Apple computers suck now

[drealm]

I switched to using apple computers in 2007 because everything about them made my life easier. The computers worked and I didn't need to spend time tinkering with them. They had a 1-800 number printed in their instruction manuals in easy to find places. If you called them you got a technical support person without needing to go through menus or transfers. The stores were a breeze to walk into. No appointments were required and sales people would immediately walk up to you.

Today in 2014 it's a nightmare. I spent 2 hours today trying to turn on a new mac pro. Their stupid wireless keyboard would not "pair" with the computer. Useless. So I look in the instruction manual for a 1-800 number to call and ask how to turn on this new paper weight. There's no number. They put their number on their website. How does that help me if I can't connect to the internet? Luckily I have a second computer and phone. So I go to their website and stumble through 10 different menus until finally I unlock a 1-800 number by providing some personal information.

I call up and need to go through 10 different voice authorized selections. If I say something wrong I'm locked in and need to start again. You can usually reach a human by pressing "0" or saying "operator" to bypass this ridiculous menu but neither work. Once I reach the final selection I'm put on hold and listen to static music blaring in my ear. I want to turn the volume down but then I won't be able to hear when a technician answers. Wonderful.

I get a hold of the technician and he says the keyboard is broken. This is the first dud I've ever gotten from apple. So I go back to the apple store and exchange for a wired keyboard. There's no dedicated register there to buy stuff anymore. Instead you need to walk up to a sales person and tell them you want to buy something. All of them ignore you. They either stand around at the front door or act busy like they're working on some scheduled appointment. For handling a simple exchange I had to wait 10 minutes.

So I get home plug in the wired keyboard and it works fine. Now I need to migrate data from my old computer to new computer with a cord. I did this once before a few years ago and it was a breeze. As luck would have it the sales people give me the wrong cord. So I drive back to the apple store and buy the correct cord. Again I need to wait fifteen minutes for an exchange.

So I get home hoping the problem is solved. I learn that you need start the migration in a specific sequence and click through screens on both computers. When I did it last time I was migrating data from a computer with a broken screen to a new computer. And even in this worst scenario it was a breeze. I only need to click prompts on one computer, which still allowed me to extract data from a computer with a dead screen.

After going through the prompts with the correct cord I learn that I need a mouse attached to both computers. I can't just alternate mouses or else it crashes the transfer. So I avoid apple and drive to best buy to buy a second mouse. Now I have the right cord and two mouses connected. I do the correct sequence and right as I start the process the transfer crashes since the computer's OS isn't up to date. This never mattered in the past. They were completely backwards compatible. I wait half an hour for it to update and restart.

So I update the old computer to the newest version and try the transfer again. Now the old computer's OS is more up to date than the new computer I just unboxed. So now I need to update the new computer's OS. I wait half an hour again for update and restart.

After all of this I try transferring data one last time. It starts transferring and then gets frozen with no progress...

I managed to extracted the data successfully another way.

Apple was the best technology company in the world. Now they're just marginally better than everyone else.

[fschmidt]

Welcome to the modern world. Modern technology absolutely sucks.

[sea_dragon]

You should try a Linux distro like Slackware or ArchLinux, or even build your own distro from scratch.

[Jester]

Two smartest tech guys I know are furious with tech companies.



But it does make me feel better!

[E Irizarry R&B Singer]

I have a PC (with IBM parts obviously) using Linux Ubuntu OS (x64). Great OS. Better than Windows 7 Ultimate (x64) I had on it, and it runs more efficiently.

It even runs old Windows NTFS partitons so I didn't have to wipe them out when my main root kernel that Windows 7 Ultimate was installed on failed. Autodefrag...with Windows, it had to be manually set! #@$#@%

[fschmidt]

You should try a Linux distro like Slackware or ArchLinux, or even build your own distro from scratch.

Linux is part of the problem. The Linux guys see screwing around with computers as a form of entertainment, a hobby. So Linux isn't actually usable by normal users. The only usable form of Unix ever developed is Apple's OS X. But like everything in the modern world, it is decaying.

[MrPeabody]

I stay away from proprietary architectures like Apple. You get much more value for your money with computers based on an open architecture. I even got a Sony Walkman instead of an IPod for listening to mp3s. The ipod software makes it a laborious pain in the ass to upload mp3s that aren't sold by apple, whereas I just plug the Sony into my computer and get access to the folder where I can copy the mp3s. If anything difficult needs to be done with the computer, I just give it to the computer repair which is cheap in Mexico.

[publicduende]

I have had a MacBook Pro for about 3.5 years. Intel i7 processor, 8 GB RAM, recently fitted 128GB SSD drive. It's not my main development machine, but it's more than sufficient to run demos of the stuff I build to client, do occasional development/tweaks and obviously general productivity and multimedia.

I bought it because, at least at the time (June 2011), it was simply the best build, sturdier and one of the best endowed laptops on the market. I did not care about the typical Apple premium, of about £200 over a first-tier brand (HP, Lenovo, Asus, etc.) of comparable technical specs.

As soon as I bought it, I wiped the HD of anything Apple and installed Windows 7. I never bought any Apple app or tool again. Lots of people I know, especially developers, have done the same with their MacBook Pros. Two of them have gone to the extreme of shipping the original MacOS DVDs to Apple in a final act of indignity

Apple hardware and Apple software are usually sold as one indivisible thing. Luckily, this does not apply on their PC segment products (iMac/MacBook), which appears quite obvious since it is their weakest area in terms of innovation and plain profits.

[Jester]

Lotta talent on this forum.

[E Irizarry R&B Singer]

You should try a Linux distro like Slackware or ArchLinux, or even build your own distro from scratch.

Linux is part of the problem. The Linux guys see screwing around with computers as a form of entertainment, a hobby. So Linux isn't actually usable by normal users. The only usable form of Unix ever developed is Apple's OS X. But like everything in the modern world, it is decaying.

You're right for the most part except that Linux is not for the faint of heart nor for your typical American alas the lack of Americans whom use it. Linux is used in the US of Gay, but it's more popular in Canada among other English commonwealths among other non-English nations.