geezer From United States of America, joined Aug 2010, 715 posts, RR: 1 Posted (3 months 3 weeks 3 days 5 hours ago) and read 812 times:
Not too long ago one of our members wrote a delightful account of his difficulties returning a cell phone ( I think it was ), to "The Fruit Store". It generated a whole bunch of replies from other members, both pro & con, as related to Apple products in general. It was a great discussion, and I enjoyed it tremendously, even though it was largely negative relating to Apple products, and I tend to be very fond of Apple "stuff".
Anyway, I have been having serious "issues" with my iMac for quite a while now, mainly with the cursor not having it's intended effect when I click on things. There are no Apple repair places closer than 40 miles ( Bloomington, Ind. ) and it's 40 miles away; the nearest Apple Store is in Indianapolis, and it's 80 miles; so I have just been "living" with the problem for months now..........until yesterday.
Because I needed to be in Cincinnati yesterday to take care of some business, I decided to stick my iMac in a box and haul it with me, thinking if I finished my business early enough, I might have time to swing by the "Fruit Store" in Cincinnati and have it "looked at". As any one using Apple products knows, all Apple Stores have what's known as the "genius bar"; a number of highly skilled young (mostly) computer "nerds" who will check your computer, iPod, iPad, iPhone, whatever, out, give you an idea what's wrong with it, sometimes even fixing it, or at least giving you some idea if it's worth spending money having it repaired. Because I have had extremely good luck with the "genius bar" in the past, I thought it was "worth a shot"'.
I finished my business later than I expected, but thought I'd stop at the Apple Store anyway, on the off-chance I could get an appointment with a "genius" that late in the day. I also realized I was doing an extremely dangerous thing, visiting an Apple Store, with all of those sleek new computers and other "gadgets" on display, and, as a result of my "business", having a $25,000 cashiers check in my name, "burnning a hole" my pocket; ( talk about maximum temptation ! )
Well, I took the risk anyway.......the "genius" was a very "cool", very savvy young guy; He: "how old is your iMac ?"
Me: "ugh, 4 0r 5 yrs maybe?" He: "we'll know in a second.....(typing the serial # on an iPad) 10 seconds later.....well, you bought it on ................( forget the date ), 8 years ago ! The thing is an ANTIQUE ! He: "you realize, we can't repair a machine more than 5 years old here"? Oh sure, I know that ! He: "so, we'll just check this baby out, see what's the problem........uh oh, I see you have 900 (more or less) icons on the desk top, then you have I.E, Safari, & Firefox loaded......." Me: Never use Safari or I.E., only Firefox; He; "well, Firefox is only half loaded, is starting from a disc.........SO......what's happening is........all of those icons on the desk top, plus Firefox not loaded right, is telling the computer about 9 zillion things to do at the same time, and it's just slightly "confused", does everything real slow,"
So, in other words, every time you turn this thing on, it has to load up 350 pages of gobble-de-gook, before it can even start to doing anything useful. He also pointed out, the menu bar on your Yahoo Home Page has about 15 or so icons, every one of which requires a bit of "horse power" by the processor; it will still work OK, but it will work even faster if you don't have them up there. I opted to leave them there; ( couldn't stand not to have the little airplane up there for finding A.net )
He then created a new folder, stuck all the icons in it, loaded Firefox properly, and in less than 15 minutes, the old "antique" is now running like a new F-22 Raptor !
So I'm thinking........now's my chance.........best chance I'll ever have, this will make a GREAT "spare computer", and I'll just "invest" in a new 27in iMac, with 4 gigs of RAM, 1 gig of cashe for the video card, quad-cure processor, and 1 Tb of HD ! ( Only thing that saved me was the banks were already closed, and the "Fruit Store" couldn't give me 23K in change ) ( But I am gonna be going to Indianapolis in a week or so, so who knows ? )
Now............my question is, to all the "Fruit Product" naysayers "out there"...............how many places do you know of that will take your 8 yr old PC "dinosaur", and in 15 minutes, have it running like a F-22, and all for FREE ?
Oh......there's one more thing...........if I should decide to get the new machine, I can take this one in, they will transfer everything I want to save onto the new machine, and set it up, ready to use............for free !
Braniff747SP From United States of America, joined Oct 2008, 2037 posts, RR: 1 Reply 1, posted (3 months 3 weeks 3 days 4 hours ago) and read 789 times:
Quoting geezer (Thread starter): Now............my question is, to all the "Fruit Product" naysayers "out there"...............how many places do you know of that will take your 8 yr old PC "dinosaur", and in 15 minutes, have it running like a F-22, and all for FREE ?
None. Which is why I'm such a big fan of the "Fruit Store".
The 747 will always be the TRUE queen of the skies!
greasespot From Canada, joined Apr 2004, 3015 posts, RR: 26 Reply 2, posted (3 months 3 weeks 3 days 4 hours ago) and read 775 times:
Agreed. Because we have a fruit store is one of the reason I am so loyal. I want to know what cell dealer would give me a new phone at the 11 month mark just because The battery is not where it should be. When I was there to get a pair of head phones ans all I did was ask about what a replacement battery would cost.
gs
Sometimes all you can do is look them in the eye and ask " how much did your mom drink when she was pregnant with you?"
Now............my question is, to all the "Fruit Product" naysayers "out there"...............how many places do you know of that will take your 8 yr old PC "dinosaur", and in 15 minutes, have it running like a F-22, and all for FREE ?
None. Some of us never have to go to such places. I keep mine running like SR-71s all the time because I actually bother to learn the ins and outs of the system and don't have to rely on 3rd parties or overpriced "computer clinics" to do something I can do on my own. Just as I change my own oil, do my own taxes, etc etc etc And on the rare occasion I don't know the solution, I Google it. Google has the answers to everything.
Quoting geezer (Thread starter):
Oh......there's one more thing...........if I should decide to get the new machine, I can take this one in, they will transfer everything I want to save onto the new machine, and set it up, ready to use............for free !
Which you can also do for yourself for free, on pretty much ANY system nowadays
geezer From United States of America, joined Aug 2010, 715 posts, RR: 1 Reply 5, posted (3 months 3 weeks 3 days 1 hour ago) and read 726 times:
Quoting Fly2HMO (Reply 3): Oh......there's one more thing...........if I should decide to get the new machine, I can take this one in, they will transfer everything I want to save onto the new machine, and set it up, ready to use............for free !
Which you can also do for yourself for free, on pretty much ANY system nowadays
Yeah, I suppose I could do all that if I wanted to, but if the guys at the "Fruit Store" are willing to do it for me, you better believe I'll be more than happy to have them do it !
Oh, and BTW.............I also change my own oil, oil filter, fuel filter, coolant, take my outer rear wheels off occasionally and check the inner tires for pressure, put anti-seize grease on the hubs and replace and torque the outer wheels.
Oh, and just in case you think I'm "helpless", I also cut down a couple of 4 ft dia. poplar trees last summer, sawed the logs up into lumber, had them kilned, then built a storage building with the boards.
I should also mention, I also go down the road to the post office in the morning after we have a big snow and take my Kubota and plow out the snow around the parking lot so the nice lady who is our Post Mistress won't have to struggle
through the snow to get the post office open.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot........2 yrs ago I painted the upper half of my friend Rob's 125 yr old festival house, because I was afraid his wife was gonna fall of the step ladder and break her neck ! ( Even got my picture in the local paper for that one ! )
DeltaMD90 From United States of America, joined Apr 2008, 2697 posts, RR: 25 Reply 6, posted (3 months 3 weeks 3 days 1 hour ago) and read 718 times:
I generally found that if you knew computers and electronics very well, PCs are better and can do things Mac can't, although Macs are getting better (mainly talking about compatibility.) Not to mention price. To each's own, they do offer good customer support.
Klaus From Germany, joined Jul 2001, 20144 posts, RR: 57 Reply 7, posted (3 months 3 weeks 2 days 22 hours ago) and read 683 times:
Quoting geezer (Thread starter): Oh......there's one more thing...........if I should decide to get the new machine, I can take this one in, they will transfer everything I want to save onto the new machine, and set it up, ready to use............for free !
Well, actually, you've paid for this service event through the original purchase price, to some extent.
One of the reasons why their prices can't be quite as low as elsewhere.
But PLEASE NOTE: The iMac models are due for a significant upgrade soon. You will get much better value if you hold out until that upgrade has arrived (Ivy Bridge Intel CPUs with very likely USB 3 in tow).
I'm writing this on a 2009 first-generation 27" iMac, by the way, and I can absolutely recommend it all in all. I'd just get the upcoming new model right now…!
Quoting Fly2HMO (Reply 3): Which you can also do for yourself for free, on pretty much ANY system nowadays
You can do that and I can do that, but not everybody puts so much effort into learning about the internal technical intricacies of their computing system that they will be entirely self-sufficient, and they shouldn't need to.
Quoting DeltaMD90 (Reply 6): I generally found that if you knew computers and electronics very well, PCs are better and can do things Mac can't,
Given that every semi-recent Mac is a fully usable PC as well (and can do everything a PC can), that is just not so.
It's also a fully certified Unix system (yes, an actual Unix) with all the capabilities that entails while simultaneously being user-friendly enough that laymen (read: people having other things on their mind than wanting to learn a lot about computers) can easily use it on their own usually without any outside support.
I'm using the Unix side of it pretty regularly (and Windows on occasion as well) on my Macs, so I can tell you that you can do quite a bit more on it than on a regular PC while you can do everything you can do on a PC, simply because it is one on top of being a Mac.
francoflier From France, joined Oct 2001, 2766 posts, RR: 11 Reply 8, posted (3 months 3 weeks 2 days 21 hours ago) and read 659 times:
Quoting geezer (Thread starter): .how many places do you know of that will take your 8 yr old PC "dinosaur", and in 15 minutes, have it running like a F-22, and all for FREE ?
It's called customer service.
Every business does this to an extent.
You are considered a client the second you walk through the doors. Everything will be made to make you happy and satisfied, and that feeling of satisfaction will help trigger a purchase. It doesn't look like they're selling you something, yet they very much are. A happy customer is a returning customer...
In other words, the 'genius bar' isn't there for philanthropy.
Your case could be a schoolbook example:
Quoting geezer (Thread starter): So I'm thinking........now's my chance.........best chance I'll ever have, this will make a GREAT "spare computer", and I'll just "invest" in a new 27in iMac,
For having worked in commerce, I highly regard Apple for the effectiveness of their marketing and sales techniques, even though I'm not a customer and am not attracted by their products.
Enjoy your new Mac...
Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit posting...
cmf From United States of America, joined Jun 2011, 1060 posts, RR: 24 Reply 9, posted (3 months 3 weeks 2 days 20 hours ago) and read 645 times:
Quoting geezer (Thread starter): Now............my question is, to all the "Fruit Product" naysayers "out there"...............how many places do you know of that will take your 8 yr old PC "dinosaur", and in 15 minutes, have it running like a F-22, and all for FREE ?
That is one of Apple's great features. Amazing screens is another I really like. The mistake you're doing is to think it is free. You pay for it each time you buy something with their logo.
As an individual is can be very attractive, especially if you just want to check email and browse and have no interest in learning how to keep the machine running.
If you're running a company it becomes very different. I have not been able to justify the cost. Not even when creating islands. Interestingly enough we have also had better response from people given Ubuntu than Mac. With response I mean less support calls.
Don’t repeat earlier generations’ mistakes. Learn history for a better future.
ANITIX87 From Switzerland, joined Mar 2005, 3081 posts, RR: 16 Reply 10, posted (3 months 3 weeks 2 days 19 hours ago) and read 629 times:
I've always been blown away by Apple's customer service. I took my iMac to the Genius Bar last year. It wasn' ejecting CDs correctly. They did a test and found it was the optical drive's connection. They replaced the entire drive and related wiring. After the swap, it worked fine for a week, and then the problem came back with the addition of not displaying anything blue on the screen. I went back, and they didn't know what inside the machine wasn't working. My Apple Care had expired 2 weeks previously (it was a 3-year old machine) but they replaced mother board, hard drive (they no longer make 250GB HD like my original had, so I got a 500GB one), and graphics card. Basically got a completely new computer. For free. And as a perk, they damanged my X-plane CD while extracting it from the optical drive so they gave me the newer version for free!
Quoting Klaus (Reply 7): PLEASE NOTE: The iMac models are due for a significant upgrade soon. You will get much better value if you hold out until that upgrade has arrived (Ivy Bridge Intel CPUs with very likely USB 3 in tow).
Are you basing this comment on Mac Rumors, or do you have other information from another source? I'll be in the market for a new machine once federal tax returns come in, but I'm debating between the iMac and a Mac Pro. I've read a few reports that the Mac Pro will be discontinued. Is this even remotely true?
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Klaus From Germany, joined Jul 2001, 20144 posts, RR: 57 Reply 11, posted (3 months 3 weeks 2 days 18 hours ago) and read 605 times:
Quoting ANITIX87 (Reply 10): Are you basing this comment on Mac Rumors, or do you have other information from another source? I'll be in the market for a new machine once federal tax returns come in, but I'm debating between the iMac and a Mac Pro.
No, this is pretty much a given even aside from any actual rumours since Apple is certain to update the Macs to the respective current Intel CPU generation. And Intel is just now transitioning towards the new Ivy Bridge generation for which they're also offering chipsets (actually just one chip nowadays) which officially support USB 3 for the first time (all pre-Ivy-Bridge Intel-powered PCs with USB 3 ports use third-party add-on chips for that, resulting in various limitations and complications).
It is next to certain that Apple will start supporting USB 3 with this generation as well; Thus far it was largely an either / or choice between USB 3 and Thunderbolt, and Apple (wisely) prioritized Thunderbolt over USB 3. With Ivy Bridge they can have both at the same time for the first time.
The iMacs have not been updated for pretty much exactly the average model refresh period at the same time, so it is almost certain that we'll pretty soon see new iMac models with Ivy Bridge CPUs and very likely also USB 3.
All this is from perfectly public information – I don't even have to look into my tea leaves for that.
Quoting ANITIX87 (Reply 10): I've read a few reports that the Mac Pro will be discontinued. Is this even remotely true?
It is remotely(!) possible, but I don't think it is likely.
Intel has been taking a very long time with an upgrade of their Xeon CPUs which are used in the Mac Pro. It is also due for an upgrade when as Intel comes around with the new models. One thing to consider is that all Macs are among or even the most high-volume computer models in their respective segment (PC manufacturers usually have many more models which are each produced in much lower numbers) so Apple will need to have sufficiently large numbers of chips from Intel to actually release a new model. This is one of the reasons why they can't always be among the first to release machines with new processor models.
geezer From United States of America, joined Aug 2010, 715 posts, RR: 1 Reply 12, posted (3 months 3 weeks 2 days 18 hours ago) and read 597 times:
Quoting Klaus (Reply 7): Well, actually, you've paid for this service event through the original purchase price, to some extent.
Thank you Klaus ! Yes, I realize that there is no "free lunch", but I still like my Apple products better than anything I've ever had that came from a company making windows machines.
Prior to the trip to the genius bar, this thing was terrible ! Nothing worked right; (and it was all MY fault ! )
Any idea how long it will be before the new upgrades come out ? This thing is working so well now that the wait will be no problem. Also, warm weather is right around the corner..........I have a big "outdoor" project that I will be getting into just as soon as the days warm up a bit; I have 3 huge sycamore trees that are very close to the house; too close for safety, to be sure. I will be felling them, sawing the logs into 1 inch boards, and after a few weeks in my friend's kiln, I will be turning the lumber into T & G flooring, ripping up all of the wall to wall carpeting in the house, and by the end of the summer, I hope to have all quarter-sawed sycamore floors in the house, and be rid of all the old "smelly" carpet ! ( Won't have near as much free time to "play" on the computer for a few months. )
Klaus From Germany, joined Jul 2001, 20144 posts, RR: 57 Reply 13, posted (3 months 3 weeks 2 days 17 hours ago) and read 581 times:
Quoting geezer (Reply 12): Thank you Klaus ! Yes, I realize that there is no "free lunch", but I still like my Apple products better than anything I've ever had that came from a company making windows machines.
The pleasant aspect is that Apple generally doesn't "nickle & dime" you for most of your interactions; Even though you've ultimately paid for it anyway, it's still more pleasant than ostensibly "saving" money up front and then getting charged at every corner afterwards.
It keeps the interactions from feeling to be all about money or bureaucracy. Not a bad approach from my point of view as well.
Quoting geezer (Reply 12): Any idea how long it will be before the new upgrades come out ?
Quoting geezer (Reply 12): Won't have near as much free time to "play" on the computer for a few months.
Sounds like a really major undertaking!
The new models should be out well before you're done with that (I'd expect them to arrive within the first quarter).
cmf From United States of America, joined Jun 2011, 1060 posts, RR: 24 Reply 14, posted (3 months 3 weeks 2 days 16 hours ago) and read 574 times:
Quoting ANITIX87 (Reply 10): My Apple Care had expired 2 weeks previously (it was a 3-year old machine) but they replaced
What few know, but many have experienced, is that the people at the genius bar are pretty much free to decide if they will repair, change, charge or not. Mostly it comes down to how you treat them. Buying a lot in the store helps too.
Don’t repeat earlier generations’ mistakes. Learn history for a better future.
zckls04 From United States of America, joined Dec 2011, 245 posts, RR: 0 Reply 15, posted (3 months 3 weeks 2 days 14 hours ago) and read 551 times:
Others have hit the nail on the head- you pay a large premium for Apple products in order to get that support, in addition to the AppleCare you buy on top of that. They may have been very nice to you but don't imagine that they're doing it out of the kindness of their heart.
I own both PCs and a Mac- the PCs for business use and the Mac for audio and photo manipulation. I think it's important to realise that comparing a Mac and a PC is pretty meaningless. One is a single company making a premium hardware product, along with the operating system that runs on it. The other is multiple companies making just the hardware, whose prices (and quality) are typically limited by competition for business. The OS is made by a different company, and even comparing that to OSX is meaningless since OSX is only designed to run on a single product.
I have to say I much prefer PC users to Mac ones though, and that's what's really important .
geezer From United States of America, joined Aug 2010, 715 posts, RR: 1 Reply 17, posted (3 months 3 weeks 2 days 10 hours ago) and read 500 times:
Quoting Klaus (Reply 16): Wow. I've never selected people according to what they own or use.
Klaus, you really know how to make me laugh ! ( I was trying to figure out what he meant by that ) And thanks for pointing out about the expected upgrades to iMacs.
Here's something about Apple Stores that I'll bet very few notice, ( If I can get my idea across )
The Apple Store in Cincinnati is very near to where I used to live before I moved to Indiana, so I used to go there quite a bit, which was maybe about 9 yrs ago; anyway, as with all Apple Stores, it's in an area which is where a lot of wealthy people live; back then, there were the usual high-end local department stores, local restaurants, etc;
Since I moved to Indiana, (200 miles away) the only Apple Store is in Indianapolis, and is adjacent to Carmel, which is where all the super-rich live, with a Nordstrom's Store (extremely high priced), plus a bunch more stores like Nordstroms, Saks 5th Ave, Williams Sonoma, Swarovski Crystal and the like.
So every time I went there, I always take a few hours to "gawk" at the outragiously high priced stuff in the mall the Apple Store is in.
Then, when I went back to the Cincinnati Apple Store for the first time in 9 yrs, I was astounded to find.........right next to the Apple Store..........a brand new Nordstrom's Store, and almost all the other stores had been up-graded from "rich" to "Super-rich" type businesses ! The difference was astounding ! When Miss Arlie saw all the new stores, she remarked, "well, with all of Apple's customers flocking to the Apple Store every day, the people who own all these "top-of-the -line" places notice that, and start moving in to take advantage of all the Apple customers with their deep pockets !"
I'm sure this argument would not get one far in a discussion with most PC users though, as I doubt they would understand what you are talking about ! I have always been inclined to be extremely observative of details, so I just "notice" things like this; Pretty "cool" when your choice of "brands" is good enough to encourage an influx of even more affluent people to a neighborhood where your favorite computer maker locates their store ! ( LMAO ! )
Anyway, my old 8 yr old iMac is running so well now that I'm getting 5 times as much accomplished in less time, and It's made me so happy that I'm even starting to get up out of bed earlier in the morning, so now I may get started on my big hardwood floor project sooner than I had expected to ! And if I have to continue using "Jaguar" til the 2nd quarter, it will be worth the wait.
Braniff747SP From United States of America, joined Oct 2008, 2037 posts, RR: 1 Reply 18, posted (3 months 3 weeks 2 days 10 hours ago) and read 487 times:
Still on Jaguar? Yep, certainly time for an upgrade.
And I thought my computer was old.... Mine is an early-2008 MacBook, but I upgrade my software to each available version... sadly, I think that Lion will be the last operating system this will run.... It runs beautifully, but it's probably arriving at the time that I need to upgrade to a newer version.
The 747 will always be the TRUE queen of the skies!
geezer From United States of America, joined Aug 2010, 715 posts, RR: 1 Reply 19, posted (3 months 3 weeks 2 days 4 hours ago) and read 443 times:
[quote=Braniff747SP,reply=18]Still on Jaguar? Yep, certainly time for an upgrade.
You know, the funny part is, Jaguar still does almost everything I need it to do; once in a great while, I come across a disc or something I can't open with Jag; I bought Thom Hogan's manual for my D-300s and the disc that contains the whole thing needs at least Snow Leopard to open, but Miss Alie's new Dell laptop has Windows 7, and the disc works great with it; I could easily get along without even upgrading my OS if I wanted to; maybe I'll buy a copy of "Aperture", then I'll HAVE to have the "horse power" of a new machine !
Hell, who knows, when I start sawing up all those sycamore logs, I might even decide I need a bigger saw mill ?
( I hope not though, those things make new Macs look like kids toys )
Braniff747SP From United States of America, joined Oct 2008, 2037 posts, RR: 1 Reply 20, posted (3 months 3 weeks 10 hours ago) and read 345 times:
Quoting geezer (Reply 19):
You know, the funny part is, Jaguar still does almost everything I need it to do; once in a great while, I come across a disc or something I can't open with Jag; I bought Thom Hogan's manual for my D-300s and the disc that contains the whole thing needs at least Snow Leopard to open, but Miss Alie's new Dell laptop has Windows 7, and the disc works great with it; I could easily get along without even upgrading my OS if I wanted to; maybe I'll buy a copy of "Aperture", then I'll HAVE to have the "horse power" of a new machine !
While it might do most things, the new software is such an improvement over Jaguar, I would never want to go back- I have Lion (the latest) and it has improvments that are significant over Snow Leopard (and Leopard before it)... I would not go back, and I'd highly reccomend, depending of what the exact specs of your machine are, getting a cheap copy of Leopard or Snow Leopard.
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