Friday, May 13, 2011
Apple Further Handicaps Do-It-Yourself Upgrades for new iMacs
Posted by Michael Knutson in "Apple Talk" @ 10:30 AM
"Since Late 2009, there's been a well-documented issue with the iMac line. If you upgrade the hard drive, the fans can start spinning like crazy. The fans at high speed are loud, mainly unnecessary, and have caused a lot of headaches for DIYers everywhere."
Unable to upgrade or replace/repair hardware in my own computer? Reminds me of the early days when IBM made 'micro channel' (MCA) the standard on PS/2 computers, obsoleting existing bus peripherals, even in their own product line. The outcry was huge; but; aside from the bus, much of the technology pushed the envelope, and, the market ended up making the decision on the direction of technology - an eventual thumbs down to MCA, PS/2 and OS/2 (despite the fact that OS/2 was far superior to Windows, but different enough that IBM again shot themselves in the foot). Apple can make the same dumb technology decisions as any other company - but I don't think that they're attempting anything sinister, probably let a few engineers run with a concept ... improved communication/control between peripherals and computer, and what-not. I'm sure that there will be workarounds and fixes coming down the pipeline ... or maybe a class-action lawsuit or two by angry owners.