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Greeks Bearing Gifts (10/18/99)
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As you are no doubt aware, after several real and imagined cancellations, reinstatements, flip-flops, and reversals, Apple has finally settled on an actual, honest-to-goodness policy on how to handle Power Mac G4 pre-orders placed before the new, slower models were announced. Basically, those pre-orders will be honored at the original quoted prices-- which means that if Apple had never cancelled orders in the first place, they'd be right where they are now, minus a ton of ill will and a PR disaster. Oh, well; live and learn. Now that this whole nightmare is behind them, Apple can get back to its real business: slowing down G4s for customer safety.
Now, for those of you who jumped right in and bought a Power Mac G4 400 ("Yikes!" configuration, with the Yosemite motherboard used in the Power Mac G3) as soon as they were available, first of all, congratulations. Stop smirking. Yes, the rest of us know that $1599 will now only get us a G4/350. Just because you bucked the odds and got more computer for your money by purchasing early is no reason to act all smug. Nobody likes smugness unless it's coupled with a Reality Distortion Field. In fact, we're sorely tempted not to warn you about Apple's new Power Mac G4 ROM update 1.8.1.
Yes, Apple's issued a ROM update for owners of "Yikes!" G4s. According to Apple, the patch fixes a problem that can cause "data corruption or system crashes." Sounds like something you should go ahead and install right away, doesn't it? That is, unless you happen to remember Apple's last PR disaster, which involved a firmware update for blue and white Power Mac G3s that rendered the systems incapable of booting if a G4 upgrade was installed. Granted, a ROM update isn't the same thing as a firmware update, but given Apple's latest crusade to knock 50 MHz off of G4 clock speeds, personally, we'd be wary of any "fix" they provide specifically for G4 owners. Is it possible for a simple ROM update to underclock your Mac's processor? Nope. Are we just being paranoid? Yup. If the ROM update does magically manage to slow down your G4, will we try not to look shocked as we say "I told you so"? You betcha. Now download away!
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SceneLink (1851)
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 10/18/99 episode: October 18, 1999: Apple's issued a ROM update for owners of Power Mac G4/400 systems; suppose it disables G5 upgrades? Meanwhile, Mike Dell takes his copying of Steve Jobs to frightening new depths, and Microsoft's recent anti-piracy rally falls flat...
Other scenes from that episode: 1852: Scary White MikeDell (10/18/99) Okay, it's time for someone to sit down with Mike Dell and have a little talk. This obsession with trying to turn Dell into the next Apple has gotten just a little bit out of hand. We accepted Dell's announced plan to ship colorful, Internet-ready PCs to "cool" consumers with a certain amount of resignation; after all, everyone and his grandmother is copying the iMac in hopes of duplicating its runaway success, so we can't really fault Dell for that... 1853: What Would Mulder Do? (10/18/99) Poor Microsoft; it seems like Bill and his minions are having a tough time scraping up sympathy from users about the growing problem of rampant software piracy. According to a San Francisco Chronicle article, the company recently threw an anti-piracy party known as "Ask If It Is Licensed" which turned out to be an utter flop...
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