Apple internally acknowledges more 27" iMac screen issues

The monstrous screen on the 27″ iMac, while a beautiful sight to behold, can be equally unsightly when some flaw is discovered. Issues such as flickering video and cracked glass have been problematic for some users, possibly causing shipping delays for recent orders. Now, an issue of yellowish areas appearing on some screens may be causing further shipping delays. While Apple hasn’t publicly acknowledged the problem, an internal tech support document reveals it is aware of the problem.

The problem appears in a number of ways, including vertical or horizontal stripes that appear more yellow than surrounding areas. It can also manifest as a yellowish tint that becomes more obvious in one corner of the screen. Obviously it’s not something you want to see when you’ve just spent $1,700 or more on a new computer.

According to one Gizmodo reader who attempted to fix the problem on his own, the problem is related to a layer of material behind the LCD used the scatter the LED backlight. He suspects this material may become misaligned during shipping, causing some areas of the backlight to have an uneven color temperature.

Whatever the cause, information on the issue appears to be in Apple’s internal support system. Apple support technicians are told to tell customers complaining about the issue that slight variations are normal. If the customer complains further, the tech is supposed to get contact information so the customer can be contacted about having the display panel replaced “in approximately three weeks.” Those asking for “immediate resolution” should be offered a refund and not a replacement.

While the problem also seems to affect 21.5″ iMac models as well, the Apple support information doesn’t address those models.

Since Apple specifically mentioned a three-week window for an expected fix, you might want to hold off buying one in the meantime. Online orders quote at least a three week wait, so Apple may be holding of shipping machines until the fix in place. Still, for users currently experiencing the problem, another month-long wait or a refund probably isn’t a very satisfying solution.

Read the original here: Apple internally acknowledges more 27" iMac screen issues

Apple internally acknowledges more 27" iMac screen issues

The monstrous screen on the 27″ iMac, while a beautiful sight to behold, can be equally unsightly when some flaw is discovered. Issues such as flickering video and cracked glass have been problematic for some users, possibly causing shipping delays for recent orders. Now, an issue of yellowish areas appearing on some screens may be causing further shipping delays. While Apple hasn’t publicly acknowledged the problem, an internal tech support document reveals it is aware of the problem.

The problem appears in a number of ways, including vertical or horizontal stripes that appear more yellow than surrounding areas. It can also manifest as a yellowish tint that becomes more obvious in one corner of the screen. Obviously it’s not something you want to see when you’ve just spent $1,700 or more on a new computer.

According to one Gizmodo reader who attempted to fix the problem on his own, the problem is related to a layer of material behind the LCD used the scatter the LED backlight. He suspects this material may become misaligned during shipping, causing some areas of the backlight to have an uneven color temperature.

Whatever the cause, information on the issue appears to be in Apple’s internal support system. Apple support technicians are told to tell customers complaining about the issue that slight variations are normal. If the customer complains further, the tech is supposed to get contact information so the customer can be contacted about having the display panel replaced “in approximately three weeks.” Those asking for “immediate resolution” should be offered a refund and not a replacement.

While the problem also seems to affect 21.5″ iMac models as well, the Apple support information doesn’t address those models.

Since Apple specifically mentioned a three-week window for an expected fix, you might want to hold off buying one in the meantime. Online orders quote at least a three week wait, so Apple may be holding of shipping machines until the fix in place. Still, for users currently experiencing the problem, another month-long wait or a refund probably isn’t a very satisfying solution.

Read more: Apple internally acknowledges more 27" iMac screen issues

Apple may have business-friendly iPad features up its sleeve

Disagreements about the lack of certain features aside, Apple clearly had casual computer users in mind when building the iPad. Still, that doesn’t mean Apple will ignore enterprise users, which have been adopting the iPhone in growing numbers.

iWork is a nod to users who need to get work done using an iPad. Pages, Numbers, and Keynote cover word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation tasks. The iPad can also be attached to a projector to give a presentation directly from the device. You can still import and export files compatible with Microsoft’s Word, Excel, and Powerpoint, just like you can with the desktop versions.

If for some reason iWork won’t serve your productivity needs, at the very least it serves as a proof of concept. Microsoft could develop iPad versions of Office apps if it determines that the demand was there. And, while Office is pervasive in the corporate world, the potential for productivity apps from other vendors is there as well—Omni is already talking about porting OmniGraffle to the iPad, for instance.

The iPad still retains the enterprise features of iPhone OS, including Exchange ActiveSync support for e-mail, contacts, and calendars. But according to?AppleInsider’s?sources, Apple has some enterprise-friendly features planned for the iPad that haven’t yet been publicly announced. One feature is a planned ability to access standard file servers on a local network. The other is the ability to print to networked printers. Combined with Office-compatible iWork apps, an iPad could be useful for many routine business tasks.

These features won’t make the iPad appealing for every business. Especially in larger corporate environments, admins still need better management tools than Apple currently offers for its mobile devices. And security must remain a priority, since many corporations have legal responsibilities to protect certain kinds of data.

Still, its good to see Apple is thinking about some of the business use cases for the iPad, since its size and weight will likely appeal to some enterprise users.

Read more here: Apple may have business-friendly iPad features up its sleeve

Week in Apple: iPad mania! Hands-on, reactions, and more

Do we even need to summarize what this week’s top Apple news was all about? Aside from iPad mania, Apple also announced a record fiscal quarter and the Ars staff opined on what we want out of iPhone OS 4.0 and more. Read on for the good stuff.

Apple announces the iPad: Apple CEO Steve Jobs took the stage today in San Francisco to announce the iPad, a cross between an iPhone and a Macbook that aims to change the way we use the Web and consume digital media. Details inside.

Hands-on, first impressions, and Photo gallery of Apple iPad: We blogged the live event and we’ve put our hands all over the new iPad. Photos of the event and the device within.

Original post: Week in Apple: iPad mania! Hands-on, reactions, and more

Google Email Uploader now available for Mac

Google today released a Mac version of its Google Email Uploader, an application geared toward easing the transition to a Google Apps account. The application is designed to simplify the process of uploading hundreds of messages at a time from any three of the major Mac e-mail applications: Mail, Eudora, and Thunderbird. Currently, the Email Uploader will not transfer mail to an ordinary Gmail account; it requires a Google Apps?for a?business account.

This is good news for Mac-based businesses looking to outsource their e-mail and take advantage of Google’s system, but have dreaded transferring years’ worth of old messages. The application is far from perfect, though: for instance, the system limits the uploader to one message per second after 500 messages, but the automation might make it worthwhile to do 500 messages at a time.

One can only hope that Google will soon allow the same thing for regular users of Gmail. Painlessly uploading thousands of old messages from one of my older e-mail accounts would not only be a good use of the space Google provides, but it would allow me to use Google’s search to sift through them all.

Go here to see the original: Google Email Uploader now available for Mac

Poll Technica: do you want Flash on the iPad?

Reactions around the Web to the lack of Flash support on the iPad are extremely polarized. The most common complaint is that Flash is necessary for a larger percentage of the Web to work properly. Popular video sites like Hulu, FunnyOrDie, and others are effectively shut out of the iPad browsing experience. This also includes many casual games, a majority of which are written and deployed online using Adobe Flash.

Of course,?Apple has its own reasons for excluding Flash from the iPhone OS (which also runs on the iPad). Apple also offers its own alternatives—for which you’ll have to pay—but those aren’t always up to par with the unbridled selection you find online.

We’d like to know your position on the absence of Flash on the iPad.?We realize that this is a random sampling and not authoritative, but we’re still interested in what you guys think about this issue. Our readers skew highly to the educated, high-income, IT, and otherwise professional market segment, and we know that many of you like to tinker with your gadgets or are software developers.

See the rest here: Poll Technica: do you want Flash on the iPad?

OS X Hidden Gems

Read more here: OS X Hidden Gems

Tablet makers rethinking things in wake of iPad’s $499 price

Competing tablet makers are reevaluating their pricing strategy in the wake of Apple’s iPad announcement, according to a rumor in the Digitimes. The article cites the usual unnamed sources in claiming that companies like ASUS and MSI had expected Apple’s iPad to debut at $1,000, and were planning to undercut that price by 20 to 30 percent with their own, presumably Android-based offerings. But with the iPad base model coming in at $499—the price of a decent netbook—the companies are now going to have to compete on something besides price.

See original here: Tablet makers rethinking things in wake of iPad’s $499 price

Small Biz Corner: BusyCal

Read the rest here: Small Biz Corner: BusyCal

The Beginning of the End for Jobs

Original post: The Beginning of the End for Jobs

Next Page »