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From: eck@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Hangnail Whipperwill)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.system
Subject: $99 for System 7.0?!?
Message-ID: <41947@netnews.upenn.edu>
Date: 25 Apr 91 06:03:40 GMT
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Reply-To: eck@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Hangnail Whipperwill)
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   Can anyone in a position to do so please confirm or deny MacWeek's
quote of "The single-user upgrade (to System 7.0), to be priced at
*$99*, includes 90 days of free technical support via a toll-free
number"?

   A HUNDRED DOLLARS?  Yeah, that's going to help Apple dispel their
overpriced image REAL fast.  Especially if they charge people who buy
new systems after May 13 for the upgrade as well, which the article also
claims Apple is planning on.

   I sincerely hope the article is hype, as most of MacWeek usually is.
A hundred dollars, even with a million days of telephone support, is
prohibitively expensive for me to justify spending.  An Apple
representative had quoted me a price of $60 three weeks ago, and that
didn't even include the full 600-page documentation, just a condensed
"startup" packet consisting of maybe two hundred.  The 600-pager would
only go to site licensers.

   If I'm going to even consider paying a hundred bucks for any kind of
software, it had better darn well come with all the documentation!  Is
this Apple's evil plan, to make us use the telephone line because the
manual's most technical line is "Some applications may not work with
System 7.0.  Experiment!"  I don't know about the rest of the world, but
if System 7 crashes my machine at 3am, I want to be able to find the
answer to the problem right then, not wait until 9am PST to talk to some
stupid customer service rep hired for three months to handle the crunch.

   Sorry if I sound a little upset, but I AM.  Sure, Apple has a right
to make money (or at least break even) on this new system; I've seen the
betas, and I'll gladly pay for the software and documentation.  But a
hundred dollars (and no educational discount)?  Forget it.

Just my opinion.
Brian Eck

P.S.    So as not to seem like just a bitcher, here are some alternatives:
	Perhaps a reduced-price version (maybe $50) that includes more
	hardcopy documentation but no telephone service?  Perhaps an
	educational discount?  Perhaps offer a price discount if you
	only want access to their automated help line?  Anything?  Please?