Announced Actions for August 20, 1997

The Federal Trade Commission today announced the following action.

Consent agreements given final approval: Following a public comment period, the Commission has made final a consent agreement with the following entity. The Commission action makes the consent order binding on the respondent.

• The consent order with Apple Computer, Inc., of Cupertino, California, settles charges that Apple misrepresented that a Power PC Upgrade Kit was available to consumers at the time they purchased certain "Performa" personal computers, or within a reasonable time period thereafter, when it actually was not available for more than a year and cost almost as much as an entirely new PowerPC computer. The order requires Apple to offer to eligible consumers who purchased the Performa 550 or 560, or the Macintosh LC 550 computers on or after April 1, 1994, the upgrade kits at less than half the original list price and to rebate $776 to consumers who already have purchased the upgrade. The order also prohibits Apple from misrepresenting the availability of any microprocessor upgrade product, and from representing that computer hardware is currently upgradeable unless the upgrade is then available in reasonable quantities. (See March 3, 1997 news release for more details regarding this case; Docket No. C-3763; Commission vote on Aug. 18 to issue the order as final was 5-0.) Staff contact is Matthew Gold, San Francisco Regional Office, 415-356-5276.

Copies of the documents referenced above are available from the FTC's web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC's Public Reference Branch, Room 130, 6th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580; 202-326-2222; TTY for the hearing impaired 1-866-653-4261. To find out the latest news as it is announced, call the FTC NewsPhone recording at 202-326-2710.