WARNING to all Apple computer users

[allen-uk]

Do you remember Craig Shergold, little lad, dying of cancer, who wanted to receive the Greatest Number of Cards so that he could die happy after getting into the Guinness Book of Bollocks?

All nonsense.

20 years ago in London we used to get a chain-fax every week from BIG names begging us to send the little sod more cards.

I used to reply with a fax of my own which quoted from a newspaper article in which Craig and his mum BEGGED people to stop sending the stupid cards.

My fax had no effect.

The chain-faxes continued, and sack-loads of rubbish continued to clog up their little front door.

MORAL? Don't believe everything that comes through your fax or email line, particularly from herberts who hide behind a name synonymous with Porkers.

A.

PS Didn't ALL Macs from 2002 to 2008 have W8 numbers?

 

[Bokonon]

PS Didn't ALL Macs from 2002 to 2008 have W8 numbers?

A quick survey of the 4 Macs currently sitting on or around my desk show that 3 of them (all Intel) have serial numbers starting W8. The iBook G4 doesn't.

Of the approximately 200 Macs that I support precisely none of them has had this fault with the display, and I reckon I have seen pretty much every known fault on new Macs since Apple's continuing move to building shoddy equipment.

I do have an SE/30 with a vertical line in the display though

 

[Mr Pig]

MORAL? Don't believe everything that comes through your fax or email line, particularly from herberts who hide behind a name synonymous with Porkers.

Did you actually read any of the links I posted, or do a bit of research for yourself before you decided to mouth off?

Update. Apple have now agreed to fix the display and issued us with a one month warranty to allow us to get the work done. They say it is an issue with the parametric memory.

So first phone call, we do not know of a problem.
Second phone call, yes there is a problem but it doesn't include your machine.
Third phone call, ok, we'll fix it.

Their response it determined by how much you already know. It was explaining that we knew that Intel iMacs 'were' effected, after them teling us they were not, that made them turn around. Had we not known about the many others with the same issues they would have done nothing.

How long other effected machines have got I do not know. They may never go wrong, I don't know, but the failure rate does seem very high. What is worrying is that people often report the fault recurring after it has been fixed.

W8 is the factory where the machine is made. The next letter after W8 is the year of manufacture, so W86*** is 2006.

The issues with other Apple displays are unrelated and seem to be down to poor quality screens.

http://www.macnn.com/articles/07/12/19/imac.issues.persist/

 

[allen-uk]

Did you actually read any of the links I posted, or do a bit of research for yourself before you decided to mouth off?

a) My post, scarcely mouthing off, was about an incident that occurred in the 1980s and 90s.

As it affected you, it was about your anonymity, and the Pig/Porker link.

c) If I took ever Internet scare story seriously, I would not get out of bed.

d) If I ever start quoting the Internet as 'sources' (don't make me laugh, I have a sore eye) for anything, please nail down the lid.

e) My iMac is covered by a 3 year warranty, which I find adequate for all real and imaginary problems.

f) My name is Allen, I live in the UK.


A.

 

[Carwash]

d) If I ever start quoting the Internet as 'sources' (don't make me laugh, I have a sore eye) for anything, please nail down the lid.

This implies that all sources of information on the Internet are bogus, which is of course laughable. There are reliable sources on the Internet and unreliable sources (and crazy nutters!), just as there are reliable and unreliable (and crazy) sources in print and other media. The distinction to draw is that the signal to noise ratio on the Internet is much lower than in more traditional media, and it is sometimes harder to reliably ascertain the accuracy of a piece of information. The discerning and critical reader will not be hindered by this too much.

 

[allen-uk]

There are reliable sources on the Internet and unreliable sources (and crazy nutters!), just as there are reliable and unreliable (and crazy) sources in print and other media. The distinction to draw is that the signal to noise ratio on the Internet is much lower than in more traditional media...

Yes, of course you're right, carwash, particularly in your second point. But don't you agree that these days the number and volume of urban myths which start and then spread like wildfire on the internet is becoming alarming, particularly to those of us with a scientific or logical viewpoint? And it just strikes me that once they start to become self-referential in that way, we really are all doomed...

A.

 

[Mr Pig]

Your post was a lot of fiddle mate, just like your next one. You tried to imply this real situation was some kind of Internet silliness and that I am either a liar or an idiot for posting about it. Of course, unlike Carwash, you're probably too arrogant to admit you were wrong, although who really cares?

I'm just off the phone to an approved Apple repair center and I'll get the unit dropped in tomorrow. Unless of course I imagined the whole thing.

Incidentally, Apple did actually ask if I'd tried turning the computer off and back on again! ;0)

 

[alecstilleyedye]

Incidentally, Apple did actually ask if I'd tried turning the computer off and back on again! ;0)

which is ironic as switching the things on and off is the most awkward part of the whole os…

 

[Dan B]

They say it is an issue with the parametric memory.

Interesting. WTF is a parametric memory anyway?

 

[Carwash]

I'm just off the phone to an approved Apple repair center and I'll get the unit dropped in tomorrow. Unless of course I imagined the whole thing.

Glad to hear it's sorted - hopefully that will be the end of it.

 

[andrew-the-tortoise]

I have generally found apple hardware to be average build quality at best, and somewhat overpriced - though aesthetically pleasing and ergonomic.

It's the reliable operating system that gives me loyalty.

But I agree with Mr Pig - this whole issue stinks.

Having worked for companies outsourcing assemblies to China and the far east, it is common knowledge that it can be very difficult to keep tight control on quality, processes and materials used - so it is no surprise Apple have had problems.

 

[Black Sheep]

I would be. If it does fail it will be worth nothing, be unusable very quickly and cost a lot to fix.

You are not the first person to report lines on the secondary display but not on the primary. This may well be a different manifestation of the same fault. When did you lines show up and how many do you have? Once they start they seem to escalate quite quickly.

they've been there for the last two years, they're not dead lines, just noticeable not quite as it ought to be (or is when plugged into a pc) its not got worse tho.

 

[Mr Pig]

WTF is a parametric memory anyway?

I have no idea but didn't want to look stupid by asking! I think it might be next to the triple-furry widgets.

Glad to hear it's sorted - hopefully that will be the end of it.

The words 'chicken' and 'counting' spring to mind! ;0) I'll believe it's fixed once it's fixed. Then I'll need to see what my son thinks about selling it! He won't like that idea.

It's the reliable operating system that gives me loyalty.

I wondered what would happen when Apple adopted Intel chips. You can now run Windows, Linux etc on a Mac and I assumed that you'd soon be able to run the Apple OS on a PC too. Which I believe you can now do, with difficulty. It is likely to be an issue in the future for them I think.

they've been there for the last two years, they're not dead lines, just noticeable not quite as it ought to be

Might be a totally different issue. From what I've gleaned about the primary display lines, once they appear they escalate rapidly, which doesn't sound like your lines. There's probably quite a few things that can cause lines on the display I guess.

 

[johnnyh]

I assumed that you'd soon be able to run the Apple OS on a PC too. Which I believe you can now do, with difficulty.

absolutely no difficulty, although pointless other than to prove a point and wind up the average mac user.

 

[Black Sheep]

Might be a totally different issue. From what I've gleaned about the primary display lines, once they appear they escalate rapidly, which doesn't sound like your lines. There's probably quite a few things that can cause lines on the display I guess.

as I initially said, i think they're due to it being a cheap flat screen that would prefer to be run at a lower resolution and lower refresh rate - i've dropped the refresh rate slightly and its better than it was.

it'll die one day, then i'll replace it with one that doesn't have washed out colour - but it'll do as somewhere to look through files and folders and have my tool pallets to give me more work space on the main screen.