Apple is Evil (or, The New iMac)

It's never a boring day in Cupertino. Last week(ish?) Apple released a new model of their popular (yet waning in popularity) desktop PC, iMac.

If you aren't familiar with iMac, shame on you.  It's an all-in-one desktop PC that currently comes in two sizes: 21.5 inch widescreen or 27 inch widescreen.  You can order them online at apple.com or buy one in store and customize all kinds of things on it (though, I imagine that most people just buy the standard option).

In their latest release (which didn't even make the front page of apple.com--that was reserved for the elusive iPhone 4 in white) they upgraded the speed of the processors, the quality of the "FaceTime" camera, and a few other things here and there.  Like many of their computer products, they didn't overhaul much of it, just a gradual upgrade.  If you are considering an Apple product, the time right around when it gets upgraded is ALWAYS the best time to buy.

However, they evidently altered something else inside this iMac that wasn't advertised. Since the report first came out, the blogosphere has been on high alert.

Turns out, that the startup hard drive inside of the iMac has a bit of proprietary firmware installed on it.  This firmware communicates to the fans about how hot the hard drive is running. So, if one were to replace the startup drive with another drive (not Apple -branded) their iMac, once put back together, the computer will fail the Apple Hardware Test. In short, Apple disables your iMac. You can read a little more about it here, and while this explanation leaves ALOT out, the general effect remains the same.

Evil, right?

Not so fast.

OWC (a company that sells unauthorized replacement parts for Macs) wrote on their blog about the issue and railed against Apple's closed-door policy when it comes to things like this.  Something of less significance  happened with the iPhone 4 screws a ways back and iFixIt (a company much like OWC) filmed a YouTube video against it. You can see MJ from iFixIt's take here. (The video is called "Apple's Diabolical Plan to Screw Your iPhone")

Apple commentators like John Gruber and Marco Arment have commented about this.  Both seem to be on Apple's side.  John says that a user knows that this is an all-in-one device and that the convenience of using and buying a machine like this comes with tradeoffs. Marco basically said the same thing. (I think John read Marco's piece first)

I think the answer lies in support.

If you buy an iMac and take it home, it will work beautifully. But, if something does go wrong (they're not perfect) you can take it back to an Apple Store (or call online) and get it fixed or replaced for free. (When was the last time you got your Windows PC fixed at a Toshiba store?) As long as you've backed up your stuff (if you're not backing up, shame on you), you're good to go.

But, if you decide that you'll install your own hard drive once you get home, it's not an easy task to take apart an iMac.  The process is documented by iFixIt here and it involves removing the glass display with suction cups, unscrewing countless screws, not getting any dust in the machine, not shocking yourself or the computer, and putting it all back together. Now that my warranty has run out, I've taken my MacBook Pro apart twice and I can tell you I don't think I'd ever attempt to take that glass off without breaking it. I'd rather be trained by the people who built it first.

The problem with support is that if you do something wrong, and then try to take it back to Apple, they have to deal with it. Not only will they know that you took it apart, but they can't be sure of what you did to it.

The same thing happened with the batteries in the iPhone and new MacBooks. They built them in because they had some major advantages when it came to battery life and slim design. If they know that you haven't tampered with it, they can fix it much easier.

I think it comes down to this: Apple wants to fix your product.  They want you to be happy. And I would be willing to bet that they are willing to sacrifice the 10% of hackers in order to make a pleasing and seamless experience for the other 90%.

I think Marco and John are right, it's a tradeoff. If you don't want that experience, Apple probably doesn't need your sale.

I don't, in any way, think that makes them evil.

-B

iPad 2 - The Thoughts

So, it's about time I get around to this. I've held off in posting this as I got mine on launch day and my parents have spent the last week waiting in long lines, just to be let down. Until today...when they had the luck of the Irish. So, how is the iPad 2?

I think I can break it down into a few different categories: Speed, Cameras, Software, and Thinness. And then...there's demand.

Speed. Is the iPad 2 really faster? The iPad 2 is faster than the original iPad. Apple claims it is about twice as fast, with 9x faster graphics. I'm not sure about the graphics, but they do seem to be faster. I imagine as apps continue coming out the graphics will really start to shine. When they take advantage of it, it'll be great. As far as the CPU speed...yes, yes, yes. Everything is faster on the iPad 2. Apps open and load faster, Safari is faster (thanks to iOS 4.3), and things don't hang like they used to. The original iPad is not slow, by any means, but there is a noticeable difference between it and the iPad 2.

Cameras. How are the cameras? Well, the iPad 2 has cameras. When Steve introduced it, he announced them as "video cameras" and didn't say anything else about them. When the iPhone 4 was announced, he made a huge deal about the quality of the camera. Take a hint from those facts, the cameras on the iPad are not quality. That's why he didn't talk much about them, that why he didn't display photos that had actually been taken on the device. The cameras are about the same as you seen on the current iPod Touch. Which means the rear camera is a little less than a megapixel. People will not be using it to take photos. Unless they are in a jam. I, unsurprisingly, don't think this is a negative aspect. Taking pictures with the iPad is a bit awkward. If you mix this fact with the idea that they need to keep costs down, this move makes total sense. If you want to use it for images, Apple sells a camera connection kit where you can plug in your camera and use the iPad to share the images.

Software How is iOS 4.3 and apps? iOS 4.3 is not too different from the 4.2.1 running on current original iPads. It has some nice updates to AirPlay and the good news is that if you have an original iPad, you get iOS 4.3 too. So what are you waiting for? Plug it in and update it! But...the apps...are unreal. Specifically GarageBand and iMovie. iMovie will only run on the new iPad and GarageBand will run on both, although much better on iPad 2. I own a lot of music apps for the iPad. A lot of them. GarageBand easily blows them all out of the water. It is diverse, it is well designed, and it is fast. You can record up to 8 tracks, whether midi or audio, and control and edit them with swipes of the finger. This is easily one of the best things Apple has done in awhile. iMovie is great too. It is not quite as powerful as the desktop version and doesn't hold a candle to FinalCut Pro, but for editing together vacation clips on the go, it works pretty well. It is not very customizable but works flawlessly. You can publish to all kinds of things right from the app as well. Here is an example of something I made of launch day: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ooud8Ppxto&] Anyone can edit movies now. That fact alone is VERY cool.

Thinness Does it really matter? The quick answer is no. The original iPad is pretty thin already, and still thinner than all the competition out there. But the iPad 2 is still thinner...with the same battery life. The iPad 2 is thinner than my iPhone 4. And, honestly, I don't see how it could get any thinner. It feels better in the hand than the original iPad, especially if you have a case on your original. The iPad is not really any lighter (although it is a little bit) but it feels lighter because of the thinness. It is a significant difference (although it wouldn't require someone upgrading their old iPad). I didn't consider how much this matters, but it does. On my music stand at church, this takes up a lot less room.

Demand. Do people want these? YES. I arrived to the Apple store for iPad 2 on launch day at 2pm. I knew they would start selling them at 5pm. I was a bit confused about how long the line was at first, but I was probably about 95 people back in line. I was worried if they would have enough. My parents went back to the mall in Florida every day since then. Today, they got one, or two. Apple really has 18 different versions of the iPad 2, and because of that, supply was low...especially if you were looking for a certain version. The sold 10 million original iPads last year. I suspect they sold at least 2 million iPads, maybe more in the last week. Every Apple store is out country wide and the online store now says you'll have to wait more than a month for delivery. More than a month.

It's a great device. If you're new to iPad, it is worth buying if you don't mind the short live $100 premium over last year's model. (If you want last year's model, look fast when they're gone, they're gone.)

I suspect that Apple might be ready for you to buy too.

With the exception of RIM's playbook, I don't see any competition for it anytime soon. Seriously. They are way ahead.

Do you have one? Do you want one? Please share!

-B

Two is Better Than One

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wq2HalPB28s] Great commercial. Can't wait for all of my Verizon friends to get rid of their BlackBerries.

Notable: "Features vary by carrier." I have watched the commercial back several times (when I should have been reading) and can't find a single feature that won't be offered on both carriers.  It remains to be seen whether or not FaceTime will hit 3G on Verizon, and neither of the phones had Wifi connections prior to the cut to a FaceTime call (details matter) so this could perhaps be what they meant.  Maybe I have missed something, but the "features vary..." is very un-Apple like.  Tim Cook made it very apparent at the Verizon announcement that this iPhone and the AT&T iPhone are identical in features except that you will not be able make a phone call and access the internet at the same time.

If they had shown the Personal Hot Spot feature, that would have made sense.

Also, is it "two is..." or "two are..."? English grammar sometimes doesn't make any sense.

-B