When it comes to jumping on the latest technology bandwagon, I am always the last one on board. Whereas others tend to await the latest product release by the wunderkinds of Silicon Valley with blissful anticipation, I face them with inevitable dread.
I just don’t “get” technology. I barely passed computer science in seventh grade and it’s been an uphill battle ever since. When something goes wrong with my computer or iPod or whatever, there’s never an easy fix. My colleagues, friends, and probably Dell and Mac’s combined support staffs have learned to dread my phone calls begging for help.
But it seems there’s hope for me yet.
Six months ago I reluctantly leased a BMW. I say “reluctantly” because I actually wanted to lease another Acura, the car I previously leased for a blissful trouble-free 39 months. Heck, I would have been happy to buy my old Acura, but the buyout payment was ridiculously prohibitive, especially considering an unbelievable offer a local BMW dealership gave me. Even the Acura salesman agreed the BMW deal was just too good to pass up. So, despite a panic-attack-inducing dashboard full of high-tech bells and whistles, I went with the BMW.
I’m glad I did. Anyone who knows cars knows that BMWs are legendary for their handling. Having spent some time in the driver’s seat, I can confirm that the reputation is well deserved. I haven’t enjoyed driving this much since I first got my driver’s license! Forget “The Ultimate Driving Machine”, BMW’s marketing folks should call it what it really is – “The Ultimate Driving Technology“.
Whereas some people may pride themselves on having a BMW parked in their driveway, I’m not one for “status symbols” so the car means nothing to me on that level. The pride I derive from the car is being able to triumphantly say, believe it or not, that I have mastered its myriad technology operating functions and amenities. I’ve actually figured out how to use all the “extras” on my dashboard. I can listen to my iPod, use the GPS, or talk hands-free on my cellphone without breaking out the driver’s manual or calling my salesman. Remember, I was essentially a Luddite when it came to embracing new technologies so this is a really big deal for me.
There once was a time when I was equally in awe of Apple Computers’ ability to make user-friendly and reliable technologies. Mac computers were once considerably more intuitive and reliable than those of its PC-based rivals, and the company’s tech support staff was equally accessible. Sadly, those days seem resigned to the history books.
I recently was staying away from home for a while in a corporate apartment. The cable Internet connection wasn’t working with my G4 laptop, so I called Apple, thinking that its tech people would be trained to quickly and easily help me with such a basic function. Guess again.
After waiting a good 30 minutes in the Apple tech support queue, I connected with a technician and told him my dilemma. Imagine my shock to be told dismissively that Apple doesn’t support products that are more than three years old (Excuse me? Yeah, that’s a whole other blog post waiting to happen.). After I begged and pleaded, he said Apple would support me “this one time.” I’m sure there was some significant eye-rolling at the other end of the line.
To make a long and rather unpleasant story short, it took the Mac “genius” more than an hour to troubleshoot my problem. Regrettably, he managed to create a host of other problems along the way that he wasn’t able or willing to correct, including disabling the functionality of my Verizon Wireless card. Fortunately, someone at Verizon Wireless was able to get me back up and running within minutes. As Verizon Wireless doesn’t officially support Apple products, the assistance was twice as much appreciated.
My growing disenchantment with Apple isn’t tied to that one incident. About a year ago, the company redesigned its mac.com email program, for which I paid about $100 a year to use. The upgrade was fraught with major hiccups and glitches, including system outages where the site itself would be down, denying users access to their messages. And if you did log on, it would frequently log you off as you were drafting an email, losing whatever you’d written thus far. Emails you thought were sent never went through to the recipient. It was frustrating to say the least.
Other Mac users, including talk show host Rush Limbaugh, report having other problems. Indeed, Mr. Limbaugh recently appealed on air to Apple CEO Steve Jobs for help with a computer problem after failing to get an issue resolved via the company’s tech support desk. Apple’s response? They dispatched an engineer to go work with him. If only the rest of us could get such high-touch, personal customer service.
There is also a broader concern about reliability. Dao, our former creative director who left us to join the Peace Corps, convinced me that she needed an iMac to do her job. Well, guess what? Less than a year later we had to send back the computer because its internal workings were “fried”. Even the new MacBook Dao eventually took with her to Macedonia was infected with gremlins. I believe the tech term would be “Random Shutdown Syndrome.” According to BusinessWeek, problem-plagued Macs are clearly not limited to my little private circle.
Yet Apple continues to enjoy a cult-like following simply because of the lack of formidable competition when it comes to functionality and design. Even I can readily appreciate the superiority of the Mac operating system. And while Apple’s standards for reliability have declined significantly over the past few years, it has never introduced a product as flawed as Microsoft’s Vista operating system, which is so problem-plagued that even Microsoft’s own senior executives have issues with it.
Still, it seems Mr. Jobs is increasingly willing to compromise on the reliability of Apple products in the rush to be first to market. His tolerance of launching “almost good enough” technology is a common mindset in Silicon Valley and the focus of a highly insightful commentary by Stephen Baker in BusinessWeek last September. Technophiles don’t seem to mind the shortcomings and compromises; Dao steadfastly remains a devoted Mac user and sees nothing wrong with needing a software upgrade immediately after buying her laptop. Her successor, Jake, is another devout iPhone-carrying Apple head. (When I told Jake that Apple will no longer support my laptop, he unabashedly replied, “Well you know it is more than three years old.” UGH!!!!!)
Perhaps it’s a generational thing, but I refuse to go along with the “almost good enough” mentality and the constant – and sometimes immediate – need for upgrades after products are introduced. In a way, I blame BMW. My experience with them has taught me that technology can be made both simple and reliable, and explained at a level that even a technophobe can understand. To the best of my knowledge, no one has yet seen the need to publish a “BMW for Dummies.”
Maybe I’m mistaken, but I suspect that if BMW decided to make computers, their engineers and designers would adhere to much higher performance and service standards than those currently demanded by Mr. Jobs. And the folks at BMW could no doubt give Mr. Jobs a hell-of-a-run on the marketing front. Ah yes, dare to dream…
The thought of BMW making computers might sound absurd today, but who would have thought just a few years ago that Mr. Jobs would one day be peddling music and cell phones. Suffice to say, Mr. Jobs had better hope that my dream never becomes his reality.
Okay, you die-hard Appleheads who blindly worship Mr. Jobs, give me your best shot.
3:07 pm
How true. How true. Apple’s products are beautiful and deeply flawed. One of our Apple laptops required THREE replaced motherboards before Apple admitted it was a lemon and replaced it. Another laptop required two new hard drives.
Me, I’ll stick with my Thinkpad, which I’ve carried around the world, dropped from a 5 foot shelf, and which has required just one new display (after the crash) after four years of daily abuse.
I hate XP but I love my Thinkpad. Oh, and for you financial types, don’t even think of using Excel on the Mac. It sucks!
5:03 pm
The problem I have with articles like this is that they are usually sparse on details and usually feature examples that barely support the primary thesis. I’m sad to see that your article falls into both categories.
Apple couldn’t get your Verizon Wireless card to work, but Verizon could? OH MY GOD, stop the presses! Verizon fixed their own hardware when Apple couldn’t! What’s the probability of that happening!
And okay, .Mac seems to suck as a service, but then you go on to cite Rush Limbaugh, who was having a problem with his e-mail as if his problem is representative of an epidemic? 1 person does not an epidemic make.
And your friend has an iMac that got burned out. Could we have a bit more information? Did she have it connected to a surge protector? Does she understand what a surge protector is? Did she leave it outside in a rain storm in the middle of the Amazon? No? So there was spontaneous combustion? That’s your explanation?
And the biggest thing that annoys me about articles written like this is that the writer almost always has a laptop. Before I even started reading, I said to myself, this guy has a laptop, I can just smell it. 15 percent of laptops have a hardware failure in the first year, the biggest failure rate in the computer industry. That’s the nature of the portable market, especially when computers have components that were not designed to be moved (like hard drives). If you guys would get a real computer, like I don’t know, a Mac Pro, perhaps you would have a better experience.
But then, in your concluding paragraphs, you go on to complain how “apple’s standards for reliability have declined significantly” without providing any real evidence from third parties. What no warnings from Consumer Reports or Popular Mechanics? Business Week is a, you know, business magazine. And then you insult an entire user base by referring to them as a cult (I’m sure my nine-year-old iMac using niece would agree with you) and then brace yourself for the terrifying attack that is sure to ensue.
Oh, how very mature of you. You generalize and insult 25 million Apple users and then take a macho stance, daring the “cult-like” menace to come here and increase your page count. You’re so brave.
1:45 pm
I was wondering when your next blog would be a rant against Apple :)
Just to clarify to readers about the gremlins that my laptop suffered:
When I found out I was moving abroad for Peace Corps, I knew the one thing I could not do without is a MacBook. But like all first generational technologies, my MacBook suffered “a” gremlin. Just one. It needed a firmware update which could be easily downloaded from Apple’s site. A quick fix. However, as I was living in a village at the time, I did not have Internet connection. So yes, I was very frustrated and yes, I cursed Apple for my laptop randomly shutting down.
When I finally moved to my permanent site, I took my laptop to an Apple reseller and they installed the firmware update for me. Apple paid the tab. Since then (it’s been over a year) my laptop has been working perfectly. I love it. I use it in my volunteer work writing grants, designing brochures, creating budgets, etc. (by the way–Excel on Mac isn’t all that great because Excel is Microsoft).
My MacBook has kept me sane, assuaged my pangs of homesickness, been my main source of entertainment. It’s kept me connected to family and friends. I watch my 6-month-old nephew play and laugh. I download new music and movies off of iTunes. Until it became free on Comedy Central, I kept up to date on “real” news by downloading The Daily Show and The Colbert Report thanks to my sister’s very generous iTunes giftcard. I listen to PBS podcasts, and when I had the shingles in my eye and had to keep them closed for almost a week, I downloaded audiobooks.
If I was stuck on a dessert island (with electricity) and could bring one thing, it would be my MacBook. If my apartment caught on fire, and I could grab one thing, it would be my MacBook. If I was joining Peace Corps and moving to a developing country for 27 months, I would bring a MacBook. You get the picture.
Eric, your computer might be more than four years old. That’s ancient. I don’t think Apple’s the only computer company to not provide support for computers that old.
For those thinking about joining Peace Corps, I say go for it. It truly is a life-changing experience. But make sure to bring along a laptop — preferably an Apple.
1:49 pm
woops, spelled “desert” wrong.
9:13 pm
AppleCare phone support is complimentary for three years with the extended protection… you can still get it after three years, but it’s paid support. It’s not lifetime free phone support… and I can’t think of one technology company that offers that. Not understanding this makes the rest of the details of your article rather suspect.
8:17 am
Regretfully, Hamilton, it is you that is mistaken. Apple won’t support computers more than three years old, even if you offer to pay — at least that’s what the AppleCare rep I spoke with told me.