Apple Critics Got One Thing Wrong (With Pic)

by , 2:50 PM EDT, July 26th, 2001

With all the negative sentiment still lingering from the Expo, we wanted to get one thing cleared up. During the MACWORLD keynote, Steve Jobs said that the now-low-end 733 MHz PowerMac G4 and the new mid-range 867 MHz PowerMac G4 were available now. The dual 800 MHz model would be available in September. David Nagel, a Mac supporter, and Charlie White, a self-described Mac bigot, both took Apple to task for fudging the availability dates for the 867 MHz PowerMac G4s. From Charlie White's piece:

Sure, the increased speed of the new 867MHz G4s could make a slight difference. But there goes Jobs again, saying something that is simply not true: 867 MHz G4s are not "available now" as he exhorted to the adoring crowd, resulting in considerable ooo-ing and ahhhh-ing. A quick phone call to the Apple Store reveals that no, the G4s are not available now. It'll be two to four weeks before we can get our hands on one. Digging deeper, I discover that at the Web site for the Apple store, the quote is four-to-six week availability. I'm quibbling over a few days, sure, but it's a credibility issue here. No wonder Jobs is so enamored with the word "incredible." To me, that says "no credibility."

From David Nagel's piece:

Oh, and speaking of lies, remember how Steve Jobs said the 867 MHz Mac was "available today," as in last Wednesday? That's not what the Apple Store says. It says that if you order one now, you get the privilege of waiting four weeks for shipment.

Cute.

That may be the case now, but when Mr. Jobs made his announcement, the 867 MHz models were, in fact, available right then. Observer Dingo posted a picture of his brand spanking new 867 MHz PowerMac G4 in our forums only a few days after the keynote. Dingo had been waiting for the Expo before ordering one of the new 867s as soon as they were announced. By Monday, July 23rd, he had received the new Mac (his first!), set it up, and posted the image.

The bottom line is that Apple did have the new models available, despite Messrs. White and Nagel's claims to the contrary, but seems to have run out of available units almost immediately.

Please note that both columns did have some other excellent comments about the Expo, including positive and negative things.

The Mac Observer Spin:

We were among those who stood up to denounce the new iMacs as boring and pointless, and to lament the lack of faster G4s, but we are firm believers in reality. This bit of criticism about Apple fudging the truth about when the new units would be available is not true, and we wanted to set the record straight. There's plenty of real things to be tense about without worrying about false ones. For the record, we are not accusing either commentator of making things up. With Apple's usual refusal to answer questions like these, the only evidence they had to go by was what the Apple Store said when they checked. Just goes to show that they should spend more time in our forums for the real information. :-)

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