Apple shafts Mac mini desktop buyers

I understand your concerns about Apples abusive market behaviour, but surely its not really *their* fault if their users are all flagrant fanbois who are determined to buy a pig in a poke and then rave about how wonderful it is, even as its exploding battery engulfs them in a raging fireball?

Sure, an *ethical* company might choose not to exploit vulnerable people. But this is Apple we are talking about after all.

either they can get the old model and suddenly the manufacturer announces a new/improved/cheaper model or they place an order only to find that it's out of stock and has been discontinued as a new model is due. Welcome to the world of marketing and refresh cycles.
The whole point of having a product announcement is to tell the world what your product does, what it's features are and what it costs. Why on earth would ANY manufacturer leak the specs of their upcoming machines in advance of announcement if they don't have to? Do any of them really want to have to discount the old model in order to get rid of it BEFORE the new model is announced?

and I standardise on macs. Most of the staff don't need anything too powerful so it's a mix of iMacs and Minis.

Along comes a burglar / burst water tank / fire / whatever and I need 25 computers within 24 hours to continue my business.

If i'm a Dell shop and they can't deliver HP / Lenovo / Acer / Mickey Mouse shop down the road can.

Not in such a good situation if you run macs are you?

and you're not bright enough to go to Apple directly with an urgent order for 25 machines, or use alternate models like the MacBook to tide you over? You're also stupid enough to run a company that can't survive more than 24 hours down time and doesn't have a disaster recovery plan?
Hmm, remind me never to do business with you.

Wow. How amazing.....a company discontinues a product and there is a delay while the production lines shift to the new merchandise. DAMN you Apple! How DARE you discontinue a product! How outrageous that you should EVER have a shortage of supply!

Jeez guys, you don't have anything better to write about on a Friday?

I know of MANY people that cannot get a PC within a simple business week. A family member waited three months for a BTO Dell, only to receive a call stating it would take another month. He then went to HP, and the did the SAME thing. Apple has always been shipping and delivering WAY faster than PC counterparts. So what if they're delaying shipments for a week? Even still, they're shipping as fast as PC manufacturers.

When I ordered my Macbook Pro a few years ago (my first Mac ever) the shipment was mysteriously delayed and I ended up with a significantly faster CPU than I had ordered at no extra charge. Personally, I'd be excited if my Apple order got delayed, since there's usually a *really* good reason for it.

Like Tim said, these people are likely to wind up with more than what they expected since Apple is supposed to be rolling out a new mini and iMac in the next few weeks.

I may be wrong, but I think you might see a quad in the iMac, slight chance in the mini as well.
You might even see a quad core Macbook!

I'll be buying a new one myself when they appear.
C'mon quad core, don't let me down!
(again)

How many times have you heard someone complain when they buy a product (not just a Mac, anything) and a few weeks later a new improved version comes out and/or the price is dropped?

I remember reading about people whining that they'd bought an iPhone 3G in early June only to have the 3GS released. Mind you, you'd have had to be hiding under a rock to not have heard mention of its imminent arrival, even if the exact day wasn't necessarily known that far in advance.

So now Apple is doing IMHO the right thing about letting stocks of the old product run out in advance of the new models so people aren't having the old model arrive on their doorstep the day after the new model is released, and people bitch about THAT!

So I wonder exactly how you geniuses think this conundrum should be resolved? Should they announce the date of the new model, including full specs and price 6 months in advance to give everyone ample warning, but keep the production lines going on the old model for those who "have to order 25 within a 24 hour period to keep their business going"?

And then be forced to sell all the old ones at a large discount to get rid of them since without doing that many would just wait to buy the new model??

...what they're going to get. Something better! And as an ethical manufacturer Apple will provide it to them faster than most.

Unlike the unethical manufacturers they would never exploit their customer's belief that they know what a product does better than the manufacturer. That marketing ploy falls squarely into the other camp.

Good luck to them. McD

Apple isn't shafting anybody. The product is delayed because they are getting ready to release a better/cheaper version. Who woldn't want their order held up for that? Give me a break! The animosity directed at Apple only reflects how suprior their products are; if they wern't there wouldn't be this kind of jealosy.

Mr Farrell - your articles are so biased and inflammatory that I shall not be returning to this site again.

To calling Apple's PC's - It sounds better than Apples and Oranges.

fruit themed.

How dare anyone complain about Apple doing anything wrong? Steve Jobs knows what's best for all of us, so how about we just accept whatever Apple wants to do and get over it?

If Apple delays an order because old product is out of stuck and new product is on the way and gives the customer the new product for the same price, that is great customer service. IF however, Apple just cancels the order and offers the customer nothing but the opportunity to order the newer product at a higher price, then to heck with Apple. Take your business to a vendor who values customer service and value for the dollar. End of story.

So if Apple, having the new minis on hand continued to sell them at full volume and then wham, bang replaced them with cheaper models with higher specs, this site would run a headline that read, "Apple Shafts Mac mini Desktop buyers," and would complain that Apple continued to push old models even while the new ones were about to come out. This is idiotic.

Actually I write Steve a cheque / check every month, just 'cos he's a nice guy. I see my Mac as a bonus. Seriously, surely there will be riots in the streets when people receive faster, cheaper, higher-spec'd new OS-toting machines in lieu of the older desperately in need of an refresh iMacs they ordered 2 weeks earlier? C'mon. As for the catastrophic business failure scenario supra, it is inconceivable; no sane IT department would ever allow their company to go over to Macs - they'd be out of work. Lame post. Written on my Thinkpad X41 running XP, but my other computer is a 5 yr old G4 alu PB running Leopard -flawlessly. So don't go callin' me no fanboy.

Good point Lemming.
Mac people spend their money on Macs. Where PC people spend there money on PC's. Wow. The difference is startling. Interesting news now that we see both sides of the story.
While no OS is perfect, it all comes down to envy - PC's can't stand there are area's where the Mac is killing them on. So much so they'll jump on every lame story like Nick seems to do. Then again The Inquirer isn't exactly the place to get fair and balanced news.

But I do agree with opinions that one major letdown with Macs is games. If Steve Jobs works on getting more of a games focus for Mac's, like on the iTouch/iPhone, then we would see a huge increase in sales and attitude. For now they'll stay in the fringes.

Is a PC a windows PC, and a Mac a Mac PC?

I think they are both PC's but Mac marketeers are trying to distance themselves from the pc group name. Is this group name not "attractive" enough to wow people?

Mac PC, Windows PC.

re: the comment above about 25 computers, no one runs a business with 25 macs. 25 mac's together is a coffee store, or the waiting queue in the apple shop, or a differnt type of mac at a dogging spot!