Recently (february), I purchased a new intel iMac w/ 2 gigs of ram. Exciting right? ... well not exactly. After three days of flawless processing the iMac started acting up. I will not go into details (space is limited), but lets just say when I tried to return it apple allowed me to do so and apologized for any inconvenience.

The reason I feel this is post-worthy is I spoke to a friend who is now a part a class action law suit against mac for the first gen. G-4's which were riddled with problems.

Does apple have a reputation for rushing things to market? Is this just another example of that?

Has anybody else experienced intel iMac problems?

I am certainly willing to give apple the benefit of the doubt, but after spending 2G's on a computer that was clearly a piece of $#!t, I can't help but feel slighted.

There's been some troubles but only on a series of them, not all. Some component provider/integrator has f…d up and Apple has to repair the things in the end, which they do. (note: I don't remember the problem on the spot…)

Usually the computers are top notch, but there's from time to time a lot with something funky. As long as Apple acknowledges the problem and does its job at correcting you're ok.

Once a year there's something really tricky Apple takes time to recognize (not your case) and it takes months (but users do win). Last one was the faulty G5 1.8 mk2 (I've got a mk1) it took nearly a year for Apple to correct the firmware after being silent and acknowledging the problem only 2 months before. That was BAD. fortunately, it's rare.

Apple wins year after year the consumer satisfaction survey, there's a reason, they f… up thing less than others and do amend for this. It could always be better…

Some have the habit never to buy computers just out of keynote but wait a little to get corrected versions of mk2 versions, but its really not rocket science as most of the problem in the last years were not fitting into this model… (G5 1.8 mk2, airport bases in 220V, batteries of powerbooks…)

Can you be more plain in the problem you experienced? It may help some still wondering why their iMac is getting mad and should be at apple for repair.

Yeah that is a bummer hearing about your machine...But, I bought an Intel iMac and the thing has been amazing. It'll be worth having it corrected by Apple; if the one I have is any indication they are AMAZING!

class action suits are a cash cow for the lawyers that run them.

Everyone else gets next to nothing and one or two lawyers make millions.

Never ever buy a 1st gen Mac. This is a cardinal rule with everyone I know who use Macs religiously. My last generation TiBook still works flawlessly. I'll be waiting for the 2nd-3rd gen MacBookPros before I upgrade my laptop.

This post has been edited by Nonz: Fri 10 Mar 2006, 18:23

My 7100 was an unoficial mk2: rock solid. A friend had a mk1: always something itchy…
My G3 BW was a mk1 he was as cool and buggy (USB/FW) as the mk2 and the first G4, but it was a great computer.
My G5 is a mk1, I even bought second hand, it rocks… the Mk2 of the same was Buggy (note the big B)

first iMac G5 (about a month production) had something wrong, mk2 were cools

search a rule…
(and I'm only talking about versions, not production runs with parts lots)

Think always you have until the end of the year of warranty to upgrade applecare if you feel insecure. The only time I had to see an applecare center was for something I broke myself… (cd trail on the G3) I know it unfortunately not the case for everyone (a friend had a faulty imac G5, now it's repaired on Apple account and it rocks).

AppleCare is great... But, onlt if you can use something until your machine is returned. Perhaps, I have a unique relationship with my Retailer, in Germany... They trust me! I'm a Black Dude from New York... Just not used to such good treatment... In Zoo York I was followed around! I used to steal shit just for the hell of it... Only joking... Not about black about stealing Mac. Apple Care, if they will provide a loaner! You must keep working... They could have your Machine for 2 weeks! Imagine! Horror! What would any of us do? I know I could resort to my 17", but, that did and does crash with the amount of Audio I used... But, that was several years ago... Time flies... I'm becoming an old black dude... But, my music is 'Timeless'... Sigh... Senile...

For those of you who were curious about the specifics to the faulty iMac, the problems are broken up according to their occurance:

All the time:
-Fan noise was so loud my roomates complained I was "Using my computer too loud". You could hear it down the hall w/ the door closed!
-A help screen would flutter so I couldn't click on any of the buttons on the page.
-Chess program only worked in the beginner mode. Not that I have any reason to play a smarter computer (the cpu always whoops my butt!), but its nice to have the option.
-Sleep light doesn't blink. I could not tell if the computer sleeping or shut off.

Some of the time:
-When asleep the keyboard and/or mouse would not work. I would have to unplug it/them, wait, and plug it back in to make it work.
-When in front row and shuffling songs, when I tried to manually skip to the next song it would go back to the home screen for itunes w/ out skipping the song.

If this stuff was happening on my 2000 G3, I wouldn't be as upset, but 2G's is a lot of dough for me. When the cpu started to malfunction I immediatly called apple and started complaining. Later that week the people at the Mac store were flabergasted when I told them everything that was wrong.

I will be waiting for a few more generations of the intel to come out before I think about purchasing another one. Thanks for the input folks!

Drewott you had the black sheep of the lot I think…

A friend of mine had a first gen iMac G5, it worked ok, then behaved more and more strangely after months of use, we did some home maintenance to verify if anything was wrong, then we checked and he was of the known bad lot of the beginning. So apple, 2 or 3 weeks away and back in top form now… It's always a nightmare when this happens.

Now the problem of "how can I work while I don't have a computer?" depends of your relationship with your apple center, and you'd better be a professional then.