Apple iMac Display Problems Reported

[muk]

Owners of 20 and 24 inch iMacs have reported problems with their iMac displays. Apple has not acknowledged any problems.

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/11/27/apple_imac_display_problems_reported/index.html

 

[leo2kp]

Typical LCD. I was watching a video on one of my friend's XPS laptops - brand new - and from my viewing angle it was completely inverted just like what happened to the screen on Youtube. Once I stood up to a normal angle it was fine. I have the same issue on my Viewsonic 19" LCD and I've seen it on others including the $350 19" Viewsonic LCD monitor I have at work, but maybe it's not so noticeable at such small angles like the Apple one. I think it's more of a quality issue than a "defect".

 

[pip_seeker]

yeah but in Mac wonderland everything "just works" and looks lovely no matter what.

Apple: is in the business of selling idiot machines as they know the majority of the people out there barely know how to screw in a light bulb let alone set the clock on the microwave.

But when even an idiot can't get it to work properly??? who is the idiot now? lol.

ding, ding, ding.... johnny open door number two and show 'em what they've won!!!

oops nothing it's a check made out to Apple in the sum of 15 billion $$.

mmmwhahahaha.

 

[crom]

The thing I find disturbing is that a company like Apple has been either censoring it's own customers complaints, or just ignoring them. From these screens, to the Seagate hard drives in the Macbooks, to the bugs in Leopard. The "alternate" company seems to be even more close minded and user unfriendly than Microsoft.

 

[TSIMonster]

Typical cheap LCD issue. Sounds like they used 6 bit(?) panels.

P.S.- All corporations are evil, and in my opinion, MS is the lesser of the 2 when comparing them with apple.

P.S.S. - I sure wish Linux gaming was a bit better.

 

[WhiskyTangoFoxtrot]

Owners of 20 and 24 inch iMacs have reported problems with their iMac displays. Apple has not acknowledged any problems.

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/11/27/apple_imac_display_problems_reported/index.html

Can you rotate the screen like a PC? I'd try to flip it 180 degrees to see if it's a monitor problem or a signal problem. If it's in the same area on a flip, it's the monitor.

I wonder if Apple will be adding their own little glitches to their commercials......not that I'm any fan of Vista

 

[razor512]

this is a common with apple, each year they cut back on the quality on their products.

the problem with fading color has to do with the back light and the shape of the screen,

if you look at a quality LCD and a cheap one, you will see that the surface of the screen has a different shape, this shape is design ti fight against the poor vertical viewing angle of LCD's

the shape is usually like a concave mirror, this is because as you change your viewing angle, the brightness and color values also change so they design then in a way that provides the most even color possible
for the recommended viewing angle

the back light is also positioned in a way that allows for an even amount of brightness, cheaper LCD's don't have the precision in their design ass you will find in higher quality ones, the same mostly goes with apple

when you buy something prebuilt instead of building it your self, the quality is greatly reduced as the company is trying to make the max amount of profits by keeping the prices as high as possible, while reducing production cost.

most items built today are more fragile than items built 10 years ago.

and since you cant buy all the parts and build your own mac, most of the parts are coming from one place so theres no real competition for quality.

if they allowed you to install your own LCD, the quality would be better because there would be hundreds of companies all fighting to get you to pick their monitor, so if one company decided to reduce the quality, no one would buy their product as people will just buy the better quality item from their competitors

with apple, your locked into a few select companies in which they have a monopoly over the hardware and if they decide to make their crap, people are still going to buy it because thats the only company.


look at this video from the screensavers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWWB6FVNKcA

on this ancient mac, after hitting it multiple times with a steel baseball bat, he was unable to destroy the case, only break some of the plastic and put a few dents, until he opened it then the real damage started to the case try doing this with the new macs (also try doing this to the new DELL pc's just for fun)


all companies reduce their quality over time, but with apple it is more rapid since they have a monopoly

 

[echofoxtrot]

As someone who has never liked apple b/c of their trendiness over functionality, this should be a hay day for me lately. It seems that most of my friends (non power users) prefer macs, so I have been giving them a good romping over these past issues (leopard bugs etc.)

But now its just sad! I sent my friends a battery of emails talking about all these issues and they just ignore them and talk about how great their faded screen, bugged macs are! To me thats just stupid--DON'T STAND BEHIND A COMPANY BLINDLY! If they are selling you a bad product, I dont care how much it is uncool to break the smug, give apple some hell! OR they will continue to go downhill as far as quality b/c they know their userbase will buy any crap they release!

wow-- I can't believe I just gave apple fans some advice! I must be getting old.

 

[nukemaster]

The screens do not look like a "Defect" but more like a cheap screen(something apple lived on for years..guess the days of good screens are over for them....). I do not get perfect color either, but not that bad.....that could certainly put a damper on Photoshop use....

As far as it does i hope they get all the bad publicity they can.....after all there commercials are just so dumb its not even funny any more. There are lots of vista users who are happy. The first SP should smooth things over for most of the rest.

Its always nice to see mac locking there own customers threads.....As much as i do not like future shop. I am willing to bet i could bring back a mac with less hassle then the apple store...

 

[Houndsteeth]

Why all this hostility? Why is everyone out to "bash Apple"? Did they piss in someone's Cheerios this morning?

I can understand wanting to watch out for the poor misguided consumer, but not everyone out there buys into the Microsoft Windows camp. If I am going to buy a computer for my grandmother, I am not going to buy her a Windows box that will be full of all kinds of craptastic malware within a month that I will have to clean off. Nor will I set her up with a Linux/Unix option that has her going to the CLI just to do mundane, everyday operations (she's not that kind of user). I am going to set her up with a computer that I know (a) she can use (b) I don't have to "clean up" every month and (most importantly) (c) she can call a toll free number for technical support instead of calling my cell phone.

And Apple isn't just for the unwashed computer ignorant. How many other major manufacturers can you name right off the top of your head ship a laptop that comes preloaded with Unix? Yep, OS X is BSD Unix. I can open a terminal and do anything I want to with Bash. It comes with Perl already preinstalled, as is Apache, and MySQL is installed within a few clicks (from the developer disc). And I don't have to sacrifice my iTunes catalog while I am developing.

I won't apologize for Apple. Yes, Apple has some quality issues. Just like any other large corporation, they will have them. But I rely on the knowledge that Apple also values the public perception of their company, so they will "do the right thing" and make sure that their customers are satisfied.

However terrible you may find the bugs in Leopard, they pale in comparison to the issues that Microsoft is dealing with in Vista, and Microsoft has had much longer to bring their product to store shelves than Apple. How many people who have upgraded to Leopard successfully can honestly say that it wasn't an upgrade over the previous operating system? Now, (just like me) how many people who upgraded to Vista from XP can say the same thing? I thought so...

 

[sezyboy]

Why all this hostility? Why is everyone out to "bash Apple"? Did they piss in someone's Cheerios this morning?

It is the same hostility that has been bashing Microsoft for a long time. The bashing helps people be aware of any sneaking crap that goes along with Apple or Microsoft. It is just very ironic that Apple fans are basically denying things (or being censored). The issue is to bring this to light and not allow the same thing to be repeated. It is actually helping Apple.

Yes, Apple has some quality issues. Just like any other large corporation, they will have them. But I rely on the knowledge that Apple also values the public perception of their company, so they will "do the right thing" and make sure that their customers are satisfied.

Just like any other large corporation? We should not be taking that BS. If their values of public perception includes censoring and not taking responsibility then basically its a waste of time to wait for something good to happen.

However terrible you may find the bugs in Leopard, they pale in comparison to the issues that Microsoft is dealing with in Vista,

Except that you have to consider that microsoft is dealing with a higher degree of variation of hardware to software interoperability and with Apple they less hardware variations to deal with.

In the end i want apple to come out and give something for everyone but they have to be slapped now before they get too cocky.

 

[Luscious]

Why all this hostility? Why is everyone out to "bash Apple"? Did they piss in someone's Cheerios this morning?

ANY LEGITIMATE COMPANY that values its customers and doesn't want to lose future revenue will acknowledge a product defect and/or quality issue and either correct or recall the affected units.

Apple then locked the thread,

The unmistakable signs of an emerging fascist dictatorship. We used to live in a free world, now we are being controlled by corporations. I guess when thousands of customers complain, the customer is STILL WRONG.

 

[leo2kp]

I think people are badmouthing Apple because they make themselves out to be better than every other company out there in every aspect, especially quality. And this just proves that they're wrong. They ARE like every other company out there, as you've said, but they don't want you to believe it. They're finding out that they too can have problems in their software, like Microsoft, they can't have complete stability if they're going to support a broader range of software and hardware, like Microsoft, and that people WILL find ways to plant a virus on your beautiful rig as long as they have a reason to. Now they do. And it's happening. Apple refuses to admit that maybe Microsoft isn't the crappy software maker after all and if Apple wants to keep their perfect, trouble-free, user-friendly image, they're simply going to have to stop trying to take market share from Microsoft, which is bad business so they can't do that. The further forward they move, the more they look like their competitor and the fanboys out there are going to shat their pants because Apple will turn in to an equally viable option rather than the poster-child of stability and beauty. I reckon soon we'll start seeing Apple Tuesdays, service packs, and just as many articles on OS-X issues that we see about Vista or any other MS OS. Buying a computer will soon be all about interface preference. That's it. :-/

BTW they poo'd in my Coco Pebbles and now I'm pissed.

 

[pip_seeker]

Why all this hostility? Why is everyone out to "bash Apple"? Did they piss in someone's Cheerios this morning?

Have you seen a Mac tv commercial lately?


Very hard to cook in the kitchen when you can't stand the heat. LOL.

 

[Houndsteeth]

Why all this hostility? Why is everyone out to "bash Apple"? Did they piss in someone's Cheerios this morning?

ANY LEGITIMATE COMPANY that values its customers and doesn't want to lose future revenue will acknowledge a product defect and/or quality issue and either correct or recall the affected units.

Apple then locked the thread,

The unmistakable signs of an emerging fascist dictatorship. We used to live in a free world, now we are being controlled by corporations. I guess when thousands of customers complain, the customer is STILL WRONG.

Um, I think I addressed this. How much time do you give a company to gather consumer data, find out what the cause of the problem is, and then issue either a recall notice, or a notice for consumers to bring their computers in for repair? How much time is legitimate? Two days? A month? If the issue is serious enough to warrant a recall, I would expect Apple to do the right thing. Otherwise, the repairs/replacements would be on a case-by-case basis, and I doubt Tom's Hardware has a wide enough sampling yet to determine just what kind of job Apple is doing in taking care of their customers at this time.

And yes, they locked threads on THEIR forums hosted on THEIR servers. It's not a fascist dictatorship. It is, in fact, a point of ownership. They locked the threads. Did they delete them? So, if they aren't deleted, they are still in the forum? People have had their say, then. Who knows why their moderators locked the threads. But it is completely within their rights to lock THEIR threads on THEIR forums hosted on THEIR servers, right? If they were locking threads on someone else's forums (or taking legal action to do so) then I would have serious issues with this. But moderating their own forums? That is their legal right. Even deleting the threads are within their legal rights.

 

[tytech]

Typical cheap LCD issue. Sounds like they used 6 bit(?) panels.

P.S.- All corporations are evil, and in my opinion, MS is the lesser of the 2 when comparing them with apple.

P.S.S. - I sure wish Linux gaming was a bit better.

All corporations aren't evil, just the ones that have crummy products and service Apple up to this point has had solid products (although I much prefer PC's for various reasons) and decent customer care. Most manufacturers, even the best, have had various problems with their products from time to time. This is nothing new. What I find troubling is the thread censorship and manipulation. Now that's evil. Shutting out your customers is never a good thing.

I also find it funny that Tom's Hardware has taken it upon themselves to destroy the Apple empire with these weekly Apple updates. Don't get me wrong, the computer industry needs the info, I just think the articles almost have a personal tone to them...which is great!

 

[TheCount]

I own one of the new 20" iMacs and haven't had any problems with the display. It looks much better than my older 19" ViewSonic LCD, and whether doing document work, photo editing or gaming, I haven't noticed any issues with image quality.

 

[echofoxtrot]

to houndsteeth--

"How many other major manufacturers can you name right off the top of your head ship a laptop that comes preloaded with Unix"


isnt the new asus eee laptop cheaper, easy to use, and based on a linux platform? call grandma back and send her an eee! the screen might be small but its easier to see without all the congestion of smug and bad lcd screens!


buuuuuuurn.

ps. I am only playing around, it was just too easy to make this comment, hopefully you will take it as a joke.

 

[crom]

And yes, they locked threads on THEIR forums hosted on THEIR servers. It's not a fascist dictatorship. It is, in fact, a point of ownership. They locked the threads. Did they delete them? So, if they aren't deleted, they are still in the forum?

It shows that the company is unwilling to allow the community to work within itself to work out and identify issues, and have Apple interact with that community. Sure it's their forums, but the issue at hand is that Apple doesn't want any bad press for corners they have cut. It's as simple as that. "It just works." No, it really doesn't.

 

[jjblanche]

Every article of Tony Celeste's I've read involve disdain for Apple products. From what I've gathered, the problems with Apple are not in-house. Rather, they stem from ATI graphics cards and inadequate Seagate hard drives (ie: nothing that Apple could have predicted).

Furthermore, the vast majority have only positive things to say about the new iMac/Macbook. However, the only thing you'll hear on internet forums is the negative. No one with a solid machine is going to waste a post extolling its greatness.

Celeste's other article, regarding Leopard, is just ridiculous (I especially love the photo-shopped blue screen on the iMac...what, couldn't reproduce it in the lab, Tony?). The issues he cites are relatively obscure, and--need I remind everyone--Leopard was released about a month ago. Why aren't there articles about Vista, which still has notable issues and was released, what, over a year ago? Is it because Microsoft incompetence is taken for granted?

I'm not bothering to write this post just because someone has dared to call Apple into question. Far from it: I understand Apple is not flawless. However, the way these articles are presented, and the fact that it's one negative after another, makes me question whether or not Tom's Hardware is operating with a bias. Given that Celeste has authored all these masterpieces, I'm inclined to believe it's a case of one hack junketeer preaching to the choir.

 

[echofoxtrot]

i thought they said that they tested other graphics cards (not just the embedded ati) and the problem remained.

don't hate on the red!

 

[jjblanche]

With an Apple, you must use stock hardware. Using other graphics cards outside of stock will create problems. Thus, if this test was conducted (which I doubt) it would prove nothing, and, if anything, make the situation more convoluted.

I'm not "hating" on ATI; they have some very nice products, especially the new HD 3870. However, everyone knows the drivers they write are crap. The drivers they wrote for Apple were doubly so.

 

[Houndsteeth]

The Asus laptop only solves part (b). Can she use Linux? Ubuntu is getting a lot closer than just about any other distro out there, but it still is not quite there yet. At least not at the same level as OS X. Maybe as good as Windows. And I doubt that Asus is going to have a support center set up to deal with issues my granma might have with hooking up a printer to her computer, where Apple will support just about everything through AppleCare.

As for me using an Asus laptop in my work...let's just say, "I'd rather not" after having to deal with Asus on other technical issues when my mainboard went belly up last year. Took three months before I finally got an RMA finalized and returned, and that was me paying shipping both ways. I'll stick with my MacBook Pro that I can take into the Apple Store down the road and have back within three days.

For alot of the work I do, it just makes sense for me to do it all on one platform rather than hopping from Windows to Linux to Unix and back again. And Apple has made this a lot easier for me. It might not work for other folks, and to each their own. But why be bitter towards a company who has created a better product than the competition? I'm not saying perfect, but it is far and away better than any other complete product out there that is currently shipping and offering full support for their product.

And for the record, I have a water cooled E6700 running at 4.1 Ghz that I regularly play games with (crossfired X1950 XTXs, but will be upgrading to HD X3870 in the January timeframe). This is the platform I play games on. I have spent about twice as much money on this boxen than I have spent on my MacBook Pro and Mac Pro, and the work I did on the Macs has paid for all of them.

 

[robd007]

i love how this website is ripping apart apple on every **** thing they do wrong. its great!

 

[echofoxtrot]

JJBLaanche-- Ati hasnt put out perfect drivers, but for versatility of use i will go red over green any day of the week. (and for stability too).

Hound-
Sweet rig, can't push my memory past 830mhz right now so im locked down with my 6320 @ 2.9 right now. Just got a 3870 and i like it. a lot.

Fact one- asus support sucks. Fact two-Macs generally work well. thats their reputation.

it just makes me laugh when lemming-like consumers blindly attach themselves to companies--who's sole point of being is to make a profit. This isnt bad--just life.

But when said company screws the pooch on a product then, as a consumer, you must call them out on it. Companies no longer maintain reputations based on years of solid products, as the only product that matters was the one relased today--If its good, buy it, if its bad, don't buy it.
that keeps companys putting out good products, not a loyal customer base.