Apple Blacklists "Rumor Promoting" Publications 399
Billy_D_Goat writes "Talk about control, Apple has now decided it can block users from recieving media passes at MacWorld Expo It blacklists these users by deciding if they run "rumor promoting" publications. This includs the webmasters of sites which have little to do with rumors or speculation such as Graphicpower.com/." Probably
just bitter cuz Steve's thunder seems to get stolen at every show, and
their lawyers can't seem to stop it ;)
They will change their mind (Score:4, Funny)
These sites will just have to sit one out. I will be interested to see what happens at this show. Something big must going to be going down.
Re:They will change their mind (Score:2, Insightful)
Would YOU want to promote Apple if Apple shot your site down as a rumormill after years of devoting yourself to promoting the OS, the hardware, the brand, the community, etc.?
Apple plays this game of give and take all the time, chasing away their loyal fans with stupidity to rival that of Microsoft... Then attempting to lure in new markets as it cedes the old for no good reason.
-Sara
Cracking down on their userbase... (Score:2, Insightful)
Maybe they're using... (Score:3, Funny)
"You can't get into my amusement park!"
Apple can do what it likes (Score:4, Insightful)
It makes sense for them to not give special access passes out to those who they know are going to publish only the negative aspects of the expo. Obviously, they don't like bad press [macslash.org].
Really, they are just trying to get the media they allow special access to print more balanced reports. You can't say fairer than that!
Re:Apple can do what it likes (Score:2)
Re:Apple can do what it likes - what DOES it like? (Score:2)
I'm pretty neutral on the whole thing - except for daft huge bold text on some rumour sites saying they've been blacklisted from macworld. Makes it sound like there's no way to even get a look at the floor. I might get a bit more upset if I knew what benefit a press pass gave
a grrl & her server [danamania.com]
Control freaks (Score:4, Insightful)
But threatening the press is never good. "Never get into an argument with someone who buys ink by the barrel."
then why have anNDA? rumor sites profit from leaks (Score:2)
the one crazy rumor site behind the iWalk fever, spymac.com, responded to this news by saying they totally see where Apple is coming from.
weather or not you agree with Steve Jobs being a control freak, he did get the company back in the black. he does seem to require a lot of control over things, and i guess it works for them. it is odd that they are doing this, though they have been strangely slack on sites showing screen shots and info on Jaguar (the next OS upgrade due out in late summer). you figure pushing Jaguar is going to be a big part of MacWorldNYC in 2 weeks and theya re letting a lott of that info out (where they used to make people pull screen shots within a few days).
anyway, they do seem to be a little silly with the tightness on passes, but in a way you can't be too suprised that they are not the happiest with sites that make a living off of people that violate they Apple NDA.
Re:then why have anNDA? rumor sites profit from le (Score:2)
on a side note as of last year it was still being reported that Microsoft was still making more money from Apple products than Apple themselves. i do not know if it still holds true, but it kind of puts things in perspective when you think of profits of hardware vs software. i'm not saying people can't profit from hardware, but it's a strange mess.
Re:Control freaks (Score:3, Insightful)
> of media passes is really at issue here. As
> Matthew Rothenberg suggests in his eWeek
> article, folks can get the same amount of
> information (perhaps more even) with an
> exhibitor's pass as with a media pass.
You're right; you can see a lot more at an exhibition with a regular pass than you can with a press pass. With any major company, any person with a press pass walking up to the booth is immediately shuttled to the one of a few people who has been specially trained and cleared to deal with the media. The media trained individual talks about very specific things. The reason why is that every person who deals with the media understands the number 1 rule:
There is no such thing as off-the-record.
Apple isn't playing "head games" with Mac news sources. The legitimate press is probably being treated as usual. But the blogs with their Jimmy Olson(TM) Real Reporter Play Kits aren't getting in.
Apple is acting like a real corporation (or any entity who deals with the legitimate press) and they're doing their best to manage fanboy sites. For an analogy, why don't you come up with a "I Love Dubya" web site and try to get an interview with the president. Or get a media pass for a junket. Give a try and then decide if Apple is acting reasonably.
No, the real issue is that these web sites (blogs, more specifically) don't want to pay for a general admission pass (or more than likely can't afford the price) and thus want free press passes. They claim that they have right because they're part of the "Mac Press", but when they don't get their way, they publish angry reports like this.
Sheesh! This is almost like extortion; give me a free press pass or I'll tell all 200 of my readers how mean you are!
100% solution (Score:2, Insightful)
Who is ever going to be turned away from LinuxWorld(tm)?
Re:100% solution (Score:5, Funny)
What a rough life... (Score:2, Flamebait)
I think I'll stick to PC hardware and Linux instead of a company that obviously doesn't value its user base.
Re:What a rough life... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:What a rough life... (Score:2)
Re:What a rough life... (Score:2)
It would rather trade the 2 surge in sales every year for a consistent income all year round, which makes it easier to plan around. Also means they can release products out of sync with the expo cycle, and people would stil snap them up (instead of waiting until apple updates them at the next expo, etc.).
Re:What a rough life... (Score:2)
Re:What a rough life... (Score:2)
It's their show (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:It's their show (Score:2)
Re:It's their show (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:It's their show (Score:4, Insightful)
A handful of people are being told they can't get in free. Period.
Big deal.
Re:It's their show (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:It's their show (Score:2)
This is only true when a company has a monopoly. Otherwise, vote with your dollars (or euros or whatever) and don't buy from Apple. It's that simple. Likewise, Sony, and Microsoft.
Otherwise, it becomes clear that you lack the courage of your convictions. This is not a shock, but if you don't, please sit down and shut up, as you are voting one way and speaking another.
If your local telco or power company is dicking you around, you may have a point. But Apple? Please. It's not like there aren't alternatives.
Re:It's their show (Score:2)
Now, there are limits to freedom of association in the US. If they were saying "we don't want any Blacks getting press passes", that's illegal. Saying "we don't want certain web sites that have a history of pre-announcing our products", that's OK.
Only a sick, sick fuck would compare someone being tortured by the Chinese government for wanting to have freedom with someone exercising their own freedom. But such is the product of most educational institutions.
-jon
Re:It's their show (Score:2)
Re:It's their show (Score:2)
Re:It's their show (Score:2)
And true, passes ARE being sold. And the event is on private property. But passes to enter the private property are being offered for sale to the general public. It is, in fact, a public event. This is not a private party. This is not an event by invitation only. Comparing a trade show to a private party is simply silly.
Having said all that - I don't feel that IDG is required to give out free tickets to the press. They're free to pick and choose at their leisure. Its petty. Its short-sighted. But IDG and Apple are more than welcome to be petty. There's no laws against it. Per se.
But as we allow IDG and Apple to exercise their rights to be petty - lets not try and pretend this is some kind of private party.
Re:It's their show (Score:2)
Apple does a ton of great stuff, you oughta read some [slashdot.org].
I haven't seen New Zealand make the news lately, except for that massive power failure they had. My conclusion shouldn't be that New Zealand can't be good. Same with the churches, they're great, but you only heard the bad stuff in the news.
Re:It's their show (Score:4, Insightful)
WhAT?
Firewire, User-friendly UNIX that runs photoshop natively, on-board 802.11, 6+ hour battery life on laptops, handwriting recognition built into the OS, Rendezvous, fanless computers, Final Cut Pro...
Any questions?
Re:It's their show (Score:2)
Or technically IEEE 1394, was invented in 1986. Sixteen years ago. I'd say the qualifies for not being "a real innovation in years."
User-friendly UNIX
It is debatable whether or not MacOS X qualifies as being a true UNIX. It being effectively shackled by a dumbed down user interface that cannot be easily[1] disabled or swapped out for another would probably be the biggest point against it.
However, it does resemble UNIX, just as Linux resembles it (though I would say it is a bit further than even Linux.) So if you go that way, there has been user friendly Linux solutions around long before MacOS X was even alpha, let alone on the streets.
Running Photoshop natively is not an Apple innovation, no matter how you slice it. I believe Adobe develops that application.
On-board 802.11
Only their very latest PowerBooks include a built in AirPort interface card. Previously, you needed to purchase it seperately.
Besides, this is stretching the limits of the word "innovation," and it is debatable as to whether or not they were actually the first to provide the capability out of the box. WLANs have been around for a long time. Longer than the AirPort.
6+ hour battery life on laptops.
Eh, I don't know how you got that figure. From the marketing hype sheets on their web site? Let's stick to reality. My PowerBook gets about 2.5 - 3 hours, and that is with the screen dimmed low enough to be barely legible. Trying watch a DVD in a situation that has bright lighting, battery time will plummet.
Handwriting Recognition built into the OS
Hopefully you are not thinking of the upcoming Jaguar release. For one, it doesn't exist on the market yet, secondly it is by far not an innovation. A great many operating systems have been using handwriting recognition -- for years. Palm OS is the most obvious example.
Now, if you were thinking of the Newton (which I doubt, since you seemed to be glued to the hype sheets instead of the history books,) I would be more willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. However, as any cursory glance of recent electronic history will show you, the Newton was not the first either.
Rendezvous
This is a subset of ZeroConf's IETF, started financially in September 1999. Similar services have been available for years in the form of netBIOS, and in stripped down terms, DHCP.
So yeah, it's new, and it has a spiffy code name -- but it isn't an Apple Innovation.
Fanless Computers
Again, these have existed for a long time, way before the Cube was dreamt up. When was the last time you saw a fan in a PDA?
Okay, so that isn't quite what you meant? You meant "Big Computers." Well, fanless water cooling has been around for quite some time in the overclocking community. It has only recently become cheap, but it predates the Cube.
Final Cut Pro
Heh. This was an acquisition. FCP used to be a Windows NT application. I don't know how much you use the program, or what you use it for, but as any professional who has to use it on a daily basis will tell you, it is loaded with bugs and nightmares. Hardware support is spotty, the built-in scripting implementation seems to change from version to version, PAL to NTSC conversion is unacceptably poor, ect ect. Trust me, I work with it on a daily basis. Final Cut Pro is *far* from being innovative. Non-Linear editing has been around for a long time, and it has been done *much* better than FCP.
Any Questions?
No, but I suggest you start asking them more often. Or at least do some research from time to time.
----- /etc conf files are deactivated. At that state, you might as well just install Debian/PPC and get a heck of a lot more computing power.
[1] Yes, technically you could, with a lot of tweaking, get it to boot up into XFree86 instead of Aqua, but have fun trying to maintain the system. Much of it requires an extremely messy set of XML configuration files. Most of the pure UNIX
Re:It's their show (Score:2)
typing in >console then logging into the system and typing startx.(assuming you have installed XFree86, which was just as easy to do on my mac as my thinkpad.)
It is not difficult.
Only their very latest PowerBooks include a built in AirPort interface card.
Nope. On the 800MHz version it is pre-installed. That's all.
My PowerBook gets about 2.5 - 3 hours
The iBooks really do get amazing battery life. Power books are powering a screen that's much larger and a processor that's much more power hungry. The iBooks really do kick ass in reality.
Ummm, so thats it for my minor corrections. The rest looks right to me. =)
As a side note, Apple certainly does some things differently. Compared to some PC companies it is a nice change, but the term innovative is used far too often.
Apple's rights (Score:2, Insightful)
IDG's doing this anyway, not Apple. They are probably doing this because of some fear that Apple could bring some sort of legal action against them for what other publications invited to IDG's expo might publish.
Is this the right answer? No. Do I agree with this answer? No. This will probably be repealed next year anyway. But doesn't Apple have a right to protect their products?
Hypocricy (Score:4, Insightful)
The rumor sites had nothing on them in January, and for all Apple's teasing, it was their own media partners who fucked up, but you don't see Time or Newsweek getting their credentials pulled.
One has to wonder what the point of this action is. After all, the damage that a rumor site does is done by the time they would get anywhere that a media badge would get them, unless Apple's planning on showing the press something cool under an embargo date which, given the Time debacle, you'd think they'd be ever less likely to do.
Re:Hypocricy (Score:2)
Re:Hypocricy (Score:2)
The point is to snub anyone you can afford to who steals or smears your thunder.
How would you like it if you were going to throw an extravagant birthday party, but the surprise was spoiled by gossip-frenzied old ladies? Maybe you wouldn't put out any prunes and bran muffins for them?
Time's audience size outweighs any rumor monger's site, and Time didn't spread rumors, they just fucked up a little and leaked Apple's infomercial early.
--
Re:Hypocricy (Score:2)
My point though is the same as yours: The matter was dropped, because they're Time Magazine. If it were a lesser mag or site that made that mistake, you would bet Apple would have a stronger reaction.
Just a press pass... (Score:3, Insightful)
Clearly, this is still a bad pr move... at least among the mac fanatics. But let's be real, we don't go to the rumor sites to read apple press releases. We (or at least I) like to surf the rumors sites for the pure humor, and occasionally a tip into what apple's thinking. Knowing of course that until 48 hours before the announcements the "information" has is more than often wrong.
But let's remember... This is really only pissing off the people that run the "rumor" sites who enjoyed (and rightfully) one of the few perks they get. For the average rumor site surfer, it means nothing. For the average mac user... less than nothing.
I think that this move is in line with apple's move from mac fanatics to well informed macintosh advocates. While this might piss off some people, in the end, I think the over all trend is good for the OS...
Re:Just a press pass... (Score:3, Insightful)
> only talking a press passes. Apple would be
> within rights to deny press passes to any
> particular person or group. They are not
> restricting overall access, just special press
> privileges.
You're in the minority because:
1. Many people don't understand that the press do get special privileges at trade shows, and you don't just give passes to anyone who claims to be a journalist.
2. Many people don't realize how every major company is extremely careful about what the press says about their company
3. Many people want to bash Apple whenever they get a chance.
I think some PR people at Apple are a little wary about the fanboys' sites about Apple because of reasons like this. It's like a self-proclaimed "number 1 fan" of a famous actor or TV show where the fan can be a flattering evangelist sometimes. But if the fan doesn't get the special treatment for which they think they're entitled, they can be the loudest critic and a bane to the target of their affections.
Consider that many people in the press ridicule the overzealous Mac fans that send angry flames every time they read less than favorable article of Apple. Luckily I don't know of many reporters who consider Apple guilty by association, but if Apple starting giving the fanboys special treatment, that could change.
So I don't think Apple's doing anything wrong by limiting the access to the press passes to legitimate journalists. That just means that the fanboys will have to buy a ticket to the event, just like everyone else.
Re:Just a press pass... (Score:2)
I don't know specifically about MacWorld (and I don't work for Apple), but at trade shows I'm involved in, it might be similar. With a regular pass, you can walk around the exhibition during normal hours and talk to vendors and the like. If you have a press pass, you can expect the following:
1. Free admission. Regular attendee badges can be hundreds of dollars (or more)
2. You get set up with a specific media-trained person who for a private booking (30-60 minutes usually, but these can last as long as the press person has questions) to talk about what the company is doing, where they see the industry going, etc. Many times, the press get access to even the executives of the company . Although the meeting are arranged beforehand, accomodations can be made for ad hoc visits if a media person is available.
3. You get a press-kit, which has presentation materials and related items talking about products the company is featuring at the trade show.
4. Invitation to a party, special event, or future meetings
5. You don't get to talk to regular booth people. In fact, at our company, regular booth workers are specifically instructed to not talk to people with a press badge.
Keep in mind the reason why companies talk to the press at all is because they want to receive good press. If they don't think your audience is big enough, they don't want to spend time with you. As you can imagine, doing personal interviews with the press is pretty expensive, and ROI is important these days.
I suspect with the web sites in question, they're most concerned with Point #1. That is, they're looking for a free way to get into the Expo.
Not just tech rumors (Score:2, Interesting)
Remember, revoking the ability to have news coverage of the actual event could dissuade otherwise respectable news organizations from attempting to scoop each other by accidentally acquiring and disseminating ILLEGAL information for someone else's leverage in financial markets.
If the famous Microsoft deal had been leaked back when Jobs took over, there would have been financial mayhem if someone acquired the inside info. If I remember right, the stock doubled the day of the announcement.
Apple legal probably came to the (justified) conclusion that not dissuading the rumor sites was a de facto invitation (i.e. liability) for their own employees to pimp their insider status.
Okay.. correct me if I'm wrong.. (Score:5, Insightful)
Press passes are handed out to those whom you want to report on the activities.
Nothing is stopping any of these poeple from going to the show and reporting on everything anyway.
Re:Okay.. correct me if I'm wrong.. (Score:3, Interesting)
What is the issue here is the princible of the thing (a sadly overused phrase here). Why should sites which are legitimately reporting on Mac events not get in free to do their reporting and others do simply because they happened not to report something that apple didn't like? Keeping in mind here that many of the 'rumours' reported are gained through legitimate investagative reporting rather than leaks from apple.
Re:Okay.. correct me if I'm wrong.. (Score:2)
Censorship is not just a government/people issue. It is also a corporat/people issue. As corporations continue to merge and grow, the effective difference between the effects of corporate censorship and government censorship will become mostly moot.
with all this Positive Press.... (Score:3, Funny)
it makes me want to switch [apple.com]...
Apple has every right to fight rumors. (Score:5, Interesting)
Back when I was a mere bouncing boy I had this wonderful portable computer called an Osborne 1. 1mhz cpu. Two floppy drives, a 300 baud modem and a CRT all running CP/M (DOS without subdirectories for you youngins). All this in a portable case the size of a suitcase. I loved the thing and did much productive playing of infocom games on it. (I had DBase 2, but could never figure out why I'd want such a thing).
Then came tell of a NEW Osborne coming out in, like, six months or so. And this one would run PC-DOS!!! Almost instantly Osborne went out of business. Their cashflow dies as people canceled their orders for "old" computers and planned on waiting for the new one. And along came this _other_ company selling their 'compaq' briefcase computers. I imagine Adam Osborne was pissed.
The moral of this story? Rumors can kill companies, and while Apple isn't small enoght for that to happen easily, I know for a fact that I've told people to "wait a month" to buy a mac based on rumor reporing of a new Powerbook coming real soon now. So, go Apple. Feel free to limit the rumor folks. And rumor guys, please keep working. I'd just die without my inside scoop.
Osborne Effect (Score:2, Insightful)
It has nothing to do with "diminishing the surprise of steves keynote".
I ALWAYS tell my friends to "Wait till macworld" to buy macs. (if its close to macworld). However this attitude CLEARLY hurts apple. Apple is trying to stop the osborne effect.
Re:Osborne Effect (Score:2)
I don't think the rumor sites have much to do with it. Apple's products run in 9-12 month cycles, usually with a speed or minor feature bump in the middle. Even if there were no rumor sites, it still wouldn't be wise to buy a Mac model that hasn't been upgraded for several months right before a MacWorld.
Well, no. (Score:3, Informative)
To my recollection--and checking a few "computer history" websites seems to back me up--Osborne wasn't killed by rumor sites, Osborne was killed by itself.
The new machine you're referring to was the Osborne Vixen [obsoleteco...museum.org]. It could read PC-DOS disks but wasn't PC-DOS compatible; it was another CP/M machine, touted as being better than a PC (and perhaps given 8086 and even some 80286 competition, it was). The Vixen was preannounced by Osborne itself, nearly a year before they were ready to go into production (perhaps because the machine was actually being designed by a consultant rather than in-house). People stopped buying the Osborne 1 waiting for the Vixen, yes, and that did contribute a lot to Osborne's collapse, yes... but that contribution was Osborne's own fault.
Re:Well, no. (Score:2)
Re:Apple has every right to fight rumors. (Score:2)
In fact, back when I bought my Beige G3, I was FUCKED by Apple, because I did not hear the rumor that the rev A Beige was soon to be silently upgraded to rev B. There are many significant changes from rev A to rev B, which played a big part in the obsolescence of the machine down the road - not the least of which were to do with; the ability of the IDE bus to support slave drives (rev A doesn't) and "upgrade" from Rage II+ to Rage Pro graphics chip. Both of these issues, and some other minor changes to the ROM make it rather tricky to run OS X - well, not tricky, just a rather unsatisfying experience. Unless you've either spent $1000 upgrading the machine bit by bit over the years (as I have) - or bought a new machine.
As a person "investing" in a peice of computer hardware, which is a terrible enough investment as it is - it's good to be armed with as much information as possible - even if some of that information is incorrect or suspect.
Blaming a company's demise on the Osborne effect is stupid. When people refuse to buy a company's product, it's because that product is perceived as a poor value. That's the market, baby.
It's not just the thunder-stealing... (Score:2, Insightful)
a press pass is not a right (Score:2)
If they think your publication doesn't reach enough people or meet there criteria they don't give you a pass.
It used to be circulation was used (you print and distribute so many copies...), but with the web it's cheap to publish, so everyone with a web site probably wants press credentials..
people should stop whining..
Re:a press pass is not a right (Score:2)
Mac FixIt is definetly a legit site and show have access. Apple is being out of line..
This is just a correction. (Score:2)
It's hard to be totally against Apple here (Score:2, Interesting)
I've heard though that a press pass isn't always ideal. Supposedly, Apple employees fasten their lips about some things when they see a press badge, but will sometimes give important info off-the-record to someone who only has a badge to visit the exhibits. I'm sure Apple wouldn't like that either... but it's easier to deny (or ignore) a few names and clock speeds than a photo!
Who knows, this may even be a very sneaky (if not entirely smooth) PR stunt. Remember how MW San Francisco had that "way beyond the rumour sites" hype leading up to it? Denying press passes may be a way for Apple to suggest that there's something particularly juicy being shown at the expo, whether at the keynote or behind closed doors.
One thing I do know: graphicpower.com acted very immaturely with their response. Beyond the colourful language and shutting down the site, the vow to 'use the existing computers forever' is a joke. You can be sure that the person or people from the site will probably either scream for mercy at the prospect of buying a Windows (or even Linux) system, or will be getting another Mac within two years.
Did anyone else notice... (Score:5, Funny)
--pi
Mac vs Linux (Score:2)
The graphics / multimedia stuff is getting ported, if one wants hardware quality comparable to Apple, be prepared to spend a lot of time checking out published and user reviews of things like motherboards, cases, power supplies, but it's possible.
I've been seriously considering Apple... but if I want to buy from a company that tries to control its own press, I might as well buy an AMD box and run XP on it.
As I said, it's becoming a marginal choice, and I'm not a Mac fanatic.
If Apple continues to blow off its fanatics, they may find their fanatics discovering that the choice between *nix/86xxx and Mac-unix-OS/Gx is also a marginal one, and that they'll be trying *nix/86xxx .
Didn't Apple almost kill itself once already by blowing off their hard-core users? Do they learn from their mistakes?
oops= (Score:2)
The choice is even more marginal now.
seem to me (Score:2, Interesting)
Actually switch "apple" to "microsoft" and it would change a "You what!" story into a "I'm not supprised" story.
Apache relevance? (Score:2)
"Apache" comes before "Apple" (Score:2)
Why is this in Apache news? (Score:4, Funny)
Please change this to the apple section of the site. Hate the awful poop and purple color scheme for the Apache section
Like, Wow... not (Score:2)
Sorry, folks - he may be a bit freaky, but RMS is right - proprietary software and hardware hurts us all.
No, this is not a flame. It is a reminder. This is how companies behave. This is how they are supposed to behave. And this is why free software/OSS (I don't buy into the theology, just the liberation) exists.
Get over it.
Slashdot blacklists "story promoting" posters (Score:2)
Steve Jobs is a horrible CEO (Score:2)
Someone needs to clue Jobs into the fact that the Mac market is way too small for him to be pulling this kind of shit over and over. Is he trying to alienate EVERY last Mac user (hint: there's not too many left)?
What a fucking idiot.
Re:Steve Jobs is a horrible CEO (Score:4, Funny)
Apple's market share is increasing [macworld.com], and they are one of the few consistently profitable hardware companies. I don't always agree with Steve's decisions either, but there's a chance he knows what he's doing.
They're not blocking the legitimate press (Score:3, Insightful)
If this is like other trade shows, the media passes are free to the legitimate press (or are a lot cheaper than a regular attendance badge), and they offer special access to some events. Thus, one wants to limit access to the badges to legitimate reporters. Why would you want to do this? Oftentimes we'll talk to the press about stories "under embargo", meaning they can't publish information on something until a certain date. A legitimate reporter can be counted on to respect the embargo (though I can think of a case when they didn't, the bastard!), but some joker who pretends to be a reporter can't be counted on to do the same thing.
Apple is not blacklisting these rumor sites; someone involved in MacWorld Expo is just cracking down on giving away media passes to web sites that pretend to be real journalists. Oftentimes these web sites are basically being run by some guy who publishes unsubstantiated rumors onto the web. I don't read Graphic Power, but it's certainly not in the league as real media sites like Macworld, MacCentral, MacAddict, eWeek, CNET, etc.
Despite how these guys call themselves part of "the media", it takes a lot more than a domain name and a few articles to call yourself a journalist so you can get a media pass. Media passes are intended for journalists, and giving them away to every wank that can upload some screenshots and half-baked opinion pieces is unnecessary.
If someone were blacklisting the sites, they wouldn't be able to purchase a general admittance pass to the event at all. But in the Graphic Power story, they were encouraged to pay for the attendance fee to get in, like person who wanted to attend the show.
The web sites supposedly blacklisted are more like blogs than real news sites, and denying them a media pass makes sense to me. Next you'll have the geek that runs http://www.startrekfans.com or whatever demanding to be invited to press-only screenings of the new Star Trek movie.
To me this is a good illustration of why Apple is apparently not too happy with the fanboy sites. Even though these sites might sometimes might post something interesting (seemingly good for Apple), they can be a bad source of publicity if they aren't given the special treatment they think they deserve (like coveted media passes to a trade show). And as we all know, Heav'n has no rage like love to hatred turn'd. Nor Hell a fury, like a fanboy scorn'd.
Excellent Points: End of Argument for Me (Score:2)
I think it's mostly getting people to pay what they should pay. It does have to do with news control. Hey, it's their company. They will reap the rewards and wrath of the users looking for news.
Obvious (Score:2, Insightful)
The flat panel iMac was not revolutionary. Hell, we were all expecting them to build one the year after the bondi arrived. The fact is they could have done it then. The were very late with that "revolution".
DDR support on the desktop. Obvious. They'll say it's a revolutionary new step to insure their voracious G4 gets fed data. Sorry, 2 years late is not a revolution, it's joining a crowd that has already passed you by. With a 133 non DDR fsb, the G4 can't take advantage of the bandwidth anyway, except in pairs, which is required to keep up with a plain old single processor x86 machines anyway.
Basicly, rumors prevent Apple from spinning their mediocre hardware into revolutionary and inovative crap. Since Apple's performance figures are all about spin without substance, the journos catch it in the teeth.
Apple will never deliver what we expect them to. Unless we expect crap hardware. I predict there will be more crap hardware announced at mac expo. They will not let me down.
OS X is not slow. OS X is great, it's just running on crap hardware!
DDR support, thank god at last... (Score:2)
It's about damn time that somebody ported Dance Dance Revolution to the desktop. If this is true, I'm dumping my PC for a Mac.
Re:Obvious (Score:2)
OS X on a dual G4 1 Ghz feels like 8.6 on a 7500/100. Their hardware is obsolete when you buy it new for insane prices.
2002 will be like 1984 (Score:2)
The ego of Scott McCarty et. al. (Score:2)
MacFixIt is a great site, but it's not the "legitimate" press, in Apple's view. Its editor gets dozens of emails daily informing him of troubleshooting issues end-users are having. He takes this information and distills it, and eventually it makes it into the next edition of "Sad Macs, Bombs, and Disasters." The site is an avocation and a research tool. As far as I know its editors do not belong to any reporters' union or press club.
Of the dozens of Mac Sites I regularly visit, only a scant few actually break stories based on press-releases received directly from Apple. Most of them include a short blurb and a link to ZDNet, the Wall Street Journal, or even MacCentral (MacWorld's breaking news site). With enough time on my hands even I could do that.
I believe the use of the term "rumor sites" was a political misstep by Apple, but will I miss GraphicPower or Scott McCarty? Hardly. I'd prefer to visit the sites that are run by mature individuals with a sense of humility, who can deal with Apple's oft-quirky timing and Jobsian mode of expression. Let these little pissed-off people go find something to do that's less dangerous to their fragile egos.
Information Control in the Corporate Age (Score:2)
I know that we all go koo-koo for the cocoa puffs of new technology, but why on earth would any self-respecting journalist sit on a story fed to them by a corporation? Alleged journalists are allowing themselves to be used as an arm in Apple's ad campaign. (I should say that Apple isn't the only corporation that does this, but this story has brought to light Apple's heavy-handed control of information.)
I wonder what would have happened to the first I-Mac mouse (the completely unusable round hockey puck) if someone in the media has the cojones to tell the world in advance about how much it obviously sucked (I have tried to use one - you can't tell which way it's pointed without looking). This is perhaps just a small example, but the way journalists treat the computer industry is sort of like the way that pre-Vietnam journalists treated government. The public is not served by the ra-ra journalism that leads to the lastest Apple product being featured on the cover of Time Magazine. Time's crime wasn't breaking the embargo early - it was agreeing to an embargo in the first place.
Wouldn't you love to see at least one journalist in a major news organization write about Apple, or Microsoft, or anyone else, and say, "I used it, and it's just not any good. Don't waste your money."
This kind of makes me wish that oldmanmurry was still around.
Apple needs to wake up (Score:2)
Apples hardware is fine. In realworld day to day tasks, I don't need a 2GHz Laptop, but the price is always high and PC's are simply cheaper and Linux seems to run fairly well on a crop of PC laptops.
I'm tired of Apple and it's antics. It's OS, no matter how good, hasn't helped get me a job.
It seems a high price to pay for a toy.
Re:Err, no. (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Err, no. (Score:2, Informative)
From Apple, with Love (Score:5, Informative)
My guess is that Jobs told her to do it.
Re:From Apple, with Love (Score:2)
The case of who started the ball rolling is irrelevant; the fact is that the organisers are trying to keep their press passes from being devalued. There are legitimate reasons to try and check credentials, so that "real journalists" don't get lumped in together with "bloggers and fanzines".
Re:Err, no. (Score:5, Insightful)
IDG: Dear Scott, Recently, you received an automated message from the registration system for Macworld Conference & Expo. This message erroneously stated you were registered for the event. We're contacting you to alert you to this system error, and we are unfortunately not able to offer you a media badge *snip*
GP: Unacceptable. I do not understand how this conclusion was made. Sure, there is the occasional "pre-Macwolrd Expo Predictions," but GraphicPower is most certainly not a rumor and speculation site. *snip*
IDG:Scott, We've done all we can to accommodate as many media as possible for Macworld. It's *never* in our best interest to turn away legitimate members of the media, such as GraphicPower, as your stories fuel attendance for future shows. However, Apple has tremendous pull over who we can allow into the show as members of the media. They deem GraphicPower a rumor site and, as such, demanded that we pull your media credentials. IDG World Expo cannot reverse this decision. Call me at 617-937-2532 and I'll explain the exhibits-only pass to you. - Rob
From the site: "Further research, phone calls, and e-mails turned up these facts:
"GraphicPower is not being singled out, but rather this blacklisting policy has been exerted on several Mac centric Web sites that are news and information sites, not rumor sites.
"The blacklist was given to MS&L only just Monday, and they had to scramble to notify press people who had received confirmation of their media status of the change.
Not everyone who has been blacklisted has even been notified.
The black list was compiled by Nathalie Welch of Apple's PR department.
"After a few hours of hell raising on my part, Robert Halpin of MS& L, was in a lot of very hot water with Apple for revealing to me via E-mail that it was Apple who deemed GraphicPower a rumor site. He begged me to give him the list of people who I had sent E-mail to regarding the press blacklist. Later still in the day, he changed the story, saying that IDG World Expo, not Apple, was pulling my media credentials because GraphicPower had not posted new content recently enough... an obvious lie given that he had already documented that it was Apple who compiled the black list."
And it goes on.. but it is clear that despite what IDG wants people to think, Apple had a big part in this.
Re:Err, no. (Score:2)
Yeah, its all IDG's idea and not Apple....my ass.
Re:Facist Steve Jobs (Score:3, Informative)
Yes, yes you are. As a result, I'm ignoring your post save one point:
Everyone says look how stable the Apple OS is, of course, it only achived that by dropping all their old code and building upon BeOS.
Mac OS X has absolutely nothing to do with BeOS. Darwin is a combination of FreeBSD 3.2 and NeXTStep. BeOS got bought up by Palm, not Apple.
Assuming that statement in itself wasn't a troll to begin with, you may want to actually check your facts before forming yet another "Apple is only good because..." statement; like every other moron who dumps on Apple while not having actually used a Mac in the last five years.
I doubt it. (Score:2)
They certainly popularized the WIMP GUI, but they didn't invent it (PARC), and its likely that someone else would have brought WIMP to the masses.
Re:I doubt it. (Score:2)
I find it endlessly amusing that MacOS's windows and menus (at least thru OS8.5) still look almost exactly like GEM's, right down to using the same font and the horizontal lines in the title bar.
Re:Never own a Mac (Score:2)
Ummm. The ability to talk to people face to face? Maybe hear something official yet "off the record"? Jeez. Maybe even a chance to get out of the house for a bit? :)
Re:Never own a Mac (Score:2)
Also, Apple will never be as bad as MS. Apple sticks to open standards, and shares some of their own inventions, like FireWire. Apple doesn't try to crush their competition like MS in every market.
Apple doesn't crack down on software or try to restrict the user. Take the iPod for example; aside from the flimsy copy protection, all there was was a "Don't steal music" label on the box. Seriously.
I have another theory... (Score:5, Insightful)
After having said all that, l have a few comments on the "way to go Apple, shooting themselves in the foot again...This is why Apple will go out of business...The entire world is in chaos because Apple did it again!" crowd that has crawled out of the slashdot woodwork for this one.
Imagine it's, oh, five years ago. I come to the slashdot crowd and ask the following question:
What would Apple have to do to earn some of your business and respect?
Can you imagine? After the flames and guffaws died away I might get some answers like these.
"Sure. Call me when they open source some of their products."..."If they would only use more standard hardware I might think about it"..."If they had one or two killer apps that made everyone stand up and take notice"..."maybe when I can run Apache and Gimp on it. As if."
And let's flash forward to today when all of those ridiculous-sounding ideas have come true. Does the average slashdotter have one iota of additional respect for Apple? I've yet to see it. Frankly I think Apple could make a completely open source, totally off-the-shelf hardware-based, fit-in-your-pocket, fanless, never-crash, artificial intelligence, world changing computer that also levitated, kept your breath fresh and costs $1.99 and most here would sneer at it still.
Parting shot - Libertarians shouldn't use the Internet until they're prepared to discuss how a Libertarian society would have ever created it.
Re:I have another theory... (Score:2)
I would have given you exactly the same answer that I offer today: offer products that I want at prices that meet (or at least come close) competitors. Contrast Apple's new iMac pricing with Gateway's similar Profile all-in-one flat panel machine, or with IBM's recently killed all-in-ones, and you'll understand why I still don't own an Apple product. I refuse to pay over $2 per MHz for an Apple when I can get a more powerful Gateway for less than $1 per MHz.
Is the stuff gorgeous? Yep. Do I want it? Yep. Do I give Apple credit for building beautiful machines that I'd like to own? Oh yeah. Do I have the same admiration for DeLorean? Yep, and the only thing separating Jobs from DeLorean is a criminal conviction. They both had hard times grasping the right price point for their product, and as a result, they settled for a niche market rather than becoming world dominators.
Re:I have another theory... (Score:2)
Habit accounts for almost half I'd say. When the iPod was introduced the front-page comment on slashdot consisted of two sentences. The second of which read simply "Lame." The market has proven that analysis wrong and the iPod is still one of the most hotly discussed (read: relevant) items on slashdot and elsewhere.
tight control of hardware, software, P.R.
Tight control of hardware and software are the very things that keep Apple alive and relevant (even while it keeps them at smaller marketshare and higher prices!) This is what enables Apple to be Apple as opposed to being Dell or Microsoft. P.R.? I don't know that they're a lot different from any company, except that being into actual innovation (as opposed to the Microsoft variety) they have a high interest in keeping their cards close to the chest until each hand is over.
To my mind, slapping a proprietary GUI on top of a free OS running on a (mostly) proprietary hardware architecture, is nothing to cheer
I rather think it is! Even a staunch open source advocate has to admit it's a large step in the right direction for their one-time antithesis!
given the alternatives provided by Open Source
I don't think Linux is providing any meaningful alternative to anyone as far as desktop operating systems are concerned. I hope and pray that this changes, but all the wishful thinking in the world doesn't change the fact that no Linux distro that I've ever seen is fit for consumers.
Furthermore, I don't think that the major roadblocks for Linux gaining ground in the desktop arena are technological. The whole "Linux has gotten more usable than it used to be and with more developer time we'll achieve real consumer-friendliness" doesn't ring true to my ears. I think the single most important thing that needs to change is the attitudes of the distro developers. They don't want to ever see a "mom and pop"-friendly distro. And if one was ever created I can predict with certainty that it would be universally hated by the present Linux community.
OS X sure is pretty, but the price is too high
Some would agree, no doubt. But consider - Linux is free and still has virtually no desktop presence. This kind of proves that you literally can't even give it away in it's present form. It doesn't represent a true alternative to anything just yet. Let's all keep hoping.
Re:I have another theory... (Score:2)
Great. What's in it for me?
There's this persistent meme that goes something like "Apple has to do this thing we don't like, but what's good for Apple is good for us." No, what's good for Apple is good for Apple. But they're in the business of delivering appealing, competitive products, right? So they don't get any free passes for bad behavior because "they have to eat"---their competition has to eat too.
Re:I have another theory... (Score:2)
There are tons of reasons not to use a Macintosh. Just pick one, I don't care. There are plenty of less-than-ideal things about Apple and their position in the market today. But tight control over their hardware and software is what makes them what they are. If they gave it up they'd become Gateway or Dell or more likely, Microsoft in terms of quality and innovation. And they would surely be swallowed up in a sea of commodity competitors never to be missed. For who would miss Dell if they dissapeared? Someone else would just offer the same comodity box to you the very next day. Apple, as they are today, would be missed by everyone, customers and non-customers and competitors alike.
Geez, I need to switch to decaf. Pardon the rant
Re:I have another theory... (Score:2)
Actually I have. I'm a far cry from a Linux expert but I have enough familiarity with Linux to warrant the above opinion. I've installed and configured YDL 2.2 [yellowdoglinux.com] and Red Hat 7.2 several times (on the same two boxes). I'm using RH as my web server at the moment, actually, after having initially set it up in Mac OS X. So, no I'm not a Linux expert but I think I know enough to venture an opinion on it's usability.
I do believe Linux users are at the "promised land."
I'm skeptical. Mainly because I've been hearing that for ages and each time I give the new version/distro a try I'm appalled at the
I have yet to use OS X; however, I have used Mac OS 7.x and 8.x within the past year and a half and really wanted to believe it was something great.
Why? It wasn't. Exept in some hippy / bauhaus UI sense, maybe. But otherwise Mac OS 8 and even 9 really isn't anything anyone would switch platforms over. You probably realize, however, that Mac OS X bears very little relation to Mac OS 9 and lower. It's a little like buying "Windows 2003" only to realize it's actually Linux with a few Microsoft branded widgets on it. It's that different. Give it a try.
Re:I have another theory... (Score:2)
True. But who used the internet in the early days? Did most people know it existed? Most people in America didn't have computers in their homes til the '90s, which is well after the infrastructure of the internet was already well in place.
If the government hadn't spent "our" money on "their" internet 20 years before, we wouldn't have it to share, now.
Re:I have another theory... (Score:2)
And Linux would virtually dissapear. But in 18 months Apple would have to stop building hardware because they could no longer charge enough to feed the R&D for both hardware engineering and software development. In 18 more months you would be able to detect a serious gap between the "initial quality" and "fit and finish" of a current Mac and one bought back when Apple made the whole thing. In 18 more months Apple would have lost the innovation and tight hardware/software integration that they once had. As just another software maker with nothing to distinguish themselves they seriously would become just a "niche" player instead of the, what, number 6 computer maker in the world and the maker of the second most popular computer operating system on earth? Wanna talk niche? Niche is what happens when Apple allows hardware clones.
When Linux becomes truly usable and desktop-oriented...when that day comes I will buy a new PC. Until then it's new Macs and cast-off PCs from work upon which to run Linux.
Re:I have another theory... (Score:2)
And turn a multi-billion dollar revenue stream into the equivalent of Red Hat? Let's stay in reality here - that's never going to happen. Why it is that you and others like you seem to believe so blindly in the "open source business model" is beyond me. Linux is free - free for gods sake - and yet it still has virtually no desktop presence to speak of. Fix that before you start telling the maker of the second most popular operating system in the world to open source it's crown jewels. Then maybe you'll have a leg to stand on. Apple could buy every single Linux company in existence with the change under it's breakroom couch cusions and you want it to do what? I would really, really love to see the proposal you would make to Apple management about why they should open source all their software. There's a good summer project for you. Heh.
So, do you have some insider information about how I really think? Do you presume to speak for all of Slashdot? Feh
I have as much right as anyone else to make guesses as to how this community "thinks" based on how long I've been hanging out here. I can't for the life of me see anything overly presumptuous or insulting about my having done so.
Morons shouldn't be allowed to use the Internet until they're able to discuss things without mindless political jabs.
Personal insults don't make you sound any smarter. Save it. And besides I thought my comment was rather clever and not "mindless" at all.
Re:Supports my Theory... (Score:2)
ROTFL! And you call Mac users fanatical!
Re: Pinkpineapple FUD (Score:2, Insightful)
PPA, to counter your babbling:
" I, for one, couldn't care less about what Apple is trafficating with the press badges and who's going to get the scoop of what's cooking in Cupertino. For some time, I just gave up on the rumors of what's happening on the platform. It's not that I don't like the Mac. I own an entry level iBook. "
-We can safely ignore this part, as it is irrelevant.
"But I'm getting tired for lake of interesting software (games)"
-WarCraft 3? Neverwinter Nights? Return to Wolfenstein? UT? Q3? D2? I wonder which games PPA is into. M$ Flight Sim?
"slow overpriced systems"
-More baseless FUD. PPA equates MHZ rating with the racing stripes on riced-out Hondas. It sure makes 'em go FASTER!
"inability to deliver when new stuff is announced"
-Say what? "Announced" by whom, an Apple 'rumor' site, or Apple Corporation?
"Last time I visited an Apple store, I almost ran away: I am scared of hospitals and was almost terrify about the look of their clinical displays."
-I suppose having psychoses is a legitimate reason for hating Apple, but it doesn't lend credence to your technical statements.
"The fact that Apple is secretive
-Apple is secretive because they must be. They have a tiny fraction of a huge industry, and oftentimes their only way to success is to do something
"no third party accessories were available for the [iPod]"
-This is true, for PPA's stated reasons, but moot. Third-party accessories quickly came to market, as it doesn't take
"somewhat killing the inventive side of addon shops"
-Wildly incorrect statement, but has nothing to do with the main topic. Besides, third parties have just as much right to existence as Apple Corporation --that is, none. Those who can adapt will. Those who can't will die.
"If the g5 was out"
-If the G5 was out, Blizzard would release the Diablo2 1.10 patch and Hell would also freeze over. Again, PPA displays her love of racing stripes and tinfoil spoilers. There is no real need for the G5; the G4 demolishes AMD and Intel chips that run at twice the G4's clockrate in some tests, and conversely the G4 is demolished by the same chips in other tests. What matters is code optimization and the actual real-world uses of the chips.
"Imagine if Apple had as much market share as Microsoft
-Yes, and I'm sure that if PPAcorp had as much market share as Microsoft, she'd be just as ruthless as Microsoft, except all our devices would be Palladium-encoded to force us to watch anime 24/7.
"The only trouble is that [Jaguar] won't work well on system that were bought last quarter."
-Here, PPA based her research on rumors gotten from those EVAL REWMOR SITEZ, and meant to point out how the iBooks won't run Jaguar at all. Sadly, she doesn't understand that "recommended" doesn't mean "unsupported."
"Insanitely great marketing folks!"
-I'm not quite sure about this one. Maybe the Babelfish translator didn't work out.
"I happily run Linux on my 2001 iBook."
-And here we finally have it, Pinkpineapple's true credentials: she's definitely an OS X expert, because she runs LUNIX!
PPA: I'm really proud of you for being a girl. That's a fine
Re:I did a comic about this (funny). (Score:2)