Forget “Black Friday.” It’s MAC Friday…at Connecting Point! | Nov. 28th, 2014
Apple Special Event | October 16, 2014, 10 am PDT: “It’s been way too long.”
Apple’s highly anticipated special event, taking place later this morning, will be streamed live. Live streaming video requires Safari 5.1.10 or later on OS X v10.6.8 or later; Safari on iOS 6.0 or later. Live streaming via Apple TV requires second- or third-generation Apple TV with software 6.2 or later.
UPDATE – SUMMARY OF EVENT: New iPads (including the impossibly slim iPad Air 2), new iMacs (including the impossibly pixeled iMac with Retina 5K Display), and new and cheaper Mac minis. Oh yeah—and the official release of OS X 10.10 Yosemite. It’s a free upgrade, and you can download it here.
Connecting Point’s ‘Head Back with a Mac Sale’ | Free Canon All-in-One; no-interest 18mo. financing
Summer’s almost gone. Time to head back to school. Head back to work. Time to Get. Stuff. Done.
And the best way to get stuff done? A new Mac from Connecting Point.
And getting one is now both easy and affordable: For a limited time, Connecting Point’s offering special financing and terrific incentives.
Canon PIXMA MX472 All-in-One Wireless inkjet office solution features an Automatic Document Feeder for unattended multi-page scanning and copying, 50-page fax memory, AirPrint support, and up to 4800 x 1200 dpi optimized color printing. Retail price $99.99
Whether you’re upgrading, or switching from Windows, now’s the best time to buy, during Connecting Point’s ‘Head Back with a Mac Sale,’ running from Wednesday, August 27th through Saturday, August 30.
During this sale, buy any Mac and get a FREE Canon Pixma MX472 All-in-One printer / scanner / copier / fax (which normally retails for $99.99).*
Plus get six, 12, or even as much as 18 months interest-free financing, with your good credit.**
But don’t delay: This sale lasts just four days. When we close for the night on Saturday, our ‘Head Back with a Mac Sale’ closes, too!
*Limited to stock on hand. **NO INTEREST, IF PAID IN FULL WITHIN 6, 12, OR 18 MONTHS on qualifying purchases made with your GE Capital Retail Bank Home Design credit card between May 23rd, 2014 and January 16th, 2015. Interest will be charged to your account from the purchase date if the promotional purchase is not paid in full within 6, 12, or 18 months. Offer applies only to single-receipt qualifying purchases. No interest will be charged on the promo purchase if you pay the promo purchase amount in full within 6, 12, or 18 months. If you do not, interest will be charged on the promo purchase from the purchase date. Depending on purchase amount, promotion length, and payment allocation, the required minimum monthly payments may or may not pay off purchase by end of promotional period. Regular account terms apply to non-promotional purchases and, after promotion ends, to promotional balance. For new accounts: Purchase APR is 29.99%; Minimum Interest Charge is $2. Existing GE Capital cardholders should see their credit card agreement for their applicable terms. Subject to credit approval.
Experiencing battery issues with your iPhone 5? Find out if you qualify for a free replacement.
UPDATED AUGUST 28: Please read carefully.
Apple Inc. launched an iPhone battery replacement program today. Apparently, a “very small percentage of iPhone 5 devices may suddenly experience shorter battery life or need to be charged more frequently. The affected iPhone 5 devices were sold between September 2012 and January 2013 and fall within a limited serial number range.” Qualifying devices experiencing battery-related issues may have their battery replaced at no charge to you. Here’s how the program works…
STEP #1: To find out if your iPhone 5 qualifies for this program, visit the Apple support site here. Here, you’ll be asked to type in the serial number of your iPhone 5. (Finding the serial number of your iPhone is very simple.)
STEP #2: Once you’ve determined that your phone does indeed qualify, bring it in to either one of our locations. There, Connecting Point SERVICE will run a brief diagnostic to verify your phone is having battery-related issues. PLEASE NOTE: Your iPhone 5 must fail this diagnostic in order for us to replace its battery. Apple has made it clear we cannot supply a replacement unless it meets this condition.
STEP 3: Once we verify your iPhone 5 qualifies for the program, we’ll add you to a growing list of customers also awaiting battery replacements. We currently have a large number of batteries on order, but as of August 28th, none have shipped.
STEP #4: Once your battery arrives, we will immediately contact you to set up a date to bring in your iPhone 5. Unfortunately, this is not a procedure that can be performed while you wait. We will strive for a one-day turnaround, to minimize the time you spend without your iPhone.
In short, we’ll take care of everything, regardless of where you purchased your iPhone. Connecting Point is an Apple Authorized Service Provider, able to work on all Apple products, in or out of warranty. If you have additional questions, give us a call, or contact Connecting Point SERVICE via this handy form.
Apple History: Original iMac bowed on this date in 1998…and the tide was turned.
Considering how high the company flies today, it’s sobering to recall the lows Apple hit in the 1990’s. Apple spent the bulk of that decade frantically scrambling to come up with a hit, introducing one failed product after another: a digital camera, a portable CD audio player, powered computer speakers, a gaming console (no, really), and a bizarre set-top box for television. CEO John Sculley bet the farm on Apple’s entry into the nascent “personal digital assistant” category, resulting in the Newton – innovative, before its time – and to this day, one of the most spectacular failures in the company’s history. Literally dozens of indistinguishable Mac models were trotted out, with a bewildering alphabet soup of names, numbers, and specifications.
The original iMac went off like a torpedo to the bow of the Good Ship Computer. It looked and operated like nothing the world had seen.
Market share continued to erode, stock prices plummeted, and Microsoft Windows was mopping the floor with Apple. Sculley was succeeded by Michael Spindler, who was superseded by Gil Amelio. In July 1997, a desperate board of directors fired Amelio amidst record-low stock prices and staggering financial losses.
It was arguably Apple’s darkest hour.
Then co-founder Steve Jobs stepped back up as interim CEO (dubbed “iCEO”), drastically pared down the sprawling product line, and began working on a radical new design with Jonathan Ive.
You can see what they came up with in the photo above. The original iMac went off like a torpedo to the bow of the Good Ship Computer. It looked and operated like nothing the world had seen. And it effectively saved the company, selling almost 800,000 units in its first five months.
Jobs and Ive would later collaborate on the iPod and iPhone, among many, many other projects. Apple was on a roll – a roll that has yet to slow.
Photo credit: Bob Pennell, Mail Tribune
Feel like a little more nostalgia? Read an August 16, 1998 Medford Mail Tribune article about the original iMac’s introduction. Connecting Point is prominently featured in the story – along with a face long familiar to our customers.
