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Petty Extortion (11/15/99)
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Hey! Where's our frickin' Mac OS 9? Apple assured us all that any new computers shipping after October 23rd would include the sparkly new operating system pre-installed on the hard drive, but what do we see when we start up our brand new iBook? You guessed it: "Welcome to Mac OS 8.6." Imagine the sad little frowns on our previously exuberant faces.
Not that we've got anything against Mac OS 8.6, mind you-- we think it's a fine operating system. And in fact, we don't find Mac OS 9's feature set all that compelling, for the most part; we aren't in any particular rush to upgrade most of our Macs. The iBook, however, is different. Since it's going to be a shared system, that new "multiple users" support will come in handy. But now, even though we bought the iBook weeks after Mac OS 9 first shipped, Apple wants us to shell out an additional $20 to get a copy of the operating system via the Mac OS Up-To-Date program. Da noive o' sum people! It's like buying a car and having to pay extra for air in the tires.
Suppose it was a fluke? Evidently not. According to MacInTouch, the only new Macs currently shipping with Mac OS 9 are PowerBooks. All other Macs-- iMacs, iBooks, and even Power Mac G4s-- are rolling off the assembly lines with Mac OS 8.6 instead. We haven't a clue as to why the PowerBooks are deemed worthy of Mac OS 9 while none of the other systems are; maybe Apple feels bad that it's the oldest product still in the line-up and wanted to compensate for the lack of AirPort compatibility by throwing in a newer operating system instead. But anyway, now the question is this: is the $19.95 Apple gets per Up-To-Date shipment really swallowed up entirely by the alleged "shipping and handling" fees, or is this some diabolical plan to put the squeeze on rabid Mac customers for an extra couple of sawbucks? Oh well, guess it's time to send in a check...
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 11/15/99 episode: November 15, 1999: Mac OS 9 is on store shelves-- why isn't it on new Mac hard drives? Meanwhile, Steve Jobs beats out Bill Gates for the top spot in Upside Magazine's "Elite 100" awards, prompting a grass-roots Presidential campaign, and Bill's Comdex keynote reveals that Microsoft is all about "choice"...
Other scenes from that episode: 1913: Vote Steve in 2000! (11/15/99) You can bet that Steve Jobs is doing a little Superior Dance right now. Sure, he may never have won Time's "Man of the Year" award, but at least now he can rightfully claim the honor of having beaten Bill Gates in someone's yearly list of movers and shakers... 1914: "We Shall Prevail!" (11/15/99) Sorry, drama fans-- Bill Gates' latest keynote address at Comdex wasn't nearly as much fun as the one in April of last year when Windows 98 crashed hard during a demo of its "improved ease of use." (For those of you who'd like to take a side-trip down memory lane and relive that fine moment, the InfoWorld Electric article describing the event is still available.)...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
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