Upgrade Rant

J

jeffrito

Registered
OK. I'm looking at the three new PowerBooks and thinking... The pricing is structured suth that you really have to pay to get options that should be included. For instance, why, by now, are AirPort Extreme and BlueTooth options not standard on any portable? I bought a BlueTooth adapter for $50 for my iBook. So it would seem a cheap enough part (especially when building computers en masse) to just include it. Same with the AirPort extreme and the theme "year of the laptop".

Believe me I love Apple. I'm on my third machine. Which brings me to my next issue. Why oh why are these things not more easily upgradable. Like the G5. I'm not sure on this but from the little I've read... If you bought a single processor machine.. Is there a second spot for a second processor later? Why are processors not drop-down-list options like hard drives on the Apple Store.

And there's no upgrading for machines of the past from Apple. I was lucky to find a replacement battery for my iBook elsewhere. It's only about a year old. Why can't I go to the Apple site and see spares for older machines? Apple? Hello?

Which brings me to my AirPort. I paid $200+ for the original. It's now dead. Someone told me the other day the older they get they can loose effectiveness (power output, I guess). Anyway, because I didn't buy AppleCare I have a $200 paperweight. So I bought a Netgear Hub/Router/WIFI point in one box. After all the discounts and rebates it only cost me about $30. Why?

My last issue. Cost. I believe in order to get a good product you may have to pay. Apple machines are worth it. And they just work. But I'm STILL PAYING for the iBook through Apple Loan. My iBook is fast becoming slow by standard. Why can't Apple offer trade-up programs.

(Back in the day, Digital Equipment made VAX computers, etc. I've never seen another company have their technology so together. I know the systems were bigger, but all the things I'm talking about existed in that world. There is still to this day a DEC spares list on the HP website.)

Anyone feel my pain?

All this said, let me repeat... I love APPLE to death. I just wish the options were more flexible.
 
AirPort Extreme and BlueTooth options not standard on any portable - Not True - Airport is built into one 15" and 17".

The Bluetooth adapter you already have probably won't work with the new machines. Apple has a new adapter for them.

They make more money doing it this way. Knowing Mac users are usually fanatics about keeping Macs, I guess Apple figures they can get away with it. Unless, there is a reason Bluetooth can't be internal, don't know.

G5's are too new to think about upgrades, which come from other manufacturers. Single processor G4's can be upgraded to dual processors from third party companies.

You're usually better off, price wise, to find replacement parts from companies other than Apple.

Which brings me to my AirPort. I paid $200+ for the original. It's now dead. Someone told me the other day the older they get they can loose effectiveness (power output, I guess). Anyway, because I didn't buy AppleCare I have a $200 paperweight. So I bought a Netgear Hub/Router/WIFI point in one box. After all the discounts and rebates it only cost me about $30. Why?

Things do break. I have an Airport and have no problems, as a lot of others.

As for the high price, it's Apple. Keep in mind they don't make a lot of these things, so the price is going to be higher than a company that makes 10 times as many.

I think most people would opt for a wireless router from Links, Netgear or another company rather than Apple, if he/she does a little surfing on Mac sites and some research.

Macs do seem more costly, but I've read some articles about PC's, equiped the same, would cost even more.

I'd love a trade up program, but you'd probably be better off selling yourself, just like trading a car.
 
Originally posted by bobw
The Bluetooth adapter you already have probably won't work with the new machines. Apple has a new adapter for them.
Click to expand...


If the adapter is just a standard USB dongle then I don't see why it wouldn't be supported by the new PowerBooks, unless Apple did something to ensure that only their adapter would work. It's controlled by software built into OSX so presumably the BT driver would see it on the bus and as long as it conformed to the right standards, I'd think it would work.
 
Erhm... From Apple's site: "Bluetooth is built into every new PowerBook model." You don't have to add it. Yes, only the top models have AirPort already built in, but that was like that for the past few years... I don't get the rant...?
 
The Apple Store has this warning regarding the new keyboard and mouse: "Important: Requires a Bluetooth enabled Macintosh (either built-in or using the qualified D-Link DBT-120 USB Bluetooth Adapter (older D-Link DWB-120M adapters are not supported). Mac OS X, v10.2.6 or higher required."
 
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