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G3/Mac OS X Settlement

ZDNet reports that there has been preliminary approval on a settlement for a class-action suit based on claim that "the company had failed to fully support Mac OS X on some G3-based Macs".



Many readers noted that Apple had posted a link to the settlement site on their corporate homepage (Apple.com)



The settlement terms for affected G3 owners provide a refund for Mac OS X or a $25 coupon off a $99 purchase at the Apple Store. The G3 machine must have been specific models sold between Nov 1997 and Sept 2000 and Mac OS X must have been purchased on or before May 15, 2003. Details at the settlement site.

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108 months ago
It would have been funnier if they had to pay out the price nedded to upgrade to a least a low-end G4.

Either that or supply them all with acceptable graphics cards. Maybe 1st generation TiBook owners could sue for similar reasons on grounds that the included 8MB Rage128 Mobility does not allow OS X to be used to its fullest since it is not compatible with QuartzExtreme...
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108 months ago
seems like a pretty reasonable settlement.

you get your money back if you don't like OS X.
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108 months ago
There's a tiny link near the bottom of Apple.com's main page. I saw it today, didn't know what it was, thought I just hadn't noticed it before.
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108 months ago
Before there are a lot of ignorant posts about people--like me--who think this is a legitimate issue, please understand EXACTLY what the issue is BEFORE you make assumptions and post :)

This is about machines Apple DID claim to support, losing fundamental hardware capabilities that both the machines and the OS advertised as working.

Even Panther still doesn't tell me that I'll lose my video board if I install X. No hardware acceleration, no OpenGl, no DVD. Yet Apple still says my Lombard is supported by OS X.

What a lot of trouble a simply footnote could save. Or better yet, some drivers from ATI!

(This is not in reference to anything posted above--its a PREemptive strike against the inevitable flood of posts about machines Apple never CLAIMED to support. Which I have no problem with, and is not the subject of this case.)
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108 months ago

Originally posted by Macrumors
G3 machines must have been purchased on or before May 15, 2003.

Not true. From http://appleosx.rosenthalco.com/notice.html

TO: ALL END USER PERSONS OR ENTITIES WITHIN THE UNITED STATES WHO BOTH (1) OWN OR OWNED CERTAIN APPLE G3 COMPUTER MODELS SOLD BETWEEN NOVEMBER 1997 AND SEPTEMBER 2000 ("COVERED PRODUCTS") AND (2) ALSO PURCHASED ANY VERSION OF MAC OS X FOR A COVERED PRODUCT ON OR BEFORE MAY 15, 2003:

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108 months ago
Well if they get a free OS out of it or refund it's not that bad of a deal.

The final outcome comes on Jan of 2004.
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108 months ago
As long as this costs Apple more than it would have to write the damn drivers in the first place, it's fair.

$25 off a $99 purchase from the Apple Store? Apple's still making money off you!

At least they stated flat out that beige boxes and non-native USB laptops aren't supported in Panther, so even if a hack gets them to work, they're in the clear (for those machines at least)...
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108 months ago

Originally posted by nagromme
Before there are a lot of ignorant posts about people--like me--who think this is a legitimate issue, please understand EXACTLY what the issue is BEFORE you make assumptions and post :)

This is about machines Apple DID claim to support, losing fundamental hardware capabilities that both the machines and the OS advertised as working.

Even Panther still doesn't tell me that I'll lose my video board if I install X. No hardware acceleration, no OpenGl, no DVD. Yet Apple still says my Lombard is supported by OS X.

What a lot of trouble a simply footnote could save. Or better yet, some drivers from ATI!

(This is not in reference to anything posted above--its a PREemptive strike against the inevitable flood of posts about machines Apple never CLAIMED to support. Which I have no problem with, and is not the subject of this case.)

I think Apple got away with a lot on this one. However, I can't think of a more reasonalbe solution. Maybe a fat discount on upgrading your machine if you send in your old one... Ha fat chance.
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108 months ago
IANAL, and neither are you.

Remember that before you post.
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108 months ago
As a reseller, I received one of the class-action letters saying I am a participant unless I request exemption.

Interestingly, anyone who claims a refund from Apple has to make a declaration saying that they have not used OS X, under penalty of perjury:

"I have not regularly used Mac OS X on my Covered Product. I agree not to use Mac OS X on this computer in the future and I am returning the Mac OS X disk containing this version of Mac OS X to the address designated in the Claim Form. I agree not to reinstall the returned version of Mac OS X on my Covered Product in the future."

They also have to send in the discs, or declare that the discs are lost or destroyed. I'm amazed people are so upset about this, unless OS X doesn't run on their computer in any usable fashion. I'd give up DVD playback for OS X features any day...
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