Well this is it; I'm never buying another Apple product, and neither is anyone else I know if I can help it, until Apple learn the meaning of quality control. The last two brand new Macs I've had to live with, including my 2 week old eMac which was a dream come true for about the first 36 hours, have been absolute rubbish. The iMac has already had enough whinging and complaining done about it, and I'll refrain from wasting my time listing all my eMac's hardware/software issues(the two most notable are the modem's inability to connect to my ISP under 10 minutes of waking the computer from sleep, and the monitor's constant squealing at random intervals). Mac OS X has so many problems I'd have no trouble switching straight to Win XP- I'd feel right at home. Instead of OSX becoming faster than previous versions eg Puma, I feel its simply gained a lot of weight, and has a great deal of trouble running more than 2 average programs(eg Messenger and iTunes) at once if both are trying to access memory/HD at the same time. And I'm not going to waste more of my money ramping up the RAM in a hopeless attempt to fix. Another serious issue I've noticed is how slow the OS alone goes after quitting a program such as World Book or GarageBand; I used to believe this was a problem only associated with Windows, but I'm finding myself having to restart FAR too often.
The iMac(slot-loading)'s design was testament to Apple's ignorance; they NEEDED fans. There's no way they'll last long as they are. Ridiculous. The eMac's case, while functional, is just plain trash. The entire thing flexes when you pick it up, the CD door is horrifically loud on closing, and the front panel with the speakers screwed right onto the plastic(another thoughtless element) can get VERY annoying when watching DVDs at any decent volume, or playing most games.
...well I have other things to do now, so I'll end by telling anyone considering buying their first new Mac, THINK AGAIN. It's just too much to have to deal with.
A loss of faith. Permanently.
May 11, 2004 - 8:33am
#1
A loss of faith. Permanently.
I hope you get your faith back someday. I've used both the computer models you've described, and I haven't had any problems. With insufficient RAM, sure the eMac will slow up when I have Photoshop, Safari, FileMaker, and iTunes open, but I added more RAM and alleviated that problem. I also haven't noticed the issues with the eMac's case that you mentioned, but I don't move mine around alot...
Out of curiosity, how much RAM were you running in the iMac or the eMac when you were having so much trouble?
The ones with unfortunate experiences always seem to have better marketing skills than those who havn't had any problems at all.
Nay-sayers are always the ones we hear and remember.
I have always tried to evangelize my experiences, like how I found Mainframe Emulation software that would allow my simple iMac to dial into my work and connect directly to the mainframe as a client and give me a TSO session. Saved me many long trips into work and kept me from having to maintain a PC just for that purpose. (For those interested, check out celview.com.) Opps, I did it again.
And off my soapbox I go...
Just cuz u had 2 bad experiences doesn't mean that all apple products are like that. My macs have always worked perfectly except for simple processor limitations on my older PBG3. Don't discourage others from buying >:( , maybe it's just something you don't like. Macs are *usually* problem free. **usually**
I'm quite sorry that you've fallen into such misfortune. I only hope that you can resolve these issues with your Macs and get back to using them soon.
Well I must say it hasnt really only been these two, but most of the other Macs I've experienced have been old so if they had any problems, you couldn't directly link them to Apple. I did think it was strange when all the iMac screens in my primary school started going purple...
Both Macs in question are quite well fitted-out; the iMac 600 has a 7200rpm 80GB/8MB cache Maxtor drive and 384MB of RAM. The eMac is stuck on its stock 256MB, but with the 1.25GHz G4, 512k cache and the fact that its DDR RAM, well...
Just so you know Im not saying I'll go out and tell people to buy PCs; just to not go out and get a new Mac without taking one first out of the box, inspecting it and starting it up before taking it home. And I wont be arguing how much better than XP OSX is from now on.
I'm done complaining now.
(well tomorrow Apple are going to get a call from me nagging them to fix EVERY problem on this thing...)
Put some RAM in those boxes!
Not until Apple fix EVERY ONE of their problems(well the eMacs anyway...the iMac is a post-AppleCare write-off).
Applecare on my PowerBook is the best money I ever spent in my life. My computer went back to apple no less than four times in less than six months. They finally replaced it, with the newer model, which is going back to apple because the screen won't stay closed.
anyway, I have to agree with you on QC issues, but I havent lost my faith yet. I have to endure constant ribbing from friends about my unreliable mac, but I still love it. Call me crazy, but I think the reason that I still have faith is because I have really never had anything that is super reliable, and good. Hopefully, this'll be the last time I send my baby back. If it happens again, I am demanding another replacement.
oh, and when they replaced it, they sent me a brand new one in box. When it died for a final time, it wouldnt power on at all, and wouldnt eject my CD. My customer support rep (yes, mine. I now have a direct line into customer relations) told me there was nothing they could do, and wouldnt remburse me for the cost of the CD, so I sent a self-addressed stamped CD mailer with the computer. To this day, I havent recieved anything from any kind soul that may have helped me.
apple service is good, but it sucks at the same time.
I guess there is really no point to this long rambling post, but oh well.
CCC
I know how it is to have a crappy mac. Belive me i know. With a bad ibook and an emac that died within 24Hrs i could ramble for hours. Even with my trouble, there is no way i could use WinDOS. hang in there man, I agree Apple has some quality issues now, but that will change (I hope).
Yeah, I still have to convince the old powertower and G3 to work, but hey..
One month ago, I stopped using my PC.. I powered it up, only to find my wireless keyboard/mouse gone wacko and I lost all of my prefs.. There goes all of my hours of racing..
What did I do? Well, if it were a mac, maybe I'd reason with my feelings.. But, this was a PC.. it was mine.. I had rights.. I sent it to the back of my orgaized mess.. needless to say, it doesn't smirk at me from under my desk any more.. Now I have the engine block heater: the PowerTower.. its like a cat on your foot.. You let it sit there, and it won't shut up or get cooler.. always hotter and hotter..
fmcat
ive been very happy with my iBook so far ... even with 256mb of RAM (yes i am going to upgrade it soon :P) it runs pretty well ... Panther seems pretty quick ... havent found any problems with it yet ... GarageBand seems to run fine ... and i dont notice any slowness after quitting it ... id say get some more RAM in those macs ... do a fresh restore of the software and hopefully some of the problems should go away
TOM
Which ibook is it?
I'm sorry to hear of your misfortune, however, it's not the worst I've heard of or experienced. When a desktop PC literally falls apart from carrying it with due care from one floor to another, and a laptop flexes more than your crosstrainers, then you have a problem. In my (albeit limited) experience, Macintoshes have stoodup better than most PC's, with the marked exception being IBM's. If you want a laptop, get a Thinkpad, hands down, no doubt about it. I have a 600E, and despite a problem with the batteries, the machine is as solid as a rock. So much so it's nicknamed "the Thinkbrick" (despite it being rather streamlined and small for a 5 year old laptop).
Although I'm very surprised at the comments about the eMac's physical shortcomings. I would have thought that machine would be rock solid to stand up to school childrens' use and abuse. Oh well, hopefully Apple will begin more rigorous quality control inspections and restore consumer confidence.
12" 1ghz G4
TOM
I don't know what you mean by the flexing plastic when you pick it up. Despite my hissing speakers, I love my eMac, and I find it to be extremely sturdy. That's one of the reasons I like it more than my iMac. I was always worried about letting other people use my iMac because they liked to play with the moving screen and they'd tear it up. And you can't complain about the slamming CD drive door on just the eMacs. Go to the Apple store and try it on any one of their iMacs--you'll get the same thing.
Was playing around with the G4 iMac while doing the ACDT course... that's not a slam, it's a quiet 'thunk'. Kind of like the comparison between a Hyundai and a Volvo's doors being closed...
Anyway lets drop this now- given the amount of components on that Dell that literally **died** ... the eMac seems a hell of a lot better.
i Had a CRT imac, EVERY PART IN IT HAD A PROBLEM, when it got to replacing the logic board, they said yes, but then the hardware guy who comes into that apple store late at night said,"i cant believe those damn bitches didnt give you a new machine yet." (it also fell under law, which is what he probably realized, and I could sue their ASSES OFF)
So he hooked me up with my imac g4 1ghz.
Your saying Xp has fewer problems then OSX?!!
BWHAHAHAHAH
Well you can have it, have fun with all your spy ware, ad-ware, and viruses while your at it.
Oh.... and when Dell and HP/Compaq surpasses appple is hardware design and integration, let us all know, so we can write it down in the history books.
Just felt like chiming in here for a sec. First of all, hardware design and intergration is unimportant to me. I coudn't care less about how a machine looks. Its why the cube and the orginal ibook confused me with their popularity. I do want durablity though. My dell laptops have been very durable. And you can't beat thinkpads for toughness. (without being a ultra-durable).
Secondly, you meantion "all your spy ware, ad-ware, and viruses" as problems with XP. Well I am sorry to say that not one of those items ia directly related to Microsoft's operating system known as WIndows XP. Those things that you mentioned are a direct result of the fact that Windows is the most popular operating system in the world to the end user and becasue of that, it is the most "picked on" of all the operating systems.
If the Mac OS was the number one OS, you can bet your jammies that virus writers and spyware exploiters would be going after the Mac OS. But why should they bother when the market share is what? 2-5 percent of the total market?
So don't blame Windows XP directly for those "spy ware, ad-ware, and viruses". Blame its popularity for that.
And you know, of all the comptuers I own at home and manage, about 95 percent of XP's problems are badly written 3rd party software and/or hardware faults. I have never seen a bsod with XP that wasn't caused by a hardware fault of some sort. Cheap, generic, and crummy parts are rampant in the Windows world. Speaking of that, you might want to research Bad Capacitors on motherboards for a look at a serious problem that plauges the Windows world. Abit motherboards for one have had a huge amount of bad caps that cause all sorts of huge problems. Look at www.badcaps.com and read the symptons of bad caps.
No offence Bobotech, but you're just explaining and detailing the faults that come with Windows PCs. Explaining why they're there still doesn't change the fact that they're there!
As if cheap, generic, and crummy parts arn't a problem in Apple machines, so far as that goes.
(Yes, that sounds like a troll, but... take apart an iMac sometime. Or deal with a Powerbook G4 which just had its screen ripped off because a hinge seized up at the right moment.
Apple buys from the lowest bidder just like everyone else. And their engineering, particularly in the laptop arena, has a long history of being seriously sub-par. Apple systems may look "well-integrated", but their shiny skins cover up some serious kludges.)
Of course, everyone knows the problem Apple had with capacitors.
http://www.vonwentzel.net/ABS/Repair/
--Peace
Okay. It's the year 2004- and both Apple and Microsoft have released state-of-the-art operating systems with almost **perfect** reliability.
It's time to lay off the pointless which-is-better argument.
Hardware, of course, depends on the brand and model; there are too many in this world to really come up with a good comparison. It's not really worth comparing Apple to the whole PC-compatible world, OR to compare it to another particular brand.
Never say Mac OS X is better than Windows XP. Sure, it's **much** more fun to use, more streamlined, infinitely more integrated... and while Windows XP is **very** boring and uninspired, it's clearly one of the best operating systems ever released; in the relatively large amounts of time I've used it, the only issues that have ever come up were hardware-related- devices ceasing to work, the computer itself suddenly having a nasty error and having to kill Windows.
Yes, I'm back with Apple, but simply because I feel everything about their product is suited to me; I love all the niceties and special effects in OS X, I love some of the games and programs written only to run on the Mac OS(ESPECIALLY the iLife '04 suite), and I've fallen in love with so many of their computers I don't want to think about it(the most notable one being the trayloading iMac series, followed by the Indigo/Key Lime iBook series).
Just don't take up arguments that don't make sense. Windows is clearly better suited to people who like incredibly expensive game consoles or just want to chat on Messenger(which is a great piece of work on XP), send emails etc. Macs and Mac OS X will always suit the creative, the fun-loving- and, lest we forget, the Think Different crowd, who I'm proud to say I'm one of, and will never change.
[quote=Eudimorphodon]
That guy comes to all the wrong conclusions about the root of the problem. The caps fail because of excessive ripple current on the input. You'll notice the little purple cap in the picture of the official Apple reworked unit. That purple cap is a Sanyo Os-Con type capacitor, which can tolerate exceedingly high ripple without degradation or overheating. As a matter of fact, the replacement Sanyo cap is of a much lower value than the original cap.