firewire_dvd-r.html#storytop It is currently listed at $399.97 and can be found at http://eshop.macsales.com/Item_XLR8YourMac.cfm?ID=4750&Item=OWCMRFWD104 Personally, it being portable and usable with a Powerbook is just really too cool to pass up for an internal version. Again, they ship it with an enabler to get around the fact that iDVD normally does not recognize non-Apple shipped drives or external. You used to have to buy DVD Studio Pro to get those features.