After many years in a Windows world, I recently purchased a Mac Pro, and have been very happy with my choice. There were many reasons for this move, but suffice it to say that I think Apple has some great products, and I’m really not impressed with Vista.
So here’s my point: If I were running marketing at Apple, one of my main priorities, if not THE priority, would be to make it as easy as possible for the millions of disgruntled Windows users to migrate to the system that “just works.” As intuitive as Macs and OSX may be, this transition isn’t painless, so I would try to go the extra mile to smooth the way.
One issue I noticed as soon as I took my Mac out of the box was that there was no place to plug in the standard mini-plugs from my great-sounding Klipsch 5.1 speakers. The Mac has an optical audio outlet and a headphone jack. I thought there must be some adapter or other solution to this seemingly simple issue, but after some web searching, I came to the conclusion that the best option would be to add an internal sound card with the appropriate connections. The sound card vendors generally told me they “don’t support the Mac.” This doesn’t mean their products won’t work, just don’t go crying to them if you have problems.
So I called AppleCare, with the simple request: “Do you have a list, or can you just tell me where I can find a list of PCI Express Dolby 5.1 sound cards that will work in my Mac Pro?” The nice lady said no, Apple doesn’t make sound cards and cannot provide information on third-party products. I countered that I was transitioning to a Mac and just needed some help getting my new purchase set up. She was polite but firm, no help whatsoever, that’s our policy.
In the spirit of helping Windows converts make this transition (a BIG priority for Apple) I would think that it would be in Apple’s best interest to either set up their own “transition assistance team,” or at least sponsor a semi-independent web site, blog, or similar to make this move as painless as possible.
Am I missing something here? Is this rocket science? Wake up, Apple, this is where your future market growth is coming from. So here’s my free marketing advice: a relatively small investment, combined with a real committment and perhaps even an innovative marketing hook thrown in for good measure that “We at Apple will do all we can to help make your transition to the Mac as painless as possible.”
*Update* In related news, Apple seems to tweak at least some things after complaints.
Friday, 18. April 2008
Considering all the cutesy “I’m a Mac. And I’m a PC” ads, you’d think that Apple would do more to help out all of its potential new customers that it’s targeting so heavily right now.
But in true Apple form, any of their “just works” products only seem to be this way when interfacing with all things Apple. Now, you’d think that consumers expecting anything more than that would be asking for too much. Oh wait, that’s what everyone already expects out of Microsoft (i.e., its products to automatically work with anything and everything).
Bottom line: Join the club, Apple. If you want to play in this space, you should be ready to deal with these kinds of expectations.
Friday, 18. April 2008
Wow, you should make this a series…. how about some free meditation advice for Gandhi? Or some free stock tips for Warren Buffett? Seriously, though:
It’s not a PC. Don’t put PCI cards in it, get an optical converter like this one:
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/CO2-main.html
Also, the “Transition Assistance Team” is the Genius bar. You should have walked in there and asked them what to do, not decided on your own that you need a PCI sound card then call and ask which one to get. Your request may have seemed simple to you, but it was the wrong request. The only thing the “nice lady” could have done was try to figure out what you thought you were going to accomplish by putting a sound card in your Mac; it certainly doesn’t sound like you were volunteering that information.
Friday, 18. April 2008
Sorry but what are you talking about??? The MacPro does have audio minjacks in the rear, along with the optical audio (Toslink) ports. What more do you want?
From the MacPro spec page:
“Front-panel headphone minijack and speaker
Optical digital audio input and output TOSLINK ports
Analog stereo line-level input and output minijacks”
This link has a picture as well:
http://www.apple.com/macpro/specs.html
Friday, 18. April 2008
Actually, I did explain to the lady what I was trying to accomplish, I asked whether there was such a conversion device (thanks for the info btw) or any other way to play my speakers from the Mac Pro. I didn’t go into that detail in my posting because it wash’t the point. The nearest Genius bar is 45 miles away and I can’t go running there every time I have a question. Yes, they have indeed been very helpful the times I’ve visited them.
My point was that I feel that it would be in Apple’s own interest–and in the interest of the Mac community as well–if they would do more to make the transition go smoothly.
Friday, 18. April 2008
So a commenter on a blog post ends up being more helpful than “AppleCare” was able to be? Priceless. This is a good thing, in some ways. The Apple community does seem knowledgeable even if it comes prepackaged with attitude.
Note to fanboys: the author of this post just spent thousands of dollars to join your team. He likes Apple and said as much. You might consider saving the snarkiness for the anti-Apple group rather than firing on your own kind.
Friday, 18. April 2008
@Bob, the “fanboys” stuff is so old.
@T.H., I hope you enjoy your machine. I haven’t attempted to use 5.1 sound with my Macs, so I can’t be much help. Good luck, though.
Friday, 18. April 2008
I agree, there should be lists of items that are 3rd party compatible. But I was amused when one of the commenters was talking about “just walk into the Genius bar…”. For me that walk would be 300 miles…one way!
Texas is a big place and I live within 50 miles of 250,000 people…but there’s no Apple store.
Saturday, 19. April 2008
@Bob Caswell: Not knowledgable, I just googled it. The attitude doesn’t come from fanboyism, I’m just sick of people ragging on apple just because it’s not exactly like a dell. And the “team” and “firing on my own kind” stuff is utter nonsense – its a computer, ferchrissake. Jeez, I mean rush limbaugh uses a mac, does that mean I have to be the same kind as him too? People get a mac, they hit one bump with it and next thing you know they’re telling you all about what apple oughta shoulda done if they weren’t such jerks. Yeah their product and support has warts, but front line techs not being schooled on how to get a SoundBlaster card that you don’t need ain’t one of em, come on people.
Saturday, 19. April 2008
And apologies for assuming everyone lives near a genius bar – I spend most of my time in big cities and tend to forget what a big place the rest of the world is!
Saturday, 19. April 2008
Mart-
I suppose using the word “fanboy” can get people annoyed in all sorts of ways. But I’m not sure what else to call it. You mentioned Dell, so I’ll run with that example:
If a similar situation happened with Dell, it’d be highly unlikely that anyone would step up and explain how this user’s experience is a non-issue. Consumers generally side with each other when it comes to these kinds of situations.
Not so much the case with Apple, I’ve noticed. It’s one of the few companies where if you, as a consumer, point out flaws / issues / room for improvement, the first response from other consumers is defending the parent company. I’ve been blogging for years and recognize this pattern each time it happens. Like Wes said, “the ‘fanboys’ stuff is so old.”
Give any other company a suggestion for improvement, and you might get others agreeing or pointing out other suggestions. Do the same with Apple, and your first move is almost always getting through the defensive linebackers.
And, by the way, no one here has called Apple “such jerks.” That’s a classic defensive move wherein the defender tries to make a stronger case by exaggerating what was originally said.
Saturday, 19. April 2008
Just a few notes here for clarification:
1. My initial post was honestly intended as constructive criticism. Please don’t get me wrong here; I like Apple. They’re not perfect, however, and my comments were made in the spirit of trying to make a good thing better, not in the spirit of calling anyone a “jerk.”
2. Don’t take this one wrong (I’m really not trying to pick a fight here, just trying to learn), but Mart says “It’s not a PC. Don’t put PCI cards in it…” which leaves me wondering why there are 4 PCI slots in my Mac Pro. What kinds of cards are they intended for? I know one has the video card (I upgraded to the nVidea GeForce 8800 GT) but that leaves the other 3 empty for now.
3. In response to Ted T, the mini jack on the back only provides me with regular stereo, and what I’m trying to do is to take full advantage of my 5.1 surround speaker system. I know there are devices which will let me simulate 5.1 from a stereo signal, but I want the original Dolby 5.1 sound that I paid for with the content I want to play. Again, my main point in my posting wasn’t so much the detail of what I was trying to accomplish (and I’ve located an interesting solution that uses FireWire at http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/firewave/) but what I perceived to be a missed opportunity on the part of Apple.
4. Bottom line here, I’m eager to learn about my Mac and the Mac way of doing things in general. I’ve had (and still have) Dells. I’ll still need to use them for a variety of apps that unfortunately don’t exist on the Mac platform at this time. One of the great things about the online community is the willingness to share information with “newbies” so we can get up to speed quickly and hopefully be in a position to help ourselves and others.
Saturday, 19. April 2008
Welcome to the Mac community. Any further questions, post them here.
Sunday, 20. April 2008
Welcome to the Mac community. Don’t fall asleep, or we’ll steal your kidney.
Thursday, 15. May 2008
Quote:”3. In response to Ted T, the mini jack on the back only provides me with regular stereo, and what I’m trying to do is to take full advantage of my 5.1 surround speaker system. I know there are devices which will let me simulate 5.1 from a stereo signal, but I want the original Dolby 5.1 sound that I paid for with the content I want to play.”
T.H.: The optical out will pass the full 5.1 Dolby Digital or DTS to you receiver for decoding. You don’t need any Firewire device. There is no such thing as 5.1 sound from an ANALOG mini jack. You need to use the digital (in this case optical) out to get 5.1