For years, Apple was the choice of computer users wanting to avoid Windows dominance. It was niche, quirky, cool and fun. What they actually did was make cracking products, which were solid, reliable and lasted an eternity. Second hand macs old their money so well. I sold a Macbook from 2007 recently for over 300 pounds. You could buy a new Windows machine for that!
However, in recent years they have declined. The fore mentioned Macbook had a battery fault. It refused to charge and had to be replaced. I bought a Macbook pro and couldn't install Snow Leopard due to a DVD drive fault after only a few months of operation.
My iPhone had to be replaced due to problems. An early 20GB iPod had around 20 minutes battery life after six months. The companies Mac Mini exploded, never to work again.
We have the current issues with the iPhone 4.0. They are blaming this on software now as there calculation for signal has been wrong since the 3G version of the popular phone. That is a very big, and very embarrassing admission from a company of Apples size. It is also good to see some honesty.
I've had to replace Safari 5.0 on my Macbook Pro as it keeps crashing, constantly. It will not operate for more than 10 minutes before it crashes. I've never seen a crash on any Mac in 3 years of owning them, I was interested to see their error posts!
The biggest problem is when you need something fixed. I can't just turn up to the store to tell them my £800 products aren't working. I have to make an appointment to complain. If I bought something from a shop, I don't have to book a slot to return it get it fixed. It is an awful system and so unfair on the people who have items that are currently not working or need repair. Yes, they often replace them straight away, but when I've waited two weeks for a convenient appointment, I damn well hope they would!
5 years ago, if I wanted a crashing, non working system which kept annoying me, I'd have bought a Windows machine. Now, my XP machine never crashes, my Windows 7 machine never crashes. I haven't seen a blue screen for years. With all the compatibility Microsoft have to deal with, I expect it from them, but they have done a cracking job in recent years, fair play to them!
It's not a positive picture really. Apple has lost some of its gloss, its shine and reliability. I've certainly been put off, and I guess many others have also. I'm slowly migrating away from Apple, and my MacBook Pro will probably be the last Apple product I own.
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