Target Display mode!  Oh yeah.  Click here.

Apple’s new core i7 iMacs show up with cracked screens and unbootable. When asked about it, Steve was baffled at the notion that the iMac was ever suppose to boot. He has always seen it as a nice shiney accessory to his kitchen where he makes his esspresso latte cafe. When asked about what he actually used his computer for, he answered that he occasionally watch the beach ball spin. Around and around and around and around and around and….

Read the whole story at Engadget

Apple has a bit of a quality assurance problem on its hands, according to press reports. Several publications are reporting that the new iMacs based on Intel’s Core i7 platform are inoperable out of the box, and some have even appeared with cracked LCD screens.

While the cracking issue is definitely not associated with the new Intel chip, the booting issue very well could be. Making matters worse for Apple, tech blog Engadget was one of the (un)lucky recipients of one of these faulty iMacs. According to reports on Apple’s own support forums, Cupertino is estimating a two-week wait on getting out replacement Macs to these customers.

While the cause of the screen cracks–which commonly appear on the lower left hand corner–is unknown, speculation points to the packaging. The cardboard box is delivered undamaged, so the problem could be in the packing or just simply the fragility of these new larger models.

Apple has not commented on the issue so far.

New iMac’s with the core i7 chip in them are having issues. Some are arriving DOA others have shown up with cracked screens.

It has been a few months of fail for Apple when you consider the Snow Leopard disaster.

So when do the Apple jokes start running hot and heavy?

I wonder if you can take them into an Apple store to trade?  I would be very disappointed if this happened to me.  Click here.

Shattered glass. Flickering displays. Non-booting machines. So-goes the list of maladies affecting Apple’s brand new quad-core 27” Core i7-based iMacs. Threads over on the Apple Support Discussion forums are alive with complaints and debate by affected users.

After hitting the power button, some owners hear the startup chime, but don’t get to boot successfully to their desktop. One particularly high-profile customer was Engadget, who took delivery of a machine that simply refused to boot. They didn’t even get as far as the teasing chime.

A video has surfaced on YouTube of a machine that does boot, but its display ducks out and “flashes” every so often, rendering it impractical (and uncomfortable) for any kind of actual use.

Several customers are reporting shattered or cracked glass on the bottom left hand corner of the iMac’s huge display.

There’s currently no official comment on the matter by Apple (I doubt there ever will be) but the favourite explanation floating around the intertubes is that the packaging for these computers is somehow flawed, leading to damage (visible and otherwise) of their precious contents while in transit.

Gizmodo says:

What’s most plausible is that the packaging just wasn’t designed to handle the size and weight of the giant 27-inch iMac as it gets tossed around the cab of a FedEx truck. Apple has so far been extremely responsive and effective in making repairs and exchanges, but it’s still a discomfiting sign.

This is the second wave of bad news regarding Apple’s new 27″ iMac lineup. Late last month reports surfaced on the Apple Support discussion website of incredibly sluggish Flash playback, and claims of a bug causing hard drives to spin down and even of a faulty Snow Leopard installation. You can read those discussion for yourself here and here.

So, if you bought one of these machines as a holiday gift for someone, it’s probably a good idea to open the box and take it for a test-drive, while there’s still time to get a replacement from Apple should the need arise.

Have you been affected by one of these faults?

I’m sure you have heard about this. Apple has released the i7 iMacs. Yes, you heard me correctly. i7, perhaps one of the fastest chips known to date. After running several tests, MacWorld’s Jason Snell confirmed via Twitter update that the 27 inch iMac was the fastest stock mac they have tested to date, IE, the iMac is faster than the current Mac Pro.

Problem? Not necessarily, but to does raise some questions.

One of these questions is: “If the iMac is better than the Mac Pro right now, then doesn’t that mean Apple will upgrade the Mac Pro in the future?” I have an answer to this question, and I believe it is yes. But just because I am answering yes doesn’t mean I think that’s the best thing to do.

If you follow my Twitter updates you may remember a specific one which I suggested that Apple drop the iPod Shuffle from it’s line. I suggest this because it is simply irrelevant. I can’t imagine anyone buying it unless they are completely clueless about MP3 players or they simply want to have proof to back up them saying “I own an iPod”. It’s too cheap, and frankly, too usless (but not completely, I have to give Apple that.)

This may be the case for the Mac Pro now. I do understand that there are “super” people who need to pimp out with Mac Pro with 32GB of RAM and 8-core 3.2 Ghz Processors, and I do understand there are some people that need 4TB of HDD space, but with the iMac screen getting larger, and it being an all-in-one machine after all, don’t you see those possibilities within the near future?

Yes, I am suggesting that the Mac Pro be dropped, but not soon, not soon at all. I’m saying that the iMac is up there in terms of speed with the Mac Pro, and it only makes sense that you upgrade the Mac Pro, get rid of it if the iMac is testing faster than it.

But, I do know that Apple will update the Mac Pro, and this post is nonetheless, a thought.

NOTE: While I was writing this blog post Mark Jardine, a fantastic designer updated Twitter saying that the iMac i7 does slow as you use it more, here is the direct link.

Today was a long day. It is 8:15 and I am on the bus home. It is going to be a long ride.

The theme in my life today is either patience or taking massive action and I am not sure which one I am supposed to do. Something in my gut doesn’t feel right about a couple situations in my life and I don’t know if I am just supposed to say F&:@ It or stay calm and patient and work through it. I need my answer this week as to which it is because I am not enjoying relying on others to make up my own mind. I am going to take some
Deep breaths and not jump too fast so as not to be more impulsive than I already am but I really need some answers to my life fast. Does she love me? Is she honest? Can I trust her? Is this job going to pick up? Do I need to jump with nothing to catch me and just have faith? Can I find something else now? Can I afford not to? I woke up early and worked hard. I can tell you this, both my love and my job need to treat me right and throw me some really good vibes cause any bad one could send me right out the door and on my own in about a second. I am tired of being patient right now. I feel like I have been patient this whole damn time and it is wearing on me.

So let’s throw in a happy picture and change the mood.

Happy pictures are good, and I really need to get rid of my bad vibes cause I don’t like feeling this way. I hope my mind is just playing tricks on me. The thing is it wasn’t playing any tricks on me since I got here. My gut told me something was wrong and it was. I need to figure this out. Maybe I already have and just don’t want the answer I have come up with. That would suck. Well listen. I am cool. I am strong. I know what the possibilites are and I am not ignoring them. I am doing the right thing. I being patient, slow to act and quick to listen and I will make the best decisions. I will say this, my mind will not be quiet right now. I need the answers to move forward. I will do my best to get them tonight.

The one thing I know is this. I just decided to try and make things work two days ago and already something seems off to me. Am I crazy? Or am I smart enough to know what’s up? I wish I knew the answer to that.

Fun article and great photos.  Just the thing to review if you want to see how far the iMac line has come.  Click here to read.

La introducción del procesador Core i7 de Intel en los iMac de gama alta no habrían podido ser mejores. Según las últimas pruebas de rendimiento realizadas por Macworld, el rendimiento del iMac con Core i7 supera incluso al del Mac Pro con el procesador Intel Xeon de 8 núcleos.

Así, el iMac se convierte en una opción más asequible que el Mac Pro para conseguir un ordenador potente, ya que las aplicaciones del iMac “tan sólo” cuestan unos 500 dólares aproximadamente, mientras que el coste de las ampliaciones del Mac Pro equivalente se van a los 2600 dólares.

Eso sin contar la pantalla LED de 27 pulgadas que viene incluída con el iMac, cosa que no pasa con el Mac Pro. Quizás haya llegado la hora de actualizar la gama de los LED Cinema Display junto con los procesadores del Mac Pro para que este vuelva a ser, realmente, el ordenador más potente y grande que Apple nos ofrezca.

Si eres de aquellas personas que fuman mientras trabaja, mejor piénsalo dos veces pues Apple ha anunciado que si encuentra restos de tabaco en el computador, rechazarán la garantía del mismo.

Al parecer fueron dos casos concretos los que levantaron la “alarma”. En el primero una persona dejó su equipo en una Apple Store para su reparación. Los empleados habrían encontrado restos de humo de tabaco en él (?) y habrían decididoanular la garantía AppleCare. En el otro caso sucedió algo similar: se habrían encontrado restos de alquitrán en un Mac, produciéndose la misma situación anteriormente descrita.   —–>>>  

Apple se defiende diciendo que los residuos que genera un cigarrillo en un Mac perjudican la salud de sus trabajadores, lo cual no es aceptable.

Ambos casos me parecen muy extraños. Dudo que los restos de un cigarrillo que se encuentren dentro de un computador puede afectar a alguien que está arreglándolo. ¿Fumas frente a tu Mac? Si la respuesta es si, parece que será mejor que dejes de hacerlo.

Según algunos clientes, Apple se ha negado a reparar algunos equipos que presentaban problemas por un riesgo para sus empleados.

Hay que explicar que los equipos “afectados” han estado expuestos durante nadie sabe cuanto tiempo al humo de cigarrillo, una sustancia que se considera riesgo biológico para los empleados de Apple.

Como en cualquier tipo de historia que tenga que ver con el tabaco, el humo y la salud, existen dos puntos de vista, la de las personas que elegimos permanecer sanos y la de los fumadores. Quien tiene razón depende de en que lado estés, pero ¿donde empieza el riesgo para un empleado?

Apple tiene que proteger a sus empleados de cualquier sustancia o producto de riesgo, si los productos de Apple estuviesen expuestos a radiación, tampoco lo aceptarían. Claro, hay personas que dirán que esto es una exageración, lo es. De cualquier forma no creo que Apple pueda evaluar de una forma concisa como un equipo ha estado expuesto a un hambiente lleno de humo de cigarrillo más que el «oye, esto huele a humo de _________» (insertar en el espacio en blanco la sustancia que fume).

Las garantías de pago AppleCare no especifica que los productos que han sido expuestos a humo no son aceptados, por lo que es aquí donde existe un problema, no en las Apple Store, si no que si de verdad existe un problema se debería de especificar en este seguro.

De cualquier forma, estoy seguro que esta historia es más sencilla de lo que puede parecer, es el efectomeme quien amplifica la historia y la distorsiona.

I agree.  For most people who don’t upgrade themselves it is an easy answer.  Click here to read.

Yes. Yes it has.

It’s been six days since I posted this bit about moving my lovely, lovely iMac into a computer cabinet.

It still hasn’t happened.

And now my parents arrive tomorrow for the week of Thanksgiving.

(sigh)

Maybe I should have my dad help me make the move, etc.? I mean, when I go home to visit I always wind up (either by being asked or volunteering) doing some chores, projects and/or tasks; both consumer electronic and otherwise (I don’t much like the “otherwise”, but hey…it’s for mom and dad, right?). I think it would be good for dad to reciprocate if just a bit.

But he doesn’t actually get to touch my iMac!

Review of the 27” Quad Core iMac

Why go Pro when iMac goes faster?: “The new Core i7 iMac is a potent machine — so potent, in fact, that it outpaces a couple of Mac Pro models in benchmarks. It’s also an incredible bargain, offering tremendous power given its price.

Good Question!!!

(Via Macworld.)

Metal finished TFT screen with four different colored wallpapers.

Nice instructions here.  They have a great how to section on this website.  Click here to learn.

Stay tuned…

VoiceCandy se présente comme le Photo Booth vocale et vous permettra de modifier votre voix avec différents effets genre le robot ou Dark Vador.

Pour obtenir cet application ô combien “indispensable” mais gratuite, il vous suffira de faire une message via votre Twitter et de mettre Macheist dans votre twitt-list.

A noter que cette application a une déclinaison iPhone pour 0,70 euros.

Here is a look at how AR works and this month’s interactive issue of Esquire magazine below.  Enjoy!