Apple Missteps: the New iMac and a Few Others

I’ve waited a while to write this article because I wanted to be sure I gave Apple a fair shake before I did. But having looked over the new iMacs ever since they arrived and having read lots of comments about them on the ‘Net, I say that Apple has made a couple of missteps with this new design.

Most of them center around the display.

I’ve taken some time to evaluate the glossy screens, both by working with my wife’s MacBook and several examinations of the machines on the showroom floor. The most interesting of those comparisons occurred at my local Fry’s where they had a new silver iMac and an older 20-inch sitting side by side. The older machine’s matte screen definitely fared better when viewed at any kind of an angle or from any kind of a distance. Glossy screens are fine for notebooks where the viewing area is smaller and the screens can be more readily tilted to reduce glare, but they are a disaster for anyone serious about doing photo or video work or for me personally. After only a few minutes of working on a new iMac in my local Apple Store, I could literally feel the eye strain. There’s no way I’m going to buy any machine that makes me work harder, physically or otherwise.

Secondly, I have my suspicions that the glossiness entered into Apple’s decision to use cheaper TN film LCD screens in the 20 inch model. There’s lots of comments out in Internetland about how brightness and color varies from top to bottom of these screens. While I didn’t personally test the evenness, I did feel that fonts on these machines were softer and grainier than on the two machines I routinely use, both of which use Apple Cinema Displays as monitors (20 and 23 inches). (I have the same complaint about the fonts in Pages 3 in iLife08 versus font appearance in Office 2004 or Neo Office.) Also, comparison of viewing angles for iMac displays show they shrink with each new evolution, a trend Apple needs to reverse. I think Apple’s been going downhill in this area for some time; I don’t think the current 20 inch Apple Cinema Display is as bright or crisp as that in the ACD model that preceded it.

And what’s with the choice of the video chip? Apple had to know that gamers would try to use these machines, and that putting in a chip that was slower than its predecessor would simply make the company look cheap. But they did it anyway. I think it’s because they optimized the video for playing HD video and not for gaming. That’s fine, but more than one customer will return a machine that gives them worse performance than they one they just had, at that includes gaming performance.

As for the styling of the new machines, there are some things I like about them and some I don’t. I think the black band around the screen will look out of place if Apple ever offers a matte screen option on the machine, something that would allow me to reconsider a purchase of one.

I love the look and feel of the new aluminum keyboard and would have bought one to use with my MacBook Pro when it’s running lid-closed as a desktop but decided against it because of the non-standard special keys. Yes, I like having a single key to punch to invoke Expose or Dashboard, but why locate then at the F key’s front ends, if they’re needed at all? If Apple could have used special keys to launch iPhoto or iTunes or Mail and left Expose and Dashboard to work as they normally do. These are all things I can do with my current Logitech S530 keyboard, which was part of the reason why I backed off from buying the new Apple keyboard.

Also, why we’re talking keyboards, why did Apple drop the number pad from its new wireless keyboard. I never used to use the num pad when I was a PC user; but since I’ve switched to Macs, I use it all the time and love NOT having to select it to do so. And there are plenty of other people who feel the same way…

At least Apple did correct one misstep I had criticized them about earlier, and that was the omission of Gigabit Ethernet in their Airport Extreme N base Station. The new models have it. I thought about taking the old one I just purchased back, but it mades no sense to do that because of how my network is set up. The N base station is hooked into a D-Link DGL-4300 wireless router that’s acting as a bridge and is handling the 802.11 G wireless devices, and the 4300 only has a 10/100 Ethernet port for its WAN port. The 4300 does have Gigabit Ethernet ports and I also have a 5 port Gigabit Ethernet switch plugged into it, so my wired machines are enjoying Gigabit file transfer speeds anyway. I may later buy another Airport Extreme N station to get my wife’s iMac onto the “N” wireless network, and the new Gigabit Ethernet ports will be appreciated then.

The last two missteps I’ll address have to do with the new Pages and the new iMovie application.

I admit I have yet to try any projects with iMovie08, but it does seem to be a dumbed down version compared to iMovie HD. Apple says their video engineer couldn’t put together a short video in iMovie HD within 30 minutes; well, I sure can. In any case, Apple sidestepped their misstep by making iMovie HD a free download, and kudos to them for doing so. That said, the iLife08 installer does not delete iMovie HD or replace it and courteously moves it to a separate folder. You’ll only need the free download if your machine crashes and you have to reinstall from scratch or you otherwise removed iMovieHD yourself, on purpose or otherwise.

I used Pages 3 and its word processor mode to write the first part of this blog. When I decided to switch out of it, I discovered that “Save” and “Save As” both work only to preserve the document I a version of Pages. To put it in Word, or any other format, you must use the Export command. Now, I don’t have a huge grip with that; but there doesn’t seem to be any real difference between “Save” and “Save As” as they are currently implemented. I think Apple could do away with the Export command and put the current Export functions under Save As.

And while I’m talking about this app, someone please tell me what’s wrong with having a “Save” or “Save As” icon available in the toolbar?

I like the new word processor mode in Pages, but don’t find it compelling enough to switch off Office 2004 or Neo Office. The page layout mode is a different story; I’ve used Pages to make a very professional looking newsletter in a short period of time.
But let’s get back to Apple’s latest missteps by talking about a misstep the company could make.

The iPod line needs a refresh, and something more than just a little brighter screen or bigger harddisks. While there is room in the iPod line for a shuffle or a mini, the next revamp of “regular” iPods need to incorporate the widescreen capability if not the touch-screen controls exhibited in the iPhone. Anything else will probably cause Apple to lose enough inertia for some of its competitors to steal market share. I certainly won’t spend any money on a new iPod unless it is along those lines or my current one fails, and the latter is not likely. Hopefully, Apple won’t mistake the Microsoftish mistake of trying too hard to control the market by limiting the iPhone’s wonderful technologies only to that device. I want a widesreen iPod with at least an 80GB hard drive if not more...

Speculation is that Apple has ventured a little too far into image versus function territory, and the trend shown by the company’s latest missteps suggest that is correct. I have hope, though, for Apple has consistently shown the brilliance of reconsideration and bending to the will of the customer. In the end, no matter what product the company is making, it is that which will ensure the company’s success.