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From: murphy@hao.UCAR.EDU (Graham Murphy)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Free system ugrade
Message-ID: <960@hao.UCAR.EDU>
Date: Tue, 17-Nov-87 03:01:47 EST
Article-I.D.: hao.960
Posted: Tue Nov 17 03:01:47 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 19-Nov-87 05:42:23 EST
References: <1987Nov16.110547.543@mntgfx.mentor.com>
Reply-To: murphy@hao.UUCP (Graham Murphy)
Organization: High Altitude Obs./NCAR, Boulder CO
Lines: 51
Keywords: system free
Summary: how long should one wait ?


    Having bought a MacII in September, my "authorized Apple reseller"
informed me today that I can obtain the System 5.0 release for free
just by filling in a card and sending it to Apple. This sounds easy and
sensible.  As we all know by now, the upgrade is normally worth $49 -
which isn't a large amount of money, but free is free. I go to fill in
my little card and under item number 5.(!), it says "Allow 12 to 16
weeks for delivery." THREE to FOUR MONTHS.

    Is Apple reknowned for being VERY conservative on their delivery
dates ?

    For those who haven't seen this delightful coupon, item 1 states
that the offer is for those who bought Mac+, MacSE or MacII between
Aug11 and Nov15. Item 2 requires validation by your "authorized Apple
reseller", including serial number. Item 3 - your own address. Item 4
is delightful - send the validated coupon, your original, itemized,
dated sales receipt (oh, keep a copy for yourself, they suggest), plus
the UPC bar code from the macintosh box as proof of purchase. For
software worth as much as $49 ? If I buy A/UX, will a similar upgrade
require a character reference from my congressman ?  And then the item
5, I referred to. All that and then down the bottom, in fine print,
certificate must be postmarked by Dec 15, 1987.

    Why doesn't Apple trust the "authorized Apple reseller" who
validates this card to just give me the stupid software and fill
in a card there to be sent back in bulk ? Apple must have a 
reasonable idea of how many Macs were sold during this period and
could supply a few copies to each store for this purpose.

    I should point out that my "authorized Apple reseller" keeps in
close contact with the Apple rep and there has been absolutely no
suggestion of this until now, so I couldn't have sent in the card in
advance.

    Basically, I don't think I will bother with it. Is this what Apple
wants ?  Or should I just be extremely grateful for the opportunity
of obtaining this for free even though it didn't come with my computer
originally ?  I received hypercard for free ... sadly, it is of no use
at the moment.

And anyway, why did I bother with this comment for only $49 ?

Graham Murphy
High Altitude Observatory
National Center for Atmospheric Research
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