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Been There, Done That (3/29/00)
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We're experiencing the most fascinating sense of déjà vu right about now. Everybody knows that in the computer industry, it's not uncommon for Apple to lead and everyone else to follow. But sometimes the way in which those others imitate Apple just defies explanation. iMac copycats we can totally understand-- it's a way to capitalize on a hot seller. It's just that when other companies seem to copy Apple's stumbles and missteps, we have to scratch our heads in wonder. C'mon, folks, not every Apple innovation is worth stealing.
The latest instance of this bizarre phenomenon involves those graphics software heavy-hitters at Adobe. Those of you in the graphics biz are probably aware that the company recently released version 1.5 of its supposed "Quark-killer" page layout software, InDesign. But the thing was, version 1.5 was the first update since the notoriously buggy 1.0. Everyone who bought 1.0 was expecting a free bug-fix update, but instead found that upgrading to 1.5 would cost them $99. As you can imagine, uproar ensued. Not long after, Adobe amended its upgrade policy, making version 1.5 free-- but only to those poor saps who had paid the full $699 for the original InDesign release. The vast majority of users had in fact paid only $299 in Adobe's introductory cross-grade offer, and thus were still subject to the $99 upgrade fee.
More mayhem ensued. Finally, according to MacWEEK, Adobe relented again. Now the cost of the upgrade is free to those who paid full price for InDesign 1.0, and $29.95 to all other users. That hasn't silenced all the grumbling, but it's probably as good as things are going to get. Now, what struck a chord with us was how similar this whole fiasco was to Apple's AppleShare IP 6.2 scandal in May of last year. Remember that? Apple initially charged $499 for the primarily-bug-fix upgrade, and when customers started screaming for blood, the company relented, and gave the software away for free. Granted, Adobe's move wasn't quite as cool or dramatic, but it sure seems familiar. Too bad Adobe hadn't learned from Apple's mistake-- the company could have avoided a lot of bad press.
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 3/29/00 episode: March 29, 2000: Waiting for the PowerPC to hit that magical gigahertz level? Sounds like it'll be a year, at least. Meanwhile, rumors swirl that iMovie is unbundling in preparation for a new role: that of shrink-wrapped shelfware. And Adobe could have avoided alienating a ton of InDesign customers if it had only taken heed of Apple's ASIP scandal last year...
Other scenes from that episode: 2188: Like Beckett Or Something (3/29/00) If there's any one psychologically self-destructive behavior that's endemic to Mac fanatics, we'd have to assume it's the process of building up one's hopes regarding a future product's release date, only to see those hopes get sledgehammered into smithereens again and again... 2189: You Oughta Be In Pictures (3/29/00) There aren't many drawbacks to iMovie that we can see. It's reportedly very easy to use, great for consumer-level video editing, and free with the purchase of an iMac DV. In fact, there's only one big drawback that's immediately obvious: we can't actually use iMovie to find out if there are other drawbacks...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
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