Is Apple Now Too Big for It's own Britches?

[Finn McR]

So... My MacBookPro of about 5 years just died (and died hard, nothing but the superdrive spins up on pressing the power stud). So I got an iMac (a bit overdue). However, my TimeMachine will not back-up to the new machine because it's version is not supported in the newest Mac OS. Also, the fascist behavior of Apple seems to have grown from OS X.5 to OS X.7.... I now can no longer get a hard-drive icon on my desktop. When I tried to get some answers on-line, it was worse (if you can believe this) than Microsoft Help. (I could leave a number and a time to call back about my question, the categorization of which included about 5 items; not nearly enough to triage questions.)

So, has Apple now gotten so big that it A) can treat customers like crap as MS has done for years and, B) is a great big target for malware?

It looks like I moved into a Mac at the worst time, and can use my home experience to avoid transferring to a Mac at work.

 

[Finn McR]

Ok, I found out how to show the HD icon on the desktop in the new OS, so don't complain about that bit...

 

[Kid Eager]

So... My MacBookPro of about 5 years just died (and died hard, nothing but the superdrive spins up on pressing the power stud). So I got an iMac (a bit overdue). However, my TimeMachine will not back-up to the new machine because it's version is not supported in the newest Mac OS. Also, the fascist behavior of Apple seems to have grown from OS X.5 to OS X.7.... I now can no longer get a hard-drive icon on my desktop. When I tried to get some answers on-line, it was worse (if you can believe this) than Microsoft Help. (I could leave a number and a time to call back about my question, the categorization of which included about 5 items; not nearly enough to triage questions.)

So, has Apple now gotten so big that it A) can treat customers like crap as MS has done for years and, B) is a great big target for malware?

It looks like I moved into a Mac at the worst time, and can use my home experience to avoid transferring to a Mac at work.

Do you mean Time Machine or Time Capsule?

I see you found the HD icon...

 

[Finn McR]

Do you mean Time Machine or Time Capsule?

I see you found the HD icon...

The answer is both. I was trying to implement the Time Machine software back-up using Time Capsule hardware wireless router/backup hardware. I'm sloppy about the terminology because, with one exception, I've always used a Time Capsule to implement Time Machine.

 

[Kid Eager]

The answer is both. I was trying to implement the Time Machine software back-up using Time Capsule hardware wireless router/backup hardware. I'm sloppy about the terminology because, with one exception, I've always used a Time Capsule to implement Time Machine.

Time Machine works fine across versions of OSX - unless of course you're trying to poke OS stuff from an old OS into a new one... So far my Time Machine has continued to work across 3 complete OSX upgrades.

What about Time Capsule is not working?

 

[BenBurch]

This isn't a G4 iMac or some such, is it?

 

[Finn McR]

No, the problem is my old MacBookPro running OS X.5 (and using a Time Capsule for Time Machine back-ups) has died. When I tried to connect to the Time Capsule with a new iMac running OSX.7, it said that the it was not compatible. (!?). I'm hoping that I can take the laptop in to have it's HD removed and copied.

 

[mikeyx]

I'm hoping that I can take the laptop in to have it's HD removed and copied.

a pc guy would have known how to do that on their own

 

[paiute]

Once more into the breach, dear friends, once more

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;
Or close the wall up with our English dead.

 

[theprestige]

So... My MacBookPro of about 5 years just died (and died hard, nothing but the superdrive spins up on pressing the power stud). So I got an iMac (a bit overdue). However, my TimeMachine will not back-up to the new machine because it's version is not supported in the newest Mac OS. Also, the fascist behavior of Apple seems to have grown from OS X.5 to OS X.7.... I now can no longer get a hard-drive icon on my desktop. When I tried to get some answers on-line, it was worse (if you can believe this) than Microsoft Help. (I could leave a number and a time to call back about my question, the categorization of which included about 5 items; not nearly enough to triage questions.)

So, has Apple now gotten so big that it A) can treat customers like crap as MS has done for years and, B) is a great big target for malware?

It looks like I moved into a Mac at the worst time, and can use my home experience to avoid transferring to a Mac at work.

Even user-friendly Linux distros like Ubuntu don't commit to supporting OS versions more than five years old. And just this year they made substantial changes to the desktop interface.

Microsoft, Linux, Apple... I think that regardless of the vendor, five years is an unreasonably long time to expect backwards compatibility and user interface stagnation. I don't think it's "fascist" at all. Operating systems and user interfaces aren't cars, you know.

 

[elgarak]

No, the problem is my old MacBookPro running OS X.5 (and using a Time Capsule for Time Machine back-ups) has died.

Define died. What doesn't it do anymore? Cause there are ways to access the hard drive, but that depends on what's broken. Also, it's relatively easy on those machines to take out the hard drive yourself.

When I tried to connect to the Time Capsule with a new iMac running OSX.7, it said that the it was not compatible. (!?). I'm hoping that I can take the laptop in to have it's HD removed and copied.

If the problem is really the OS version, you could try to install/restore from the backup using your OS X.5 install disk. How do you connect to the Time Capsule? Could be a network problem...

 

[Almo]

Even user-friendly Linux distros like Ubuntu don't commit to supporting OS versions more than five years old. And just this year they made substantial changes to the desktop interface.

Microsoft, Linux, Apple... I think that regardless of the vendor, five years is an unreasonably long time to expect backwards compatibility and user interface stagnation. I don't think it's "fascist" at all. Operating systems and user interfaces aren't cars, you know.

He's right. Microsoft will go a bit longer than 5 years, but they still get ornery about it.

 

[Finn McR]

Ok, to define, "died," this means that on pushing the power stud, almost nothing happens. With no CD/DVD in the superdrive, there is no activity. With a disc in the drive, it spins up, but nothing happens (a desperation move by the way, as I could not find my start-up disc and resorted to putting in the OS disc after about six power off/battery out tries).

Also, so I should expect that two versions on of an OS, the software will not recognize/control something as basic as a hard drive? If that is the way things are, I would like to take my ball and go home, but it seems that the few corporations supplying the computers and operating systems have won. All I want is for the OS to read a bleeping hard drive.

Here is a difference between a Kindle/Nook and an actual book: 5 years, 10 years, 20 years, ... well over a hundred years later you can still pick up a book and read (access) its contents. If a Kindle's/Nook's software is out of date after two years, what good is it?

I have socks older than two years, and books at least 20 years old that I still read regularly.

 

[theprestige]

Ok, to define, "died," this means that on pushing the power stud, almost nothing happens. With no CD/DVD in the superdrive, there is no activity. With a disc in the drive, it spins up, but nothing happens (a desperation move by the way, as I could not find my start-up disc and resorted to putting in the OS disc after about six power off/battery out tries).

Also, so I should expect that two versions on of an OS, the software will not recognize/control something as basic as a hard drive? If that is the way things are, I would like to take my ball and go home, but it seems that the few corporations supplying the computers and operating systems have won. All I want is for the OS to read a bleeping hard drive.

Here is a difference between a Kindle/Nook and an actual book: 5 years, 10 years, 20 years, ... well over a hundred years later you can still pick up a book and read (access) its contents. If a Kindle's/Nook's software is out of date after two years, what good is it?

I have socks older than two years, and books at least 20 years old that I still read regularly.

If your expectation is that general purpose computers should be as simple as a pair of socks, then you are going to be perpetually disappointed.

 

[Ysidro]

You have no issues with your Apple Product. Please remain at your location for the Re-education Team, or as we like to call them iLUV.