The Mac Lounge forum: Decline & Fall of the iMac?

Hey Dan, I'm happy for you! Sounds like you've had great experiences. Customers should always stick where they're happy. That's the way the system works. Some would suggest that it's my duty as the customer to be happy with whatever Apple makes, but rather the reverse, Apple should be making the customers happy.

I also appreciate the hospitable way that you can disagree unlike some self-styled "superior intellects" who hide behind screens to talk tougher on the web than they'd ever dare in real life. That's never impressed me much.

My experience has been different with this machine. At the time, I bought it, my PC friends could get machines with at least a Works versions of MS, and did. Apple's decision not to bundle any real word processor actually propelled me into full-fledged Office because, as I said, the good boss provides!

However, I think even Apple realized that was a HUGE marketing blunder because I keep hearing from all the happy Apple customers later got iWorks bundled. Do you think I wouldn't have paid another $70 for this machine at the point-of-purchase? In for a penny, in for a pound. What galled me to was the sneaky way that they promoted a machine as bundling all the basics?then leaving me with just a rich-text-file editor as a "word processor." I've made maybe a handful of movies with this machine, and I'm no musician, BUT I've composed many many reams of copy. It shouldn't have taken a "superior intellect" to foresee the results.

Apple actually prepped me to go out the door! Every time I've pulled up an old Claris or Apple file, I've saved it as a .doc, which is instantly more compatible with 90 percent of the people with whom I correspond. I no longer get e-mails saying, "could you send that in some other format?" Even after Apple began bundling iWorks with later machines at no extra cost, it never went back and retrieved those early-adopter customers it chose to orphan or double-charge, by giving only "30-day" versions. I'm not complaining about that, per se, I just see it as a marketing error. I suspect MOST Apple customers don't become Steven Spielberg or Kurt Cobain on buying an iMac. I suspect MOST actually use their machine mostly for web browsing and word processing. So marketing a machine without real wp was definitely their choice, but not a very good one, or they would have stuck with it.

In fact, some above have criticized me by saying it's a cold-cruel-competitive world now, and I should have known what I was buying, blah, blah, and that I would have gotten no better bundling with a PC. They actually made my point. I never said PCs are always better for everybody. Far from it. I said don't trust Apple will give you what you want. Check it out. Compare. Look up reliability ratings that sort of thing. Maybe a PC with a really good Samsung monitor, and an aftermarket back-up drive, would really suit some people's needs best. I realize that's heresy for some of the Apple fanatics, but there it is.

That said, my problem now is with an acknowledged manufacturing defect not some random unpredictable event. When I called Apple and later went to my Apple dealer?I was told I was on my own. They knew they'd made a lemon. But I was off warranty and would have to eat it. How's that for a corporate value? As I've since found out, they made good for other complainers. I guess they've realized not owning up to their mistakes isn't exactly a good marketing decision?or they would have stuck with that one too. A proper recall doesn't just take care of just the squeakiest wheels?it takes care of all the affected customers.

Also, to the young man who suggested I should have put this machine on e-Bay, I suppose you're rich? Or maybe your parents buy all your stuff? My situation is somewhat different. When I save to buy a quality product, I expect it to LAST. If it doesn't, I walk. Apple first showed me the door and I didn't walk through it because it made economic sense to make do?and the boss came through. But when it comes to replacing the machine? That's a WAY different story. Don't just trust, folks. Shop around.

Happy Trails to All!