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Wednesday, June 10, 2009 at 10:13AM Today's entry has been postponed due to a colossal f**kup by Apple.
My software update software told me that there was a Safari update which, of course, offered all sorts of "improvements". So, I dutifully did the update. At the end of the installation, I was informed of an error that did not allow the update to be installed. Fine. Whatever. I could live with that.
What I can't live with is the fact that, because of some screw by Apple, the update software downloaded and tried to install a beta version of Safari that is not recommended for download.
Imagine that.
The result, I need to reinstall my system software which wipes out all the stuff on my hard drive. I now need to copy and backup all my Application folder and my Home folder to an external hard drive and start from scratch.
Adding insult to injury, I had to purchase a $50 phone support from Apple to work through the Screw up that Apple caused through absolutely no fault of my own.
So, I'll be back as soon as I get this fixed.
Reader Comments (4)
Wow. Sorry for your trouble, but thanks for this. It's fortuitous timing to push me squarely back into the "I hate Apple and refuse to buy a Mac" camp. I'm in the market for a new laptop and was debating between a top-of-the-line ThinkPad or MacBook Pro. The MBP is about $500 more for equivalent and less-expandable hardware, but somehow I'd been coaxed into very seriously considering it. Good luck.
Sorry to hear about the screw up. I downloaded the latest update too, I wonder what's brewing inside my iMac that I don't know about yet?
Very sorry to hear about the gremlins, Mark. Bad form on Apple's part, especially the $50 charge on the call. I don't suppose you have an Apple Retail store nearby? I've had nothing but fantastic service from their "Genius Bar" (help desk) over the years, on the occasions that I've had trouble with my Macs.
To Seinberg, I really hope you reconsider. I was deep into PC building several years ago, and was a near expert at troubleshooting problems on my Windows machines, but finally got sick and tired of being my own private IT department for the constant problems and crashes. I bought my first Mac in '95 (a G5 iMac), and felt as if I'd been transported ten years into the future. It really is that good.
I'm still forced to use Boot Camp to turn my Mac Pro into a Windows box (for Solidworks) in my day job as an independent design engineer, but I spend as little time as possible in that OS. Nothing beats the elegance of OS X.
Of course, people will point to a story like Mark's above, and claim that it's proof that Macs are somehow not as good as Windows PCs, but I'd bet my favorite lens (Zuiko Digital 12-60mm SWD) that he'd have experienced that much pain and far more by running Windows over the course of a few years.
Either way you go, I wish you the best of luck.
Cheers,
Rod
Rod --
I'm actually a Linux user, not Windows. The only time I use Windows is in VMWare if I absolutely must use MS Office, or for Photoshop/Lightroom when I'm doing heavy lifting or priming for a print (otherwise I'll do basic editing in VMWare from Linux too).
OS X, I completely agree, is a superior operating system to Windows. But as a software engineer doing development in Linux by profession, it's not worth the hefty premium to use Apple software/hardware. Particularly when I saw what it was like to swap out hard drives (in the ThinkPad, there's a hot-swappable bay for media instead of having to take the entire laptop apart with a screwdriver etc.). Plus, I can't stand the self-satisfied hipsters who so confidently proclaim how great Apple is without knowing the first thing about computers. It's that hipster mystique and all the Steve Jobs marketing nonsense that rubs me the wrong way. (In all honesty, I'm not passive-aggressively claiming either of you are in any way like what I describe).
In any case, glad the issues of the Lanscapist (whose name I don't even know) are resolved, and that you got a refund.