On Apple, Build Quality, and Customer Satisfaction
April 14th, 2006
My work computer is an iMac g5, and we have had it for around 6 weeks now. Around a week and a half ago, I noticed some strange issues with the bluetooth module, and the computer would lock up - the programs would still work and the OS was fine, but the bluetooth module died, therefore making it impossible for me to use my keyboard & mouse with the computer unless I bought a new wired set. Plus, this was a brand new computer, so there is no reason we should just accept a busted bluetooth module.
With that in mind, I took the iMac to the Apple Store for repair. I was told that it would be 3-5 business days before I’d see the little fella, but I was fine with that. I simply worked from home a few days and brought my laptop into work a few times as well to get work done. No biggie, really. All told, 7 business days and 13 todal days passed before the iMac was ready. I went and picked it up, and it seemed to work fine when I got it home.
However, the next day at work, it would not boot up. After a few tries it finally was running, and once it was up, things went fine. As the week went on, however, the computer was harder and harder to start up. Finally, on Tuesday, it wouldn’t start. I took it to the apple store and had them look at it again, and the Genius there said they would send it back for more repairs. I asked to speak to a manager, and they ultimately decided to upgrade me to one of the new Intel iMacs.
WOW. The new 20″ intel iMac is noticably faster than the g5 version in almost every way. Even with 1gb of memory installed, rosetta (emulated) apps like Studio 8 and even light photoshop work seem the same. I was really pleased that the guys at the Apple store were so helpful getting us back up and running, and it was really wearing myself and my employer thin.
I now own a MacBook pro with a 2.0ghz core duo processor, 2gb of RAM, and all the fixins. I can safely say this is the nicest computer I’ve ever owned, and I’ve certainly owned a few. The thing boots up in about 10 seconds flat, and runs most apps instantly. I’ve already sold my Powerbook, and will be selling my g5 tower soon as well, and just moving to the portable beauty that is the MacBook.
Honestly - and I’m sure most of my friends who really know me can attest - I’m surprised I lasted this long. Almost 4 whole months after it was released! Not bad.
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April 23rd, 2006 at 9:21 pm
I was in the Apple Store today and I must say, I had a delightful experience. I finally went to purchase a case for my iPod and before I even got to the checkout line an employee came up to me and asked if I would like to check out immediately, of course I said yes. He pulled out a tiny scanner, scanned my item as well as my credit card, and emailed my reciept to me all within a matter of seconds. All this was done without having to wait in line for a cashier. I have never seen this before and was quite impressed. Hopefully this will carry over to more retail stores. The future is here my friends.
April 24th, 2006 at 3:24 pm
They do something similar at Sam’s Club if the lines get really long. Of course there, people are buying 5,000 pound bags of Pizza Rolls and 72-packs of toothbrushes.
April 24th, 2006 at 10:33 pm
Unfortunately, the people at Sam’s tend to buy massive ammounts of items. It’s hard to walk out of that store without dropping $100. As far as buying very few items, this idea is great. The thought of not having to wait in a line always sounds good.
April 28th, 2006 at 4:23 pm
Wow, that’s awesome!
I was thinking of getting an iMac G5 with my student loan money this fall, but that’s kind of making me think I should get the Core Duo. :)
June 20th, 2006 at 2:19 pm
I don’t think you’d regret it. Depends on what you do with your machine mainly. I work in web design/development and I have an intel iMac at work. I use photoshop some, along with some pretty heavy fireworks/flash useage. It’s fast enough with 2gb RAM.
Where it really shines (and this applies to my MacBook as well) is with universal apps. I bought Final Cut Express 3.5 and wow, it flies. Also, Aperture runs circles around 1.0, or even 1.1 on my old G5.
I only use 3 rosetta apps, so I figured the transition would be good for me. So far, it hasn’t let me down. Plus, being able to run Windows at near native speed via Parallels (or Boot Camp if I were so inclined) is a huge plus.