My first computer, purchased by my parents after nearly a year of begging, was an Apple II+. That was 1982. I was a Windows user for the next 20 years, but went back to Mac when they switched to Intel chips a couple of years ago. Since then I’ve bought seven Macs for myself, as well as at least one of every iPod and both iPhones. A lot of these were test devices that I’ve passed on to friends and family.
My obvious enthusiasm for Apple products is fairly evident to readers of this blog. But recently I’ve had a string of bad apples come my way, so to speak. It’s time for Apple to stop screwing around and start paying attention to product quality.
I’ll excuse the one hour of battery life I seem to be able to get out of my iPhone. An arrangement of extra power cords (USB, car, wall) and external batteries gets me through the day. I’ll also excuse the fact that iTunes seems hell bent on not syncing applications from my desktop to my iPhone, and inexplicably removing apps from my phone without any notice. I love that damn phone, and it will take a lot more than lost apps and dropped calls to get it out of my hands.
But I don’t have the same blind dedication to other Apple products, and a string of costly problems has left me more than frustrated.
Mac Mini, Macbook Air, Macbook Pro and Macbook, All Failed
I was pretty excited about my Macbook Air, which packs a ton of hardware into a slim and elegant case. But it was unable to stay connected to Wifi for more than a minute or so, even on the brand new Apple Time Capsule router we’re using at the office. I took it into the Apple store – they kept it for a few days and said nothing was wrong. I argued with them and they did nothing. And since I waited more than two weeks after buying it to bring it back in, I couldn’t simply return it. That $1,800 piece of hardware has now been dismantled for parts for a project we’re working on here.
A high end black Macbook made it through one meeting before having some sort of hardware problem that shut it down for good. I still have a few days left to return it for a refund.
The one year old Mac Mini I was using to drive my living room television failed a month ago. It turned itself into a brick. Parts of it are on my coffee table.
My main travel computer, a seven month old Macbook Pro, had a keyboard failure two weeks ago. Apple repaired it and I’m using it now.
That leaves three other Macs in good working order. One is a Macbook pro that my dad now uses. The other two are iMacs that have never had any problems.
But having major issues with four out of seven computers is, um, unacceptable.
MobileMe Has Screwed Up My Work Ecosystem
I have Macs in my main office and my bedroom, as well as my travel computer. I have spent years getting .Mac, which syncs calendar, contact and email data across machines and in the cloud, working properly. It tended to break a lot, but if you kept the OS constantly up to date and were willing to tinker with it, it was a great way to keep synced across any number of computers. I didn’t really care which one I picked up to access email, write a post, etc.
Then came MobileMe and the Apple’s automatic transfer of .Mac customers over to that ridiculously broken new service. I had a suspicion it wouldn’t work at first given how touchy .Mac was, and so I didn’t touch anything on my old computers. But I have never gotten it working on the new Macs I purchased, and now .Mac has failed on all of the synced machines. No more calendar access, contacts syncing, etc.
Apple keeps giving customers free time on the service as a way to apologize for the problems. But that isn’t good enough. I’m not price sensitive to the $99/year they’re charging for the service. But I need it to work, and I need it to work right now.
The failed computers could just be a coincidence, although the wifi problem with the Macbook Air is well documented. The MobileMe debacle, though, is affecting everyone. Apple shouldn’t have merged the services, at least old .Mac customers wouldn’t be enraged today. They need to get their house in order or they risk alienating all these new customers they’ve added over the last few years. The new buyers aren’t Apple fanatics and won’t sit quietly as they try to access broken services via failing hardware.
Owned five Apples since 1989. Never had a serious problem with them. One ran almost everyday for 11 years straight without a single problem, not even with the keyboard or cables.
Maybe you just had a bad run. Does happen, even with the best brands.
or maybe you should try lottery. You are so lucky.
Apple makes money by selling overpriced hardware, with the software being the reason to buy. This is software as a service.
The laptop quality cycle of 2-3 years max, is the rule. This really sucks as a standard. Forget Apple if you need quality. Pay for help, get more in the long run, although things can be a bit more flaky with some software.
I am still using a laptop from 1999, with OpenBSD. Ugly, but has a great keyboard. New hard drive, sure, but this thing will probably run many nore years and be very functionable with tiny repairs over the next 5-10 years, if needed.
Ubuntu is also software sort as a service, and is getting popular.
I have been a Apple fanboy for twenty years … a proud member of the cult as both a commercial artist and musician … I have a g3 ibook that has basically been on for six or seven years, hardly ever had a problem with it. I bought a mini a couple years ago, had to have the motherboard replaced almost immediately. i’ve had friends who had to have the motherboard, the harddrive, and the keyboard replaced on macbooks, etc. The crap that is coming out of Apple now … everybody is having hardware problems. It completely sucks … i never minded paying a premium for the higher quality and stability … but it has disappeared. Get your shit together, Steve.
I agree that Apple has now seriously tarnished their quality image. However, this isn’t surprising given their product expansion. However, the astonishing and largely ignored aspect of Apple’s conduct is their refusal to (1) promptly communicate with customers as to status, and (2) admit they have made a mistake. It’s unbelievable.
I wonder sometimes … I have had so many Apple machines that I would wager that I have had more Macs than almost any individual on this blog — going back a long way. I would say I average of 3-4 machines per year (I travel a lot so I have a both desktop and laptop – same with the wife) and we both need to be on the fastest hardware, so I am always upgrading and food chaining, plus there are Mini’s for a music server, another for a dedicated house file server, etc and besides a G4 PB that had the dead vertical lines problem (which is now used as a backup server) I have never had a problem with my machines… in fact just the opposite… I got lots of stories… I sheared my screen off a Titanium PB while traveling in Singapore (dropped it about 12-15 feet off the edge of the upstairs hotel bar in its soft bag) guess what… still worked fine (screen cable didn’t break) so I used it for a week like that with the screen propped against a wall. I had an old Wallstreet machine that in 6 months went around the world with me twice and was even accidentally checked in as luggage on one overseas flight… yikes… my first iPhone was dropped onto concrete a couple of times and was in my coat pocket when that got slammed in the car door… just got a big dent… no problems… maybe because I upgrade enough I don’t see the decay issues. But these things tend to fail sooner than later. Also I have simple expectations… if it lasts me till I need to upgrade thats all I require… The only PC (of which there were almost as many as Macs) I ever had that stood out was a circa 1999 IBM ThinkPad… man I loved that machine as well…
But all the Toshibas, Sony’s, Dells, Gateways, … all died before I was done with them. One thing that may make a difference is that I am extremely strict on what kind of software goes on the machines… no haxies, little or no shareware, no Real Player (its a virus not a media player) no window shades, no modified kexts, no custom drivers (and the one machine that acts as a print server using HP drivers is flaky .. for printing at least) So maybe thats the trick, I don’t know… but for me and mine Apple delivers the most consistently reliable hardware/software combination I have seen… or maybe I have just gotten lucky with my Mac hardware… for the past 15-20 years…
Oh and one other thing… I don’t consider cracks in the case of a computer (or phone) to be an issue at all. These are tools intended to do work… they get abused, like any tool… I like the Apple aesthetic and I love good design… but get over it… It’s like saying your disappointed with your Ferrari after winning the Grand Prix with it, because you noticed that it now has some paint scratches.. I am not trying to flame here but seriously you people must have too much time on your hands to worry about those kinds of issues.. failure to to the intended task yes… cosmetic oddities sorry but not even close
Well, this is not representative of my experience. Even during the dark early days of MobileMe, I had pretty good luck, and now it just works. Every day, rock solid. From both ends of the iPhone-iCal-Entourage-Exchange linkage and back, updates are prompt and without a hitch. And I, and apparently at least 85% of consumers according to the latest ACSI data are not having your experiences. In twenty years of buying Macs, I have had one problem: an early iMac Intel. And the Apple Store swapped it out. From the Mac II to the Mac Portable, to SEs, Classics, Pliuses, every single laptop and most desktops, to every iPod [including dozens of gifts], three AppleTVs, four iPhones, they all just work. That is, by anyone’s definition, not flailing badly at the edges or the core. The problem with your anecdotal experienceand for that matter mine–is that it is just that, and not necessarily an indicator of anything. Mine seems to be more in the mainstream, though. And your assertion that the MobileMe debacle is affecting everyone is simply dead wrong. Stop thinking like a 10-year-old and gain an analyttical lens.
So I believe we have a serious problem – we’re in 21st century and we do not have a single reliable computing system which bundles a functional operating system with a reliable hardware.. either apps crash, or the stuff doesn’t sync, you end up buying and re-investing over and over and over until you are in serious debt, even copying a file doesn’t work when you need it the most.
like others have mentions get applecare, and if you didn’t well then bad mistake. if it as a hardware issue then apple would’ve replaced or repaired the issue at no cost to you, other than the initial cost of applecare.
apple doesn’t manufacture the hds, if they fail it’s not apples issue, although apple will gets blamed for it.
“That $1,800 piece of hardware has now been dismantled for parts for a project we’re working on here.”
WTF? Who’s responsible for wrecking a still-in-warranty MacBook Air?
Mikey want a new computer.
Mikey want to write about Apple junk?
Mikey just a bit immature?
Repeat: If I junk $1800 again, I won’t let the whole world know I did that, so no one will know what an asshat I am.
Arrington,
I’ve always experienced fantastic customer service at any of the Mac Stores. The best customer service in the country is in the Meat Packing district Mac Store in Manahttan. Which store do you generally use? Witch apples ever-increasing popularity over the past 6 years, are we experiencing a turning point, in terms of customer service, customer satisfaction, and product reliability? …. http://www.goth...te.blogspot.com
I got a 24″ iMac for my desk at home in March after 17 years of ups and downs with Windows. While OS X never crashed, Leopard just can not hold a wireless signal. Running Skype or streaming video is a lesson in frustration. The web is littered with a million fixes, but none of them can solve the wireless dropouts, and Apple has been of no help. I finally found a solution: install Windows XP through Boot Camp. The wireless works perfectly through Windows. So I’m basically running Windows on Mac now.
This experience has soured me on Apple and now I’m going with the Nokia E71 over the previously much desired iPhone.
Mac user: 2008-2008. R.I.P. Oh how I wanted to love thee, Apple. But it just doesn’t work.
Funny, since I do nearly two hours each week of video conferencing through Skype and WiFi, running Leopard, without any hitch.
Whatever your problem is, it’s not Leopard, Skype or the iMac.
Oh, and tons of streaming video, daily.
I don’t deny that most of the Apples work with Leopard. But if you google “leopard wireless dropouts” or something like it, you’ll find a huge community of people having problems with Leopard and wi-fi, and it has been going on for quite awhile with no effective repair from Apple. I’m sure it’s fine for you, but it’s not for me, and it’s not working for plenty of others as well. I can operate Skype on my Eee PC from the same place for hours on end. I can operate it with XP on Boot Camp. But it dies in Leopard, as does any other program that requires a steady connection.
You’re wasting your time, Microsoft. No matter how many writers you buy and shills you pay to lie in the comments, it won’t help.
I am relieved to read this post, and to know I am not alone. I have been using macs since 1985. They worked well until the last two years. I had three hard drive crashes in the last two years, all on relatively new computers (mac book pro). Each time apple replaced them, though of course they made no effort to retrieve data on the hard drives. Recently I had a macbook pro go out, my fault (or the cat who knocked over a diet coke). I thought I didn’t have to worry because everything is supposed to be automatically backed up on the $500 time capsule. Well I dont know if anyone else has had trouble retrieving data from time capsule, but I couldn’t do it (working on my back up computer, the airbook). I have a wonderful “genius” at apple, and it took him many hours to back up the hard drive from the flooded computer, and to move it to another (yes, yet another) back up computer (macbook pro). I kept thinking this is all my fault (well the last was, but the three hard drive crashes certainly wasn’t and the poorly functioning time capsule is certainly not my fault). I am beginning to think that for sure something gone south at apple, and their products are no longer high quality. I am about to put windows and parallels on my macbook pro, so I can begin to learn the windows system, and perhaps wean myself off of apple.
I also agree on the .mac problems –something went so wrong for me in the syncing that my address book now has four or five entries for each person, some of which have the person’s email, and then someone else’s email’s address. someone completely disconnected to the person. Finally, while everyone else loves the Iphone, I can’t use it as a phone, but only as an email device. I am hard of hearing and have wonderful little “computer” hearing aids. Well, the Iphone up against my ear produces a rather hair raising whistle/screeching noise. Furthermore, on the Iphone there is no way to find a phone number and dial it with one hand. Every other device had that capability. I want to go get a treo which I used for some years (following using the regular old palm) or a motorola, both of which I had no difficulty in hearing. Something is up with apple, both in the quality of their products, and in design as well.
Ahem Mike take it from a former mac USer..
or
http://farm4.st...b25b98ed1_b.jpg
..most of users know want stable equipment get non macs and fire up linux..
Stuff used Ubuntu, awn manager, awn doc, and Mac4Lin.
Too o bad I am not in CA to help on ruby stuff and show you what stable pc equipment looks like and feels like to use
> That $1,800 piece of hardware has now been dismantled
> for parts for a project we’re working on here.
The Techcrunch Tablet?
http://www.tech...lp-us-build-it/
I recently bought two Mac Book Pros, just because they can do Mac & Windows, and I wanted my kids to experience both. Who knows which OS will win.
I do however agree that if you are not an apple fanatic you seem to notice all of the same issues any other computer have, and maybe more due to the high expectations on your part generated by the stories and propaganda of apple fanatics and nice commercials.
When you do figure out apple are just the same as the other guys, you just wonder why you spent so much money to begin with.
As for the iPhone 3G, I am waiting for apple to stop toying around with creating false architected shortages, to instigate a “must have” feelings with the masses.
Maybe then if the price is right, and I will stop hearing bad things about battery life, I will give it a try. I like the UI, and I need it to play with my http://www.Phone.com/phonedot iPhone web application.
I’m glad someone with an audience came out and said it! When the Macbook came out I went through three in the first week – all had the old sleep/power issue – one of which died on day 2 of ownership while I was in Chicago for biz. Ouch. My macbook is still going, but to say that it shows more wear in 2 years (with FAR less travel) than my old Dell did in 5 would be an understatement – cracks near the trackpad, expanded side due to heat issues, there’s an issue with the power again (right now it shows 0% yet it’s been plugged in all day…). Sadly I DID buy Applecare but forgot to activate it w/in the chosen timeframe (the box got lost/forgotten about in a move) AND I can’t return it even though it’s unopened and I’ve got a receipt as their return policy is 30 days.
My first mac will probably be my last.
Oh, I forgot to add that once while in Seattle on vacation my power supply shot sparks and blue smoke up from where it connects to the computer! I disconnected it immediately and sat on the phone with them for an hour and was able to get a free replacement at the local Apple store even though I was out of the warranty period – my guess is they were probably worried about a lawsuit (seriously, the phone questionaire they had me fill out was LONG) more than being good to their users.
never have had a single issue with any of my macs or mac products… newsflash, things do break
I ran over my Mac with a steamroller and the lid got scratched. What a piece of crap.
Hmm, haven’t had the string of bad luck you seem to be having… My wife and I love our Macs (MP Pro and MB). I love the iPhone as well and MobileMe service. It’s worked but I haven’t tried syncing to multiple machines.
The only thing I’ll complain about is the less than stellar 3g speeds and a few dropped calls. The 2.0.2 upgrade seemed to take care of some of that though.
I haven’t bought new Apple hardware in the past year, but every Mac I own (and have owned over the years) has been reliable as clockwork. Which is a stark contrast to the PCs they give me at work – they crash, take 30 mins to boot, have bits of plastic fall off, etc, etc. Hopefully what you are describing is just a string of bad luck, because I would hate for Apple to become just like all the other PC companies – bloated product lines, crap design, cheap parts, etc.
I don’t thing Apple has any idea how egregious there failure on mobile me is. Utterly incompetent. I have friends that have lost old mail for good. Very simply, the should not be in that business. Web mail is being done very well by a variety of players. My question is: what type of liability do they have? At what point is an organization that does not have enough respect for its customers, let alone the simple skills to implement a transition face real repercussions for their ineptitude. As a commenter above noted, we (the client) are in beta with these products. With web mail that people rely on for business purposes and other reasons, rightly or wrongly, that is utterly unacceptable. A couple of discounts does not even come close to making up for the issues associated with this type of product release.
Wait, did you just say you get *one* hour of battery life on your iPhone? And you use an elaborate system of USB cables and external batteries to get by? With that level of tethering, I think I’ll take your entire post with a grain of salt.
I have an iPhone which I use extensively and only need to recharge once in the night — sure, 3g does drain battery life a bit, but its not that bad at all. I, for one, am thoroughly impressed with the iPhone — and have absolutely no complaints.
I have two macbook pro’s for for over 2 years now, (one dual boots Vista) and none of em have had any problems at all. My machines remain powered on all day, and are used extensively.
I’ve similar complains. My almost 5 year old, first-gen 12″ PowerBook G4 has had 3 (or 4, can’t remember exactly) new power adapters [about $100-$130 each].
Un-working Bluetooth and WiFi since the first 1.5 years.
Screen now draws a vertical pink line a bit right-wards from the middle.
Speakers sound squeaky weak.
Un-working Combo Drive.
What’s more, since there isn’t Apple support in my country, it’s been shut down for a couple of 6-month period, until some family member can take it to the US, or I can manage to get the parts at some electronics store.
Only thing I cannot complain about: runs Mac OS X (which gives the 867MHz processor decent performance), very good keyboard, small and lightweight built, sleek look, and decent-for-its-age battery life.
I have to add that I bought this computer as a refurbished one, after a year the model was introduced and came loaded with 510MB of RAM memory more than what with I purchased it, cool surprise!
Oh, and at least twice hard drive replacement. [more than $200 each time]
Correcting my above comment: 512MB, instead of 510.
I guess Techcrunch et al. can no longer jest and sneer at the BlackBerry network going down for a few hours.
I totally agree. MBP that keeps failing, totally new iPhone that was dead on arrival, etc. And really bad service/support.
I’m also an apple enthusiast, but their product quality and their reputation for the well protected user experience has entirely dissapeared. There’s the well-known rollout debacle of iPhone 2.0 software, AT&T setup – I spent 7 hours standing in line on the opening day only to get in and be told by the rep that there was an error with my account and I’d have to go to an AT&T store, and therefore couldn’t buy my iPhone that day.
Then there’s the similarly covered 3G bandwidth and coverage issues. The problems with the innacuracy of the GPS. And now people’s iPhones are getting “bricked” right and left – a problem that has enraged so many users that their support forums are exploading with this stuff (this has happened to me twice).
And you have the issue where apps suddenly stop loading. you try to launch them, they launch for about 1 second, then close and send you back to the home screen. This issue is also blowing up the support forums, and has happend to me three times. I just got off the phone with support for this very issue and they have no idea how to fix it.
Then of course when you restore your iPhone to factory settings, it sees your backup as corrupt, and now you lose everything.
I won’t even talk about the Mobile Me Mess.
For a staunch apple fan, they’re quickly burning through all the good-will they’ve built up with me through the years with their terrible recent product quality and their seeming incapacity or unwillingness to communicate to users.
Same thing is being said of TechCrunch. Flailing at the edges, quite badly from the looks of things.
I’m sure yours is a one-off problem. My iPhone and Macbook Pro have had no issues at all and seem to work just fine.
.. and .. I’m sure the rest of the world would feel that way too.
Hard stats:
http://www.appl...tisfaction.html
After looking at the 2-block long lines outside the Apple Stores, I finally decided to check out the iPhone 3g. I was so impressed playing with it, that I actually bought it. I’ve always hated macs — dunno why — but now Apple has earned my respect.
I’m not sure I will ever buy a Mac, but these folks sure know how to build a phone — fast, simple and magical
I’m still using it happily — it’s been a few weeks, so I don’t know if things will go worse later, but the battery seems just fine to me — probably even a little more than my old Nokia.
I’m not sure about the other Apple products, but the iPhone is simply great, and a true marvel of engineering in many ways
I’ve been a Mac laptop buyer since day one and have over the past 20 years owned every single model without hardware issues. Maybe I was just lucky but then maybe not. I also own a iPod and iPhone both without issues so far. The only time I had serious issues was back in the time of Mac OS 8, incidentally when Jobs was absent from Apple, and they nearly screwed it all up. While I agree with Michael that 4 out of 7 is a bad average, the overall quality of Apple products still seems higher than what’s out there. Don’t ask me how often my Treo 650 failed to perform as expected and how tedious it is to just launch XP. Yes, while I’m an Apple fan I also occasionally use an HP laptop so I’m able to comapre and Apple still comes out way ahead overall.
Well let see. my 4 year old Power Mac G5 is used everyday and I have never had a problem with it. My 2 year old Mac Mini is also used everyday with out problems, like wise my 3 year old 12″ PowerBook. And yes even my 6 month old MacBook Air and 160BG IPod all are working just fine.
So 5 out of 5 of my Apple products have no issue or problems.
Hmmmm… haven’t noticed any new Apple v. PC commercials since Mobile ME / iPhone 3G problems….
Here they are (3 new ones that came in this week):
http://www.appl...om/getamac/ads/
here’s another data points that disagrees with your anecdotal evidence. I have 5 Apple products (computers, phone, router) and use them all daily (for the past 3 years now). None of them has ever had a hardware failure. None of them has ever had a major software issue or failure.
Even with the software part, I personally have had no issues with MobileMe apart from a small display issue in the Contacts web app.
I do have a slower iPhone since 2.0 though
But given the clout that TechCrunch has, I’d hope for a few more data points before we declare that the quality or reliability of Apple products has gone in the tank.
Wow… that’s pretty ridiculous. I’ve had my Macbook for about 8 months now and most of my friends have them as well. Nobody has any any problems with them…especially not the type of things you described.
In my opinion Apple used to be ahead of the curve when it came to the cloud, but as once before, they have sat on their laurels. It is ashame. Hardware problems aside, Apple lost a huge opportunity to become a defining player. Do not get me wrong, I have only Macs at home. And have never ever owned a Windows machine – for many years I used Linux on the desktop with loads of success – and never will; but it is disappointing.
“unexceptable”?
You mean “unacceptable”. Sell those crappy Macs and buy a friggin dictionary.
Let’s get some perspective people:
Apple is selling 2,490,000 Macs every 90 days… yep! millions! So while it may “appear” quality is slipping, it’s more to do with pure statistics.
Even a 1% failure rate is HUGE and with Apple consistently having the least amount of failures of any PC vendor… the shear numbers of people moving up to Macs is what you are seeing since it tends to skew the perception of a quality drop by a fair margin.
Other factors, there are A LOT of switchers which are typically Windows users who don’t have as much experience in computing as Mac users do. They tend to be less educated and more “rough” with equipment so a good 70% of these issues are DIRECTLY related to USER abuse.
To be completely fair, yes, Apple has had some quality lapses within their control and some component failures outside of their control like the capacitor issue which effected DeLL, HP just the same. So it’s partly a “china” issue as well.
All n All, Apple remains the top vendor for providing the best equipment for the least amount of money. Everyone agrees with that… Macs last for YEARS longer than PCs and we all know the OS and the software library on Macs is far better than what PC users have access to…
So relax, if you don’t yet have a Mac, get one… there is a 99% chance your experience will be perfect.
-
MA, now you do have a lot of cred but this sorta article just takes it away.
have you tried being gentler with electronic gadgets?
it looks like you just have a rough hand.
besides how can you base personal experience to make a valuable journalistic effort? where are number? stats?
maybe you should keep a personal blog, separate from techcrunch, and write personal things there. respect the readership and the community a little bit will you
I’ve used macs since 84 – during that time I have bought over 50 machines and three times that amount for friends and colleagues. I have probably supervised friends buying 2nd mac macs on ebay etc at least a couple of times. Between 3 to 4 hundred macs. I have only ever had to send one of them to an authorised repair dealer (macbook pro) and that was because it was dropped from quite a height.
I’ve had a white ibook fail, but that was after 8 years. I found an LCII in my garage from 1990 (I think) and it fired up first time!
Either you’re very unlucky or I’m amazingly lucky.
…where are Macs built?
@nemrut
they are all engineered in California, then built in mostly China, Singapore and Ireland.
so quality is much higher than you could do it in the States (see DeLL’s quality problems since they still try and build here) but the main problem is still “user abuse” which leads to around 70% of failures.
You windows zealots are really freaking out lately.
But your contrived comments aren’t going to sway anyone. Even the windows zealots are snapping up Macs like there is no tomorrow.
Because Windows, in all versions, sucks out loud compared to any Mac. Same is true for music players and now, phones–Apple products leave all competition in the dust.
Macs have not been made in Cork Ireland for a very long time now.
yes, but there is still a lot of Apple manufacturing there:
http://www.appl.../locations.html
why are all your macs in pieces around your house? maybe you’re the kind of person who exudes “break me now” feelings and your macs don’t want to work for you.
You know what, I’ve never really had a problem with XP or Win apps, OK, I’ve had the blue screen of death several times over the last 20 years but never much else and I’m a developer!
My Mac Mini is cool but when I tried to download files larger than a couple of megabytes through my wireless router, the files were corrupt EVERY SINGLE TIME!!! I couldn’t find any documentation on why this was happening so hooked up my mac straight to the backbone coming into my apartment (wired connection). Now it’s not networked in my home, …but at least it’s hooked up to the net, and no more corrupt files.
For me, all these hardware and software issues simply come down to a lifestyle choice. Linux, Windows, and Macs can all be as bad as each other.
Andy
but that is a problem NOT related to the mac mini, that’s 100% an error with your wireless router or other network issue. the Mac mini doesn’t have corruption issues via wireless.
If a file is OK at one end of a connection, and it is copied to the other end and the contents are different upon reception, then the comm stack is broken at at least one end of the connection or somewhere along the path, it seems to me. Kind of hard to state where the fault lies with the info given. Everyone needs their own personal protocol analyzer!
I agree that we are seeing some rough edges around the product design. To some degree, this is expected as Apple ‘explodes’ out it’s product line beyond just the handful of sleek and well designed (overall well designed..hardware and OS). However, the chink in the armor is the SERIOUS failing of the customer experience. I have been an Apple advocate also since the days of my first Apple II. However, when the experience gets to bad that when walking out of the Apple store (post horrible experience number…we’ll I can’t count that high), my son says he doesn’t want me to buy his mom a new 3g because ‘Apple hates us’ (an 8 year old’s view of the customer experience he sees first hand). He now refuses (for the time being) to use his i-pod, Mac Mini or MacBook Pro. I think there are legions of people who want to love Apple but use the retail arm…and that nothing but a bad experience that many won’t overlook.