Yes, why doesn't Apple simply offer a downloadable firmware update for older Airport Extremes? Shouldn't this be a relatively easy fix? It's rather a black eye that Apple's own earlier product should have difficulty working with the new Air--and how does one actually check to see which earlier model(s) of the Extreme are potentially troublesome? How about a "for serial numbers XXXX12345 or earlier" or some such delineation? This would be helpful so we early "n" adopters can stop wondering whether we have a problem or not.

I'm getting very close to saying "screw apple". I've been loyal... not only have I purchased Mac for my friends and family over the last 5-6 years, I have also purchased over $10 million dollars in equipment from Apple for my employer.

Apple gets more greedy every time they come out with something. First was the iPod 80GB, and making me re-buy all my games. Then comes the iPod touch, and forcing those people who bought it to pay $20 for an upgrade (I have the iPhone, so it doesnt affect me, but still, the iPod touch people got shafted)... THEN, they tell us that we can use Time Machine with an AIR DISK with Leopard... but, low and behold, Apple says you CANNOT use an airport with a USB drive with Time Machine....

All the sudden, LOOK, apple sells an airport with a built in drive you CAN use with time machine, yet craps on all of us who bought the latest AirPort so we could use it with Leopard.... if they can make it work with Time Capsule, they sure as hell can make it work with AirPort, but they won't... true there are work arounds, but is isnt supported.

NOW, for those of us who bought the AirPort and MacBook Air, they are saying we have to buy a NEW airport?

SCREW THAT!

We have another 8.5 million dollar purchase pending for Apple... and when it comes across my desk, I may just use the DENY button this time around.

Apple is turning in to another Microsoft. Innovate and make money - yes. Screw you customers in the process... no.

It's not just me either... we typically sell about 300 iphones per month to clients... in January, that dropped to about 50 because people now have the attitude of "Apple is getting greedy, and I don't trust them to support this iPhone when they get a new product." And I had to agree with them because of what I wrote above.

Apple, you aren't anywhere near ready to start screwing customers over... you are on an uphill climb, don't ruin it by screwing us over. For the first time in 5 years I told someone to go buy a decent Sony laptop and load Linux instead of a MacBook....

I'm not alone in this, just from the messages on here, I think we are all getting fed up with Apple's crap!

mike

Man, I'm glad I don't work for your company, if someone as emotionally over the top as you is at the purchasing approval reins .

You call it "greedy" and "screwing us". I call it expansion, like any individual or company needs to do aggressively in order to survive. There's also no creation without some destruction. Unless you've been deaf and blind you should be able to recall many other "hiccups" Apple has made and/or encountered over the years, and they all get resolved one way or the other.

Go ahead and jump ship, but it's throwing the baby out with the bath water, and your employees will condemn you for it.

Nonetheless, Apple still needs to respect and listen to it's user base. Too many "bone-head" moves by Apple could set Apple back to a "Time Capsule" called the "Schindler" era. And we know how screwed up Apple was under his misguidance.

With the rise of China's economy and the fall of the U.S. economy (yes, even the government is using the word, depression) Perhaps it would be wise for Apple to entrench their products with more reliability and continuity. Also maybe it is time to push the MacMini's low cost...or make an entry level MacMini more affordable during a time of economic crisis. When the consumer dollar becomes harder to part with, maybe it would be wise to provide lower pricing for the consumer to make an Apple decision.

I know innovation is what drives a new market (I've had a few designs in my past too,(...ie. Xerox/PARC alumi, invention of SCSI, Supermac's DataFrame SCSI controller, 10% of the Intel P5 design, 25% of the Sun SPARC10, EEC4, and many more.) But the bottom line is keeping the choices simple for the customer. Product appeal, innovation,, reliability, and consumer pricing. Which Apple has done very well since Steve got back. But the future economy may inhibit American buying power. So with the American purchasing power dwindling (look where the price of gold has gone the last two years...ouch!) lets hope Apple maintains a competitive entry level machine as well as reliable continuity in existing products.

To be fair, if Microsoft had pulled something like this there would be a lot of outcries of "monopolistic behavior." I think Apple should release a firmware update if it is possible to fix this using software.

The reality is that we must take the bad with the good.

The Windows/PC commodity industry is based on the very notion of universality and compatibility, including compatibly with “legacy” hardware and software.

Apple’s products are instead based on true innovation. This means:

• The Good—Apple can be more innovative because it is less constrained by genuine compatibility limitations, and
• The Bad—Apple can and does frequently and deliberately capitalize on planned obsolescence. Its devoted cult following further enables Apple’s stealth obsolescence marketing.

We as consumers can continue to select Apple’s superior products, and yet be wary of and vocal about Apple’s stealthy moves. Apple, like any business needs negative customer feedback to restrain their greed with enlightened self interest.