To paraphrase Bob just a bit...I was thinking the same thing, I don't consider the IPv6 modifications to the current dual-band product significant enough to "charge" for them. Product managers have to draw this line all the time, what denotes a significant enough change to warrant "charging" for the update. Using Bob's iPhone example, it's obviously not a "corporate-wide policy" to draw the line at *any* new features for charging customers for the update. In this case, it's a bit worse, because we have to buy the entire platform, plus the firmware update.
I guess my point is, I think the line drawn for charging for new features should be much more significant in the Apple embedded product family because we're not only paying for more features but we're paying significantly more to replace a perfectly good hardware platform. Imagine if I paid $4000 for a Mac Pro system 18 months ago, and Apple introduces a new Mac OS X version that requires I update my Mac. Granted in this case we're not talking about a hardware swap-out of this magnitude, but philosophically there is some analogies to be drawn here, especially given the magnitude of software differences between my 802.11n Extreme and the current dual-band model.
Thanks for hearing us out on this matter,
Randy
On Nov 16, 2009, at 11:39 AM, Bob Hinden wrote:
> James,
>
>> On Nov 14, 2009, at 18:08, Randy Turner wrote:
>>>
>>> I as curious about the reason why the previous generation (non-dual-frequency) airport extreme units will not get the latest IPv6 code.
>>>
>>> I was especially curious if it is a *marketing* reason or an engineering/technical reason.
>>
>> The facts that must be taken under consideration when making this decision are as follows:
>>
>> + If the new IPv6 features are *not* included in a firmware update for previous generation AirPort products, then there are only fixes for programming errors remaining, and a single update bundle can be made available free of charge to everyone.
>>
>> + If the new IPv6 features *are* included in a firmware update bundle for previous generation AirPort products, then Apple has to charge additional money for it, and *all* forthcoming update bundles for those products (and only those products) cannot be made available free of charge to anyone with current firmware versions on one or more of their units. It costs Apple to manage this extra complexity, so the expense must be justifiable given the expected return.
>
> While I don't usually expect new features in commercial products, but I am happy when I do. In this case there is a third option:
>
> + Firmware fixes and new IPv6 features are include in a single update without any fee. This would mean that Apple only has one code base to maintain, no licensing to deal with, etc, etc. The new features could be added in a way that they don't change or break any existing feature. I would also argue that the new IPv6 features are refinements, not major new features, if that helps. This approach would help with the deployment of IPv6.
>
> Apple could do something like this if it choose to. For example, I got a lot of new features in my iPhone 3G when the 3.x release came out and I did not have to pay extra for it.
>
> Bob
>
>
>>
>> So, when you're making this decision, you have to decide who you want to make unhappy: A) the people who want the new IPv6 features but don't want to buy a whole new AirPort product, or B) the people who just want the programming errors fixed in the existing firmware without having to pay again (and retain proof of payment into the future) for the new IPv6 features they don't even understand, much less want.
>>
>> The only technical consideration of note here is that there currently isn't a way for AirPort products to confirm that a firmware update has been licensed for use on a *specific* unit, which complicates any charging-money-for-updates plans. Yes, there are non-technical ways of managing such issues, but they're off-topic for this list.
>>
>>
>> --
>> james woodyatt <email@hidden>
>> member of technical staff, communications engineering
>>
>>
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