Michael P. has sent us another email updating us on the results of his trip to his local Apple Store. You first might want to read, “Windows XP user mad at Apple; wants his iTunes Music Store” and then, “Windows user Michael P. responds to ‘Mad at Apple; wants his iTunes’ feedback,” if you’re unfamiliar with the saga. Here is Michael’s latest email in its entirety:
“Well, I went in there expecting to buy the low end eMac, but after about an hour with two staffers who had to be the best ‘computer store’ employees I ever had the pleasure to meet, I walked out with a 17-inch iMac with a 1GHz PowerPC G4 (which intitially seemed ‘slow’ to me spec-wise, but after the G4 vs. the Pentium 4 differences were explained, seemed plenty fast enough to me), with an 80GB hard drive and a SuperDrive. So I do have iDVD.”
“I took your advice about the RAM. It was easy to install myself. So, the iMac has 1GB of RAM now, too. Thank you, by the way, for all of your advice. You really helped me out and saved me a lot of time. I’ve got it connected to my Dell and did it in about 5 minutes by following your directions.”
“I haven’t had time to do much, yet. But, I want to tell you that from the moment I opened the box, I felt I was in for something quite new and different. The iMac is packaged like it is fine jewelery – very high-end. I have never seen anything like it – right down to the styrofoam shapes and tie wraps and books and cd case. All in a surprisingly small box. Very impressive. I felt like I had purchased a $10,000 fine audio system or something. Quite unlike any Windows computer packaging I had ever opened.”
“The buttons and finishes of the case, keyboard, and mouse are solid quality. The whole thing screams quality. My Dell’s buttons, keyboard and mouse now seem somewhat thin and ‘plasticy’ compared to the iMac’s.”
“The startup sequence of the first time turning it on only heightened the quality level. The thing was on my internet connection (cable modem) as if it was set up for me in the box. It just worked. I downloaded the Safari browser first. Wow! Compared to the included IE for Mac, it really is about 10 times faster. Plus I love the tabs.”
“I will write you a followup when I have time this weekend to spend with the iMac. This email is sent with Mac OS X Mail. So far, so good. I spent more than double what I was was planning, but I am sure I made the right decision already. Thanks for your help! You can print this email if you like.”
– Michael P.
Congradulations, and welcome to the Mac World!
You made a great choice Michael. I’m typing this on the exact same machine, and it’s without a doubt the best computer I’ve ever had the pleasure to use.
This guy is adorable.
dunno, this whole thing sounds like a setup. sorry, but I’m not going to rah-rah with the rest of the mac faithful on this guy. it’s so gushy i think i’m gonna barf.
Haven’t we had enough of this yet? If we wanted to read stories with a high level of “adorable” puke factor, we’d go to /switch/. This site should be about mac news (which its excellent at), not “Joe Blow goes to the store and writes a boring letter.”
i agree this all sounds like some ridiculous PR stunt invloving michael p the bozo who may not exist
Michael P. You made the right decision buying the iMac over the eMac. Love those LCD screens.
Congrats Michael P. and remember what I told someone else who bought a Mac for the first time. “You’ll have problems, so expect them. Don’t try to solve them with Windows’ tricks. Instead think of the simplist method of addressing the problem. When using a Mac that’s probably the solution.”
Take Care!
P.S. Mac Daily News while I understand this last story is to bring closure to the issue please do not use your “news” site to promote individual switcher stories. This isn’t news it’s the stuff of forums.
Errh, I also just purchased a new 17″ iMac with Superdrive. It comes with 256MB on an internal DDR module, thus to get it to 768MB I could ONLY insert a 512MB DDR SDRAM SODIMM module in the one available user slot on the bottom of the iMac under the cover. So, how’d he take his to 1GB? This story line is beginning to sound very fishy…
Dave…
There are two RAM slots in the 17″ iMac. One is user-accessible via that bottom panel. The other is buried deep in the enclosure and its accessibility is listed as factory-only.
More info here… <a href” http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86264“> Apple support page </a>
Basically, to get to 1gb you either have to start with 512mb in the factory slot or you have to void the warranty by breaking seals and special screws to get to the slot.
Hey this is great!
Whether you believe it or not, this is just the sort of tale that is happening to thousands of people out there! And that can only be good news for the rest of us.
I too switched, back in November, and went through all the emotions and insecurities described by Michael, even down to the magic of opening the box!
Just one word of warning Michael. One Apple is never enough, you’ll want to take it with you everywhere, and that means an iBook or Powerbook! Trust me, you won’t be able to resist!!!!!
Welcome to our world.
Fake.
*puke*
Dave Marsh:
Specs say “1GB RAM Max”…can’t the 256 be removed, and two 512s inserted?
Sorry…ignore my post below
I for one am happy to read about your switch Michael P. I made the switch a while ago and I haven’t looked at a Windows machine ever since (except at work, which I can’t help).
I do understand that it is a little gushy (yuck) and I do believe this belongs somewhere else, i.e. a forum. This should be a site on news, not individual stories about switching.
Good luck.
Nice try, SteveJack
Guess I owe Michael and apology…Sorry MichealP.
(I was the first post to kick off the flaming on the original post)
I trust you will enjoy you new mac, welcome.
This as well as other sites are great sources of information to help you keep abreast with the high end of a digital lifestyle.
I am not sure I believe this guy, Michael P if you do exist welcome to the other side, if you don’t, you may want to tone down the gush factor to make this more believable next time.
FYI: I manage a mixed platform environment for the sales side of a large media company, the Mac consistently gives us less trouble then the PC’s. I find it interesting that PC users are always asking me for a faster better computer that will not crash, yet when I try to replace a Mac – the users don’t want me to take away their beloved machine, that to me, says a lot.
Personally, I use a Dell X200 (for sales apps), PowerBook 12″, and a PowerMac Dual G4 450 (my main box) at work. At home I have a ‘digicrom’ built AMD based PC that is solely used for games, and a PowerMac Dual 1gig that is used the other 90% of the time….
You are going to love iDVD! I created and burned 20 DVD’s last Christmas for my girlfriends family, and they loved it. I can’t begin to tell you how easy it really was. I also have a .mac account and have my personal web space there as well as copies of the files I want access to anywhere from any computer (windows Xp now incluuded as well).
I don’t find his description to be fake or gushy at all. I had exactly the same experience when I bought my first Mac – a G3 iMac. The quality factor is the first thing you notice.
Hey, it’s Friday, it’s a slow news day. This is just a light-hearted human interest story. Lighten up people.
I wonder if it’s true as well. It’s the fact that he was looking at a base model eMac and ended up with an iMac with a superdrive that puts doubts in my mind.
Hywel read the first “Michael P.” email – he is interested in iDVD.
The email sounds quite realistic to me… but not coming from the same person who wrote the first time. Also it seems odd to have ALREADY got third-party RAM and installed it. So… a mystery!
But paranoia aside, if there really is a Michael P out there, enjoy your Mac
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” /> That model is the best desktop system around I think, unless your needs are quite high end.
I’m a switcher too, and after reading these posts it made me think of one of the things I have learned since making the change: The established Mac base has no idea how good you have it.
Less gushy? Tone it down? Please. The Mac is one of the few inventions that people can connect emotionally to. It is truly elegant and a joy to own. Some of you no longer feel this way since you’ve been in the family for a long time–maybe too long. But to new people, it’s a whole new world unfolding.
So let them enjoy it. Let me enjoy it. And stop now and then and enjoy it yourself. Being a Mac person is a wonderful thing, superlatives and all.
Here’s the skinny on the RAM for flat-panel iMacs, from a service tech (me):
FP iMacs have two slots, both capable of accepting 512-MB sticks. The internal slot is not intended for end-users, and opening it will void your warranty.
Yes, we can tell you’ve opened a flat-panel iMac. How?
The second reason you shouldn’t mess with that slot (open your iMac) is because when you separate the base from the rest of the unit, you have to apply replacement CPU thermal pads and thermal paste at various locations.
You will void your warranty, and you probably will cause your computer to overheat and go kablooie.
FYI.
Yeah, I’m getting real suspicious of this ongoing story now. Sounds more and more like BS…
WOW … you people need to lighten up. Whether or not the story is true, his reaction is completely realistic. How many articles have we read from editorials that gush over the small things like packaging.
I personally have a friend Anna who’s been thinking about a new PC. After trying for months to get her to the Apple store I gave up. She doesn’t even understand that Mac and PC run different operating system. “Will a Mac run windows” So one day a get a call, Guess where I went today? The Apple store. Just happened by it while shopping in SOHO. Went in at 12 noon, stayed until 5PM. She sat in on the theater and leaned what the Mac was all about. Wouldn’t shut up about how great everything was, Hardware, software etc….She hasn’t bought yet, but said there is no way she’d buy anything else when the time comes. I advised her to wait until after WWC. Something Mike should have done.