By silicon.com, 18 October 2004 12:50
NEWS 18.10.1999: Apple has been forced to backtrack on the pricing of its G4 PowerMacs following customer complaints that the original price was unfair.
Customers who pre-ordered the latest G4 PowerMacs running at 500MHz will now not be charged the full price when they receive the substituted 450MHz model.
Apple was originally planning to charge the full price - an extra $350 for the faster machine but this provoked huge protests from Apple customers. They insist that because their orders had been placed before the downgrading announcement was made, they should not have to pay the full price.
18.10.2004: Five years on and the G4 has been superannuated, after a few hiccups in its history - notably, running out of G4 machines before the G5s had made it onto the shelves.
With the launch of the new iMac earlier this year, Apple still showed its fondness for selling machines at two speeds. Five years ago, however, the G4 Mac was the star of Apple's show - but since 2001, the year the first iPod launched, Macs have gradually been overshadowed by their music-player cousins.
Nowadays, its the Mac that's sold by its association with the iPod. Advertising unveiled at Apple's recent Paris Expo pictured the desktop alongside the music player with a slogan pointing out that the Mac is from 'the people that brought you the iPod'.
However, it's not all bad news for the Mac, despite losing out in the glory stakes to the mini music player. Analysts and techies alike have been speculating that the iPod's success could be the snowball that starts off an avalanche of widespread Mac ownership.
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