Don't buy a mac from an apple store, just don't

[CubaTBird]

Wow, what a bad experience I just had over the past two days just to get a 12 inch ibook. Yesterday I show up around 5 o'clock at my local apple store and proceed to purchase a 12 inch ibook with a ram upgrade so the ram would come out to be a total of 768. I talk to this guy and he tells me they have the 12 inch in stock and it would be about 45min for him to install the ram upgrade at the store. I say okay, and I leave the store. 45 min later I come back, and that guy is nowhere to be seen! I got his name thankfully, and told this other sales rep who helped me just 45 min ago. She found him after 10 min of waiting and then he comes back to me with the laptop with the memory. I tell him I printed out a copy of a finance loan so I can pay for the ibook that way. He then states I need to contact my bank for "verification". I use their phone, BUT THE BANK IS FREAKIN' CLOSED! I go home ibook less. Today, I go back to the store at 11, and ask for the ibook with the memory. New guy this time, I havn't seen him before, I tell him my ordeal from yesterday and he gets me a new ibook with the added 512 ram chip. I go and finance it, the bank thing was all figured out already, and I notice that the ram online is,LOL!, 100 dollars less than in the store! He says its for some whatever reason, I dunno. I go ahead with the deal and then notice the ram he is using to put in the ibook is PC 2700..... Isn't the ibook PC 2100??!?!? Whatever I say, and don't tell him anything. Now I wait for a freakin' hour and HOPE that when I go back this afternoon EVERYTHING works swell and im NOT turned back for like the 4th time in two days. :mad:

[jsw]

I've bought two Macs (17" 800MHz iMac and dual-2 G5) from the Apple Store in Rockingham Mall, Salem, NH.

I've been very pleased on both occasions with the service I received, and the one time I had an issue, the folks at the Genius Bar were utterly professional.

However, I've seen lots of reports that not all Apple Stores are alike. Also, the Apple Store in Salem has had its share of, well, the less-than-qualified. The difference is that the management team there seems to get rid of the bad ones pretty quickly.

I'm at the mall a lot (my daughter loves to run around there, and the Apple Store is one of the few places I can be sane and she can be happy playing on the eMacs for a while). I know the "good" and "bad" employees. However, as with any retail outlet, you take your chances going into any of them.

I am sorry to hear of your problems, and I hope they get resolved suitably. Best of luck, and I wish you joy with your new purchase - assuming you actually can make one!

[Sun Baked]

Don't buy/finance memory from Apple -- it's always more expensive than 3rd party RAM, and you're making it more expensive with the interest payments.

They gave you FASTER memory than was required, won't cause any problems.

[MacDawg]

My experiences with the Apple Store in Georgia at Lenox Square have always been very positive. I bought my 17" iMac there with a Canon Scanner, and an Epson printer along with a Canon digital camera, all at one shot. The sales reps were professional and knowledgeable. Later, I returned and bought an iPod... same experience. In fact, 2 mos later when my iPod went belly up, I went back to the Genius Bar and had a new iPod in about 20 minutes.

I like being able to go and be hands on with the equipment with people that at least have some knowledge. My experiences at CompUSA on Mt. Zion in Morrow, GA were horrible. Half the time the stuff there wasn't working, and nobody knew anything about Macs, and worse, they didn't want to help in anyway.

I've bought online from MacMall and MacWarehouse before, without any problems either. Always supported well. Guess I've been lucky with my experiences.

Guess it all depends on the store, but I'd recommend the one at Lenox.

Hope it all gets straightened out for you.

[CubaTBird]

Well im off to the store now... When I get back hopefully I'll be able to make my reply post on my new mac! :o

[ITR 81]

Just ordered a 2.5 G5 and a 15inch iMac 1.0 G4 and a 17inch display..all with AppleCare.

I get a edu discount so when comparing new Mac prices with MacMall and others I still came out better since they all charge to install the ram.

I got 1GB in the G5 and 512MB in the iMac.

I got a discount on the iMac ram, but paid abit more for the G5's ram. I however am receiving the $300 rebate off the 17inch display.

I don't mind changing ram in my computers but I really don't want to f up my warranty on my new G5 and iMac...so soon into the game.

[MacFan26]

Well im off to the store now... When I get back hopefully I'll be able to make my reply post on my new mac! :o

Good luck!

My dad got his 17" iMac at the Biltmore store and everything worked great for him. They even wheeled it out to his car for him. The only time I've had a problem at the store was when my mom took her iBook in and the guy at the Genius bar didn't know what to do, so she had to check it in. It ended up just needing the logic board replacement that a lot of the iBooks needed. I would have thought the guy would have known about that by then. Oh well :rolleyes:

[wide]

the people at the genius bar (in NYC at least) are complete ***holes!! the woman who helped me had a hangover and took about an hour just to print out a receipt for my replacement iPod mini (i got static). unbelievable experience. why should i have to deal with a "genius" who isn't smart enough to be polite to her customers? i plan on ordering every mac product i ever buy online. there is simply no reason to go to the stores unless you need a computer immediately or you want to test out the computers.

it was only the genius bar though, most of the other people were nice. apple also needs to get their in-store support back into shape. there is no reason why someone should have to wait three hours just to get their iPod mini fixed. i had to talk to the manager to get ahead in line--all i need is a mini and a receipt. that would take a lazy person under five minutes, but instead it took a "genius" an hour...

[CubaTBird]

Wow! :D What a wonderful machine! I got to the store and some other lady had it all set for me. I am typing this post on my new ibook as we speak. I checked the system profile and it shows the 768 ram as expected, however the 512 chip the technician installed for me was pc 2700.... Thats okay, right? Oh yeah, I have the ibook hooked to my 19 inch crt and the desktop screen is duplicated on it! Sweet! Apple makes truly great machines/software... Their sales staff, ehhh..... :o

[MacFan26]

I checked the system profile and it shows the 768 ram as expected, however the 512 chip the technician installed for me was pc 2700.... Thats okay, right?

Glad you're enjoying your new machine! There shouldn't be a problem with the ram, happy they were able to install it for you. :D

[solvs]

Glad this turned out good for you. Sometimes you get a good employee, sometimes, not so much... But yeah, the 2700 will work fine, but probably at 2100 speeds. No biggie (and better if you want to upgrade later, but want to keep the RAM).

If you want dual displays instead of just mirroring, there is a hack out there that should work. It's software, so it doesn't void the warranty.

Good luck! :D

[jsw]

If you want dual displays instead of just mirroring, there is a hack out there that should work. It's software, so it doesn't void the warranty.

Here (http://www.rutemoeller.com/mp/ibook/ibook_e.html) is where you can find that hack. Works quite well with my iMac. Should work fine with your iBook. Enjoy!

[CubaTBird]

You guys, it is dual displays, I don't need a hack. I just have the crt hooked to the ibook. Perhaps my crt can do it without any hack? Which is great... I'll get a pic up later showin ya. :) It basically shows a duplicated mac os x desktop on the crt, thats correct right?

[mr_mac]

the hack allows you to use 2 different desktops. It "extends" to the other monitor in order to get better resolutions and such.

Hope this helps,

Mrmac

[jsw]

the hack allows you to use 2 different desktops. It "extends" to the other monitor in order to get better resolutions and such.

It's quite cool as a hack. The dual-desktop (non-mirroring) is very nice. If you decide to install the hack (it's harmless and very useful), be sure to go to [Apple in Upper Left Screen Corner]->System Preferences->Displays and play with the positioning of the two displays (your laptop LCD and your CRT). You can let the Mac know where each is relative to the other, so it'll "know" where to put the mouse when you move it past the display edge.

You can also, in that prefs panel, drag the little menu bar from one display to another and see, on your real displays, that the menu bar moves from one to the other.

Note that the hack just enables this stuff. The display prefs are standard to OS X (and previous Mac OS's) whenever multiple monitors are detected.

[CubaTBird]

I may have asked this before, I don't remember but my battery is fully charged at 100%. To get maximum battery life, should I just leave it in the ibook or take it out when its plugged into the wall? (Which be most of the time)

[James L]

You guys, it is dual displays, I don't need a hack. I just have the crt hooked to the ibook. Perhaps my crt can do it without any hack? Which is great... I'll get a pic up later showin ya. :) It basically shows a duplicated mac os x desktop on the crt, thats correct right?



Mirror image is not dual display... it simply recreates your one display on another.

Dual display is having control of BOTH monitors at the same time, independent of each other. So, if monitor A) was on the left, and monitor B) was on the right, you could have different stuff on each one. So, for example, if you had the mouse on the left screen, and moved it to the right edge, it would then pop over onto the right screen.

A lot of people use this feature when working with large documents in, for example, Photoshop or Flash. You can put your document full screen in one window, and have all of your pallettes and tool boxes open in the other. Pretty cool!

Cheers!

James

[OziMac]

Wow, what a bad experience I just had over the past two days just to get a 12 inch ibook. Yesterday I show up around 5 o'clock at my local apple store and proceed to purchase a 12 inch ibook with a ram upgrade so the ram would come out to be a total of 768. I talk to this guy and he tells me they have the 12 inch in stock and it would be about 45min for him to install the ram upgrade at the store. I say okay, and I leave the store. 45 min later I come back, and that guy is nowhere to be seen! I got his name thankfully, and told this other sales rep who helped me just 45 min ago. She found him after 10 min of waiting and then he comes back to me with the laptop with the memory. I tell him I printed out a copy of a finance loan so I can pay for the ibook that way. He then states I need to contact my bank for "verification". I use their phone, BUT THE BANK IS FREAKIN' CLOSED! I go home ibook less. Today, I go back to the store at 11, and ask for the ibook with the memory. New guy this time, I havn't seen him before, I tell him my ordeal from yesterday and he gets me a new ibook with the added 512 ram chip. I go and finance it, the bank thing was all figured out already, and I notice that the ram online is,LOL!, 100 dollars less than in the store! He says its for some whatever reason, I dunno. I go ahead with the deal and then notice the ram he is using to put in the ibook is PC 2700..... Isn't the ibook PC 2100??!?!? Whatever I say, and don't tell him anything. Now I wait for a freakin' hour and HOPE that when I go back this afternoon EVERYTHING works swell and im NOT turned back for like the 4th time in two days. :mad:

Glad to hear that you're enjoying your iBook and have got the Monitor spanning happening. But with the greatest respect, I think that in these particular circumstances you're being a little harsh on the Apple Store people. They have their (many) faults, but here I think they aren't really in the wrong. Finance is not something that can always be arranged at the press of a button - banks like to take their time and keep very short open hours. It's not really the Apple Store's fault that the bank was closed. Secondly, the fact that the RAM was overpriced wasn't the sales reps' fault - one look at these boards will tell you that online RAM is the way to go. As for the actual RAM they put in to the iBook - well, it doesn't sound right but then again, you're buying direct from Apple and they should know - so if anything were wrong with that RAM, you can take it back to them without a problem.

Anyway, I am glad that it's been successful in the end for you. Hopefully your future experiences at the Apple Store will be more soothing - just be well prepared beforehand, and if they tell you something you know is bs, let them know! ;)

[puckhead193]

The apple store near me is ok...They seem to get "pushy" When i had problem with my 30 gig. ipod, they tried to fix it by installing the OS again and then i went home and it didn't work. WHen i went back they gave me a brand new ipod! (can't complain) When at the mall, i seem to always wounder in... And ask when the new g5's are coming out which now i need to think of a new reason to go in....

[absolut_mac]

Their sales staff, ehhh..... :o

Hey, you're no help to us unless you tell where these useless sales staff are?

For the record, I bought my daughter's 12" iBook at the Apple store on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica. Very friendly, helpful and professional sales staff there. We were very happy with the service, and they installed the extra RAM and checked out everything while we waited - about an hour or so on a busy Saturday night :)

[zim]

It's quite cool as a hack. The dual-desktop (non-mirroring) is very nice. If you decide to install the hack (it's harmless and very useful), be sure to go to [Apple in Upper Left Screen Corner]->System Preferences->Displays and play with the positioning of the two displays (your laptop LCD and your CRT). You can let the Mac know where each is relative to the other, so it'll "know" where to put the mouse when you move it past the display edge.

You can also, in that prefs panel, drag the little menu bar from one display to another and see, on your real displays, that the menu bar moves from one to the other.

Note that the hack just enables this stuff. The display prefs are standard to OS X (and previous Mac OS's) whenever multiple monitors are detected.

I have been debating using the monitor hack, recently got the mini DVI adaptor to S-Video and was unhappy to find that it was just mirroring not dual. I guess I let the developers warning scare me off.... I have the 20" iMac, would love to be able to use my TV as an external display when working in FCE.

:)

[jsw]

I have been debating using the monitor hack....

Just take the leap and install it. It won't hurt your iMac. It didn't hurt my relatively inferior 17" 800 MHz iMac. It won't hurt yours. Enjoy!

[jane doe]

Glad this turned out good for you. Sometimes you get a good employee, sometimes, not so much... But yeah, the 2700 will work fine, but probably at 2100 speeds. No biggie (and better if you want to upgrade later, but want to keep the RAM).

If you want dual displays instead of just mirroring, there is a hack out there that should work. It's software, so it doesn't void the warranty.

Good luck! :D

The hack is a firmware hack, it can void the warranty. But the 2700 ram will be fine, the logic board will cycle it down to 2100.

Enjoy.

[OziMac]

The hack is a firmware hack, it can void the warranty. But the 2700 ram will be fine, the logic board will cycle it down to 2100.

Enjoy.

This would be awesome if it's what actually happens - I read on these forums a while ago that people had kernel panics regularly after using 2700 RAM in machines rated for 2100s, which was a bummer because it's much easier to get 2700 these days than it is 2100. Would be very interested to know - have you (or anyone else) had really good experiences with PC2700 RAM in these machines? Thanks...

[solvs]

This would be awesome if it's what actually happens - I read on these forums a while ago that people had kernel panics regularly after using 2700 RAM in machines rated for 2100s, which was a bummer because it's much easier to get 2700 these days than it is 2100. Would be very interested to know - have you (or anyone else) had really good experiences with PC2700 RAM in these machines? Thanks...

People get kernal panics because of bad RAM. Apple is very picky about good RAM. It has little, if anything, to do with the speed.

And the hack won't void your warranty. It's just a patch that enable a feature that's already there.

[jane doe]

And the hack won't void your warranty. It's just a patch that enable a feature that's already there.

It does.. It's a modification to the firmware. If it fails and Apple checks the firmware on the computer in question they can refuse to repair it.

[jsw]

It does.. It's a modification to the firmware. If it fails and Apple checks the firmware on the computer in question they can refuse to repair it.

Technically, true, I suppose. However, I doubt that they'd void a warranty because of it, assuming they'd even bother to check. But, yes, I suppose it's possible. Although I'm still not sure a firmware alteration voids an Apple warranty.

And no offense intended, jane doe. It's just my opinion. You undoubtedly know better than I do. Can you find a source for what you state?

[jimsowden]

Just ordered a 2.5 G5 and a 15inch iMac 1.0 G4 and a 17inch display..all with AppleCare.

I get a edu discount so when comparing new Mac prices with MacMall and others I still came out better since they all charge to install the ram.

I got 1GB in the G5 and 512MB in the iMac.

I got a discount on the iMac ram, but paid abit more for the G5's ram. I however am receiving the $300 rebate off the 17inch display.

I don't mind changing ram in my computers but I really don't want to f up my warranty on my new G5 and iMac...so soon into the game.

Hope you know that you won't be receiving the 15" iMac bacause they stopped production on them, and also you won't be getting that $300 because that rebate only applies to the G5 and a 23" display, not a 17". I severly doubt that apple will upgrade your order once the new iMac G5s are anounced at WWDC because theres talk that there won't be a 15 anymore, and I hope for you apple will refund your applecare on it.

[solvs]

It does.. It's a modification to the firmware. If it fails and Apple checks the firmware on the computer in question they can refuse to repair it.
All you have to do is zap the PRAM if it fails. It'll work just like it used to. It doesn't actually change anything like, say, flashing a bios. There's even an undo feature.

The dual-display feature is already there, the hack just enables it.

http://www.rutemoeller.com/mp/ibook/ibook_e.html

[johnnowak]

I really don't see what Apple did wrong here... the bank was closed... and uh... yeah, that's it?

[Coolvirus007]

As long as you weren't charged for the price of the PC 2700 ram, its ok.

My apple store experiences where quite horrendous as well.
Apple store Ala Moana is horrible. They need more experienced employees. Where did they hire these people? This also applies for the Apple store in Ginza. Just for fun, I asked a question about my powerbook to 2 sales people and 1 apple tech and I got three different solutions. (I already knew the right answer, which the tech got also suggested, thank god.)

My point is, this needs to be delt with immediately. There should be a place to file complaints of specific employees on the apple site and their ludacris advice.

[QCassidy352]

Just ordered a 2.5 G5 and a 15inch iMac 1.0 G4 and a 17inch display..all with AppleCare.

I get a edu discount so when comparing new Mac prices with MacMall and others I still came out better since they all charge to install the ram.

I got 1GB in the G5 and 512MB in the iMac.

I got a discount on the iMac ram, but paid abit more for the G5's ram. I however am receiving the $300 rebate off the 17inch display.

I don't mind changing ram in my computers but I really don't want to f up my warranty on my new G5 and iMac...so soon into the game.

If you still can... CANCEL YOUR ORDER. The G5 is fine, but it is VERY likely that both the imac and the displays will be updated in 5 days. They will probably be substantial upgrades.

[MacFan26]

My point is, this needs to be delt with immediately. There should be a place to file complaints of specific employees on the apple site and their ludacris advice.

You're right that customer service problems need to be dealt with. However, I think that most of the stores are doing well. I think generally Apple customers expect more out of the people at the Apple store versus just walking into a Circuit City or CompUSA. Apple hasn't been in retail that long, and I think they'll be able to straighten it out.

[Rod Rod]

I have the 20" iMac, would love to be able to use my TV as an external display when working in FCE.

:)

so I went and looked up whether you could just use your TV as a preview monitor via FireWire with FCE at http://www.apple.com/finalcut/ and apparently it's an FCP feature not in FCE.

the trouble with using a TV as an external display in the way you're talking about is you'll likely get an inaccurate idea of overscan, and the colors are probably not going to be quite the same as if you had the video output going through FireWire (as in FCP).

to get to this thread's topic, yeah Apple retail store employees sometimes know less than we do. but sometimes they know more... more often though, they can't tell us what they know, or they're conditioned into misinformation. the main example is how they handle RAM sales, scaring customers into buying RAM from Apple because "otherwise you might void your warranty, and with our RAM your warranty is covered." that's such a lie, because Apple's RAM only carries a one-year warranty, whereas all the reputable third-party RAM carries a lifetime warranty. installing third-party RAM does not endanger your warranty at all. to manage that, you'd have to crack your motherboard, fuse the RAM contacts on the board or spill some iTunes Pepsi into your computer.

my personal pet peeve with Apple retail stores is how the 12" PowerBook on display connected to the 20" Cinema Display with the Aqua desktop pattern is ALWAYS mismatched. The monitor is always a nice rich blue, and the 12" screen is always turquoise. if I worked at an Apple retail store, I'd calibrate all the screens so they matched. :)

[netytan]

So the hack is 100% harmless? I mean, theres no chance in hell that ifs going to cause some wierd errors. Also, if you reinstall the OS would you have to reinstall the patch too? Just thinking, Apple disabled this feature for a reason right :D.

Mark.

[netytan]

Add another to the list, after trying for two weeks to order an Ibook online i finally gave up and went with macmall.com.au however im having pretty much the same problems with them as i was with Apple. Finally figured that getting a Mac is jsut hard work ;). So now just have to wait and see how the next few days go!

Mark.

[jsw]

So the hack is 100% harmless? I mean, theres no chance in hell that ifs going to cause some wierd errors. Also, if you reinstall the OS would you have to reinstall the patch too? Just thinking, Apple disabled this feature for a reason right :D.

Mark.

See the solvs quote above. The hack is harmless. I did it on my 17" 800MHz iMac. My brother did it on his 17" 1GHz iMac. My neighbor did it on his iBook. It's reversible. It takes all of about 15 seconds. And it lets you have a second display. It might not be something you're interested in, but, if you are, you should know that it's harmless.

And, to stay somewhat on topic, I heard about it from an employee at the Apple Store that I've gotten to know fairly well. I'm sure it is not Apple's policy to have their employees discuss such things, but he was cool to mention it. He did it because he's known me for some time now, and it was in spite of him being an employee there, not because of it. Some apple Store employees are just employees, but I've fond that mot of them are Mac addicts, and they try to help out fellow Mac users.

[DGFan]

Hey, you're no help to us unless you tell where these useless sales staff are?


I have read so many stories on here about people having problems with the Apple Store employees but they never seem to go "and then I talked to the manager." If the genius is drunk, let their manager know. If a salesperson tries to include something on your bill you didn't ask for, let the manager know. If a salesperson tries to sell you more costly RAM than you need, let the manager know.

You're no help to Apple unless you provide them feedback about the staff. Always learn someone's name. And if someone is not being helpful to you in the store ask to speak to the manager. (Politely) Let them know your opinion of the service you have received. If you just let the person off the hook, why would they ever change their shoddy service?

For the record, I have only visited the Apple Store in the Somerset Collection (a mall in Troy, MI). I have always received excellent sales and support service. It's too bad others aren't having the same experience.

[Bungalow Bill]

i gotta say i went and bought my powerbook last thursday in Northridge, and the only issue i had was the lady who was helping me was a bitch. Other than that the computer works great and it felt good to walk out after paying with the box in my hands.

[rueyeet]

The staff at the Apple store in Towson, MD was very helpful, to the point that while the person helping me was checking on something, two other salespeople came up and asked if I was being helped. They allowed me to configure my TiBook BTO online and then have it shipped to them, and they held it until I could pick it up.

The staff at Montgomery Mall were also pretty attentive, which was notable since the only time I've been there was on their opening day.

You'll get a few bad apples in every barrel, and probably one or two less-than-perfect employees at each Apple store. Human nature being what it is, that's understandable. Simply speak to their manager, and move on.

[gone fishing]

the hack allows you to use 2 different desktops. It "extends" to the other monitor in order to get better resolutions and such.

Hope this helps,

Mrmac There is no need for that hack, you can have 2 desktops, anyway, just uncheck the "mirror display" option and you're there. I can play a DVD on my TV in full screen mode while my wife does her email and stuff. To do this you also have to select the "Remain in full screen when player is inactive" ( DVD->>>preferences )

12" PB, 640 RAM

[Rod Rod]

There is no need for that hack, you can have 2 desktops, anyway, just uncheck the "mirror display" option and you're there. I can play a DVD on my TV in full screen mode while my wife does her email and stuff. To do this you also have to select the "Remain in full screen when player is inactive" ( DVD->>>preferences )

12" PB, 640 RAM

on iBooks, iMacs and eMacs, you do need that hack to enable monitor spanning. PowerBooks and Power Macs do not need that hack. :)

[I'm Back]

I go ahead with the deal and then notice the ram he is using to put in the ibook is PC 2700..... Isn't the ibook PC 2100??!?!?

what exactly are you complaning about?
You are complaining about **Better RAM** (note: it will still only run @ 2100)

the bank being closed? (that's not apple's fault, more your's for not realising that Apple might want to check the loan arrangements)

You got a computer, that works, no dead pixels, not shifty HDD, in fact no problems @ all. and it took 2 hours of your life :confused:.

You should hear about some of the real horror stories from people that lurk arond these forums.

[logicat2001]

The hack is a firmware hack, it can void the warranty. But the 2700 ram will be fine, the logic board will cycle it down to 2100.


In general, if the hack you're all referring to alters the firmware, you better make sure that you understand the potential consequences.

1- Your warranty could be null and void
2- It might not work
3- It could result in a non-functioning video card

As long as you understand that, go for it. Make sure the laptop is not set to go to sleep and is plugged in to AC.

[Whigga Spitta]

gone fishing -- what are you saying? to quote lindsay lohan (the 'apple' of my eye), "that's just retarded." first you said you don't need the hack (b/c you have a powerbook, and everyone knows monitor spanning is enabled on powerbooks), then, when someone told you that you didn't need the hack due to the fact that you do have a powerbook, you shot back with a smartass comment.

[wdlove]

I'm sorry to hear about your problem at the Apple Store CubaTBird. Glad that all's well that ends well. The important thing is that now you can enjoy your iBook. There are always those that don't do there job properly, it's sad.

[gone fishing]

gone fishing -- what are you saying? to quote lindsay lohan (the 'apple' of my eye), "that's just retarded." first you said you don't need the hack (b/c you have a powerbook, and everyone knows monitor spanning is enabled on powerbooks), then, when someone told you that you didn't need the hack due to the fact that you do have a powerbook, you shot back with a smartass comment.
Whigga Spitta.
So I misread the post.... ALL you had to do is say so.

[gone fishing]

on iBooks, iMacs and eMacs, you do need that hack to enable monitor spanning. PowerBooks and Power Macs do not need that hack. :)
That is strange ...don't you think?
A few of my friends are graphic designers and one is a industrial designer, two of them use mac, In that line of work multiple displays can be very usefull. I wonder why apple would have them hack their macs in orther to enable monitor spanning?
Is this the only way to get a power mac to do this?
One thing that we did notice is that in the power mac the feature to use F1-F12 keys for custom actions is missing.
Do you know how to enable thins? (the PBs have it)
Thanks for your help mate. :)

[gundamguy]

Doesnt it go under the keyboard still?, took me less than 45 seconds to install a ram upgrade in my 12" ibook.

[max11]

1. to the original poster of this thread: don't blame apple for:
a. an employee who went home early (but still informed another employee of your situation who was available to complete your transaction)
b. the bank being closed (duh)
c. using 2700 ram. its far better for you for upgrading in the future, and it's designed to cycle down, just like the old PC133 that would work fine on PC100 motherboards. (and even sometimes PC66)
d. pricing. you pay more cause it's a retail store. if you're surprised to discover this now, then i've got another fact that might spoil your appetite - there is no tooth fairy.

2. RAM takes 45 minutes to install because
a. sales staff have other things to do other than take care of you.
b. testing. running a hardware test after installing ram is always a good idea, and usally takes 10-20 minutes.

3. coolvirus007: you asked sales staff technical questions and got wrong answers. don't try and be all smarmy, just ask the right people. true, they shouldn't have answered ("just a second, i'll get someone for you who can answer that question") but still.. sales people do sales, and they were probably just trying to be helpful.

4. altering the firmware does void the warranty. its as simple as that. whether apple stores pick up on it while fixing your computer is another story. but they have full right to refuse to repair it if they do. but the good thing is you can re-apply the old firmware, thus restoring it to a state that the techies won't be able to tell it's been changed.

sorry to be all righteous and all, but it's a bit of a pain when people spout off on this board without knowing the facts.

[jsw]

I wonder why apple would have them hack their macs in orther to enable monitor spanning?
Is this the only way to get a power mac to do this?

Assuming this is a serious question:

Any Mac that starts with "Power" doesn't need the hack. It allows spanning by default.

Macs starting with "i" and "e" don't allow spanning by default. They allow mirroring. The hack enables spanning on those systems.

Apple disabled spanning to help promote the sales of the Power line. There is no inherent technical reason why it should be disabled.

And, yes, I stand corrected - it does void your warranty. However, it's reversible and, as far as I can tell, hasn't failed to work for anyone. Perhaps it has - I just haven't seen news of it. Probably because it fried their Macs and they never posted again. :)

[Maxx Power]

see how apple treated its OWN retailers at:

www.tellonapple.org

[CubaTBird]

When you want to by a car at 9 o'clock at night at a car dealer, the bank is open so you can finance with them. So if anyone wanted to buy a computer from apple between the hours of say 4 and the time they close, they can't finance it all and thus turned away. All Im sayin is apple should make it easier for the customer, not harder. Another thing, the sales rep "left me" if you will numerous times and was like "okay" what do I do now and where the freak is he so I can ask him something? :confused:

[DGFan]

Another thing, the sales rep "left me" if you will numerous times and was like "okay" what do I do now and where the freak is he so I can ask him something? :confused:

Did you ask to talk to the manager about it?