How the Mac was born... supposedly...

From: Ethan Dicks <ethan.dicks_at_gmail.com>
Date: Wed Jan 19 04:23:34 2005

On Thu, 13 Jan 2005 17:40:38 -0500, chris <cb_at_mythtech.net> wrote:
> That would be the flood of AOL floppies, and the run of $300 PCs after
> rebate because you signed up for AOL for 3 years at $20/mn.

My part of _that_ saga was working for the group at AOL/CompuServe
that implemented the back-end of the rebate scheme... our code
monitored databases of rebate customers to ensure they stuck around on
the service for the entire 3 years, and billed them if they tried to
leave prematurely. Eventually, as people started to get near the end
of their commitments, our group was responsible for implementing
marketing schemes to entice rebate customers to stay on voluntarily...
I don't recall any specifics, but my memory is that many of these
enticements worked, but I suspect it was more related to customer
inertia than perceived value.

Some of my friends still work there, but much of that group has been
winnowed away after waves and waves of layoffs.

-ethan
Received on Wed Jan 19 2005 - 04:23:34 GMT